#and some of their most well known sultans reigned during that time

[themoomoorn]

Unlike Verdane, they actually did sort of try to incorporate at least some visual elements of several MENA hallmarks into the clothing, symbols, and (in Hopes) weapons of Almyra - namely the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and Mongolia, sort of - but as stated, the portrayal got quashed with Hopes turning the few Almyrans we get into stereotypical "eastern barbarians" 💩. Which sucks because somehow Kurahana-sensei gave Shahid an unironically fire visual design that exceeds just about all of the other new characters.

I'd be willing to give them one more chance with Almyra (or some future game), but with the caveat that in an ideal world, they'd consult some people and actually put care into writing the country, because despite Almyra and Verdane coming from two whole separate Eras of FE, they're similar for the same gross reasons.

An India or Thai style country would also be cool, if only because I want the boys and gals at IntSys to cook up some weird war elephant class. They also were sort of able to make a Mongolia-expy work with Sacae, but next time maybe go all-in in making their classes and gameplay even more distinct.

So this may be an odd ask, but if you could pick a real-world culture to be the basis of a Fire emblem nation in a future game, which ones would they be?

Hmm...

Given what Fodlan did to Almyra...

I mean, we're on par with "Verdane was inspired by Persia" from Jugdral, and we're not in the early 1990s anymore, so I'm not really trusting IS with any "real world culture" anymore.

But for some sort of revenge bias - after Almyra and TS, well, Hyzante - I'd like to see IS, try to get designs and clues from the Middle East, but without the 1800s bias that ultimately created Almyra.

I know FE isn't like, an Assassin's Creed game so you can't explore "real world cultures" that much, but if they could just take inspiration for clothes and designs from one "real world" place without slapping obvious prejudices it'd be nice.

[reallifesultanas]

Lets talk about Ümmügülsüm Sultan

There is a chance, that Kösem and Ahmed had another daughter together: Ümmügülsüm.

I am so glad, that with Anonymous sender and Ottomanladies, the truth came to light. Ottomanladies answered very long and very detailed about Ümmügülsüm, she shared her thoughts about the topic, now, here, you can find a conclusion from me:

What we know:

A privy purse register from 1622 gives the names of five unmarried princesses, who may be daughters of Ahmed, Osman II, and even Mehmed III: Umm-i Külsum(=Ümmügülsüm), Hanzade, Halime, Fatma, and Akile. Hanzade and Fatma were Kösem's daughters; Akile is possibly mistaken for Atike or Abide; Halime might be Mehmed III's daughter, named after her mother, Halime. But Ümmügülsüm was less clear.

The relazione of Angelo Alessandri from 1637 says that Murad IV had four FULL-sisters. We know three of them: Ayse, Fatma, and Hanzade. But who could be the fourth? Gevherhan was already dead, Atike was well-knownly not a full-sister and also not Abide. Maybe Ümmügülsüm?

There are some decisions and letters of Murad IV, where he mentions Ümmügülsüm as a sister of his. He uses the same wording that he used for Ayse, who undoubtedly was his full-sister, suggesting Ümmügülsüm was also a full-sister of his.

The 1638/39 harem registers mention one Ümmügülsüm Sultan who received the highest payments besides the three already known daughters of Kösem (Ayse, Fatma, Hanzade) and two daughters of Murad III. This means she could be either the daughter of Murad III or Ahmed I. But since Ahmed I's other daughter, Atike - who was not Kösem's - got a lesser stipend, if Ümmügülsüm is Ahmed I's daughter, she had to be Kösem's daughter too and so she is the fourth full-sister of Sultan Murad IV.

In 1648 the Raguzan envoy also mentions her (possibly her as they use the name Iumi), as the wife of Ahmed Pasha, governor of Herzegovina. They probably married ~1642 until the pasha's death in 1648. This was her second marriage, her first husband was one Halil Pasha, with whom she married before 1638.

In book ''Whisper of the cities'' one Ümmühan Sultan is mentioned as she met with the English ambassador's wife. Based on her, Ümmühan was said to be the aunt of deposed Mehmed IV and sister of Ibrahim I. This happened in 1690, so she still was alive then.

There are still questions:

Why no historian ever discovered this information as none of the evidence is new?

Why Ümmi is not mentioned among Ahmed I's children?

Where is she buried? *

When was she born? *

Why Ibrahim did not force her to serve Telli Hümasah (his wife) when he did it to all of the other daughters of Kösem?

To be honest the burial place of Ahmed I is quite a mess. For example there are two sarcofagies for 'Zeynep' daughters of Ahmed I. One of the sarcofagies stands for an adult woman. There was no daughter of Ahmed, called Zeynep who reached adulthood. So maybe the name is mistaken and that Ümmügülsüm. Maybe she was buried somewhere else as she lived a quite long life, survivin everyone around her and her grave is not idetified yet.

Considering the known children of Kösem and their birth date, the most possible for Ümmügülsüm is that she was born during the late reign of Ahmed I. In 1605 Kösem gave birth to Mehmed; in 1606 or 1607 to Ayse; then in 1607 or 1608 to Fatma; in 1609 to Hanzade. While I see that there is a gap here for one more child (if Kösem got pregnant extremely rapidly), she cannot be older than Fatma, as she was also not married off in 1622 yet, and also since we know quite precisely the sequence of these daughters, I do not think another one was born here but no one knows about her. It would be strange. Then in 1612, she gave birth to Murad, but between him and Hanzade there was time for another child - let it be Selim who was born in 1611 or Ümmügülsüm. Then Kasim followed Murad quite quickly, he was born in 1614, and then Ibrahim came in 1615, so there was no time for anyone else between Murad and Ibrahim. After 1615 there is another chance for the birth of Ümmügülsüm. So she either was born after Hanzade (~1611), or after Ibrahim (~1616). Either way - considering she was not just still alive in 1690, but was surely not suffering, dying since she was involved in the diplomacy meeting - she possibly died in the 1690s, she very probably reached 80 maybe even more in the end.

[theqtinkblot]

The Great Seven’s Forbidden Spells:

Author’s Note: This is something I’ve thought about while reading some Twst fics. So we all know that the Great Seven are still the classic Disney Villains we all grew up with, so it be possible that they still had their own villainous and or dark spells under their belt, right?

Summary: MC is in the library looking through some history books, doing research for an essay assignment. But as they looked, they stumbled upon a chapter in the book that reads: “Forbidden Spells, Beware.” Being curious as they are, MC begins to read each of the spells from the book. This is the list of spells and their history.

Call of the Jabberwocky

“Throughout the Queen of Hearts reign, she had created and enforced her rules throughout the Queendom of Roses. However, in the first years of the Queendom, many of her subjects would not obey and plan a rebellion with an enemy kingdom. But before they could raise their swords and storm the castle, they would soon become the meal of a ferocious dragon-like beast called the Jabberwocky. The legend goes, “One, two, through and through, the rebels went snicker-snack, losing their heads and the rest cowardly ran back.” It's unclear if the Queen summoned the beast, yet whenever she was asked, she only gave a simple grin.”

Roar of Revival

“It’s a well known rule in Sunset Savanna, the world is connected in the great circle of life. However the King of Beasts believed that a soul can persist after their death and so, he created a ritual that would allow any of his followers to revive him long after his death. To achieve this, they would need to sacrifice a sacred bakora staff and cast a powerful roar within a volcano to bring the mighty king back. Many historians had attempted to cast this ritual but were unsuccessful.”

Deadly Seafoam

“Before the Sea Witch became the most powerful being in the Coral Sea, a lot of her spells had to be perfected enough to grant the merfolks’ wishes. Even so, some of her earlier spells were considered deadly, mostly in terms of what happens to a person if the deal wasn’t met. One potion she tried was given to a mermaid who wanted to become a human, however when their debt wasn’t paid on time, the person ended up dissolving into sea foam the next morning. Needless to say, this spell was banned by law after this incident.”

A Lamp’s Chain

“The Sorcerer of the Scalding Sands was very knowledgeable about arcane lore, from alchemy to astronomy. During his studies of ancient artifacts, he was able to discover the whereabouts of a magical lamp that can grant any wish. However, even after gaining the lamp and becoming a powerful sultan himself, he later discovered that by obtaining phenomenal cosmic powers from the lamp, the owner will forever be bound to it. And should the lamp be destroyed in any way, that person will die as well. As they say, “all magic comes with a price.””

Control of the Heart

“As this would be the first era of magic, many people in the Shaftlands would believe that magic was considered deadly. None have been more dangerous than having the ability to take a person’s heart, allowing them to take control of a person’s life or even ending it if they were truly wicked. The Fairest Queen was rumored of having this dark ability, yet many of her servants would debunk these claims and say she was pure of heart. Historians would debate whether or not these claims were true or a ruse.”

Fruit of the Dead

“The Lord of the Underworld never took a lover or had any companionship during his rule, but he was able to create a sort of measure that bound any soul to the underworld. Myths have stated that if a living person was offered a pomegranate seed by the lord himself, they would forever be tied to the underworld and can never leave. Though many would consider this as a romantic tradition in the ways of a marriage proposal, this was ultimately forgotten by the masses and be regarded as just a myth.”

A Fae’s True Name

“It’s common knowledge amongst the fae of Briar Valley that a name holds power. Even the Thorn Fairy’s name was considered the most powerful. The reason for this is that if a fae is able to get a human to tell them their name, that person has given the fae complete power over them. However if a human is able to trick them into learning their true name, the fae would forever be bound to them. As such, the Thorn Fairy concealed her true name to prevent others from gaining her power. Nowadays, fae don’t seem to be too concerned about conversing with humans.”

[twnenglish]

A Look At The Most Expensive Cars In The World – Who Owns Them?

Have you ever wondered who owns the most expensive car in the world? With the rising cost of luxury cars, it can be difficult to keep up with who can afford the most expensive ride. But who is the lucky owner of the most expensive car in the world? 

The world's most well-known and wealthy individuals frequently purchase the priciest vehicles. Because their value increases over time, the wealthy view limited editions as investments. In order to sell them at high prices at auction. Even after a car is produced, many factors still influence its price.

History, rarity, speed, comfort, tech integration, and brand recognition and popularity are all included. Once a famous person around the globe has a car, he also develops into a huge status symbol.

The world's most expensive Car, along with their owners, are listed here.

A Look at the Most Expensive Cars in the World – Who Owns Them?

1. Ralph Lauren – Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic ($40 Million or 146,924,000 AED)

Ralph Lifshitz, best known by his stage name Ralph Lauren, is a successful businessman, philanthropist, and fashion designer from the United States. The Ralph Lauren Corporation, a multimillion-dollar, multinational company, is his most well-known achievement. The 82-year-old fashion tycoon is renowned for his collection of vintage Cars, some of which have been on exhibit at museums.

Only two 57SC Atlantics remain; one is owned by Lauren and the other is housed at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The type 57 S.C. Atlantic coupé, which is now 80 years old and considered one of the most valuable cars in the world due to its rarity, elegance, luxury, and sportiness.

The black 1930s 57SC Atlantic owned by the fashion mogul is regarded as the first supercar or street-legal high-performance sports automobile. Its eye-catching kidney-shaped doors, riveted fins, and teardrop-shaped body are cool to look at.

2. Jerry Seinfeld - 1955 Porsche 550 RS ($5.3 million)

After comedy, of course, Jerry Seinfeld was allowed to indulge in his greatest interest as one of TV's biggest stars. Jerry purchased vintage Porsches at the height of Seinfeld's fame before they became the in-demand property they are now. He has acquired a collection of rare, racing Porsches over the years (along with a few other vehicles), and at one point even had early 356s and Steve McQueen's old Porsche 917. Although his collection is not as large as some of his contemporaries, the Porsche motif, painstaking research into the past of each vehicle, and impeccable condition of the collection give it a value of almost $100 million. The most expensive car is a 1955 550 RS that closely resembles the one James Dean owned and died in.

3. The Sultan of Brunei-  Lamborghini Urraco (Car or collection value: $5 billion) 

Think about having a car fleet of 7,000 cars. Where will you put them all in the parking? Of course, it is possible if you are a billionaire, and no one understands this better than the 29th Sultan of Brunei, one of the most well-known vehicle collectors in the world.

His enormous car collection is believed to be worth $5 billion. The Sultan is currently the monarch with the second-longest reign in world, after Queen Elizabeth II. You won't typically see his cars, though, unless you are a friend or a resident of this small, oil-rich state on the island of Borneo.

Due to his extensive fortune and passion for cars, Sultan of Brunei is able to collect models that are not only expensive but also rare. It is believed that the king has more than 600 Rolls Royces, 450 Ferraris, and more than 380 Bentleys. The Sultan also owns a large collection of vintage cars, among them the Lamborghini Urraco. There were only 791 units produced during the model's lifetime, which ran from 1972 to 1979. Some of his automobiles are made to order. The net worth of Sultan of Brune is $30 billion.

To Read This Full ARTICLE, Click Here

[travelindia2233]

Places to Visit in Bangalore - Exploring the Best of the City

Discover the top tourist places in Bangalore and explore the best that the city has to offer. From iconic landmarks to serene gardens, this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about the best places to visit in Bangalore.

Introduction:

Welcome to Bangalore, the vibrant capital city of Karnataka, India. Bangalore, also known as Bengaluru, is a cosmopolitan hub that seamlessly blends its rich history with modernity. The city offers a plethora of attractions for travelers, ranging from historical monuments to beautiful parks and gardens. In this article, we will take you on a virtual tour of the top tourist places in Bangalore, providing you with all the information you need to plan your visit and make the most of your time in this bustling metropolis.

Table of Contents:

An Overview of Bangalore

Exploring the Historical Heritage

Embracing Nature's Beauty

Indulging in Cultural Experiences

Enjoying Modern Entertainment

Satisfying the Shopaholic in You

Relishing the Culinary Delights

Unwinding in Bangalore's Parks

Exploring Beyond Bangalore

1. An Overview of Bangalore

Bangalore, also known as the Silicon Valley of India, is a major IT and technology hub in the country. The city is famous for its pleasant climate, which attracts visitors from all over the world. With a vibrant blend of modernity and tradition, Bangalore offers a unique experience for tourists. Whether you're a history buff, nature lover, or food enthusiast, Bangalore has something to offer for everyone.

2. Exploring the Historical Heritage

Bangalore boasts a rich historical heritage, with numerous landmarks that reflect its glorious past. Here are some must-visit historical attractions in the city:

Bangalore Palace:

The Bangalore Palace is a magnificent structure that showcases stunning Tudor architecture. Built in the 19th century, this palace is reminiscent of the Windsor Castle in England. Take a guided tour inside the palace to admire the exquisite interiors and learn about its royal history.

Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace:

Constructed during the reign of Tipu Sultan, this palace is a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. Explore the beautiful palace and its well-preserved artifacts that offer insights into the life of this iconic ruler.

Vidhana Soudha:

As the seat of the Karnataka State Legislature, Vidhana Soudha is an architectural marvel. This imposing building is built in the Neo-Dravidian style and is a symbol of Bangalore's administrative power.

3. Embracing Nature's Beauty

Bangalore is blessed with abundant greenery and serene natural landscapes. Here are some scenic places where you can reconnect with nature:

Lalbagh Botanical Garden:

Spread over 240 acres, Lalbagh Botanical Garden is a paradise for nature lovers. It features a vast collection of exotic plants, a serene lake, and the famous Glass House. Don't miss the annual flower show, where the garden blooms with vibrant colors.

Cubbon Park:

Nestled in the heart of the city, Cubbon Park is a sprawling oasis that offers a refreshing escape from the urban chaos. The park is adorned with lush greenery, landscaped gardens, and several statues and monuments. It's the perfect place for a leisurely stroll or a picnic with family and friends.

Nandi Hills:

Located on the outskirts of Bangalore, Nandi Hills is a picturesque hill station known for its breathtaking views of the sunrise. Embark on an early morning trek to the hilltop and witness the sun illuminating the landscape, creating a truly magical experience.

4. Indulging in Cultural Experiences

Bangalore is a melting pot of cultures, and it offers several opportunities to immerse yourself in its vibrant traditions. Here are some cultural attractions worth exploring:

Bangalore Fort:

Built in the 16th century, Bangalore Fort is a historical landmark that played a significant role in the city's past. Explore the remnants of the fort and witness the fusion of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum:

Named after Sir M. Visvesvaraya, a renowned engineer, this museum showcases the marvels of science and technology. With interactive exhibits and displays, it provides a hands-on learning experience for visitors of all ages.

Nrityagram Dance Village:

Located on the outskirts of Bangalore, Nrityagram is a unique dance village dedicated to the promotion of Indian classical dance forms. Witness captivating dance performances and get a glimpse into the lives of the resident dancers.

5. Enjoying Modern Entertainment

Bangalore is not just about history and nature; it also offers a vibrant modern entertainment scene. Here are some places to experience the city's contemporary offerings:

Innovative Film City:

If you're a movie buff or an adventure seeker, Innovative Film City is the place to be. It offers a range of attractions, including a wax museum, a dinosaur park, and thrilling rides. You can also explore the sets of famous Bollywood movies and indulge in some shopping and dining.

UB City:

For a luxurious shopping and dining experience, head to UB City. This upscale mall houses designer boutiques, international brands, and gourmet restaurants. It's a perfect destination to indulge in some retail therapy and savor delectable cuisine.

6. Satisfying the Shopaholic in You

Bangalore is a shopper's paradise, with a wide array of markets and malls catering to all tastes. Here are some popular shopping destinations:

Commercial Street:

Known for its bustling atmosphere and vibrant street shopping, Commercial Street offers a plethora of options. From trendy clothes and accessories to handicrafts and footwear, you can find it all here.

Brigade Road:

Brigade Road is another popular shopping hub known for its trendy fashion outlets, bookstores, and eateries. Explore the bustling streets, shop for the latest fashion trends, and enjoy a meal at one of the many cafes.

7. Relishing the Culinary Delights

Bangalore's food scene is diverse and tantalizing, with options ranging from street food to fine dining. Here are some must-try culinary experiences:

MTR:

Founded in 1924, Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR) is an iconic restaurant known for its delicious South Indian cuisine. Indulge in their famous masala dosa, filter coffee, and a variety of delectable vegetarian dishes.

Vidyarthi Bhavan:

Another legendary eatery, Vidyarthi Bhavan, has been serving mouthwatering masala dosas since 1943. The crispy dosas and the aromatic filter coffee are a favorite among locals and visitors alike.

8. Unwinding in Bangalore's Parks

Bangalore is renowned for its well-maintained parks, where you can relax and rejuvenate. Here are a couple of serene parks you should explore:

Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park:

Experience a unique blend of music, water, and lights at the Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park. The mesmerizing fountain shows, accompanied by melodious tunes, create a magical ambiance.

Lumbini Gardens:

Situated on the banks of Nagawara Lake, Lumbini Gardens is a serene park offering a peaceful escape from the city's hustle and bustle. Enjoy a leisurely boat ride on the lake, explore the beautiful gardens, or indulge in various recreational activities.

9. Exploring Beyond Bangalore

While Bangalore itself offers a plethora of attractions, there are also several fascinating places to explore in the surrounding areas. Here are some noteworthy destinations:

Nandi Hills:

As mentioned earlier, Nandi Hills is a popular hill station near Bangalore, renowned for its breathtaking views. Spend a day exploring the hills, visiting ancient temples, and enjoying nature's beauty.

Mysore:

Located a few hours away from Bangalore, Mysore is a city steeped in history and culture. Visit the magnificent Mysore Palace, explore the vibrant markets, and witness the grandeur of the Dasara festival.

Hampi:

Step back in time by visiting Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its ancient ruins and architectural marvels. Explore the stunning temples, marvel at the intricate carvings, and immerse yourself in the rich history of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q: What are the best places to visit in Bangalore?

A: Bangalore offers a wide range of attractions, including historical landmarks like Bangalore Palace and Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, scenic parks like Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park, and cultural experiences at Bangalore Fort and Nrityagram Dance Village.

Q: Are there any amusement parks in Bangalore?

A: Yes, Bangalore has several amusement parks to entertain visitors of all ages. One popular option is Innovative Film City, which offers various attractions, including rides, a wax museum, and sets of famous Bollywood movies.

Q: What is the best time to visit Bangalore?

A: Bangalore enjoys a moderate climate throughout the year. The months from October to February are considered the best time to visit, as the weather is pleasant and ideal for outdoor activities.

Q: Can I explore nearby destinations from Bangalore?

A: Absolutely! Bangalore serves as a gateway to many fascinating places nearby. Nandi Hills, Mysore, and Hampi are just a few examples of destinations you can explore on day trips from Bangalore.

Q: Is Bangalore a safe city for tourists?

A: Bangalore is generally considered a safe city for tourists. However, as with any travel destination, it's essential to take standard precautions and be aware of your surroundings.

Q: What are some famous festivals celebrated in Bangalore?

A: Bangalore celebrates various festivals with great enthusiasm. One of the most prominent festivals is Navaratri/Dasara, during which the city comes alive with cultural events, processions, and music and dance performances.

Conclusion:

Bangalore, with its captivating blend of history, nature, culture, and modernity, offers a diverse range of experiences for visitors. From exploring ancient landmarks and serene gardens to indulging in culinary delights and vibrant shopping, the city has something to captivate every traveler. So pack your bags, immerse yourself in the charm of Bangalore, and create unforgettable memories in this vibrant city.

[mc-critical]

Been a while but didnt want to overwhelm you

Hope You're fine!

So my question is between Nurbanu Sultan, Safiye Sultan and Mihrimah Sultan who was more Influential during Selim's and Murad's Reign? We Know that Mihrimah acted as Valide sultan too (with Nurbanu) and Safiye, considering Mihrimah's Support shouldn't have been far too off considering she was also Haseki and Very Respected.

My List in Selim's Reign Would Be

1.Mihrimah

2.Nurbanu

3.Safiye

My List in Murad's Reign would be

1.Nurbanu

2.Mihrimah

3.Safiye

Murad Respected Mihrimah Sultan Very much so i believe , as long as mihrimah lived, Sultan Murad Held her high in Status, Considering the rank in the harem Mihrimah,as a royal blood sultana plus older than nurbanu, should've been comparable to her or more influntial.

Let me know your opinion<3

During Selim's reign, both Mihrimah and Nurbanu certainly played historically, since Mihrimah was defacto his Valide and Nurbanu - his haseki. Mihrimah could be the one that dominated at first, because she ruled his harem and certainly kept stuff under control, but when Selim eventually married Nurbanu, she became the most influential woman in his reign. Safiye wasn't all that influential during Selim's reign, since she was gaining a favorable position in Murad's harem and the battle between her and Nurbanu probably intensified only during his reign.

In the show, things aren't so predetermined. We had Mihrimah leaving the capital even before SS died and Selim officially ascended the throne, leaving stuff to Nurbanu and Safiye even earlier. It's pretty much up for speculation on whether she came back or not and how involved she was in Selim's reign. The amount of influence she had in the reign depends on whether she came back or not. If she didn't come back, she could've definetly supervised stuff or at least send someone to tell her what the news are through Safiye, whom she herself trained in the show. Then I don't really see her coming back or doing stuff directly, because she had Safiye for this purpose already, she had someone to work against Nurbanu who was to keep being faithful to her (and judging by Safiye's characterization in MCK, yes, she stays true to what Mihrimah has told her about Hürrem and her legacy and based nearly her entire philosophy and principles on that). She would visit Selim, she would still help him if he needed that help, no matter how resentful she was to him for Bayezid, Selim himself would want to calm her. She left stuff go according to her plans (Safiye ultimately defeated Nurbanu) and she would have a say on how this whole battle would go before her death, but would she have all the say, if she somehow didn't rule Selim's harem? I doubt it. But then again, Selim would want her back, because someone would have to rule the harem after all and for them to maybe start over. She may try her best to rule his harem, to work against Nurbanu as a Valide and to enhance the conflict between her and Safiye and she may be the dominating force for a while, but Nurbanu would gain the upper hand eventually, due to all the support Selim would give her, especially if Mihrimah wouldn't want to let go of her resentment of Selim and he saw that. It would be a hard fight between them, since I feel who's more influential depends not as much on their positions in the hierarchy as it does on whoever gets more support from Selim eventually. Nurbanu would know that, too, and strive to keep the influence she had on him, while I think for Mihrimah it would take more time to try reaching out to Selim, because he had a finger in a wound of hers that probably would never heal and that could lose her some points. And once again, Nurbanu would prevail, because of Selim marrying her, hence giving her more priveleges and she would be more confident about asserting herself against Mihrimah. Nurbanu would perhaps struggle with Safiye more here than historically, because again, the battle would be on way earlier, but Nurbanu would still dominate as a favourite and haseki, while Safiye could show her force in a similar role to Nurbanu in Selim's reign only after Murat took over. Here too she would have the last position.

For the infamous fight for influence during Murad's reign historically, I have some quotes from Pinar Kayaalp's research on Nurbanu named "The empress Nurbanu and Ottoman politics in the sixteenth century. Building the Atik Valide": "In short, in contrast with Selim, who was rebuked for having transferred his authority to his imperial Divan, Murad was condemned for having conceded all his power to a close-knit coalition within the imperial harem loyal to the Valide Sultan. Murad’s haseki, Safiye, joined the fray, sometimes collaborating with but often acting against her mother-in-law and her allies. 125 Contemporaneous dispatches and relazioni of Venetian diplomats carefully reflect the transformation of power, following Nurbanu’s and Safiye’s political trajectory day by day. The minute details given in these sources illustrate that their authors discerned not one, but two foci of power in the imperial court. A relazione, that of Paolo Contarini dated 1583, stresses the good fortune of the Venetian Republic for having Nurbanu’s full support, since she was the most influential of the Sultan’s council, seconded by Safiye. It is a common occurrence that he shies away from any action necessitated by the [exigencies of] the day ahead, resting a deed principally on the counsel of his mother, believing that he could never obtain a more affectionate and faithful advice than hers, stemming from the reverence that he nurtures for her and his esteem for her rare qualities and many virtues. Another [woman] who has authority over His Majesty is the Sultana, his wife, who is also engaged skillfully in the affairs of state and makes her opinions heard, because she is loved infinitely by the Signor. As a result, this empire more and more has come to be governed by the [two] Sultanas, who use the magnificent pashas as the executors of their wishes and who summon them at their will as their counselors."  The fight between Nurbanu and Safiye clearly marked Murad's whole reign and Nurbanu apparently held her ground very well, given Murad leaning on his mother's advices and support. She was the most influential person in his reign, with Safiye as an opposition and unfortunately or not, Mihrimah... wasn't much of a factor during the reign. After all, she lost the position as Selim's Valide, she died very early in Murad's reign and the quotes detail how the political power between the two forces that were Safiye and Nurbanu was growing rapidly. There isn't so much Mihrimah could've done historically, since the pashas and the divan probably had to choose to be either on Nurbanu's or Safiye's side.

In the show, we're again left on more speculation. And Mihrimah could've had more say than historically, because we were shown that Murad respected her, as well, and she specifically instructed Safiye. Until she died, she could've helped Safiye in her battle and if she was still in the castle, support her even and make things even harder for Nurbanu, and if she wasn't, she would've visited them at the very least, since Murad would surely ask about her. She would have reached out to him comparatively more easily than Selim, because there was no fight between both of them. Mihrimah could've ensured Safiye's victory somehow, with a plan or an advice Safiye followed even after Mihrimah died. But even then... the battle was between Safiye and Nurbanu and its outcome was the decider of who was the most influential. Here Nurbanu probably had even more of a struggle, because Murad was infatuated with Safiye even before Selim's reign officially began and it's more likely that he would get in fights with his mother because of Safiye. We know that Nurbanu does eventually become more cruel (Safiye saying she was the cruelest sultana she has even known) and that Safiye has been exiled once in the Old Castle during Murat's reign, so she has had much power and ruthlessness at her behest. We also know that Safiye eventually has gotten used to her own power so much that she refused to give up from it in MCK and I kinda doubt this began only from Mahmud's reign. (that's why I think Safiye has the best material for a spin-off out of the show!SOW - the contrast between her E239 words and MCK Safiye is massive and it's worth observing how we got from the person being there for a sole task and fulfilling the role Mihrimah trained her for to the person who not only got out of the role, faced so many hardships from the system that she gained a vast knowledge of it, but gained this much power, correspondance with queen Elizabeth, such presence and such a big confidence in herself.) So judging by the show' canon dynamics and from what we know, in Murad's reign, Nurbanu and Safiye were fighting tooth and nail with different amounts of upper hand when Nurbanu's influence as a Valide dominated until Safiye took over and Mihrimah probably helped Safiye to gain more supporters.

[vladdocs]

The Crusader Vlad and the organization of his country's army and its defensive system When we refer to the remarkable merits of Vlad Țepeș's head of state and army [1], we cannot ignore his takeover of a politico-military conception that has its origins in the old Byzantine imperial crusade tradition, Dragula being indisputably the first of our voivodes who rose to fight against the Ottoman Turks after the entry of Byzantium into the rule of Sultan Muhammad II the Conqueror [2]. Of course, this takeover was also made because he considered himself the legal continuator of the anti-Ottoman struggle of the Byzantine basilicas (emperors) and the great Romanian rulers, especially after the death of Iancu de Hunedoara [3], "the last great European crusade" [4]. Thus, edifying for the pro-crusade politico-military thinking of Vlad Țepeș is also the “crusade duchy [5]” discovered at Târgșor (in Prahova county), ie in the place where Vlad built a church (…) and where there was, in the 15th century, a royal court ”[6]. The currency was struck, in all probability, between 1459-1461, in this case being a second monetary issue made during the reign of Vlad Tepes [7], because, wanting to intensify trade for economic development of the country (which resulted in the procurement of the financial resources necessary to fight the anti-Ottoman struggle), the Romanian voivode was also concerned with this aspect. The only copy of the respective monetary issue, discovered so far, the silver duchy mentioned above, has on its two facets images inspired by the Byzantine iconographic tradition. On the obverse, there appears the face of Vlad Ţepeş with a beard, seen from the front, standing, wearing a crown [on his head] and holding a long cross in his right hand, and the cruciferous globe in his left ”[8], practically“ the typical representation of the Byzantine emperor, in his double position of defender of Christianity and holder of the power of universal aspiration ”[9]. On the reverse is shown "the bust of Jesus Christ, seen [all] from the front, blessing with his right hand, and with his left holding the gospel to his chest" [10]. Practically "this image was also taken from the Byzantine iconographic tradition, being the representation on coins of rex regnantium, ie the hierarchical top of all Christian sovereigns" [11]. Putting the two effigies together on the same coin, certainly on the initiative of Vlad Ţepeş, leads to the conclusion that we are dealing with “a crusade duchy", the Romanian lord considering himself the direct heir of the old Byzantine crusade traditions and , therefore, the main Christian adversary of the Crusent [12], after the disappearance of Iancu de Hunedoara ”[13]. It is interesting to mention the fact that the first coin struck by Vlad Țepeș was a “penny” of anepigraphic silver (ie without any inscription) on the reverse of which appears a star with a tail in the shape of the letter «S», so a comet. The fact that, according to astronomical data, on June 8, 1456, the famous comet Halley (which could be seen for a whole month) appeared in the sky of Europe, led the specialists to conclude that Vlad Ţepeş was influenced in choosing the image for the reverse of the coin. issued from his order, right at the beginning of the second of his reigns, precisely by this rare and interesting astronomical phenomenon, "disturbing image, as it seems unique in the European numismatics of the time" [14]. Considering the uniqueness of Dracula in our history, but also in the universal one, we cannot fail to notice the amazing connection between the evolution of his politico-military career and the mentioned astral phenomenon, which, while at that time instilled a terrible horror in the population. For Europe, it was for him a "heavenly" sign under which he managed to defeat (and kill) his rival (Vladislav II [15]) and ascend to the royal throne of his ancestors [16]. Aiming to consolidate and protect the royal authority and the economic and socio-political bases of the anti-Ottoman resistance and “preparing the reopening of the war

with the Ottoman Empire to ensure state independence and restore the territorial unity of Wallachia, Vlad Țepeș took numerous measures to strengthen the court army (The permanent army- nnTC), the backbone of the "great army", making full use of its revenues for its reorganization, endowment and training, according to the requirements of the time ”[17]. Dragula was also concerned with hiring a large number of specialized fighters from the sister countries (ie Transylvania and Moldova - nnTC), especially those trained in the campaigns of Iancu de Hunedoara, giving a similar status to the soldiers in the country "[18 ]. At the same time, he "raised and strengthened in military positions faithful and talented people (…), chosen with discernment, according to the value criterion" [19]. In the time of Vlad the Impaler, the country's "small army" (as well as its personal guard) consisted of mercenaries, viteji(Braves)[20], courtiers and servants or princely servants, while "the great army" ( mobilized only in case of great danger) was composed of all those able to bear arms and fight (mostly of them, these being inhabitants of villages, but also of fairs and cities, which, "unlike the guard the lord [as well as the army of the courtiers, the troops of the princely servants and the troops of mercenaries], an elite army, were inhomogeneously armed, that is, each came with the weapon he had in the household ”[21]) [22]. In fact, Dragula is the first Romanian ruler, since Mircea the Elder, who raised to battle all those capable of wielding a weapon, an act of great courage that proves his ability to maneuver large masses of people on the battlefield [ 2. 3]. Constantly in a categorical and overwhelming numerical inferiority to the Ottoman invaders he had to face [24], Vlad Țepeș always resorted to a series of measures aimed at a "consistent application of the strategy of the struggle of the whole people (specific to the Romanians - nnTC), he destroying everything in the way of the invading army - thus depriving it of any logistical support in the invaded territory - and triggering bold actions of harassment, the latter - the prelude to a decisive battle - must undermine the combative potential of to the enemy and to decisively weaken his morale ”[25]. Relevant to the care given to military matters is the fact that according to tradition, after the end of any of the battles in which he took part, Dragula (who was a good fighter himself instilling in the whole army a spirit of order and discipline" [26], as well as great courage and love for the country to the point of self-sacrifice), he personally searched each fighter and “who was wounded in the face, gave him great honor and made him brave, [but] who was struck in the back , he ordered that he be put (put - nnTC) on the stake ”[27]. Being "agile and as good as possible in military affairs" [28], a fact recognized even by his enemies, the Ottoman Turks [29], Vlad Țepeș " enlarged and strengthened the military institution promoting peaseants to small rank boyars , exempt them from taxes and benefits in exchange for military service, thus cementing ties with the majority class of the time - the peasantry - a class that understood to serve with devotion the one who defended it from the abuses of the great nobility "[30]. Therefore, "the peasant soldiers of Vlad [Țepeș] defended the entire land of Wallachia, from the Danube, where the Ottoman fleet could not be controlled, until the mountains transformed into a natural fortress of resistance" [31], and Dracula "He himself, as an example of bravery and heroism, often fighting in the front lines, personally leading the attacks on enemy camps, established himself as a valiant defender of his country's independence, [as] a great lord and army commander, [he being] one of the the most brilliant leaders of the Romanian people ”[32]. Vlad Țepeș also paid special attention to the defensive system of his country (as, moreover, was normal in the context of his anti-Ottoman policy), he strengthened it with new cities of refuge, fortresses on

the probable directions of invasion and fortified monasteries ”[33]. Dracula proceeded both to repair, enlarge, strengthen and even raise the foundations of some fortresses, and to "build or rebuild the defensive walls" [34] of some monasteries, such as Cozia, Govora, Tismana, Snagov and Comana [ 35]. Among the fortresses rehabilitated, consolidated and enlarged by the worthy Romanian voivode is the fortress of Poienari (on the upper course of the river Argeș), which, between April-May 1457, he renovated and expanded, which was done according to Povestirilor about Vlad Ţepeş and the forced labor of a significant number of boyars and townspeople from Târgovişte (along with their families), who had plotted against him (these are the ones who took part in the murder of his older brother, Mircea]) [ 36]. The next is the fortress of Bucharest (on the river Dâmbovița), where, in order to monitor the Danube line (given that the fortress of Giurgiu had been occupied by the Turks), he ordered the construction of a strong fortress (which was built in the current area). center of Bucharest, now the well-known archeological ensemble "Curtea Veche"), which is considered the most important plain fortification erected by Dracula (practically, it rebuilds, expands and strengthens the fortress existing here since the time of his grandfather, of Ungrovlahia ”Mircea the Old) [37]. In fact, the first definite documentary attestation of Bucharest dates exactly from the time of Vlad Țepeș, more precisely from 1459, when, through the deed of September 20 (“true birth certificate of our Capital today” [38]), the great Romanian ruler it exempts donations and strengthens the property rights of some inhabitants [39]. The document, very damaged, was discovered around 1900 [40], it represents, more precisely, a deed that strengthened, through the signature of the fierce voivode, an act of sale-purchase of some estates from Ponor (locality today in the county Mehedinti). The act concludes with the following text: "It was written on September 20, in the city of Bucharest, in the year (according to the" Byzantine era "- nn TC) 6968 (ie 1459 [according to" our era "- nn TC]), Io Vlad voivod, by the mercy of God, sir ”[41]. Also, on the last line of this document is mentioned the name “Bucharest [42]. If we take into account the large number of documents written on the orders of Vlad Ţepeş from his residence in Dâmboviţa, we can conclude that, starting with 1459, he led the affairs of the state here, practically Bucharest (or Dâmboviţa Fortress, as it was also called urban settlement at that time) becoming (along with Târgoviște) the second capital of the Romanian south-Carpathian state [43]. Finally, another fortress built by Vlad Țepeș is the fortress of Frumoasa, which, being located on the valley of the river Vedea (right on its bank), "controlled the access road coming from the Danube ford, from the right Zimnicea locality ”[44]. This "fortification, with an area of ​​2.5 ha, consisted of three rows of waves and two ditches arranged concentrically, the central wave, square in plan with a side of 43 m, carrying the wooden structure of the palisade [45], and the other two were of the simple type, having a rectangular route (the second) and trapezoidal (the outer one) ”[46]. Vlad Țepeș also ordered the expansion of the military constructions of all voivodship residences [47], such as the one in Târgovişte (at that time the largest urban settlement in the country and the main royal residence) [48], where, among other things, he “rebuilt the walls of the fortress with Transylvanian stonemasons” [49] and at the same time, “it seems to have been erected [by his command] and the famous tower of Chindia” [50], which was built , initially, for military purposes, the building serving as a guard point, and later it was also used as a fireplace, as well as for storing the country's treasure [51]. By investing large sums of money in the construction of solid buildings, made of stone and brick, Vlad Ţepeş made both the city and his royal court in Târgovişte to

have a truly princely appearance [52]. "The repair and enlargement of the walls of the royal court made it much stronger and, from now on, to be called a 'fortress'" [53] (on this occasion the royal palace was extended here, erected in a first form by Mircea the Old) [54]. In this sense, the opinion of Ştefan Báthory [55] (the supreme commander of the Transylvanian troops sent to Wallachia by King Matia Corvin to help Vlad Ţepeş to return for the third time to his reign) is also relevant. 1476, he visited Târgoviştele (after it was occupied by the army led by the Transylvanian “captain” and Dracula) and, at his sight, he stated that it was “a real fortress” [56], his opinion being an informed one, because where he came from, the art of building large fortifications was well represented, "and the notions of the military were much more precise." Referring to the exceptional qualities proved by Vlad Ţepeş as organizer of the defense of his country, and not only, as well as as a fighter with a gun in his hand and a leader of the army on the battlefield, a great specialist in military history in the eighteenth century , the Frenchman M. de Follard, appreciated them as remarkable, which is why, in his vision, the brave Romanian prince proved to be "one of the greatest captains (army leaders - nn TC) of his century" [58] , bringing as the main argument for this cataloging his famous victory obtained after his unprecedented and daring night attack, executed on 16/17 June 1462 on the camp of the huge Ottoman army near Targoviste (led by the conqueror of Constantinople, Sultan Muhammad of II), a battle that entered the popular tradition and historiography under the name of "Night Attack" [59]. ________________________ [1] Also nicknamed Dragula, Vlad III Ţepeş was the son of Vlad II Dracul (in his turn illegitimate son of Mircea cel Bătrân [who ruled the medieval Romanian state in the South Carpathians between 1386-1418 - History world in data, Romanian Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1972, p. 567], he ruled Wallachia between 1436-1442 and from 1443 to 1447 [Ibidem]) and Mrs. Anastasia (one of the daughters of Alexander the Good [Virgil Ciocâltan, Between the Sultan and the Emperor: Vlad Dracul in 1438, in “Revista de istorie”, XXIX, No. 11, Bucharest, 1976, pp. 1777, 1782], the lord of Moldavia between 1400-1432 [History of the world in data, p. 569]), he being, therefore, nephew of the two great voivodes, who completed the Romanian statehood in the south and east of the Carpathians. Dracula ruled over "Ungrovlahia" (the name of Wallachia in internal documents written in Slavonic) three times, namely from October (before 17-19) until the beginning of November (certainly after October 31) 1448; from July (before 3) 1456 to November (before 26) 1462 and from October (after 7) / November (before 📷 until the end of December 1476, possibly even until the beginning of January (certainly before of 10) 1477 (Constantin Rezachevici, Encyclopedia of Romanian Lords. Critical Chronology of the Lords of Wallachia and Moldova, vol. I [XIV-XVI Centuries], Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2001, pp. 101, 103, 115, 117, 801 , 802). [2] Mehmed II ruled the Ottoman Empire between 1444-1446 and 1451-1481 (History of the World in Dates, p. 567). [3] Remarkable politician and brilliant leader of the Romanian army, who lived between 1407-1456 and held high dignities in the Kingdom of Hungary, including that of regent or governor general of Hungary (between 1446-1453), he being the main promoter of the struggle of Christendom against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, which he led, practically, between 1441-1456. Also, Iancu de Hunedoara was the father of the most important king of Hungary, Matia I Corvin, who reigned between 1458-1490 Tiberiu Ciobanu, «Fortissimus athleta Christi», Iancu de Hunedoara 555, Eurostampa Publishing House, Timișoara, 2011, p 15-28, 118, 192-193). [4] Ioan-Aurel Pop, The name of the family of King Matthias Corvinus: from period sources to contemporary historiography, in "Studies and materials of

medieval history", XXVI, Bucharest, 2008, p. 138. Regarding the related aspects of the “imperial idea” in Romanian, see also Dumitru Năstase, The imperial idea in the Romanian Lands. The genesis and its evolution in relation to the old Romanian art (XIV-XVI centuries), Athens, 1972; Petre Ș. Năsturel, Considérations sur l’idée impériale chez les Roumains (Considerations on the Imperial Idea in Romanian), in “Byzantina”, tom. V, Thessaloniki, 1973, pp. 397-413. [5] In the Middle Ages, in Wallachia, the "duchy" was a silver coin, weighing about one gram and worth three "money" (the name given to coins that have circulated over time on the territory of today Of Romania and whose value varied according to epochs and regions, small coin, initially silver, then copper, having the lowest value [Tiberiu Ciobanu, Glossary, in Stephen the Great and Saint and his brilliant victory in Vaslui against the Turks Ottomans, Eurostampa Publishing House, Timișoara, 2015, p. 366]), whose prototype (model) was the Venetian silver duchy, beaten since 1202 (Ibidem, p. 431). Stephen the Great was "great voivode and lord" of Moldavia from April 14, 1457 to July 2, 1504 (History of Romania in data, Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1971, p. 457). Being the son of Bogdan II (who ruled the eastern Romanian-Eastern Carpathian state from October 12, 1449 to October 15, 1451 [Ibidem]) and the nephew of Alexander the Good, he was closely related to Dracula [they were primary cousins] , because the mother of the latter, Mrs. Anastasia, was in turn the daughter of Alexander the Good and, therefore, sister (at least in paternal line) with the father of Stephen the Great (Virgil Ciocâltan, op. cit., p. 1777 , 1782). [6] Ştefan Andreescu, Vlad Ţepeş Dracula between legend and historical truth, second edition, revised, Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1998, p. 99. [7] Ibidem. [8] Ibidem. The term "globe cruciger" refers to a Christian symbol of authority, which was used in the Middle Ages, but which is still found on some coins, as well as in iconography. It represents a globe on which is placed a cross, used as a royal insignia, for coronation, in several monarchies in Europe. This is especially the case of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, where it was designated as the "imperial globe". The cross on the globe, which symbolizes God's dominion over the entire world, is much larger than the globe, suggesting God's priority over human affairs. The globe, in the hand of the emperor, also signifies the divine origin of the power he exercises. The term comes from the Latin phrase "globus cruciger", consisting of the words "globus", meaning "sphere, globe", and "cruciger" [composed in turn from the noun "crux, crucis", meaning "cross" and the verb "gero , gerere, gessi, gestum ”, meaning“ to carry ”], which means“ bearer of the cross ”) and has the meaning of“ bearer of the cross ”(ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globus_cruciger). [9] Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., pp. 99. [10] Ibidem. [11] Ibidem. [12] Part of the Moon's semicircular disk, illuminated by the Sun during one of the phases of the star; The moon seen in the phase of the first and last square. Symbolic sign of Islam, representing the Moon in the rising phase, in the form of a "sickle". Figuratively, the Ottoman Empire, the Turks, the Muslims; Islam, Mohammedanism [13] Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., pp. 99; Octavian Iliescu, Unknown Duchies issued by two voivodes of Wallachia in the 15th century, in the “Bulletin of the Romanian Numismatic Society”, years LXXVII-LXXIX (1983-1985), Bucharest, 1987, pp. 268-278. [14] Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., p. 63. [15] This was the son of Dan II the Brave (who ruled over Wallachia between 1420-1431, with four interruptions [History of the World in Data, p. 567]), who in turn had him as father on Dan I (who ruled the medieval Romanian state in the South Carpathians between 1383-1386 [Ibidem]), considered to be the father of Dăneşti, one of the two main branches of the princely dynasty of the Bessarabians, along with that of the Drăculeşti Vlad

Dracul, Vlad Țepeș's father, but who generally refers to the descendants of Mircea cel Bătrân). Vladislav II ruled between 1447-1456, with a brief interruption in the autumn of 1448, when the throne of Targoviste was first occupied by Vlad the Impaler (Ibidem, p. 568). In unknown circumstances, Vladislav II was executed by order of Dracula, on August 20, 1456 (after his defeat and capture following the battle of Târgșor [Prahova County], which took place before this date), finding- and eternal rest at Dealu Monastery (Constantin Bălan, Dealu Monastery, 2nd edition, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1968, pp. 6-8, 24). [16] Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., pp. 63; Jean Delumeau, Fear in the West (14th-18th century). A besieged fortress, vol. I, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1986, pp. 118-119. [17] The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, Militară Publishing House, Bucharest, 1986, p. 259. [18] Ibidem: Ioan Bogdan, Documents regarding the relations of Wallachia with Brasov and with Hungarian Country in sec. XV-XVI, vol. I, Bucharest, 1905, p. 99. [19] The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, p. 259. [20] In the Middle Ages, in the Romanian Lands, the term "brave" meant a person who belonged to a category of landowners, similar to the knights of Western Europe and having special military tasks. Our princes raised many of their soldiers, who stood out on the battlefield, among the brave, especially from the second half of the fifteenth century and, especially, by Stephen the Great and Vlad the Impaler (Tiberiu Ciobanu, op cit., p. 633). [21] Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, In the footsteps of Vlad Țepeș, Sport-Turism Publishing House, Bucharest, 1979, p. 123. [22] Istoria Românilor, vol. IV, Editura Enciclopedică, București, 2001, p. 352; The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, p. 259; Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., pp. 119-123. [23] Ibidem, pp. 123; Tiberiu Ciobanu, The Night Attack, in From Rovine to Călugăreni. Great victories of the Romanian armies over the Ottoman Turks, Eurostampa Publishing House, Timișoara, 2014, p. 68. „In addition to the numerical increase of the soldiers who depended directly on the reign - mercenaries, servants, heroes, courtiers his army, mercilessly punishing those who did not respect his dispositions ”(Istoria Românilor, vol. IV, p. 352). Honestly and strongly "impressed by this discipline" (Ibidem), the Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha * himself stated in the summer of 1462 that if Dracula had a larger number of fighters he "could reach great power" ( Laonic Chalcocondil, Historical Exhibitions: The Rise of Turkish Power, The Fall of the Byzantine Empire (Romanian edition by Vasile Grecu), RPR Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 1958, p. 289). * Nicknamed the "Greek" (probably due to his origin), Mahmoud Pasha was the son-in-law of Sultan Muhammad II the Conqueror and Grand Vizier (the first counselor and his deputy) between 1455-1467 and 1472-1473 or, according to another opinion, between 1456 -1468 and 1472-1474 (Mustafa Ali Mehmed, History of the Turks, Scientific and Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1976, p. 383; ro.-wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmud_Pașa). [24] Dracula never had more than 30,000-32,000 fighters (Military History of the Romanian People, vol. II, p. 263) and this only by decreeing the general mobilization, on this occasion being recruited all men and young people from his country, capable of carrying weapons, "from 12 years upwards" (the magazine "Trajan's Column" [edited by BP Hasdeu], NS, IV, Bucharest, 1883, p. 36). [25] The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, pp. 272-273. [26] Ibidem, pp. 259. [27] The Slavo-Romanian chronicles from the XV-XVI centuries. Published by Ioan Bogdan (critical edition by P. P. Panaitescu), R.P.R. Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 1959, pp. 207-208. [28] Foreign travelers about the Romanian Lands, vol. I (edited by Maria Holban), Scientific Publishing House, Bucharest, 1968, p. 176. [29] "The results of his reorganization and training of the army and his qualities as a

military commander were appreciated even by his fiercest opponents, and Turkish chroniclers regarded him as" famous among his peers and in his craft. to lead armies. He was also unique in serdaria (ie in command, this word coming from the term "serdar" * - nn TC), a second like him not being in the land of the ghiauri ", Sultan Mehmed II himself (ie Muhammad II- the Conqueror - nn TC) “considering him a brave man, and praising him to others” ”(Military History of the Romanian People, vol. II, p. 260; Turkish Chronicles on the Romanian Lands, vol. I [compiled by Mihail Guboglu and Mustafa Ali Mehmed], RSR Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 1966, p. 199). Ghiaur = pejorative name (ie unfavorable, derogatory, contemptuous), used by the Turks to designate those of a religion other than the Mohammedan, in Turkish meaning "unbeliever" (Tiberiu Ciobanu, Glossary, in Mircea cel Batran the most agile of Christian principles », Eurostampa Publishing House, Timișoara, 2013, p. 188). * The generic name, in the Ottoman Empire, of the commander-in-chief of a large Turkish expeditionary military corps (Idem, Glossary, in Stephen the Great and Saint and his brilliant victory at Vaslui against the Ottoman Turks, p. 593). [30] The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, p. 259-260. [31] Ibidem, p. 283. [32] Ibidem, p. 283-284. [33] Ibidem, p. 260. [34] Ibidem. [35] Ibidem. [36] Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino, Poienari Fortress, 15th-16th centuries, in “Studies and researches of ancient history”, tom. XXII, no. 2, Bucharest, 1971, pp. 263-289; Maria Ciobanu, Nicolae Moisescu, Radu Ștefan Ciobanu, Poienari Fortress, Sport-Turism Publishing House, Bucharest, 1984; The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, pp. 88-89; Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., 109-112. [37] Panait I. Panait, The Citadel of Bucharest in the 14th and 15th centuries, in “Revista Muzeelor”, no. 4, Bucharest, 1969, pp. 310-318; Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., pp. 103-105; Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., pp. 97; Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino, Problems of the relations between the beginnings of the medieval urban settlements and the princely courts from Wallachia, in “Studia Valachica”, Târgovişte, 1970, pp. 104-105. [38] Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., p. 94. [39] H. Chircă, Historical-Philosophical Commentary on the Chrysostom of September 20, 1459, in "Studies", vol. XII, no. 5, Bucharest, 1959, pp. 5-7; Radu Olteanu, Bucharest in dates and events, Paideia Publishing House, Bucharest, 2002, p. 14. [40] Ibidem; H. Chircă, op. cit., p. 5-7. [41] Ibidem; Radu Olteanu, op. cit., p. 14. According to the “Byzantine era”, the date of “Creation” is the year 5508 BC. Often encountered in the form of "years since the creation of the world" or "years since the building of the world" or "years since Adam", this chronology was officially used in the Byzantine Empire (by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) and other churches. Orthodox from 692 to 1728. In the Romanian Lands, it was used mainly until the middle of the eighteenth century, being gradually replaced, until the middle of the nineteenth century, with "our era" (abbreviated "en"), which we count from the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is why the abbreviation "AD" is used. Because the "Byzantine era" is considered to be 5508 years older than "our era", in order to transpose the years of the "Byzantine era" into the years of "our era" this difference of years must be taken into account, using operations. subtraction or addition, depending on the situation(ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Era_bizantină). [42] Radu Olteanu, op. cit., p. 14; H. Chircă, op. cit., p. 5-7. [43] Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., p. 105. In fact, Dracula spent four of the more than six years of his reign “in the city of Bucharest”, preferring it to the royal residence in Târgoviște, this, especially, out of the desire to be as close as possible of the Danube, in order to be able to better supervise the movements of the Turks (Radu Olteanu, op. cit., p. 14; H. Chircă, op. cit., p. 5-7). [44] The military history of the Romanian people,

vol. II, p. 90; Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., p. 123. [45] Wooden fence or "wall", used in the past as a defense structure; fortification element, used in older defensive arrangements, consisting of thick and long poles, knocked to the ground, tied together with planks, ropes, ropes (tree branches, tree branches, etc.) etc. and having between the spaces braids of twigs, sometimes also a filling of beaten earth. The height of a palisade could be up to three meters. Synonym: (rarely today) lever ((ro.wiki-pedia.org/wiki/Palisadă; dexonline.ro/definiție/palisade). [46] The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, p. 90. „The ditches (fortress from Frumoasa - n.n. T.C.) had oblique walls, with a maximum width of 8-12 m; the difference between the wave coast and the ditch wire was between 6 and 10 m. Outside the central palisade there was a platform, approx. 3-3.5 m, on which the defenders of the fortress circulated. For the construction of the central palisade, two ditches were dug with a depth of 1-1.30 m, on the bottom of which were fixed, in an oblique position, thick oak poles, at a distance of 0.15-0.25 m from each other . Between the rows of stakes, at different levels of them, thick beams and beams were fixed, horizontally or obliquely, thus compartmentalizing the skeleton of the palisade, which was then covered with beaten earth ”(Ibidem). [47] Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino, op. cit., p. 104-105; Istoria militară a poporului român, vol. II, p. 90; Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., p. 97; Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., p. 123. [48] ​​Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., pp. 97; The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, p. 260; Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., pp. 123-126; Nicolae Constantinescu, Cristian Moisescu, Royal Court of Târgovişte, 2nd edition, Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1969. Royal and capital residence between 1396 and 1714, Târgoviște held for more than three centuries the status of the most important economic, political center -military and cultural-artistic of Wallachia, currently being the city-municipality of residence of Dâmbovița County, administrative-territorial unit from the central-southern part of the country, more precisely from the central-northern area of ​​the Romanian geographical-historical region Muntenia (ro .wikipedia.org/wiki/Târgoviște. [49] The military history of the Romanian people, vol. II, p. 260. [50] Ştefan Andreescu, op. cit., p. 97. [51] Also known as the "Chindia Tower", it is currently part of the "Royal Court" Historical Monument Ensemble and measures 27 meters in height and 9 meters in diameter. Between 1847-1851, the tower was completely restored by the rulers of Wallachia, Gheorghe Bibescu (who ruled between 1842-1848 [History of the world in data, p. 568]) and Barbu Știrbei (who ruled between 1849-1853 and 1854). -1856 [Ibidem]), the current form being due to the first one, including its elevation by about 5 meters compared to the initial construction. The Chindia Tower is the most important tourist attraction in Târgoviște and, at the same time, the symbol of the city, specific elements of the building being present on the coat of arms of the respective city, both at the top and at the bottom. In fact, now, the tower is also the most important tourist attraction of the entire Dâmbovița County, currently hosting the exhibition entitled "Vlad the Impaler - Dracula, legend and historical truth", which presents documents, weapons and objects from the reign of the fierce Romanian voivode, but also maps with the surroundings of those times. From an administrative point of view, the Chindia Tower is under the tutelage of the “Curtea Domnească” National Museum Complex in Târgoviște. There are two hypotheses regarding the origin of the name of the tower, but there is no consensus on this fact. The first claims that areas in the vicinity of the tower were places of feasting, called "chindii", hence the origin of the name. It has also been suggested that its name comes from the word "chindie", an archaism meaning "sunset", a time of day when soldiers

defending the tower were required to give the signal that the five gates of the city were closed. After this moment, it was forbidden to enter or leave the city throughout the night, and the inhabitants had the obligation not to drive on the streets and not to maintain outdoor fires, which would have made the city visible from a great distance (ro.wikipedia .org / wiki / Turnul_Chindiei). [52] Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., pp. 125. [53] Ibidem, pp. 124. [54] Ibidem. [55] This is Stephen I Báthory of Ecsed, who was a prominent member of the powerful Hungarian noble family Báthory. He lived between 1430-1493 and held the position of voivode of Transylvania from July 1479 to January 1493 (History of Romania in dates, p. 461; History of the Romanians, vol. IV, p. 807). Very ambitious, he will be appointed, in 1471, by Matthias Corvinus as a judge of the Royal Court (ie royal judge, in which capacity he was the king's legal deputy [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_royal]), holding this high position until his death. Due, however, to his warlike nature (warriors - nn TC), along with the cruelty he had shown countless times (especially to the Szeklers, whose committee [governor] had been for a time - nn TC), István (Ştefan - nn TC ) Báthory will end up being dethroned in 1493 "(Cristian Ioan Popa, The Battle of the Field of Bread [October 13, 1479]. From the universality of the medieval lied to the recovery of national heroes, in" Terra Sebus. Acta Musei Sabesiensis "[ Yearbook of the Municipal Museum „Ioan Raica” from Sebeş], No. 2, Sebeş, 2010, p. 276), dying shortly afterwards (see also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ştefan_Báthory_de_Ecsed). The special merit of Stephen I Báthory was that together with the Timiș counties, Pavel Chinezu will obtain, on October 13, 1479, on Câmpul Păinii (near Orăştie), a brilliant victory over the Turks who had invaded Transylvania (Military History of the People). Romanian, vol. II, pp. 334-337). * Famous for his Herculean strength, for his extraordinary skill in handling weapons of all kinds, especially the sword, usually he "fighting with two swords at once" [Antonio Bonfini, Rerum Hungaricarum decades quatuor cum dimidia, Buda, 1770, p. 639]) and for his remarkable qualities as an army leader, Pavel Chinezu was a Romanian from Banat, who lived between 1432-1494 and held a number of high positions in the political-administrative and military hierarchy of Hungary, among which the leadership of the entire province of Banat and the supreme command of the troops from the south of the Hungarian Kingdom were counted (at one point, he was appointed by Matthias Corvinus at the head of all the military forces of the Hungarian Crown), which he exercised from 1478 until his death. sa (Tiberiu Ciobanu, Pavel Chinezu and his great victory on the Field of Bread against the Ottoman Turks, Eurostampa Publishing House, Timişoara, 2014, p. 15-42). [56] Radu Ştefan Ciobanu, op. cit., p. 125-126. [57] Ibidem, p. 126. [58] M.de Follard, Histoire de Polybe (Istoria lui Polybius), II, Paris, 1727, pp. 49-50. Polybius = Greek politician and historian, who lived between 200-120 BC. and he was an unconditional admirer of Rome, compiling a vast history (in 40 books) of the Roman Republic (and of the states which came into contact with it, practically a universal history), which entered historiography under the title of General History, which deals with the events that took place between 220-146 BC. (Dominique Vallaud, Historical Dictionary, translated by Nicolae Șarambei, Artemis Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008, p. [59] For information on the development of the sultanate campaign in the summer of 1462, undertaken north of the Danube, as well as details on the "Night Attack", see Tiberiu Ciobanu, The Great Sultanate Campaign in the Summer of 1462 undertaken in Wallachia and the Night Attack ”, In Vlad Țepeș and“ The Night Attack ”555, Eurostampa Publishing House, Timișoara, 2017, pp. 99-172; Sultan's campaign = large-scale military action led personally by the sultan.

[mihrunnisasultans]

“Women later began to participate in ruling (…) Kösem was a smart, resourceful woman, the smartest of them all. Unlike many harem women, she could speak and write in Ottoman Turkish well and she wrote her letters herself, not dictated them to scribes. There are examples of her authentic handwriting. We can even see some mistakes that are influenced by Greek prounciation, e.g. ‘helbette’ and ‘elbette’. Kösem became full administrator of the state when her son ascended the throne as a child. She even decided on appointments of Şeyhülislam, and she (not the padişah) was the Empire’s final decision maker. Kösem was also the person who directly presented decisions of the Divan to the padişah. She could issue her own direct orders as well. It was unprecedented in the Empire, but she was well-prepared and knew about state matters.(…) Kösem Sultan was a knowledgeable lady, who made good decisions, for example concerning the rebellion in Yemen. After her death in palace coup in 1651, the state went through some period of anarchy resulting from absence of a figure with padişah-like authority.” - Halil İnalcık in Tarihe Düşülen Notlar (volume 2)

“Kösem Sultan was an invisible structure that kept the state alive and prevented the dynasty from collapsing.” - Necdet Sakaoğlu in article entitled “Erkek tarihçiler Osmanlı tarihinin en güçlü kadınını nasıl kurban etti?” published in NTV Tarih no. 21 (October 2010) [based on Hüseyin Ayvansarayı’s words]

“Kösem undoubtedly became a symbol of state and ruling. French author of her times, Michel Baudier, painted her potrait as a woman-politician who was a figure of authority. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who described 17th century from later point of view, characterised her perfectly as a very clever woman, perfectly oriented in state matters. Later it was believed that she was the element keeping the state together when it was fated with difficult times. Her ability to maintain compusure, far-sightedness and carefully acquired knowledge with whom to form alliances and when to form them made her a symbol of politics and ruling. “ -  Özlem Kumrular in Kösem Sultan: İktidar, Hırs, Entrika

“Mahpeyker Kösem had a special place in Ottoman history. She lived in turbulent times. (…). there was excessive piety in Ahmed I, madness in Mustafa I, ruthlessness and inexperience in Osman II, alcoholism & sadism in Murad IV, Ibrahim’s epilepsy and lust for women. Kösem was a chief consort, stepmother, sister-in-law, mother and grandmother to sultans. She was the smartest and most far-sighted sultana in the Ottoman palace. She lived through more critical times than Hürrem, Nurbanu, Safiye, Turhan, and Gülnuş. While the others ruled through influencing their husbands and sons, Kösem effectively ruled the Empire herself during first years of her sons’ and grandson’s reigns.”- Necdet Sakaoğlu in Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kandınefendiler

“This lady, of Greek origin, is now around forty-five years old, very beautiful and kind-hearted, with delicate features, curious about entertainment and pleasure, virtuous, wise and sensible. Majestic and open-minded.” - Venetian ambassador Vincenzo Alessandri, taken from Relazioni degli ambasciatori veneti al senato: Le relazioni degli stati ottomani, 22:649

“Although her power contradicted with ‘men should have all authority’, she overcame the difficulties of such critical era, as the female leader coming from the harem. (…) She was known as a religious, charitable sultana. She had a galley built for the navy, freed many concubines from the palace harem and wedded them to well-know families of Istanbul, released prisoners by paying their bails, gave alms, had Qur’an read in the palace, and gave pilgrims water and sherbet on their way to Mecca.” - Necdet Sakaoğlu in Famous Ottoman Women

“[A]ll power and authority [is with] the mother, a woman completely different from that of Sultan Mustafa, in the prime of life and of lofty mind and spirit, [who] often took part in the government during the reign of her husband.” - Venetian ambassadorial report of 1623 [translation of the quote taken from The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire by Leslie Peirce]

[Translations of quotes from sources originally not in English are mine, unless stated otherwise.]

Happy Birthday Dani! (@kosemsjasmines )

[ofmythsandfables-a]

Vlad

GENERAL INFO

FULL NAME: Vladislaus Draculea

SPECIES: Human / Vampire

AGE: Verse Dependent

PLACE OF BIRTH: Romania

GENDER AND ORIENTATION: Male / Bisexual

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

HEIGHT: 6′2

HAIR COLOUR: Brown/Black

EYE COLOUR: Green

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Scar in the middle of his chest from a stake

BACKGROUND INFO

LANGUAGES: Too many to count lol he’s old so he had time to study many languages

OCCUPATION: Verse Dependent

VERSES

SYNOPSIS

{ My variation of Vlad comes from both historical and film (Dracula Untold) influences. Some historical sites vary a bit with information but generally they are all the same in context. }

Vladislaus Draculea was one of three sons of Vlad Dracul II, who ruled the principality Wallachia from 1436-1447. Vlad Dracul II sold his 11 year old son Vlad to the Ottoman Sultan to show his loyalty. As a result, Vlad was forced to fight among other boys his age and older in the armies, trained only to kill and feel no remorse. Though that was the only downside to staying with the Sultan. He was taught various subjects and cared for as if one of their own.

 Brainwashed by the Ottomans, Vlad unfortunately became nothing but a cold blooded killer and the most skilled and valued soldier in the Sultan’s armies. Once he was 18 though, he broke away from the Ottomans and returned to his home in Wallachia where he fought for the throne and won, becoming the new Voivode, or Prince, of Wallachia.Vlad ruled in peace for fourteen straight years, ruling with an iron fist and yet was fair. Then Mehmed II, the new Sultan and former comrade of Vlad’s when he was in the Ottomans armies, proposed a deal with Vlad that he give him 1,000 of Wallachia’s boys including his own son, or there would be war. Vlad desperately tried to negotiate, even offering himself in the place of the boys, but Mehmed wouldn’t budge. And so, war was declared.

Knowing he couldn’t win the war on his own and with little men in his army, Vlad sought out a monster of darkness, Caligula, in a cave high in the mountains. For a price, Vlad was turned into the very monster he sought out. The war came to a head on the third day as Vlad swooped in with an army of freshly turned vampires. Thousands of men perished on the fields and Vlad was able to defeat Mehmed and his men. But the price he paid for the victory was great; he lost his loving wife Mirena due to falling off a tower and sacrificing her own blood to Vlad so he could remain a vampire and save their son from the clutches of the evil Sultan. And Ingeras, Vlad’s ten year old boy who witnessed too much for his age, was taken by a fellow friar from Vlad’s old monastery to be kept safe, and would eventually rule Wallachia in his father’s place.

Once Mehmed and his men were defeated, Vlad burned his own army of vampires in the sun’s light, including himself, so that future generations would be kept safe from their harm. But a follower of Vlad’s found him and revived him by giving him his blood, and thought he’d walk eternity with his newfound master. Though, when Vlad was alive once again, his thirst for blood took over and he drained the man completely. It was then that Vlad fled, and for days sought out refuge in the Carpathian Mountains. There, tucked away from the world, was an old abandoned castle where he then made his permanent residence and hid in the shadows for years to come…

VLAD MUSAT (Main/Modern Verse, Aged 32 ; FC: Luke Evans)

Vlad is currently just under 600 years old, and a CEO of his own restoration company, ReVamp Restorations, INC. The company restores old landmarks, buildings and homes, and is expanded globally. He lives in London, England, and has a house in his homeland of Romania which he visits on holiday. Vlad changed his last name to his mother’s maiden name so he would not be recognized. He isn’t usually around others outside of his job, and his quiet time consists of more work due to his need to constantly be occupied.

FROM PRINCE TO BEAST (After the war with Mehmed II)

No longer the voivode for Wallachia, Vlad has hidden away high in the Carpathian Mountains, dwelling in an abandoned and long forgotten castle. Weary travelers or people who have gotten lost on their journeys sought shelter in the castle and Vlad happily took them in, but for a price: that they would serve him forever. They’ve agreed, and happily serve him regardless of knowing what he is and who he once was. His servants are his only real company and Vlad has looked to them as an almost family to him.

HE WHO STILL REIGNS (After the war with Mehmed II, Alternate Ending)

Vlad has returned after fighting and defeating Mehmed, taking his place on the throne once more. Only this time, he is a vampire. He now rules over the lands Mehmed once did, except he is not known as Sultan, he remains Prince. His dwellings are still within Wallachia which is newly rebuilt, his army becomes vast and stronger than any other army around, and though weary of others, he still rules as he once did. His heart is heavy with the loss of his wife, and the duty of raising their son on his own. But he does everything and anything for Ingeras so he doesn’t have to suffer anymore than he already has.

THE COUNT (1880 - early 1900s ; very loosely based on Bram Stoker’s version)

London’s new resident is a centuries old vampire, having just bought into real estate. Vlad Dracula leads a quiet life, not bothering anyone as he tries to make his life somewhat normal. He prays upon people, though not savagely, and drinks only enough for him to be satisfied. Afterwards, he heals them with his own blood and wipes away their memory of anything that had transpired between them.

PRINCE OF WALLACHIA (Pre war with Mehmed II)

Vlad is Voivode to Wallachia, and is reigning peacefully. His rulings are fair and his people adore him. He is not married, and not with any children. Vlad’s adviser pushes him to marry someone already to give him an heir, but it is not something Vlad is in a rush for even though he wishes to have a family of his own someday. Vlad is always holding Council with his noblemen or working on kingly duties, but one can find him constantly with his nose in a book, learning something new and enticing.

*Alternate Version*

Vlad is Prince, and ruling with Mirena. This takes place a year before the war with Mehmed.

CHIEF INSPECTOR IONESCU (1850s ; Aged 30)

Of Romanian descent, Vlad’s family had moved to England in the early 1800s for a better life. His father became wealthy in the railroad business, and Vlad went to Oxford where he graduated top of his class in both criminal justice and anatomy. He soon began to work for London’s Scotland Yard. Vlad was quick to move up the ranks due to his vast knowledge in the field, and became London’s youngest Chief Inspector at the age of 30. His work always consumes him, never allowing him to keep a steady relationship and miss out on important events his family hosted almost monthly. And though it bothered him, his job to keep the streets of London safe were more important.

HUMAN (Modern day, Aged 33)

Vlad Dragan was raised in Romania along with his three brothers on a vast farm. Having ambitions far bigger than the life he was meant to have, Vlad made sure he excelled in school before getting a scholarship for Oxford in London. There, he studied History and Archaeology, and became an archaeologist. His job has taken him all over the world, but his home base remains London, and he works as both an Archaeology professor in Oxford as well as studying artifacts in England’s Natural History Museum.

WIZARDING WORLD (Taking place throughout the HP series, Timeline varies)

A vampire as a professor? Vlad is! Vlad works at Hogwarts as a History of Magic professor. He doesn’t socialize too much with others outside of when classes are in session, but he does attend every school event and never misses a meeting. He is also a Hufflepuff (I personally think he’s a hybrid of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor…so Gryffinpuff. But to be technical, Hufflepuff).

VAMPIRE KING (Tolkien semi-loosely based, takes place during ‘The Hobbit’ and on; also, using Welsh as the language for Men in my verse since there are hardly any translations in Adunaic, and Welsh is a pretty awesome language so try not to correct me on this for all you super Tolkien canon fanatics)

Vlad Alastor is Edain, from the House of Marach during the First Age. He lived in Dor-lomin, part of Hithlum, and ruled as King for many prosperous yet tough years. But Morgoth struck war upon the lands, and Vlad knew his army wouldn’t be enough to win the war. He sought help from a dark, magical being living in the mountains that turned him into a fampyr (my own derivation from the Welsh spelling for vampire) for a hefty price of his soul once the time came. As Nírnaeth Arnoediad occurred, most of Vlad’s army was defeated but he himself was able to defeat the enemy, driving away the evil forces. But due to Dor-lomin crumbling away from the war, and more evil forces eventually ascending upon the country, Vlad was overthrown as king and banished from the lands he grew up on and ruled. Having an idea, he faked his death, and Vlad ran as far away as he could. Many, many years had passed, and by the time of the Third Age, Vlad is king in Rhun, his residence lay beyond the Sea of Rhun.

ABILITIES AND WEAKNESSES

|+|IMPORTANT|+|

Vlad is part of a bloodline he solely shares with his superior, Caligula: the vampire who turned him, due to having no choice but to dwell in a cave for eons until he was able to pass on his powers to Vlad and set himself free. Therefore, his abilities and weaknesses are different from any other bloodline. His transformation is different, as well as the way he turns others, which never happens unless it happens in a thread.

|+| ABILITIES |+|

~Shapeshifts into bats~Manipulates bats at his will~Super strength and speed~Heightened sight, smell and hearing~Weather manipulation (to an extent)~Mind manipulation (to an extent)~Healing. Very small increments of his blood, when taken via mouth, can heal a person. There is no guarentee that it can revive a person if they are dying.

|+| WEAKNESSES |+|

~ Silver~ Wooden and silver stakes (both fatal if directly piercing his heart)~ Direct sunlight

|+| OTHER INFORMATION |+|

~ Vlad sleeps, but only for a few hours. He needs to be in a completely dark room in order to sleep soundly, or else he’ll be quite irritable.~ Vlad is able to walk during the day while using his weather manipulation powers to cover up the sun’s harmful rays with clouds.~ Holy objects do not harm Vlad. It isn’t specified why in the film, but for RP purposes, it’s due to him being so in-tuned with his religion even when he was turned that his God saw the good in him regardless of the fact he was a now a monster (his religion during the time was and remains to be Orthodox).~ Vlad can eat food but chooses not to usually. The taste of food has not faded for him even though he is a vampire. He does not crave food, nor does he need to live off it, therefore he doesn’t really eat anything unless it's to keep up appearences. Vlad lives off of animal blood mainly, but knows a guy that slips him blood bags from a blood bank to keep in the house.

[ottomanladies]

The haseki sultan was ranked below the valide?when the absence of a valide, a haseki could hold as much as power like a valide?When the haseki was abolished after the kadins werent as powerful as hasekis?Why just the valide got the sultan title from the non-imperial women? A haseki in the presence of a valide was just a well paid consort basically?it will be a tough question but how can you explain and compare the pre sultanate of women ranks with the sultanate of women and the late periodranks?

There is so much to unpack here, I will try my best (though I think I have already answered all of these questions)

I'm afraid this will be very long.

The haseki sultan ranked right below the valide sultan, as she was the only consort who had been accorded the title of sultan, reserved to members of the Dynasty. In the Ottoman empire the valide sultan was the first woman in the empire because she was the mother of the sultan himself. Her titles indeed included things like the great cradle or the nacre of the pearl of the sultanate.

I don't think a haseki sultan can ever replace a valide sultan, but Nurbanu's tenure as haseki is certainly interesting in this respect:

Yet that station [wedded wife of Selim II] still fell short of the highest echelon that an Ottoman royal woman could reach, that of a Valide. Nurbanu devised an ingenious solution to create that effect, which consisted of transmitting her two-pronged identity, as Selim’s Haseki and Murad’s Valide, pari passu. It will be recalled from Cavalli’s relazione in Cronaca Lippomano mentioned above, in which he stressed Nurbanu’s flaunting in of her twin titles in one breath, “Wife of the Signor” and “Mother of Sultan Murath.” She continued this practice for some time, eventually dropping the first component, Haseki, and keeping only the second element of the composite title, Valide. This transformation is evidenced in a mühimme entry dated 23 Ramadan 973 (1570) involving the procurement o f marble to be used in the construction of Nurbanu’s pious architectural project, the Atik Valide. In this document Nurbanu refers to herself exclusively as “mother of my son, the estimable son Murad, ” while it was her husband, not her progeny, who was ruling as Padishah when the construction was under way. As for Selim, acting on behalf of the Valide Sultan, orders the kadıs of Sabancı and Iznikmid to collect without delay all the marble from the fields, meadows, and dilapidated buildings of their bailiwicks, fully compensating their eligible owners, while refraining from harming any occupied residences. [...] Necipoğlu has discovered a number of imperial decrees issued by Selim II pertaining to the construction o f the Atik Valide Mosque Complex in which Nurbanu is referred to as the Valide Sultan, although it is her husband who is the reigning monarch and not her son. — Pinar Kayaalp-Aktan, The Atik Valide Mosque Complex: A testament of Nurbanu's prestige, power and piety

I personally don't believe that Nurbanu was acting as valide sultan; on the contrary, she was acting as a European queen consort and more or less like Hürrem: that she started to build her mosque during Selim II's reign (like Hürrem had done) and that she was known as the mother of the sultan's son... I think Nurbanu has more similarities with Hürrem than we'd usually think.

On the other hand, we cannot forget that Mihrimah was still alive and that she was a point of reference for Selim:

New sultans made their way to the harem at the earliest opportunity after arriving in the capital: Selim II sought his sister Mihrimah (his mother Hurrem had died eight years earlier), and both Murad and Mehmed conferred with their mothers. This urgency no doubt reflected the new sultans' need to he informed of the political situation in the capital by a trusted ally, as well as their desire to be reunited with loved ones. It also reflects the importance of female elders in the hierarchy of the imperial household. — Leslie P. Peirce, The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire

It is also interesting that on the inscription of her mosque in Üsküdar, Mihrimah is hailed as "protector of the state and the world and the faith".

So, while Nurbanu lived in Topkapı with Selim and started to build her mosque, the Atik Valide; Mihrimah was instrad in the Old Palace, overseeing the harem of her brother.

So I personally think that the duties of a valide sultan were shared between Mihrimah and Nurbanu.

The kadıns are a different thing from the haseki. First of all, they do not carry the title of sultan, and secondly they are not as special because there are at least 4 of them (actually, they weren't limited by number at first). Of course here we're talking about the great hasekis: Hürrem, Nurbanu, Safiye, Kosem... and Emetullah Rabia Gülnüş too).

The presence of more than one haseki was a significant change in the reigns of Murad and Ibrahim, signaling that the age of the favorite was coming to an end. In this period the meaning of the title haseki begins to shift from a single "favorite" to something more general like "royal consort." similar to the earlier khatun. This title deflation was a sign of the return of an earlier principle of royal reproduction, that of a number of concubines roughly equal in status. That other concubines were no longer consigned to languish in the shadow of a favorite is suggested not only by the fact that each was endowed with the title haseki but also that their stipends were on the whole equal. While the contrast between the stipend of Nurbanu, Selim II's haseki, and that of the mothers of his other sons was enormous (at the end of Selim's reign Nurhanu received eleven hundred aspers a day but the others a mere forty aspers), Murad's two hasekis and Ibrahim's eight hasekis received roughly equal stipends at the one-thousand-asper level and higher.

By the end of the seventeenth century the title haseki was falling out of official use and was being replaced by the less elevated title kadın. A set hierarchy was emerging according to which the sultan's first concubine (or the mother of his first child, but not necessarily his first son) was known as "head consort" (baş kadın) and subsequent concubines as "second consort" (ikinci kadın) and so forth. A distinctive feature of this settled pattern of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is that the one mother-one son principle continued to be observed virtually without exception. — Leslie P. Peirce, The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire

The kadıns would never reach the hasekis' influence and powers because the Ottoman succession system had gone from open to strict seniority. There was no need anymore for the sultan's consort to be that powerful so as to influence statesmen in the open succession, because her son would never succeed his father— not directly, anyway.

Öztuna says that the title of kadın appeared in 1703, with Ahmed III's reign, but Peirce was able to find harem documents from Süleyman II's reign in which his consorts are all titled kadın. Ahmed II's consort Haseki Rabia Sultan is, indeed, the last haseki sultan of the empire.

Comparison of harem hierarchies

For simplicity we're going to analyse the harem hierarchy of Bayezid II for the pre-sultanate of women period, during whose reign the princesses had acquired the title of sultan.

Mother of the sultan: before the reign of Süleyman I, the mother of the sultan did not have a specific title. She just ranked higher than other members of the harem because she was the mother of the sultan and she was the manager of the harem, of course.

Imperial princesses: they were the only women to carry the title of sultan (bestowed upon them by Bayezid II himself)

Concubines with children / childless concubines: they held the title of hatun, which can roughly be translated as lady.

Simple concubines: by this I meant that they lived in the harem but they had not been bedded by the sultan. We call them cariyes: slaves without a status

the harem during the Sultanate of Women:

Valide Sultan: the mother of the sultan, she oversaw the harem and was the highest-ranking woman in the empire

Haseki Sultan: the favourite consort. She was either the mother of the eldest son (like Emetullah Rabia Gülnüş, Nurbanu and Safiye) or just the most beloved consort of the sultan (like Hürrem, Kösem and Rabia). She usually had several children because with her the sultan did not follow the one mother-one son rule

Imperial princesses: they ranked below the haseki sultan, because the haseki was the mother of a potential sultan

Concubines of non-haseki rank who are mothers of children: their title was hatun (lady) and their stipend was ridiculously lower than the haseki's. They usually could not afford to undertake building projects but they could sometimes fund prayers recitals in mosques or minor charities.

Childless concubines of non-haseki rank: their title was hatun as well but of course as they weren't mothers of imperial children their rank in the harem was lower.

Gözdes: bedded concubines. They resided in Topkapi Palace because they were "in the eye of the sultan", as their names means. Either they got pregnant and therefore moved back to the Old Palace or they kept sharing the sultan's bed until he a) got tired of them or b) got pregnant.

Simple concubines: the cariyes. They are title less and without a status.

the harem in the XIX century:

For simplicity, we’re going to consider a harem of the late Ottoman empire, when the hierarchy was more or less firmly established.

Valide Sultan: the sultan's mother, she carried the title of sultan and her title in European contexts was Her Imperial Majesty. She is considered the only empress in the empire

Imperial princesses: the sultan's daughters or the daughters of princes. They ranked by seniority and their European title was Their Imperial Highnesses.

Senior Consort (baş kadın): usually the first consort the sultan had bedded or the mother of the eldest child. Her European title was Her Majesty, and she was considered like a queen consort. She retained the title all her life unless she divorced from the sultan.

The other three kadıns: they were numbered by seniority (that is, when they married the sultan), their European titles was Their Majesties, just like the Senior Consort— though of course the Senior Consort ranked higher than them and if the valide sultan wasn't alive she would manage the harem in her stead. In the XVIII century they could be more than 4: we have cases of a fifth kadın or a sixth kadın. Nakşıdil Kadın was the eighth Imperial consort of Abdülhamid I

Daughters of Imperial princesses (Hânım-Sultân): they ranked by seniority and their title meant that their father was a subject but their mother was a member of the Dynasty. When they married, their husbands could not use the title of damad, and their children did not hold any title or privilege.

First Ikbal (baş ikbal): the 5th consort of the Sultan. If the 4th kadın dies, she can take her title and therefore jump class. Her European title was Her Highness, therefore being considered like a "princess" consort.

The other 3 ikbals: they were numbered by seniority and titled Their Highnesses. Technically they were not limited by number, actually it was rare that there were more than 4 ikbals.

consorts of princes: the first 4 were titled hanımefendi, with the first being titled Başhanımefendi and addressed by her title and not by name. The Başhanımefendi of the eldest prince alive was the highest-ranking consort among the consorts of princes. The other three consorts were addressed by "name + Hanımefendi". After the fourth consort, the other women the prince bedded were considered odalisques and without a status. Their European title was Their Highnesses.

First gözde (baş gözde) + the other 3 gözdes: the sultan's consorts from the 9th to the 12th. Their title means "in the eye of the sultan" and they're the most recent favourites the sultan has. They were not limited by number and did not rank by seniority. They were addressed by Hanımefendi.

First Peyk (baş peyk) + the other peyks: the last class of consorts, they are not very usual because it's strange for a sultan to have more than 12 consorts alive at the same time. They were addressed by Hanımefendi and rank the lowest among the consorts with the hanımefendi title. They usually are not mothers of children.

Simple concubines: also called odalisques or chamber maids. They have no title and no privileges. They're exactly like the cariyes of the previous periods.

As you can see, the harem hierarchy became more complicated and rigid as time progressed. The necessity of a hierarchy so complicated as the one of the late Ottoman empire arose from the fact that sultan's consorts were increasingly taken by foreign noble families so they were actually princesses before marrying the sultan. It was necessary for each and one of them to have a status within the harem because they were not just nameless slave concubines.

Sources for the hierarchies: Harun Açba - Kadin Efendiler, Juliette Dumas - Les perles de nacre du sultanat, Yılmaz Öztuna - Devletler ve Hanedanlar

[cincinnatusvirtue]

Vlad III Dracula (1428/1431-1476/1477)  AKA Vlad the Impaler.  Voivode of Wallachia and real life inspiration for the modern popular conception of the vampire.

Some historical figures are steeped in more mythology and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction.  This could well be true of one especially seen to be viewed as the inspiration for one of the most popular monster figures of contemporary culture.  Let’s look in more detail at what we know of the real life, Dracula, Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia...

-Vlad was born between the years 1428-1431 in what is the modern nation of Romania.  At the time Romania was divided among different provinces, Transylvania in the north, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary.  Moldavia in the east, a part of modern Romania and Moldovia and Wallachia in the south just north of the Danube river border with Bulgaria.  

-He was born in the town of Sighisoara in Transylvania, the town was largely a merchant town controlled by Transylvanian Saxons (Germans) burghers and located in the Kingdom of Hungary.  Transylvania was populated by Hungarians, German Saxons and Romanians (Vlachs/Wallachians).  

-Vlad was an ethnic Romanian with roots in the nobility of Wallachia & Moldavia.  His father was originally from the House of Basarab, but their branch became known as Draculesti.  Vlad’s father was Vlad II of Wallachia, also known as Vlad Dracul, due to his membership in a Christian military order sanctioned by the Catholic Church, the Order of the Dragon.  Their mission was to prevent the spread of Islam into Europe, namely from the threat of the Turkish Ottoman Empire that had conquered much of the Balkans in Southeastern Europe by then.

-The sobriquet Dracul was Medieval Romanian for “dragon” and Dracula as Vlad III would be called or Vlad Dracula meant “son of the dragon” as relates to his father.  In modern Romanian, Dracul means the “devil”.  

-Vlad’s mother is unknown, Vlad II’s first was unknown but some historians now believe his mother to have been Eupraxia of Moldavia, a relative of Alexander I of Moldavia.

-Vlad II Dracul would serve as voivode of Wallachia on more than one occasion, due to his family’s noble status.  The term voivode was used mostly in Southeastern Europe, taken from the Slavic languages to mean roughly warlord, or later as prince.  It mostly used in Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia & Croatia, Poland, Ukraine & Russia as well as Romania and Hungary.

-In 1436 his father came to power as voivode of Wallachia in the south of Romania following the death of his half-brother Alexander I Aldea.  At the time, Wallachia found itself caught in a power struggle between rival factions and interests internally as well as in the wider context of the rival ambitions of Moldavia, Hungary and the Ottomans.  Nominally, the voivode of Wallachia needed the blessing of the Hungarian King, Sigismund of Luxembourg, later Holy Roman Emperor or the Ottoman Sultan.

-Vlad II was made a member of the Order of the Dragon by Sigismund and given his blessing on the grounds, he protect Roman Catholicism, despite himself being a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

-Vlad was supported by the Hungarians whereas his brother had paid homage to the Ottoman Sultan.  However, in 1437 Sigismund died, followed by rebellion in Transylvania which weakened the Hungarian position.  In order to protect his own precarious position on the throne, he now chose to deal with the Ottomans and traveled to the then Ottoman capital in Adrianople, modern Edirne, Turkey.  In return for Ottoman patronage he agreed to annual monetary tribute and had to serve on military campaigns in support of the Turks.  Becoming their vassal.  The Sultan at the time was Murad II.

-Vlad II supported the invasion of Hungarian Transylvania serving as Murad’s guide and aided the Turks in capturing 30,000 slaves for them.  However, he also sought to placate the new Hungarian king, Albert of the House of Hapsburg by releasing some prisoners taken.  He hoped to maintain a balance between patrons, leaving both the king & sultan to be wary of his intentions.

-Albert died in 1439 and was replaced by the young King of Poland Wladyslaw III, now King of Hungary as well.  He appointed John Hunyadi, a Hungarian as Voivode of Transylvania in 1441.  Hunyadi asked Vlad join him on a renewed Crusade against the Turks.  He would meet Vlad in the Wallachian capital of Targoviste.

-Vlad II was accused of betraying Turks by their governor of Bulgaria following a Hungarian victory in 1442.  Murad ordered Vlad to Adrianople to prove his loyalty.  He named his eldest son, Mircea to serve in his stead, possibly suspecting danger.  He was indeed arrested by the Ottomans and held prisoner for a time.

-The Turks tried to invade and annex Wallachia proper in 1442 but were defeated again by the Hungarians under Hunyadi who placed Basarab, Vlad’s cousin the new voivode.

-The Turks realized working with Vlad once again, maybe in their interest.  In order to secure his throne once more, he made a new pledge to the Ottomans, to supply an annual blood tribute of 500 Wallachian boys to serve as janissaries in the Ottoman army (Christian boys forcibly converted to Islam and trained to be personal guard of the sultan).  He also had to leave two of his own sons as hostages in Adrianople for training in Turkish culture and the ways of Islam.  These two sons were Vlad (Dracula) & Radu.

-Vlad II was back to power in Wallachia in summer 1443 under unknown circumstances.  During the subsequent war between the Hungary and the Ottomans he was to remain neutral.  His sons were to be released if a peace deal with Hungary was signed.  However, the papal legate to Hungary prevented its signing and encouraged the war to continue with the disastrous Battle of Varna (1444) fought in Bulgaria which resulted in the Turks defeating a Christian coalition of several nations, Wladyslaw III was himself killed while charging the Ottoman sultan’s position, nearly succeeding only to be stopped and saved by his bodyguards. 

-The war between the Crusaders & Turks raged on over the next couple of years and gradually Vlad came out of his neutrality to fight against the Turks, meanwhile he may have believed his sons were murdered during their hostage stay in Turkey.

-In fact Murad had not killed Vlad’s sons, instead they were given an education in all matters, including Turkish warfare, military structure, governance, language, history and Turkish and greater Islamic culture.  Vlad Dracula was reported to have been far more resistant to the Turks attempts to earn his favor than his brother Radu who is believed to have become a potential lover of Murad II’s son the future sultan, Mehmed II.

-In 1446 he made peace with the Turks once more on his own, but his relations with Hungary and Hunyadi in particular was worsened, he still believed his sons had been murdered having not heard on their condition.  Meanwhile, Hunyadi wanting to make sure Wallachia remained a Hungarian and not Turkish vassal was prepared to now replace Vlad II once more, he had given shelter to another cousin of Vlad’s and pretender to the throne of Wallachia, named Vladislav or Dan.  He invaded in late November 1447, during this invasion Vlad II fled but was caught and killed along with his son Mircea, betrayed by the boyars (Romanian aristocracy) who were possibly paid off by Hunyadi and the Saxon burghers who saw Vlad and his back and forth with the Turks as harmful to their political and economic influence in the area.

-Vlad Dracula meanwhile now as eldest surviving son of Vlad II had a claim to the throne of Wallachia and the Turks wanted a client to continue their influence.  Taking advantage of his cousin Vladislav II ‘s absence from Wallachia to support Hunyadi in the Battle of Kosovo 1448, with Ottoman support he snuck back into Wallachia and was proclaimed voivode, becoming Vlad III, but his reign only lasted a month as his cousin returned with an army that he couldn’t compete with.  Dracula fled back to Turkey.

-His exile in Turkey soon transferred to Moldavia where he was taken in as a guest of his possible maternal uncle and brother in law of his father.  He travelled between Moldavia, Transylvania and Hungary during this time, at times conversing with Hunyadi in the hopes of restoring himself to the throne.  However, Hunyadi saw him as not as useful having concluded peace with the Turks in 1451 and denied the right of him settling in Brasov, a major center of Transylvanian Saxon mercantile power, crucial to Hunyadi’s power base.

-Nevertheless, Vlad procured some support from Hungary and in the late summer of 1456 invaded Wallachia to overthrow his cousin Vladislav II, who did indeed die in the invasion, some sources state by Dracula’s hand in one on one combat.

-What followed was the consolidation of his second and ultimately most lengthy and notable reign as voivode.  Vlad III set about settling old political scores and implementing reforms to his lands.

-First, he dealt with the boyars that had killed his father in conspiracy with the Saxons by purging them and killing hundred of them during a feast. Those not killed were put to slave labor towards building his castles and fortresses.  He also at this time sent a letter to the Transylvanian Saxons asking for mutual aid against the Turks, whose politicking he felt jeopardized his father’s rule and whose harsh treatment including beatings and whippings as a hostage made him resentful of them. 

-He also made land reforms and had some property from his victims (former boyars) confiscated to compensate his new supporters who in turn pledged loyalty to him.

-Dracula passed new laws as well which included punishment for crimes committed by nobility & commoners.  Criminals, beggars, transients & committers of adultery among his own people were punished, sometimes with death.  His preferred form of capital punishment was what became most associated with him, impalement.  Using wooden stakes hammered into the ground, his victims would be placed upon the stake which would pierce the body and leave the body in great agonizing pain and left for public display as a deterrent for others.  Impalement was often a slow form of execution and thought to take hours or days to complete death.  Blood loss and damage to the vital organs would ultimately be the cause of death, the impalements depicted in this time, could be done frontally or dorsally, some may have been vertical for the victim as well, but the contemporary artwork from the time only depict the frontal or dorsal aspects.  The frequent use of impalement earned him the moniker Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler.

-Dracula during this time, continued his tribute to the Turks whose sultan sent 1451 was Mehmed II, the Conqueror.  So named because he at long last achieved the goal of his ancestors, the completed conquest of Constantinople, the capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in 1453.  This successful siege swept away the last remnants of ancient Rome and consolidated the links between Ottoman controlled Asia Minor and Southeastern Europe.  Mehmed had known Vlad during his childhood imprisonment and had probably become lovers with his brother Radu, known as Radu the Fair or Handsome.  Radu didn’t officially convert to Islam but he was more receptive to the Turkish education and attempts to control him than his older brother Vlad.

-Dracula used this time not only to reform his own land but to partake in a Hungarian civil war in Transylvania.  He invaded and sacked the villages around Brasov, killing Saxon families including women & children by impalement. His attack wasn’t for wanton cruelty so much as to secure his position since the Saxons were harboring another Wallachian pretender that could usurp his throne.  They agreed to peace and to hand over the pretender as well as have mutual trade for Saxon & Wallachian merchants in both Transylvania & Wallachia.  Vlad’s agreements with the Saxons would be off and on over the years, alternating between peace brief periods of war, usually consisting of raids.  Vlad laid claim to parts of Transylvania as well during this time.

-Hunyadi had died in 1456 and eventually a son of his Matthias Corvinus, in part aided by Dracula’s raids against the Saxons was elected King of Hungary in 1458.  Convinus would like his father and Dracula’s father before him also play politics siding both with and against one another.  Initially he had peace with Dracula but later supported a pretender, Dan III against him only to have Vlad defeat Dan’s ad hoc army in battle, killed Dan and then raided southern Transylvania once more, killing peasants in the surrounding area, both German & Romanian who had supported his ouster.  However, peace was concluded by 1460 with Corvinus & the Saxons.

-Sources vary and aren’t conclusive but suggest Dracula’s problem with the Turks was renewed by 1461, due to his lack of paying tribute, some said he stopped paying tribute in 1459 others only in 1461.  This brought him into conflict with Mehmed.

-Finding out through spies that Dracula was negotiating with Corvinus, Mehmed sent emissaries to demand Dracula’s personal presence in audience with the sultan.  As the story goes, Vlad found out that he was to be arrested at the border on the Danube river like his father decades before.  While meeting with the emissaries, he had them executed.  Supposedly during an audience, Dracula asking them to take off their turbans as a sign of respect, when they refused on religious and political grounds, Dracula obliged them and instead had nails hammered into their skulls so that their turbans would never leave their head again.  He sent the executed envoys returned to the sultan, essentially an act of war.

-Dracula knowing Mehmed would now find reason to invade Wallachia, decided to preempt him and go to war.  Hoping a new Crusade would materialize with Hungarian support.  He first lead his troops to the fortress of Giurgiu, along the Danube river.  There disguised as a Turkish official and being fluent in Turkish deceived the garrison commander into opening the gates to let him in.  He and his guards overwhelmed a portion of the garrison and let in awaiting other troops to sack the city and kill the Turks.  

-From the sack of Girugiu, Dracula’s army crisscrossed Ottoman Bulgaria, along the Danube river, killing mostly Turkish soldiers and settlers but also some Bulgarians who were Christian as well, this may have been out of necessity if they had loyalty to their Turkish overlords.  By his own account in February of 1462, 23,000+ were killed by his troops.  Wallachian settlers in Bulgaria joined in his cause too, declaring themselves liberated.

-Dracula wrote to Corvinus of his actions in the hope of spurning an alliance with Hungary.  He wrote of the need to defend Christendom and protect Catholics, though he had been raised Eastern Orthodox, he had functionally become Catholic.

-Mehmed responded by raising an army, the size of which varied according to the sources, some suggest as big as 150,000 troops and others as small as 25,000-60,000.  Mehmed personally led this army and was accompanied by Radu, Dracula’s younger brother, who had become a Ottoman loyalist.  Mehmed sought to replace Vlad with the more receptive Radu at this point.

-The sultan and his army crossed the Danube in summer of 1462.  Realizing he was outnumbered, Dracula began an scorched earth policy, burning crops so the Turks could not live off the land.  Meanwhile, Vlad fled to Targoviste.

-Schooled in Turkish warfare, he knew their methods, strategy and structure and as such he hoped exploit any weakness he could.  The Turks encamped near Targoviste on June 17-18th 1462, Vlad would lead a daring charge into the Ottoman encampment with the goal of either abducting or killing Mehmed.  Knowing the loss of the sultan would demoralize the army, they would likely retreat in the chaos.  Nevertheless, the so called Night Attack did not succeed in its goal, as he attacked a subordinate commander’s tent and not the sultan’s.  It roused the Turks to action, despite their initial surprise.  Vlad managed to escape at dawn having fought his way back out of the camp.

-Vlad retreated to the Carpathians abandoning his capital to the inevitable.  However, Mehmed and his army came to a now famous and horrific sight at the abandoned Targoviste.  A field full of 20,000 impaled corpses, a mix of men women and children, including Turks impaled on stakes, creating a so called “forest of the impaled” it measured by some accounts larger than several stadium sized venues combined.  Mehmed was said to be alternately sick or impressed with the sight, either way astonished.  

-Vlad then hid at Castle Poernari located in the mountains near the Arges river valley northwest of Targoviste.  Here in the isolated mountaintop fortress with a commanding view Vlad awaited any movement from his enemies.  Nonetheless, Mehmed ordered Wallachia abandoned having suffered attrition through the scorched earth tactics with was causing starvation and thirst among his troops and no decisive action to boost morale.

-Dracula harassed the rearguard of the retreating Turks in guerilla warfare marked by ambush and hit and run tactics.  Nevertheless, his brother Radu was gathering support from the local boyars who were tired of warfare and Dracula’s strict criminal justice and authoritarian rule.  Not only did he gather boyars to defect to him, Radu promised the Transylvanian Saxons restored trade rights and lasting peace, all parties finding him more agreeable than his brother, they turned on Dracula, aside from a host of devoted loyalists.  Dracula was driven from power in late 1462, ending his seven year longest period of rule.

-Radu ended up accomplishing the goal of Mehmed by diplomacy and a show of force where the sultan had failed with show of force alone.  Radu would reign uninterrupted for the next 11 years and voivode of Wallachia.  Fulfilling, the promise of increased Turkish influence in the area at the expense of the Hungarians.  

-Radu’s reign was marked by some conflict with his future son in law, Stephen III of Moldavia.

-Dracula meanwhile fled to Hungary, hoping for help from Corvinus who did not intervene during the Turkish invasion of Wallachia.  Instead, Corvinus charged Dracula with trumped up charges of treason and imprisoned him first in Romania and then Hungary proper at the citadel in Visegrad.  Vlad would remain there for the next 14 years.

-Meanwhile, Radu ruled Wallachia until a dispute with the Ottoman in the 1470′s lead to his dethronement though he would be restored a few more times albeit briefly.

-Records of his life during imprisonment do not survive.  He was only released in 1476 when the Hungarians felt he could be of use once more to drive away the latest Ottoman puppet on the Wallachian throne.  He also had to officially convert to Catholicism, the brand of Christianity he and his father had agreed to defend while remaining Orthodox in affiliation. 

-The new Ottoman puppet was Basarab Laoita. Vlad had moved to Transylvania in 1475 but was called elsewhere by Corvinus to fight the Turks in Bosnia.  Meanwhile, the Turks invaded Moldavia but were countered by a Hungarian force consisting of Stephen Bathory & Dracula.

-The Hungarians launched a two pronged attack into Wallachia with the intent of forcing out Basarab and Ottoman influence and placing Vlad on the throne, this was confirmed in late November 1476.  Vlad once more had made peace with the Saxon merchants of Transylvania and was restored this third and final reign as voivode.  

-His reign was short lived, less than two months after regaining the throne Dracula was on the defensive against a renewed Ottoman invasion backing Basarab Laoita.  Dracula would be killed in battle with his retinue, fighting to the very end.

-The Turks hacked his body to pieces and sent his head to Mehmed in Constantinople as a confirmation that Vlad was at long last dead and no longer a threat.  The location of the burial for the rest of his body is not known but widely speculated to this day.

Epilogue:

-Vlad Dracula later most famously served as both the name and partial inspiration for Irish author Bram Stoker’s 1897 Victorian gothic horror novel, Dracula which in turned popularized the modern vampire myth, with its association in Transylvania etc.  Stoker never visited Romania but he did read up on its history and the folklore of the area which along with Slavic sources had plenty of vampire references.  He came across the name Dracula and made it the central character’s namesake but beyond the name and location of his characterization, little else from Vlad’s life was taken into account for the novel.

-In his own time, German and other sources note and portray Vlad as cruel, sadistic and authoritarian in his rule.  This is portrayed in both print and woodcut artwork of the 15th century and later.  Some portrayals going so far as to say he dined outdoors amid the forest of impaled victims and dipped his food in the blood of dead and dying, perhaps somewhat influencing the literary vampire connection.  These sources are mostly believed to be exaggerated propaganda from biased sources, especially the German ones given Dracula’s antagonistic relations with the Saxons.  Undoubtedly, he did engage in impalement and other forms of execution and torture, but realistically he was not the only ruler in that time period to engage in such cruelty.

-Some historians also tend to view his widespread capital punishment and strict justice system as a political means to an end, rather than for mere enjoyment or barbarism.  Vlad would have viewed it as a matter of political necessity to maintain a balance of power amid so many warring interests both internally and externally.  Given the warring influences, any such widespread torture and execution of the populace was likely to alienate enough factions and ultimately undermine his rule so as to guarantee it was short lived and he like many of his contemporaries and holders of his title held short reigns or multiple reigns for quick time periods.

-Today, in Romania he is still revered as a folk hero by some.  With some people believing his methods were justified and others less so.  Those who support his memory positively, praise his defense of the country from the Turkish threat, the German economic influence and Hungarian meddling, they also praise his justice system that they view as ridding Wallachia of corrupting internal influences such as the boyars.  His detractors of course cite his methods as brutal, arbitrary and authoritarian.  Whatever view one takes, Vlad III Dracula’s name is one hard to forget nowadays and his memory lives on far beyond his own short life...

[reallifesultanas]

The myths around Kösem Sultan's execution / A Köszem szultána halála körüli legendák

One of the most frequently discussed topics about the Sultanate of Women is the brutal execution of Kösem Sultan. Usually, the casual people think that she was assassinated by her son-in-law Turhan Hatice Sultan during a long power struggle. We have plenty of accounts of the events, but there are quite a few of them that are contemporary. In this post, I would like to summarize what we know, who were the characters of the events, and what might have happened that night. In the comments section or in Tellonyme, I look forward to everyone's opinion and comment about the topic so that we can discuss it! :) If you don't know Kösem Sultan, you can read her biography HERE.

What do we know for sure?

- After Ibrahim's dethronement and execution, Kösem Sultan became a regent to her grandson Mehmed IV. - Turhan, Mehmed’s mother, and Kösem Sultan were on different sides during the political games. - Kösem Sultan was killed by her enemies on September 2, 1651. - Turhan Hatice became the new regent, Kösem Sultan's executioners were not punished, but her supporters were soon killed.

Backstory

Kösem Sultan came to power for the second time in February 1640. Along with her crazy son, Ibrahim I, she began to rule the Ottoman Empire as regent. Everyone loved her, she had a huge experience in rule, she did a lot of charity. Everything seemed perfect, but her son, Ibrahim, soon came under the influence of bad advisers. Cinci Hoca was a religious leader in occult sciences who took advantage of the Sultan’s mental problems and seriously influenced him. As a result, the Sultan executed his Grand Vizier in 1644 and exiled his mother. He originally intended to send his mother to the island of Rhodes, but eventually, his concubines persuaded him to send her only to another palace. Kösem Sultan spent the next few years there in exile, but during that time she corresponded regularly with the statesmen and tried to keep everything under control. She probably wrote her well-known letter to Hezarpare Ahmed Pasha here, saying, "In the end, he will not leave you or me alive and we will lose control of the state again, thereby destroying our society." The situation deteriorated to the point that in 1647 Kösem Sultan and the new Grand Vizier, Salih Pasha and Seyhülislam Abdürrahim Efendi tried to dethrone Ibrahim but they failed. The next year, both the Janissaries and the Ulema joined the rebellion, and on August 8, 1648, the mad sultan was easily dethroned and imprisoned and his followers were removed from positions.

Ibrahim was succeeded by his son, Mehmed, who was barely 6 years old, andso he needed a regent. The statesmen asked Kösem Sultan for the honorary task. The position of regent was usually held by teachers, pashas, or mothers (in the case of Mehmed II, the Grand Vizier was regent; in Ahmed I, his mother and teacher; in Murad IV, and Ibrahim's case their mother), so Kösem Sultan was the first grandmother to become regent. According to the most accepted opinions, this happened because Mehmed’s mother, Turhan Hatice, was not even 25 years old at the time, too young and inexperienced to run the empire. Anyhow Kösem Sultan started her third regency and she constantly disregarded Mehmed’s mother, Turhan. Because of Turhan’s youth, she might truly would not have been the best regent, yet she had every right to control the harem. Kösem Sultan, however, did not allow this to the young woman either. So Turhan, in vain was the mother of the reigning sultan, all her duties were ruled by Kösem Sultan. Kösem Sultan gained more and more enemies both in the divan and the harem, so both places split into two sides: Kösem Sultan and her supporters and Turhan Sultan and her supporters.

Two opposite sides and characters

Kösem Sultan and her supporters

Kösem Sultan ruled the empire as a regent for decades, and when she was not a regent, she followed events as valide sultan. Earlier in her life, she worked together with most of the pashas. During her first regency, she said that she, as the representative of the ruler, intended to be there at the divan meetings in person. This was not allowed by the pashas and so she was forced to accept. During her third regency, however, she was not bowing before anyone’s will. She had lost all her sons, buried at least one daughter, sacrificed her whole life for the empire, so then she refused to compromise on anything anymore. She wished to rule the empire as an absolute monarch. And in the divan she dismissed everyone who disagreed with her. More and more people began to debate her right for ruling. One of her well-known divan speeches happed around this time. Kösem Sultan accused the Grand Vizier Sofu Ahmed Pasha of wanting to kill her, then she continued: “Thank God I survived four rulers and I ruled for a long time myself. The world will neither collapse nor reform with my death.”

Kösem Sultan went too far. She didn't just change the pashas she did not like but replaced them with Janissary officers. The Janissaries have served her with allegiance since the first regency of Kösem Sultan. Back then, in 1623, she went against everyone and gave the Janissaries a huge amount of money after Murad IV's accession to the throne. Although there were rebellions and disagreements, basically the Janissaries - but at least some of their corps - were loyal to Kösem Sultan. Representation of the Janissaries has been a thing for centuries, but to make Janissaries — or simply soldiers — vizieres was too much. Pashas learnt a lot and bore a lot to reach the highest possible positions and they were aware of how to be good veziers. This was their only aim and Kösem put Janissary officers there instead of educated statesmen. Everyone in the divan felt that Kösem Sultan wanted to build a military rule so that she could lead the empire in a way she liked. Thus, by 1651, only a few corps of Janissaries were actually on the side of Kösem in political terms. Although the people still loved her for her generous charity, in political terms their support did not mean much.

In addition to the growing tension with the pashas, Kösem Sultan had a rival in the harem also. Although most sources treat it as a fact that the relationship of Kösem Sultan and Turhan was terrible, there is no evidence to that effect. The relationship between the two of them only began to deteriorate over time, but in general, it can be said that Kösem Sultan just did not care about Turhan at all. She certainly looked down on her and didn't think much about Turhan. Kösem Sultan, although she had her own harem staff, did not have the most influential eunuch. Moreover, some said most of her servants also found her unworthy after realizing the way she treated Turhan. Perhaps it is no coincidence that so many sources mention a servant named Meleki Hatun, who famously switched sides and betrayed Kösem Sultan and began to strengthen Turhan’s side.

Turhan Hatice Sultan and her supporters

Turhan Hatice had more allies and so was in a better position in the harem than Kösem Sultan. She received help from an influential eunuch, Suleiman Agha. Suleiman aga was the leader of the harem agas, an ambitious eunuch with great power and contact system, with significant political influence. The harem was actually torn in two, thanks to the supporters of Kösem Sultan and Turhan Hatice. Both sides had their own chief eunuchs, which caused immense chaos within the harem, people did not know whose instructions to follow. And although the title of Valide Sultan belonged to Turhan Hatice as the mother of the sultan, the vernacular referred to her only as “small valide,” while Kösem Sultan was called “big valide”. Suleiman Agha's support, however, was worth its weight in gold. The eunuch looked primarily at his own interests throughout his life, and he had a great understanding of how to exploit and influence people. This is precisely why the possibility arises that it was Suleiman who set Turhan up and turned her against Kösem Sultan. Perhaps it was Suleiman who - hoping for his own rise from the young valide - persuaded her to take what was her right. In addition, Suleiman Agha was very liked by the young sultan, becoming a kind of father figure for the boy. Of course, it is not my intention to underestimate the role of Turhan in the events, but at the same time, I feel that the role of Suleiman Agha is actually underrated and I would like to make that clear. I’m not saying Turhan was a naive girl led by the evil Suleiman Agha, I just think that without Suleiman’s support and incitement, Turhan probably wouldn’t have, or much later, confronted Kösem Sultan.

In addition to Suleiman, three other major eunuchs also sided with Turhan: Hoca Reyhan Agha, Lala Hajji Ibrahim Agha, and Ali Agha. Hoca Reyhan Agha was closest to Turhan as his associate and religious leader, but Lala Hajji Aga was also a long-term partner in Turhan’s life. In addition to the eunuchs, we must also mention Meleki Hatun, whose legend is well known. According to this, she was the one who betrayed the plan of Kösem Sultan to Turhan, thus saving the little Sultan Mehmed from death and dethronement. However, the reality is probably less romantic. It is unlikely that a previously insignificant, never-ever mentioned servant like Meleki would have known about Kösem Sultan's plans and so could betray her. Certainly, Meleki was given a bigger role in the legend than she actually had. Maybe Meleki has agreed to be a scapegoat, testifying against Kösem Sultan if she gets goods in return. Given what a huge fortune Meleki gained after Kösem Sultan’s death, we can’t rule out this option either. Even if Meleki brought supporters for Turhan within the harem, she could have had quite a bit of an impact on the whole event. In addition to Turhan, the key figure was Suleiman Agha, who also had a close relationship with the divan, so he could easily connect members of the divan who were dissatisfied with Kösem Sultan. The most influential supporter was none other than the Grand Vizier, Siyavuş Pasha, but practically the entire divan turned against Kösem Sultan so far. It should also be mentioned that although most formations of the Janissaries were impartial or were on Kösem Sultan's side, the Sipahies tended to the group of Turhan and her supporters.

What led to the tragic night?

Before turning to the immediate causes, we need to jump back a bit in time to better understand Kösem Sultan's behavior. As is well known, Ibrahim I was succeeded by his son, Mehmed, barely 6 years old, who needed a regent. The statesmen asked Kösem Sultan for the honorary task. However, the request was rather strange. Why is that? The regent position was usually held by teachers, pashas, or mothers, and Kösem Sultan was none. Moreover, Kösem Sultan rejected the request for the first time on the grounds that she no longer has the strength to rule further.

Why did Kösem Sultan take on the task? Did she really want to retire?

To understand Kösem Sultan's thoughts, we need to jump a little further back in time. Kösem Sultan was in exile for years during Ibrahim's reign. From her exile, she repeatedly attempted a coup against her own son. From one of her surviving letters in exile, it is clear that she was part of the coup that eventually dethroned her son. Outwardly, however, she showed a very different picture. After Ibrahim was shut down, they wanted to put his son, Mehmed, on the throne. Kösem Sultan then met with the statesmen at Topkapi Palace to discuss with them what Ibrahim's fate should be. They negotiated for hours, but Kösem Sultan all along refused to give Ibrahim's eldest son to the statemen. The statesmen had to publicly convince Kösem Sultan for hours. Kösem Sultan who had previously done everything to dethrone her son is now standing by his son. Why? Of course, we will never know exactly what happened in her mind. However, it seems probable, that Kösem Sultan wanted to keep the image of a loving mother in front of the soldiers and the people. If she would just agree to Ibrahim's dethronement and Mehmed's enthronement that would be strange from a loving mother. Therefore, she held a sham debate with the pashas not to lose the sympathy of the people, but at the same time to keep the empire safe. Kösem Sultan was an experienced politician who was able to rule for years, and her loving and caring mother image was essential to that. Thus, with Kösem Sultan's consent, Sultan Ibrahim was eventually closed up and Mehmed has proclaimed their new sultan. Perhaps the first rejection of regency in 1648 was also part of a play like this. Kösem Sultan maybe felt the people expect this of her, so she offered to retire, while maybe in the background she had already agreed with the pashas.

And why did the members of the divan let Kösem Sultan to be the regent? After all, any of the members of the divan or even Mehmed's teacher could have applied for the task. And that would give huge power to them. So why did they give this opportunity to Kösem Sultan?

Ibrahim I was executed on August 18, 1648. Some say Kösem Sultan gave her consent to the execution but it cannot be ruled out that the execution took place behind her back. As I mentioned above, the mother of the dethroned or assassinated sultans has traditionally retreated to the Old Palace, where they lived their remaining years politically inactive. In her case, however, this did not happen. This raises the possibility that Kösem Sultan was unaware of Ibrahim’s execution and the pashas tried to reconcile the shattered woman with this gesture. Maybe Kösem gave her consent, knew what will happen, but still in the end she couldn't bear the pain. Either way, after the execution Kösem Sultan has changed. She turned against the pashas with whom she had always cooperated before. Whichever version is true, we can clearly see that the Kösem Sultan who became a regent to Mehmed IV, was no longer the same woman who had previously been considered the beloved mother of the empire.

But who ordered the execution of Ibrahim? Do we know? No, we do not know. Actually any of the statesmen could do it, but either Suleiman Agha or Turhan Sultan could make the little sultan to sign the fetwa petition and then send it to the Seyhülislam to authorize. Anyhow, the fetwa was authorized with full right, as Ibrahim was very harmful to the empire.

The murder

As can be seen from the above summary, Kösem Sultan was trying to build an absolute monarchy in which no one but a few Janissary corpses supported her, so a huge team gathered against her. According to the well-known version, over time, the strife between Kösem Sultan and the statesmen escalated to the point that, with the support of Turhan Hatice, the statesmen tried to remove her from her position. Kösem Sultan in response to this planned to dethrone Sultan Mehmed and put her other grandson on the throne instead. To do this, she wanted to let the Janissaries into the palace so that they could carry out the coup at night, which is why she left the gate to the harem open for the night. However, Kösem Sultan's plan was revealed to her enemies. According to some it was a servant named Meleki Hatun, who betrayed Kösem and told her plans to Turhan. Thus, as soon as the men of Kösem Sultan opened the gate on September 2, 1651, the men of Turhan Hatice, led by Chief Eunuch Suleiman Agha, closed it and sent an execution squad to the residence of Kösem Sultan. When she heard knocking on her door Kösem Sultan thought that her own allies had come, so she shouted at them, “Have you come?”. However, instead of the voice of the Janissaries, she heard the voice of the eunuch Suleiman Agha, which made her panic and flee. It’s not exactly known if she did get out of her apartment and if yes then how because the descriptions don’t match. Some said she hid in a closet inside her apartment, others said she tried to get to the Janissaries, but she couldn’t get through the closed gate, so she finally hid in the room next to the gate.

The execution squad, which consisted of several eunuchs (Suleiman Agha, Hoca Reyhan Agha, Lala Hajji Ibrahim Agha, and Ali Agha, as well as some unknown eunuchs) continued the search. Kösem Sultan hid in a closet from which the edge of her dress protruded, revealing her hiding place. When they found her, she threw money at her executioners, trying to pay them off, but she had no chance against Turhan's loyal men. Legend has it that while the men tried to capture and strangle the valide sultan they ripped out her diamond earrings - which she had received from Sultan Ahmed - from her ears; torn apart her clothes as they tried to take away the precious ornaments from her. Kösem Sultan beyond her sixties fought very hard but in the end, the eunuchs overcame her. Some say she was strangled with her own hair, others said with a curtain. She survived the first strangulation attempt but did not survive the second.

However, there are several points in the story above that raise doubts:

- Kösem Sultan's problem was not Mehmed but was the pashas, Turhan and Suleiman Agha. Then why didn't she get rid of them? Wouldn’t it have been easier and more logical to kill these people than to dethrone one child sultan for the benefit of another child? Of course, we can justify this with the fact that Kösem Sultan was no longer sane, so let’s not even look for logic in her actions. However, it may also raise the possibility that perhaps Kösem Sultan was completely or at least partially innocent throughout the series of events. She may not have planned anything with the Janissaries, the whole plan was only invented by Turhan and her men to legitimize their own actions. However, it contradicts that the Janissaries were indeed preparing to gather on the tragic night, and it is unlikely that Turhan and her team could successfully cheat the Janissaries without Kösem Sultan realizing it. It is possible that Kösem Sultan was indeed prepared for a minor coup, but it was perhaps not directed against Mehmed. Kösem Sultan had to realize that besides the pashas, Suleiman Aga was behind the "rebellious" behavior of Turhan and Mehmed. I think Kösem Sultan planned a smaller coup in which she would have got rid of the eunuchs and servants she didn’t like and would have scared Mehmed and Turhan. This would have ensured her own power and that neither Turhan nor Mehmed would question her anymore.

- Why was Kösem Sultan killed in such a strange way? After all, the lawful, usual method of execution was by an execution squad with Seyhülislam fetwa and silk/bow string. (It is important to note, however, that female members of the dynasty have not been executed before, women have typically been punished only with exile.) Kösem Sultan in contrast was killed by inexperienced eunuchs, with a kind of fake fetwa, and by her own hair or a curtain. The question arises that perhaps the execution of Kösem Sultan was not even planned. If the execution would be planned, executioners could clearly kill her after a legal fetwa. About the fetwa... There was, of course, a fetwa, but the temporality is somewhat disturbed by the fact that the Seyhülislam was replaced by one of Turhan's trusted men just when the execution took place. Precisely because of this, and because of the unusual brutality of the execution, there is a possibility that perhaps the execution of Kösem Sultan was not originally planned, only things slipped out of control, and in the heat of the moment, the Eunuchs executed Kösem Sultan. In retrospect, to legalize the events, they produced a fetwa with the new Seyhülislam.

- But then who and why did finally decide that Kösem Sultan should die? Turhan was not present at the events, and since the murder was not planned in advance - based on the fetwa and executioners - I would remove her from the list of suspects. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Turhan Hatice Sultan and Suleiman Agha talked about this possibility also. It is more probable, however, that they originally merely wanted to scare Kösem Sultan, to show her that she had been exposed, that time had passed over her. In my opinion, Turhan hoped that Kösem Sultan would admit her defeat and simply retire to the Old Palace. It would have been too risky to kill a venerate and beloved valide, especially knowing that none of the female members of the dynasty had ever been executed before. They probably wanted to resign her, but so far there was nothing to lose for Kösem Sultan. The only thing that still made her vivid was power, so she certainly objected to the idea of ​​forced retreat. When Suleiman Agha realized that Kösem Sultan was not listening to them, perhaps out of fear, he decided they had to kill her. After all, if the enraged Kösem Sultan had come out of the palace, Suleiman and the other eunuchs would have found themselves headless at once. Although there is no evidence of it, my personal opinion is that Suleiman may have wanted this from the first minute, as he knew full well that Kösem Sultan would never retire. Either way, the eunuchs eventually defeated and executed the elderly valide in a way that could not be called professional at all.

- Can we completely rule out that Kösem Sultan was executed with a truly legal fetwa and by an execution squad? Unfortunately, this cannot be ruled out either. The English ambassador, for example, reported that an execution squad had killed Kösem Sultan after a fetwa requested by the young sultan. He said that the execution happened in front of Mehmed eyes. We must admit though that the English ambassador was not among the best-informed ones. It is likely that everyone at the time believed that the fetwa was pre-issued. Only later, after historians’ research, it became very possible that the fetwa was presumably made after the execution of Kösem Sultan. It is not seems reasonable that Kösem Sultan would have been executed before the eyes of her 10-year-old grandson, Mehmed. Turhan tried very hard to protect her son, unlikely to have exposed him to such a trauma. Mustafa Naima agrees with the English ambassador that the execution was planned in advance, but he said it was not the eunuchs but an execution squad that killed Kösem Sultan. However, then why was the execution brutal? Why wasn't there a silk/bow string? Why was it performed by unfit eunuchs?

The aftermath of the murder

To prevent any resistance, during the night, Turhan Hatice and her men removed all statesmen who would have endangered them. The first man to be appointed that night was Ebu Said Efendi, the new Seyhülislam. He was the one who eventually issued the fetwa for the execution of Kösem Sultan (in retrospect). Turhan then sent a message to all statesmen and soldiers to immediately go to an audience where they would take allegiance to Sultan Mehmed. Most, out of fear or out of sincere feelings, immediately approached the Sultan, and those who did not, the new Seyhülislam issued a fetwa for them. Thus it became lawful to execute the supporters of Kösem Sultan, since they did not appear before the Sultan either. And the rebellious Janissaries were thus stigmatized as traitors and were legally executed. For commoners, they became the scapegoat for the death of Kösem Sultan. After the murder, Kösem Sultan was transported to the Old Palace, where her body was prepared for the funeral. She received an imperial funeral, and the people of Istanbul voluntarily held 3-day mourning, closing all shops and stores. Kösem Sultan has always been popular among the people, but interestingly the same people did not turn against Turhan because of the death of Kösem Sultan, in fact, Turhan became as loved and revered valide sultan just as Kösem Sultan was.

What happened to the real culprits? Turhan and Mehmed escaped, of course, but it is questionable whether they had any part in the murder at all. It is true that a rebellion in 1656 seriously shook their power, but in the end, they did not lose it. The main reasons for this were the weak Grand Veziers, the resurgent Celali rebellion, and the war with the Venetians. Due to the war people of the capital did not get enough grain, the soldiers were not properly paid, but ordinary people were also increasingly dissatisfied, especially angered by the extreme wealth of those close to the Sultan. Eventually, under the leadership of the Janissaries and Spahis, the people revolted on the fourth of March 1656. During the rebellion, several of those close to the sultan were brutally executed, the whole capital was ravaged. The mob hung all 31 people on trees next to the Blue Mosque. Among them was Meleki Hatun, whom the sultan especially loved. Although the capital has been shaken by riots in the past, such a rebellion has never happened before. Not only did the soldiers revolt, but the people also stood by the soldiers as one. Everyone closed their shops, a general strike took place during the rebellion.

Suleiman Agha was no longer in power when the rebellion took place and perhaps this held his head on his neck. After the assassination of Kösem Sultan, he became the chief black eunuch, but he could only enjoy the position until July 1652. Suleiman continued to stretch beyond his blanket, trying to change political issues that had nothing to do with him. Turhan Hatice also began to realize that Suleiman was not on their side at all, but only on his own. Of particular interest is that Lala Ibrahim Agha convinced Turhan of this, who himself took part in the execution of Kösem Sultan. Lala Ibrahim Agha was Turhan’s personal eunuch and he never longed (or wisely didn’t show her) for a higher position. Turhan was thus finally dismissed Suleiman Agha in 1652 and exiled him to Egypt. The refined eunuch even invented himself in exile, growing into an influential figure who became one of the main figures in Cairo’s local politics. He died in 1676/7.

Epilogue

We will probably never know exactly what led to the execution and how it took place. Nor was my aim with the post to present a perfect solution in the manner as Hercule Poirot usually does. I merely wished to shed light on the fact that the generally known and accepted theory should be regarded with some healthy doubts. The fact that it is the most generally accepted theory, does not mean it is the most thorough. There are plenty of question marks, dubious information which makes it clear that this whole situation was more complicated than two women fighting for domination over the harem.

Kösem Sultan was the sultana who broke the highest, who could have been at the top for a long time, but from the great heights, she finally fell down and became the only murdered valide sultana ever. Kösem Sultan had several titles during her life: Naib-i Sultanat (regent of the Ottoman Empire), Umin al-Mu'minin (mother of all muslims), Büyük Valide Sultan (great Valide Sultan), Valide-i Sehide (martyred mother), Valide-i Maktule (murdered mother), Valide-i Muazzama (magnificent mother).

Used sources:  M. Kocaaslan - IV. Mehmed Saltanatında Topkapı Sarayı Haremi: İktidar, Sınırlar ve Mimari; L. Peirce - The Imperial Harem; Ö. Kumrular - Kösem Sultan: iktidar, hırs, entrika; C. Finkel - Osman’s Dream: the History of the Ottoman Empire; M. P. Pedani - Relazioni inedite; N. Sakaoğlu - Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları; G. Börekçi - Factions and Favorites at the Courts of Sultan Ahmed I and His Immediate Predecessors; F. Davis - The Palace of Topkapi in Istanbul; Faroqhi - The Ottoman Empire and the World; C. Imber - The Ottoman Empire 1300-1650; F. Suraiya, K. Fleet - The Cambridge History of Turkey 1453-1603; F. Suraiya - The Cambridge History of Turkey, The Later Ottoman Empire, 1603–1839; Ö. Düzbakar - Charitable Women And Their Pious Foundations In The Ottoman; G. Junne - The black eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire, Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan.

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A Nők szultánátusának egyik legtöbbször tárgyalt témája Köszem szultána brutális kivégzése. Általában a laikusok elintézik annyival, hogy Köszem szultánát menye, Turhan Hatice gyilkoltatta meg hosszas hatalmi harc lezárásaként. Rengeteg beszámoló áll rendelkezésünkre az eseményekről, ám meglehetősen kevés van köztük, mely konkrétan korabeli lenne. Ebben az írásban szeretném összegezni, hogy mit tudunk, kik voltak a szereplők az eseményekben és hogy mi történhetett azon a bizonyos éjjelen. A kommentszekcióban várom mindenki véleményét, megjegyzését a témáról, hogy meg tudjuk vitatni a posztot! :) Aki nem ismerné Köszem szultánát, az ITT tudja elolvasni életrajzát.  

Mit tudunk biztosan?

- Köszem I. Ibrahim trónfosztása és kivégzése után régens lett unokája IV. Mehmed mellett. - Turhan, Mehmed anyja és Köszem külöböző oldalon álltak a politikai játszmák során. - Köszemet 1651. szeptember 2-án meggyilkolták ellenségei. - Turhan Hatice lett az új régens, Köszem gyilkosai nem lettek megbüntetve, támogatóitól azonban rövidesen megszabadultak.

Előzmények

Köszem szultána 1640 februárjában másodjára került hatalomra. Zavart elméjú fia, I. Ibrahim mellett régensként kezdte irányítani az Oszmán Birodalmat. Köszemet mindenki szerette, az uralkodásban hatalmas tapasztalata volt, rengeteget jótékonykodott. Minden tökéletesnek tűnt, azonban fia, Ibrahim hamarosan rossz emberek befolyása alá került. Cinci Hoca okkult tudományokkal foglalkozó vallási vezető volt, aki kihasználta a szultán mentális problémáit és komolyan befolyásolta őt. Ennek az lett az eredménye, hogy a szultán 1644-ben a nagyvezírét kivégeztette, édesanyját pedig száműzte. Eredetileg Rodosz szigetére szándékozta küldeni anyját, de végül ágyasai meggyőzték, hogy csak egy másik palotába küldje. Köszem elkövetkezendő éveit ott töltötte száműzetésben, ám ezalatt az idő alatt is rendszeresen levelezett az államférfiakkal és igyekezett kézben tartani mindent. Valószínűleg itt írta meg jól ismert levelét is Hezarpare Ahmed Pasának, mely így szólt: “Végül sem titeket, sem engem nem hagyna életben és újra elveszítenénk az uralmat az állam felett, ezzel pedig lerombolnánk társadalmunkat.” Odáig fajult a helyzet, hogy 1647-ben Köszem szultána és az új nagyvezír, Salih Pasa és a Seyhülislam Abdürrahim Efendi megpróbálták trónfosztani Ibrahimot, azonban lebuktak. A következő évben a janicsárok és az ulema is csatlakozott a lázadáshoz és 1648 augusztus 8-án könnyűszerrel trónfosztották és bebörtönözték az őrült szultánt, követőit pedig eltávolították a pozíciókból.

Ibrahimot a trónon fia, az alig 6 éves Mehmed követte, aki mellett szükség volt egy régensre. Az államférfiak Köszemet kérték fel a megtisztelő feladatra. A régensi pozíciót általában tanítók, pasák vagy édesanyák látták el (II. Mehmed esetében a nagyvezír volt régens, I. Ahmednél anyja és tanítója, IV. Muradnál és I. Ibrahimnál anyjuk), így Köszem volt az első nagymama, akiből régens lehetett. Erre a legelfogadottabb vélemények szerint azért kerülhetett sor, mert Mehmed édesanyja, Turhan Hatice még 25 éves sem volt ekkor, túl fiatal és tapasztalatlan volt a birodalom irányításához. Köszem tehát belekezdett harmadik régensségébe és folyamatosan semmibe vette Mehmed édesanyját, Turhant. Turhan fiatalsága okán talán tényleg nem lett volna jó régens, ugyanakkor a hárem irányításához minden joga megvolt. Köszem viszont ezt sem engedte meg a fiatal nőnek. Turhan tehát hiába volt a regnáló szultán anyja, minden feladatkörét Köszem uralta. Emellett Köszem a divánban is egyre több ellenségre tett szert, így a hárem és a divan is két oldalra szakadt: Köszem támogatóira és Turhan támogatóira.

Két, szemben álló oldal és a szereplők

Köszem oldala

Köszem évtizedeken át uralta régensként a birodalmat, amikor pedig nem régens volt, valideként követte figyelemmel az eseményeket. Életének korábbi szakaszában a legtöbb pasa mellette állt, ami nem volt elmondható harmadik régensségéről. Köszem első régenssége alatt is jelezte, hogy ő, mint az uralkodó reprezentálása ott kíván lenni a divan gyűléseken személyesen. Ezt akkor a pasák nem engedték meg neki, amit ő kénytelen-kelletlen el is fogadott. Harmadik régenssége során azonban szó sem lehetett arról, hogy meghajoljon bárki akarata előtt. Elveszítette összes fiát, legalább egy lányát is eltemette már, egész életét a birodalomnak áldozta, nem volt hajlandó többé bármiben is kompromisszumot kötni. Gyakorlatilag egyeduralkodóként kívánta irányítani a birodalmat. A divanban pedig aki nem értett vele egyet, azt eltiporta és menesztette. Köszem jogát az uralkodáshoz egyre többen kezdték el vitatni, egyik ilyen divan vita során hangzott el a jól ismert beszéde is. Ekkor Köszem megvádolta a nagyvezír Sofu Ahmed Pasát azzal, hogy meg akarta őt öletni, majd így folytatta: “Istennek hála négy uralkodót segítettem és én magam is hosszú ideig uralkodtam. A világ nem fog sem összeomlani sem megreformálódni a halálommal.”

Köszem azonban nem elégedett meg a pasák megalázásával, tanácsaik el nem fogadásával. Még csak nem is neki tetsző más pasákra cserélte le őket, hanem janicsárokat kezdett vezíri rangra emelni. A janicsárok Köszem első régenssége óta hűséggel szolgálták az asszonyt, amiért az mindenkivel szembe menve 1623-ban hatalmas trónralépési jussot adott a janicsároknak IV. Murad trónralépése után. Bár voltak lázadások és egyet nem értések, alapvetően a janicsárok - de legalábbis néhány hadtestük - hűségesek voltak Köszemhez. A janicsárok képviselete évszázadok óta működött, azonban az, hogy janicsárokat - vagy egyszerűen katonákat - tegyenek vezírré a kitanult államférfiak helyett, több volt a soknál. Mindenki úgy érezte a divanban, hogy Köszem egy katonai uralmat kíván kiépíteni, hogy a neki tetsző módon vezethesse a birodalmat. Így Köszem oldalán 1651-re tulajdonképpen csak a janicsárok néhány hadteste állt politikai értelemben. Bár a nép továbbra is szerette őt bőkezű jótékonykodása miatt, politikai értelemben az ő támogatásuk nem jelentett sokat.

Amellett, hogy a pasákkal egyre nőtt a feszültség, Köszem a háremben is riválisra akadt. Bár a legtöbb forrás tényként kezeli, hogy Köszem és menye, Turhan viszonya tragikus volt, nincs erre utaló bizonyíték. Kettejük viszonya csak az idő előrehaladtával kezdett megromlani, általánosan azonban inkább az mondható el, hogy Köszem egyáltalán nem foglalkozott menyével. Mindenbizonnyal lenézte és nem tartotta sokra Turhant, így komolyan sem vette a nőt. Köszemnek bár megvolt a saját hárem személyzete, a legbefolyásosabb eunuch nem volt a kezében. Mindemellett egyesek szerint szolgálói nagyrésze is méltatlannak találta, ahogy Köszem Turhannal bánt. Talán nem véletlen, hogy oly sok forrás említi a Meleki Hatun nevű szolgálót, aki híresen oldalt váltott és Köszemet elárulva Turhan oldalát kezdte erősíteni.

Turhan Hatice oldala

Turhan Hatice a háremben jobban állt, mint Köszem. Segítséget kapott egy befolyásos eunuchtól, Szulejmán agától. Szulejmán aga volt a hárem agák vezetője, aki nagy hatalommal és kapcsolatrendszerrel rendelkező, ambíciózus eunuch volt, jelentős politikai befolyással. A hárem tulajdonképpen két oldalra szakadt, Köszem és Turhan Hatice támogatóira. Mind a két oldalnak megvolt a saját főeunuchja, ami hatalmas káoszt okozott a háremen belül, az emberek nem tudták, kinek az utasításait kövessék. És bár a valide szultána titulus a szultán anyjaként Turhan Haticét illette meg, a köznyelv csak “kis valide”-ként hivatkozott rá, míg Köszem volt a “nagy valide”. Szulejmán Aga támogatása ugyanakkor aranyat ért. Az eunuch első sorban a saját érdekeit nézte egész élete során, azonban remekül értett ahhoz, hogyan használjon ki és vezessen meg embereket. Épp emiatt felmerül annak a lehetősége is, hogy Szulejmán volt az, aki Turhant felbújtotta és Köszem ellen hangolta. Talán Szulejmán volt az, aki saját felemelkedését remélve a fiatal validétől, meggyőzte arról, hogy vegye el ami a saját jussa. Emellett Szulejmán Aga az ifjú szultánnal is megkedveltette magát, egyfajta apafigurává vált a fiú számára. Természetesen nem célom alábecsülni Turhan szerepét az eseményekben, ugyanakkor úgy érzem, hogy Szulejmán Aga szerepe ténylegesen alábecsült és ezt szeretném mindneképpen érzékeltetni. Nem azt mondom, hogy Turhan egy naíva volt, akit megvezetett a csúf, rossz Szulejmán Aga, csupán azt gondolom, hogy Szulejmán támogatása és felbújtása nélkül, Turhan valószínűleg nem, vagy sokkal később szállt volna szembe Köszemmel.

Szulejmán mellett három másik jelentősebb eunuch is Turhan oldalán állt, Hoca Reyhan Aga, Lala Hajji Ibrahim Aga és Ali Aga. Hoca Reyhan Aga állt legközelebb Turhanhoz, mint társalkodója és vallási vezetője, de Lala Hajji Aga is hosszútávú partner volt Turhan életében. Az eunuchok mellett meg kell említenünk Meleki Hatunt is, akinek legendája jól ismert. Eszerint ő volt az, aki Köszem tervét elárulta Turhannak, ezzel megmentve a kis Mehmed szultánt a haláltól és trónfosztástól. A valóság azonban valószínűleg kevésbé romantikus. Valószínűtlen, hogy egy korábban sosem említett, jelentéktelen szolgáló, mint Meleki tudott volna Köszem terveiről és el tudta volna árulni. Minden bizonnyal Melekit csupán oldalváltása miatt ruházták fel nagyobb szereppel, mint ami valójában volt. Talán Meleki elvállalta, hogy lesz bűnbak, tanúskodik Köszem ellen, ha cserébe javakat kap. Legalábbis tekintettel arra, hogy Meleki milyen hatalmas vagyonra tett szert Köszem halála után, nem zárhatjuk ki ezt az opciót sem. Meleki ha a háremen belül hozott is támogatókat Turhan számára, az egész eseményre meglehetősen kevés ráhatása lehetett. A kulcs figura Turhan mellett Szulejmán aga volt, akinek komoly kapcsolata volt a divánnal is, így könnyedén tudta csapatukhoz kapcsolni a divan Köszemmel elégedetlen tagjait is. A legbefolyásosabb támogató nem volt más, mint a Nagyvezír, Siyavuş Pasa, de gyakorlatilag szinte a teljes divan Köszem ellen fordult eddigre. Azt is meg kell említeni, hogy bár a jancsiárok legtöbb alakulata pártatlan vagy Köszem párti volt, a szpáhik inkább húztak a Turhan támogatói csoport felé.

Mi vezetett a tragikus éjszakához?

Mielőtt a közvetlen okokra rátérnék, kicsit vissza kell ugranunk az időben, hogy jobban megérthessük Köszem viselkedését. Mint ismert, trónfosztása után, I. Ibrahimot a trónon fia, az alig 6 éves Mehmed követte, aki mellett szükség volt egy régensre. Az államférfiak Köszemet kérték fel a megtisztelő feladatra. Ugyanakkor a felkérés meglehetősen furcsa volt. Miért is? A régensi pozíciót általában tanítók, pasák vagy édesanyák látták el, Köszem pedig egyik sem volt. Sőt, Köszem a felkérést először elutasította arra hivatkozva, hogy már nincs ereje tovább uralkodni.

Miért vállalta el Köszem mégis a feladatot? Valóban vissza akart vonulni?

Ahhoz, hogy megértsük Köszem gondolatait, még egy kicsit visszább kell ugranunk az időben. Köszem Ibrahim uralkodása során száműzetésben volt éveken át. Száműzetéséből pedig többször kísérelt meg puccsot saját fia ellen. Egyik száműzetésben írt levele alapján egyértelmű, hogy részese volt a puccsnak, mely végül fiát trónfosztotta. Kifelé azonban egészen más képet mutatott. Miután Ibrahimot elzárták, trónra szerették volna léptetni fiát, Mehmedet. Köszem szultána ekkor találkozott a Topkapi Palotában az államférfiakkal, hogy megvitassa velük mi legyen Ibrahim sorsa. Órákon át tárgyaltak, Köszem azonban végig megtagadta, hogy kiadja Ibrahim legidősebb fiát, Mehmedet. Így pedig nem lehetett őt kikiáltani szultánnak. Az államférfiaknak órákon keresztül kellett nyilvánsoan győzködniük Köszemet. Az a Köszem, aki korábban mindent elkövetett fia trónfosztásáért, most fia mellett állt ki. Miért? Természetesen sosem fogjuk megtudni, hogy Köszem fejében pontosan mi játszódott le. Valószínűnek tűnik azonban, hogy Köszem szerette volna megtartani a katonák és nép előtt a szerető anya képét, melybe nem fért bele saját fiának trónfosztása. Ezért egy álvitát tartott a pasákkal, hogy ne veszítse el a nép szimpátiáját, de ugyanakkor a birodalomnak is jót tegyen. Köszem tapasztalt politikus volt, aki éveken át tudott vezető szerepben maradni, ehhez pedig nélkülözhetetlen volt az imázs is. Így végül Köszem beleegyezésével elzárták Ibrahim szultánt, Mehmedet pedig új szultánjukká kiáltották ki. Talán a régensség első elutasítása is egy ehhez hasonló színjáték része volt. Köszem talán úgy érezte, hogy a nép ezt várja tőle, ezért felajánlotta visszavonulását, miközben talán a háttérben már régen megegyezett a pasákkal.

És a divan tagjai miért hagyták, hogy Köszem legyen a régens? Hiszen a divan tagjai közül akárki vagy akár Mehmed tanítója is jelentkezhetett volna a feladatra. Ez pedig hatalmas befolyást tett volna a férfiak kezébe. Miért engedték hát akkor át ezt a lehetőséget Köszemnek?

I. Ibrahimot 1648. augusztus 18-án kivégezték. Egyesek szerint Köszem szultána beleegyezését adta fia kivégzésébe, ám az sem zárható ki, hogy a kivégzés a háta mögött történt meg. Mint már fentebb említettem a trónfosztott vagy meggyilkolt szultánok édesanyja a tradíció szerint a Régi Palotába vonult vissza, ahol politikamentesen élték hátralévő éveiket. Köszem esetében azonban nem ez történt. Ez felveti annak eshetőségét, hogy Köszem nem tudott Ibrahim kivégzéséről és a pasák ezzel a gesztussal igyekeztek kiengesztelni az összetört nőt. De akkor ki rendelte el Ibrahim kivégzését? Gyakorlatilag bárki megtehette az államférfiak közül, de akár Szulejmán aga vagy Turhan is aláírathatta a fetwa kérvényt a kis szultánnal, melyet aztán a Seyhülislam teljes joggal engedélyezett, hiszen Ibrahim nagyon kártékony volt a birodalomra nézve. Akárhogyan is, Köszem a kivégzés után megváltozott. Vagy azért fordult a pasák ellen - akikkel korábban mindig együttműködő volt -, mert azok átverték őt Ibrahim kivégzésével kapcsolatban; vagy egyszerűen anyai szíve nem bírta elviselni, hogy beleegyezését adta fia kivégzésébe és megbomlott az elméje. Bármelyik verzió is igaz, azt tisztán látjuk, hogy az a Köszem, aki IV. Mehmed mellett régens lett, már nem ugyanaz az ember volt, akit korábban a birodalom imádott anyjának tekintettek.

A gyilkosság

Ahogy a fenti összefoglalásból is kiderül, Köszem egyeduralmat próbált kiépíteni, melyben néhány janicsár hadtesten kívül senki nem támogatta, így hatalmas csapat gyűlt össze ellene. A jól ismert verzió szerint, idővel a viszály Köszem és az államférfiak között odáig fajtult, hogy Turhan Hatice támogatásával az államférfiak megpróbálták Köszemet eltávolítani pozíciójából. Köszem válaszul erre azt tervezte, hogy trónfosztja IV. Mehmed szultánt és helyette másik unokáját ülteti a trónra. Ehhez a janicsárokat be kívánta engedni a palotába, hogy azok az éj leple alatt elvégezzék a puccsot, emiatt nyitva hagyatta éjszakára a hárem bejáratát. Köszem terve azonban ellenségei fülébe jutott, egyesek szerint egy Meleki nevű szolgáló által. Így amint Köszem emberei 1651. szeptember 2-án, kinyitották a kaput, Turhan Hatice emberei, a főeunuch Szulejmán Aga vezetésével bezáratták azt és kivégzőosztagot küldtek Köszem szultána lakrészébe. Mikor emberei Köszem lakrészéhez érve bekopogtak az ajtón, Köszem azt hitte, hogy saját emberei jöttek, ezért kikiabált nekik, hogy “Megjöttetek?”. Erre azonban a janicsárok hangja helyett Köszem az eunuch Szulejmán Aga hangját hallotta meg, amitől bepánikolt és menekülni kezdett. Nem pontosan tudni, hogy hogy jutott ki lakrészéből vagy ki jutott e egyáltalán, mert a leírások nem egyeznek. Egyesek szerint lakrészén belül bújt el egy szekrényben, mások szerint megpróbált kijutni a janicsárokhoz, azonban a zárt kapun keresztül nem tudott, így végül a kapu melletti szobában bújt el. A kivégzőosztag, amely több eunuchból (Szulejmán Aga, Hoca Reyhan Aga, Lala Hajji Ibrahim Aga és Ali Aga, valamint néhány ismeretlen eunuch) állt folytatta a keresést. Köszem egy szekrényben rejtőzött el, melyből ruhájának széle kilógott, ezzel felfedve rejtekhelyét. Amikor megtalálták, kivégzői elé pénzt dobott, ezzel próbálva lefizetni őket, ám esélye sem volt Turhan hű embereivel szemben. A legenda szerint a férfiak próbálták lefogni a validét, miközben füléből kitépték gyémánt fülbevalóit, melyeket Ahmed szultántól kapott; ruháját is megtépkedték, ahogy próbálták leszedni róla az értékes díszeket. Köszem túl a hatvanon is erősen ellenállt kivégzőinek, ám végül felülkerekedtek rajta. Egyesek szerint saját hajával, mások szerint egy függönnyel fojtották meg. Az első fojtogatási kísérlet után még magához tért, a másodikat azonban már nem élte túl.

Van azonban több olyan pont a fenti történetben, ami kétségeket ébreszt:

- Köszem problémája nem Mehmed volt, hanem a pasák, Turhan és Szulejmán Aga. Miért nem tőlük szabadult meg? Nem lett volna egyszerűbb és jogszerűbb meggyilkoltatni ezeket az embereket, mint trónfosztani az egyik gyermek szultánt egy másik gyermek javára? Természetesen megindokolhatjuk annyival a dolgot, hogy Köszem nem volt már épelméjű, így ne is keressünk logikát cselekedeteiben. Ugyanakkor felmerülhet az is, hogy talán Köszem teljesen vagy legalább részben ártatlan volt az egész eseménysorozatban. Elképzelhető, hogy nem tervezett semmit a janicsárokkal, az egész terv csak Turhan és emberei által lett kitalálva, hogy legitimizálják saját tetteiket. Ennek azonban ellent mond, hogy a janicsárok a tragikus éjszakán valóban gyülekezni készültek, az pedig nem valószínű, hogy Turhan és csapata sikerrel vezette meg a janicsárokat úgy, hogy Köszem erről ne szerzett volna tudomást. Lehetséges, hogy Köszem valóban készült egy kisebb puccsra, de az talán nem Mehmed ellen irányult. Köszemnek látnia kellett, hogy a pasák mellett Szulejmán Aga a fő felbújtó Turhan és Mehmed "rebellis" viselkedése mögött. Úgy vélem, Köszem egy kisebb puccsot tervezett, melyben megszabadult volna a neki nem tetsző eunuchoktól, szolgálóktól és ráijesztett volna Mehmedre és Turhanra. Ezzel biztosíthatta volna saját hatalmát és azt, hogy többé se Turhan se Mehmed ne kérdőjelezze őt meg.

- Miért gyilkolták meg Köszemet ilyen furcsa módon? Hiszen a jogszerű, szokásos kivégzési mód kivégző osztag által, Seyhülislami fetwával és selyemzsinórral történt. (Fontos ugyanakkor megjegyezni, hogy a dinasztia nő tagjain nem alkalmaztak korábban kivégzést, a nőket jellemzően száműzetéssel büntették.) Köszemet ezzel szemben képzetlen eunuchokkal, hamis fetwával és a saját hajával vagy egy függönnyel gyilkolták meg. Felmerül a kérdés, hogy talán Köszem kivégzése nem is volt eltervezve. Ha a kivégzés el lett volna tervezve, könnyedén tudtak volna kivégzőket szerezni selyemzsinórral és a fetwa kikérésének körülményei is egyértelműek lennének. Volt természetesen fetwa, de az időbeliséget kissé megzavarja a tény, hogy a régi Seyhülislamot ugyanakkor váltották le Turhan egyik megbízható emberére, mikor a kivégzés zajlott. Épp emiatt, és a kivégzés szokásostól eltérő brutalitása miatt, felmerülhet annak a lehetősége is, hogy talán Köszem kivégzése nem volt eredetileg eltervezve, csupán menet közben csúszott ki az irányítás Turhan kezéből és a pillanat hevében az eunuchok kivégezték Köszemet. Utólag pedig, hogy legalizálják az eseményeket gyártattak egy fetwát az új Seyhülislámmal.

- De akkor ki és miért döntött végül úgy, hogy Köszemnek meg kell halnia? Turhan nem volt jelen az események során, és mivel a gyilkosság nem volt előre eltervezve, őt kihúznám a gyanúsítottak listájáról. Természetesen az nem zárható ki, hogy Szulejmán Agával beszéltek erről az eshetőségről is. Valószínűbb azonban, hogy eredtileg csupán rá akartak ijeszteni Köszemre, megmutatni neki, hogy leleplezték, eljárt felette az idő. Véleményem szerint Turhan azt remélte, hogy Köszem beismeri vereségét és egyszerűen visszavonul a Régi Palotába. Túl kockázatos lett volna megölni egy ennyire tisztelt és szeretett validét, úgy, hogy korábban sosem végezték ki a dinasztia egyik nőtagját sem. Nem vall épelmére szánt szándékkal előrekitervelten, ilyen módon megölni Köszemet. Valószínűleg le akarták mondatni, Köszemnek azonban eddigre már nem volt vesztenivalója. Az egyetlen dolog, ami még éltette az a hatalom volt, így minden bizonnyal ellenkezett a kényszer visszavonulás gondolatától. Mikor Szulejmán Aga felismerte, hogy Köszem nem hallgat rájuk, talán félelemből úgy döntött meg kell őt ölniük. Hiszen ha a felbőszített Köszem kijutott volna a palotából Szulejmán és a többi eunuch azon nyomban fej nélkül találta volna magát. Bár nem utal rá bizonyíték, de személyes véleményem az, hogy Szulejmán talán az első perctől kezdve ezt akarta, hiszen tudta jól, hogy Köszem sosem fog visszavonulni. Akárhogyan is az eunuchok végül professzionálisnak egyáltalán nem mondható módon legyűrték az idős validét és kivégezték.

- Teljesen kizárható, hogy legális fetwa és kivégző osztag végzett Köszemmel? Sajnos ezt sem zárhatjuk ki. Az angol követ például arról számolt be, hogy kivégző osztag ölte meg Köszemet, az ifjú szultán által kért fetwa után, Mehmed szeme láttára. Igaz, hogy az angol követ nem a legjobban informáltak közé tartozott. Valószínű, hogy mindenki úgy hitte akkoriban, hogy a fetwa előre volt kiadva, csak később, a történészek kutatásai világítottak rá arra, hogy a fetwa feltehetőleg Köszem kivégzése után készült el. Azt pedig, hogy Köszemet a 10 éves Mehmed szeme láttára végezték volna ki, nem tartom valószínűnek. Turhan nagyon erősen igyekezett óvni fiát, nem valószínű, hogy kitette volna őt egy ilyen traumának. Mustafa Naima abban egyetért az angol követtel, hogy a kivégzés előre megtervezett volt, ám szerinte nem eunuchok, hanem kivégző osztag végzett a valide szultánával. Azonban akkor miért volt brutális a kivégzés? Miért nem volt selyemzsinór? Miért alkalmatlan eunuchok vitték véghez?

A gyilkosság utóhatása

Hogy megakadályozzanak bármiféle ellenállást, Turhan Hatice és emberei az éjszaka folyamán minden olyan államférfit eltávolítottak posztjáról, aki veszélyeztette volna őket. Az első ember, akit kineveztek akkor éjjel, az Ebu Said Efendi lett, az új Seyhülislam. Ő volt az, aki végül kiadta a fetwát Köszem kivégzésére (utólagosan). Ezekután Turhan megüzente az összes államférfinak és katonának, hogy azonnal menjenek audienciára, ahol hűséget fogadnak Mehmed szultánnak. A legtöbben félelemből vagy őszinte érzések által vezérelve, azonnal a szultán elé járultak, akik pedig nem, azokra az új Seyhülislám fetwat adott ki. Így vált jogszerűvé Köszem támogatóinak kivégzése is, hiszen ők sem jelentek meg a szultán előtt. A lázadó janicsárok pedig így árulóként lettek megbélyegezve és legálisan kivégezték őket. A nép szemében végül ők lettek bűnbaknak kikiáltva Köszem haláláért. Köszemet a gyilkosság után a Régi Palotába szállították, ahol előkészítették testét a temetésre. Birodalmi temetést kapott, Isztambul népe pedig önkéntesen 3 napos gyászt tartott, bezárva minden boltot és üzletet. Köszem mindig népszerű volt az emberek között, ám érdekes módon ugyanaz a nép, nem fordult Turhan ellen Köszem halála miatt, sőt, Turhan hasonlóan szeretett és tisztelt valide szultána lett, mint amilyen Köszem volt.

Mi történt a valódi bűnösökkel? Turhan és Mehmed természetesen megúszták, ugyanakkor kérdéses, hogy a gyilkosságban egyáltalán volt e részük. Igaz egy 1656-os lázadás komolyan megrengette hatalmukat, de végül nem veszítették el azt. A lázadásnak a legnagyobb oka a gyenge nagyvezírek, az újjáéledő Celali lázadás és a velenceiekkel vívott háború voltak. A körülmények miatt nem jutott elég gabona a fővárosba, a katonák nem kaptak rendesen fizetést, de az egyszerű emberek is egyre elégedetlenebbek voltak, különösen dühítette őket a szultánhoz közelállók extrém gazdagsága. Végül a janicsárok és szpáhik vezetésével a nép fellázadt 1656 március negyedikén. A lázadás során a szultánhoz közelállók közül többeket brutálisan kivégeztek, az egész fővárost feldúlták. A csőcselék Mehmed 31 közeli emberét a Kék Mecset mellett akasztotta fel egy egy fára. Köztük volt Meleki Hatun is, akit a szultán különösen szeretett. Bár korábban is rázták meg lázadások a fővárost, ehhez fogható még sosem történt. Nem csak a katonák lázadtak fel, a nép is egy emberként állt ki a katonák mellett és állt be mögéjük. Mindenki bezárta boltjait, általános sztrájk lépett érvénybe a lázadás idejére.

Szulejmán Aga már nem volt hatalmon amikor a lázadás megtörtént és talán ez tartotta helyén a fejét. Szulejmán Köszem meggyilkolása után a fő hárem eunuch lett, ám a pozíciót csupán 1652 júliusáig élvezhette. Szulejmán tovább nyújtózkodott, mint a takarója ért, olyan politikai témákba is igyekezett beleszólni, amihez semmi köze nem volt. Turhan Hatice is kezdte felismerni, hogy Szulejmán egyáltalán nem az ő oldalukon áll, hanem csak a saját magáén. Külön érdekesség, hogy az a Lala Ibrahim Aga győzte meg erről Turhant, aki maga is részt vett Köszem kivégzésében. Lala Ibrahim Aga Turhan személyes eunuchja volt és maga sosem vágyott (vagy bölcsen nem mutatta ki) ennél magasabb pozícióra. Turhan így végül 1652-ben megfosztotta pozíciójától Szulejmán Agát és száműzte Egyiptomba. A rafinált eunuch még a száműzetésben is feltalálta magát, befolyásos személlyé nőtte ki magát, aki Kairó helyi politikájának egyik főszereplője lett. 1676/7-ben halt meg.

Epilógus

Valószínűleg sosem fogjuk pontosan megtudni, hogy mi vezetett a kivégzéshez és hogyan zajlott az le. A poszttal nem is az volt a célom, hogy egy tökéletes megoldást mutassak be Hercule Poirot módjára, csupán szerettem volna rávilágítani arra, hogy az általánosan ismert és elfogadott teória, inkább megszokásból tekintendő a legáltalánosabban elfogadottnak, nem pedig alapossága miatt. Rengeteg a kérdőjel, kétes információ és helyzet a kivégzés körülményei között, ami egyértelműsíti, hogy ez az egész helyzet bonyolultabb volt annál, minthogy két nő harcot vívott a hárem feletti uralomért.

Köszem volt az a szultána, aki a legmagasabbra tört, aki sokáig lehetett a csúcson, azonban a nagy magasságból zuhant végül alá és vált az egyetlen meggyilkolt valide szultánává. Élete során több címet is kapott: Naib-i Sultanat (az Oszmán Birodalom régense), Umin al-Mu'minin (minden muszlimok anyja), Büyük Valide Sultan (nagy valide szultána), Valide-i Sehide (a mártír anya), Valide-i Maktule (a meggyilkolt anya), Valide-i Muazzama (a csodálatos anya).

Felhasznált források: M. Kocaaslan - IV. Mehmed Saltanatında Topkapı Sarayı Haremi: İktidar, Sınırlar ve Mimari; L. Peirce - The Imperial Harem; Ö. Kumrular - Kösem Sultan: iktidar, hırs, entrika; C. Finkel - Osman’s Dream: the History of the Ottoman Empire; M. P. Pedani - Relazioni inedite; N. Sakaoğlu - Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları; G. Börekçi - Factions and Favorites at the Courts of Sultan Ahmed I and His Immediate Predecessors; F. Davis - The Palace of Topkapi in Istanbul; Faroqhi - The Ottoman Empire and the World; C. Imber - The Ottoman Empire 1300-1650; F. Suraiya, K. Fleet - The Cambridge History of Turkey 1453-1603; F. Suraiya - The Cambridge History of Turkey, The Later Ottoman Empire, 1603–1839; Ö. Düzbakar - Charitable Women And Their Pious Foundations In The Ottoman; G. Junne - The black eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire, Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan.

[therealvagabird]

Unbridled

You can also read the full setting intro HERE.

“We live at the turning of an age. New empires rise from the embers of war. The fairy tales of yesteryear lay dead and buried, and yet beneath the clamor of time’s passing, older forces stir. This is an age of glory. Of power for any with the will to seize it, by steel, or spell, or stranger craft. An unfettered age. An unbridled age.

Who would be strong enough to steer the fate of Arius?”

Hierarch Pios VII Enkrates

Less than a century has passed since the end of the Great War of Liberation, when the peoples of the world arose to throw off the yoke of the Old Vasileia. The end of that vast revolution did not spell an end to the bloodshed, however. Across the lands, cold war festers unceasing. Empires, kingdoms, rebels – from the lowliest wildling barbarian to the mightiest mage-king, all must contend with a new dawning age. The world is changing. Machines and magics of unthinkable power become ever more commonplace. Dark and ancient knowledge is forgotten, swept beneath the passing of history like stones before a river. Chaos reigns despite all who attempt to stop it, and the world’s peoples look towards tomorrow wondering what great upheaval is to be next. It is a time of opportunity – of wonder as well as terror – and great heroes have arisen from the most unlikely places to try and shape the future. For fame, or destiny, or desperation, all must answer the call.

Ninety-five years ago, the mainland of Arius was dominated by a single great empire – the Second Vasileia. Also known as the Old Empire, the Vasileia had once been a grand alliance founded by heroes and legends which had since devolved into a hive of tyranny and corruption over the course of its millennia-spanning reign. Mercantile ambitions, once the driving factor in Vasileian diplomacy, had since turned towards something darker. Near all the Empire was dominated by colossal Trade Houses, whose greed knew no bounds. These in turn were held under the thrall of the Holy Imperial Church and the iron fist of the Kaishan – the Emperor. Any lands not subject to Vasileian rule were targeted to be drained of resources and conquered. With the rise of House Auceptor, last of the Second Empire’s Kaishans, the final pretenses of Imperial nobility were thrown off in favor of an era of brutal oppression.

From a minor noble hold in the Imperial heartland, there came an unlooked-for salvation. A young Kynaz by the name of Leon Isidore was driven into exile after his family and people were destroyed by the Trade Houses for their refusal to sacrifice precious resources which had been discovered on their lands. Leon fled into the wilds, living as a wanderer and a mercenary, a raider and an outlaw, subsisting off of what talents for magic, combat, and persuasion he had gained from his noble upbringing. It was in the wastelands that he met a group of nomadic mystics – the Ardentite Schismatics. The Asur – the celestial-kin – were an ancient race who had given rise to the religion of Ardentism, which has first been adopted by the Ava seafolk in the west, before becoming the theology of the First and Second Vasileias, evolving over time into the corrupt modern form of the Holy Imperial Church. To the Schismatics, the Empire had lost its way, and there was soon to come a great reckoning with the very powers of Heaven.

Leon was taught secret arts by these mystics, and through his quick mastery the Asur saw the promise of a Chosen One. Isidore was taught secrets long thought forgotten by the civilized rulers of the Vasileia, and in time he was named Romasa – the Lamb and the Shepherd.

Romasa would go on to spearhead a great rebellion, assembling the Army of Liberation. He beseeched the elder Ava and Verg peoples in the west and drew up great support from within the Imperial heartlands in the east. Sovereignty was promised to all those myriad folk and nations who chafed under the rule of the Auceptor Kaishan, and the Great War commenced. The power and ingenuity of the rebels was not to be understated, but the legions of the Vasileia were like a sea. It became clear that, in their lust for power, the high commanders of the Vasileia had heeded the temptations of daemons and leveled dark and terrible powers against their upstart foes. Black magics and hordes of monsters threatened to engulf all of Arius, and Romasa was pressed to defeat the Kaishan before the entire world could be given over to the predations of daemonkind. At great cost was the Liberation achieved, however, and by Romasa’s word was the corrupt Old Empire overthrown at last.

Yet peace was not to follow, despite the victory of the Liberation. Romasa, in his ongoing mastery of numerous magical arts, and scarred from his service in the War, had changed from the young man he once was. All were shocked when, at the victory of the rebellion, he declared the founding of a new Vasileia, and crowned himself as Kaishan. In the name of order and stability, it was Kaishan Romasa’s command that all need submit to the new authority of his Prime Eternal Vasileia, forgetting the promises of sovereignty and drastic change he’d offered in exchange for a single-minded dedication to reconstruction. Romasa’s former allies were incensed. In the west, the Ava seafolk of Lindath were primed to declare their succession from his new Vasileia, having been among the foremost supporters of Romasa at his promise of Lindathi independence as in the ancient days. With them came several human nations, as well as the bulk of the Delvers, the Verg; and the Myaatu beastfolk of the northern Auroran Desert.

Following in the wake of the Liberation there was a new conflict which was known as the Winter War – the first seed of the later Long War which would plague the continent for near a century after. Dueling for territory and power, the Accord and the Third Empire spread across the lands, forcing every independent nation to choose one side or another in the vicious battle. The Accord promised freedom, common purpose, and a heroic return to the mythic and glorious elder days, while the Empire offered power, order, and the opportunities of a new industrial age. Insurgencies and rebellions flourished during the Winter War as numerous lands defied the offers of both factions. Most prominent among these groups were the Kaynists – populist armies of laborers and peasants united in a spiritual revival based on the writings of the Asur philosopher Anaxagoras Kayne. The Kaynists caused massive losses to both sides of the Winter War, drafting up great populations of refugees and disaffected folk from out of the debris of conflict.

The Accord dominated the west – the Verg underhomes, the Ava ancestral riverlands of Lindath, and the Bastions of the Myaatu north of the Auroran Desert first of all. To their banner came the kingdoms of Theod and Tiber – confederations of westron humans who had long been allies of the Ava and Verg and had been at the core of the First Empire. The desert sultanate of Afqar came as well, following their Myaatu neighbors in declaring holy war against the treacherous Empire. As the Accord grew, so did their ambitions, keen on bringing the light of freedom to all countries in defiance of the Kaishan. Diplomats found headway in the distant land of Yang, whose Dynast was besieged on all sides by Imperial forces. Likewise, to their south, there lay the Serpent Kingdoms – an offshoot of the Ngara scaledfolk of Cretah who preferred the tradecraft and civilization of the mainland over the more bloodthirsty ways of their cousins. Neighboring Lindath and Theod, the Accord set about in the colonization of the lands of Broadleaf and Stormcleft. These were the homes of the Hyldun – the smallfolk; and the Emim giantkin. The Accord offered protection to the ancestral lands of these peoples if they would join their alliance and contribute their resources and power to the cause. Both Broadleaf and Stormcleft were annexed regardless, but many of their natives chose exile, forming a longstanding grudge against the Accord in the process.

In the east, the Third Empire of the Kaishan Romasa retained much of the former Vasileian heartlands. These were centered about the holy city of Dameseka, seat of the Holy Imperial Church which had been reformed under the Ardentite Schismatics, who placed themselves as the new spiritual leaders of the overall fractious Asur people. The lands neighboring Dameseka – the Tsardom of Kleos, and the Khanates of Tular and Midnah – also fell under the Imperial banner, refusing to follow any power weaker than the mighty Kaishan. Seeking dominion over the Dynast of Yang, the Kaishan at last sought a treaty with the reclusive Genke Shogun of Azakuni, succeeding in assembling a new and diverse Empire for the modern era. Last of all, there were the Jia. Also known as “fiends” or “batfolk”, the Jia were a monstrous race not over two centuries old. They had appeared in the latter days of the Old Vasileia, under the rule of the Auceptor Kaishans, and their origins were unknown. Some claimed they descended from daemons, and they had been brought into the world to serve as foot-soldiers for the dark Auceptor legions. After the Great War, most of the disparate Jia tribes and gangs had fled into the steppe and beyond, persisting as pests and battling all they encountered. Yet the Kaishan saw promise in this folk and a chance for salvation, perceiving how they had begun to form their own societies and cultures in the absence of their former overlords. Romasa elevated the mightiest of the Jia clans above all others, and proclaimed their chieftain the first Overlord, securing the Jia hordes to the service of the Empire. Last among the new core of the Vasileia were the Ngara of Cretah, a minor continent off the southeastern shores. Scaled, bestial creatures who nonetheless had a great dynastic civilization going back beyond all human histories, the Ngara Dynasts were zealous, xenophobic, and enduring, thriving in the jungles and deserts of their inhospitable homeland, raising great cities built on rigid caste systems and bloody theocracy. The Ngara refused to submit to any outside power, but the Kaishan’s spies were able to identify fractures in their defences. With Imperial backing, a coup lead by the great Ngara warrior Jayak Courthand overthrew the last Dynast and installed himself as dictator in preparation of a new Dynasty allied to the Third Vasileia. Following this coalition, the Empire managed to also secure the might of the Three Chosen Tribes of the Emim, warlike outliers of the otherwise peaceful giantkin; the Flamespire Verg, who shared the Empire’s vision of a new era; and the Ava of Antilhia in the west, who were a fearsome offshoot of the peaceful Lindathi Ava keen on vengeance against their traditional foes.

As for the rebels caught between the two bulkheads of the Winter War, prospects became bleaker and bleaker as both the Accord and the Empire grew in power. A once successful guerilla war on a hundred fronts was dismantled piece by piece, with the Kaynists taking the brunt of the assault. Their leaders were killed, their bases destroyed, and the Kaynists – most organized of all the insurgent groups – were in time forced into the cold desolation of the northern mountains. Yet in that unforgiving land there came a second rebirth. In the mountain clefts, the exiled rebels came into contact with the Emim giantkin, whose nomadic numbers had grown since the displacement of the Stormcleft tribes. There were also the Hyldun of Broadleaf. Those of the smallfolk who had not stayed under the Accord, nor fled to the Empire-dominated Hyldun country of Nuri, had chosen to move north. All three of these banished peoples feared and distrusted each other, until the chill of winter began to set in once again. To the surprise of all, a common culture of cooperation existed amongst all three groups. Kaynist diplomats reached out to the clan elders of the Hyldun and the tribal shamans of the Emim and learned of the history of oppression they all shared. The Hyldun and Emim learned of the greater world from the humans, while forgotten secrets of nature were imparted on the Kaynists in turn. A new coalition was formed – known as the Crimson Compact, which was signed in the blood of the disaffected and would spread their revolution across the world. The Compact resurged, bolstered by mighty barbarian warriors and elder magics. Uprisings once again began to fester within the Vasileian heartland, while emissaries of the Compact sought out any and all fringe groups which shared a common animosity for both the Accord and the Empire. On the northeastern continent of Wildland, the forest-dwelling Ruadh Confederacy pledged in the name of their fire-keepers to repel Accord colonialism in exchange for Compact trade. South of the Auroran Desert, the wilder Myaatu joined the cause, along with the human coalition known as the Union of Mwene. To the far east, deep in the jungles of the Ngara homeland, and among the islands of the Great Eastern Sea, there were discovered the tribal warriors of Mazakara, and the Shiplords who followed great Aliki admiral-chieftains. Casteless Ngara unsworn to the Serpent Kingdoms or the Dynast, fringe Verg houses, Greenwater Ava of the inland who shirked the high civilization of their cousins, and even Jia who sought to leave their bloody pasts behind. Pirates, rebels, scum, and heroes. From a thousand fractured sources, from the cities and deep wilds, the Compact was formed – disorganized but still united by a common purpose, and now powerful enough to stand against their foes on equal ground.

The Winter War raged on, and few can say when it ended. For over ninety years since the fall of the Old Vasileia, the Long War has plagued the lands of Arius. Outstripping even the great reach of the empires of old, no stretch of the world has been free from the ambitions of these three sprawling factions. Yet change has been ever present. After just shy of two decades of rule, the Kaishan Romasa disappeared. None know what became of him, even to this day, but for a time it appeared to the forces of the Accord that victory was assured. The vying powers of the Imperial Trade Houses threatened to tear the New Vasileia apart, until the Church reestablished itself as a force of arbitration. Under the direction of Hierarch Pios VII Enkrates, a new order was established within Imperial dogma. The figure of the Vanished Kaishan was created as a synthesis of Ardentite theology and the former Kaishan’s own philosophy. It was this unity that saw the Empire endure in the coming Long War, proving to be the ongoing bane of both the Accord and the Compact.

Yet despite the conflicts of mere mortals, forces of grander and more ancient power continue to roil behind the veil. Within the Unseen, daemons whisper and spirits reach into the material plane. Gods and devils vie for supremacy, and the promises of unfathomable knowledge evermore tempt the peoples of a world wracked by strife. The time may soon come when the world would face total annihilation, made all the surer by the schisms and chaos the Long War has birthed. Unless new heroes and wise leaders could stand against the tide.

[creepingsharia]

The Battle of Hattin: Islam’s July 4 Triumph

Saladin and King Guy after Hattin

by Raymond Ibrahim

Centuries before it was remembered as a day of Independence, July 4 was remembered as one of the most consequential days between the perennial war between Islam and Christendom — and a disaster for the latter. That story follows:

Soon after liberating the ancient Christian city of Antioch from Muslim oppression, the First Crusaders managed to realize their primary goal: take Jerusalem from Islam in 1099.

Despite all the propaganda that surrounds the conquest of Jerusalem, there were very few Muslim calls to jihad (only one is known, and it quickly fell on deaf ears).  After all, in the preceding decades, and thanks to Sunni and Shia infighting, local Muslim populations were hardly unused to such invasions and bloodbaths.

In Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir’s words, “While the Franks—Allah damn them!—were conquering and settling in a part of the territories of Islam, the rulers and armies of Islam were fighting among themselves, causing discord and disunity among their people and weakening their power to combat the enemy.”

In this context, the pure doctrine of jihad—warfare against infidels—was lost to the average Muslim, who watched and suffered as Muslim empires and sects collided.

It was only during the reign of Imad al-Din Zengi (d.1146)—a particularly ruthless Turkish warlord and atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo—and even more so under his son and successor, Nur al-Din (r.1146-1174), that the old duty of jihad was resuscitated.  They founded numerous madrasas, mosques, and Sufi orders all devoted to propagandizing the virtues of jihad and martyrdom.   Contemporary literature makes clear that Islamic zeal (or, in modern parlance, “radicalization”) reached a fever pitch during their reigns.

It was in this context that a Kurd from Tikrit emerged on the scene. Salah al-Din—the “Righteousness of Islam,” or Saladin (b. 1137)—formerly one of Nur al-Din’s viziers, conquered Fatimid (Shia) Egypt in 1171.   On his master’s death, he quickly moved and added more Muslim territories—Damascus and Aleppo—to his growing empire, thereby realizing the crusaders’ worst fear: a united Islamic front.

According to his biographer, Baha’ al-Din, Saladin was a pious Muslim—he loved hearing Koran recitals, prayed punctually, and “hated philosophers, heretics, and materialists and all opponents of the sharia.” Above all else he was a devotee of jihad:  “The sacred works [Koran, hadith, etc.] are full of passages referring to the jihad. Saladin was more assiduous and zealous in this than in anything else. . . . [H]e spoke of nothing else [but jihad], thought only about equipment for the fight, was interested only in those who had taken up arms, had little sympathy with anyone who spoke of anything else or encouraged any other activity.”

By spring of 1186, Saladin’s empire had so grown that he felt the time was right: “We should confront all the enemy’s forces with all the forces of Islam,” he told a subordinate.  Before long, the crusader kingdoms had to marshal all their forces to meet him, near Nazareth in the summer of 1187. Although Saladin had more men—approximately 30,000, half of whom were light cavalry and many of whom were slave-soldiers—the Christians, under the leadership of King Guy, had assembled the largest army since capturing Jerusalem, consisting of some 20,000 knights, including 1,200 heavy horse.

Aware that a head-on assault was futile, Saladin withdrew his forces, went to and besieged the nearby crusader kingdom of Tiberias.  Some twenty miles of stony, parched land—with no natural water sources or wells—stood between the crusader army and the besieged city. Nonetheless, on July 3, they set out to relive it.

Looking “like mountains on the march,” a Muslim chronicler remarked that the “hardened warriors” moved “as fast as if they were always going downhill,” despite being “loaded down with the apparel of war.”

On learning that the crusaders had fallen for his trap, Saladin rubbed his hands with glee: “This, indeed, is what we wished for most!” He immediately dispatched his light cavalry to harry the crusaders. Guy hurried the march: the real battle—and water—lay in Tiberias; but when swarms of Muslim archers bogged down his rear force, the king ordered the entire army to halt and fight near a parched and ominous double hill formation, known as the Horns of Hattin.

“This was on a burningly hot day,” writes a Muslim, “while they themselves were burning with wrath.” According to Ernoul, a European squire who was present:

As soon as they [Franks] were encamped, Saladin ordered all his men to collect brushwood, dry grass, stubble and anything else with which they could light fires, and make barriers which he had made all round the Christians. They soon did this, and the fires burned vigorously and the smoke from the fires was great; and this, together with the heat of the sun above them caused them discomfort and great harm. . . . When the fires were lit and the smoke was great, the Saracens surrounded the host and shot their darts through the smoke and so wounded and killed men and horses.

This continued into nightfall. No one slept; from the surrounding darkness, the Muslims, who by now “had lost their first fear of the enemy and were in high spirits,” made a great din. “They could smell victory in the air, and the more they saw of the unexpectedly low morale of the Franks the more aggressive and daring they became.” Out of the smoke-filled gloom and into the crusader camp came volley after volley of arrows, accompanied by cries of “Allahu Akbar” and triumphant iterations of the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.

Matters only worsened with the breaking of dawn, July 4: seventy camels laden with water and arrows had arrived to refresh and replenish the Muslim camp; and because Saladin’s archers could now see, even more precise shafts continued to rain on the crusader camp. The sadistic sultan further ordered “water pots placed near the [crusader] camp” and “then emptied in view of the Christians so that they should have still greater anguish through thirst, and their mounts too.”

Trapped like wild animals and driven to the brink of madness, the crusaders charged at their tormenters. And so, to quote Ibn al-Athir:

The two armies came to blows. The Franks were suffering badly from thirst, and had lost confidence. The battle raged furiously, both sides putting up a tenacious resistance. The Muslim archers sent up clouds of arrows like thick swarms of locusts, killing many of the Frankish horses. The Franks, surrounding themselves with their infantry, tried to fight their way toward Tiberias in the hope of reaching water, but Saladin realized their objective and forestalled them by planting himself and his army in the way.

As the battle raged, Muslim reserves “created more brushfires and the wind carried the heat and smoke down on to the enemy. They had to endure thirst, the summer’s heat, the blazing fire and smoke and the fury of battle.” Yet the desperate crusaders fought on: “Terrible encounters took place on that day,” writes another Muslim chronicler; “never in the history of generations that have gone have such feats of arms been told.”

The crusaders, who “burned and glowed in a frenzied ferment,” knew that “the only way to save their lives was to defy death,” and so “made a series of charges that almost dislodged the Muslims from their position in spite of their [greater] numbers, had not the grace of Allah been with them. As each wave of attacks fell back they left their dead behind them; their numbers diminished rapidly, while the Muslims were all around them like a circle about its diameter.”

By now the crusader army consisted of a confused mass of desperate men stumbling over the bodies of their dead; forests of prickly shafts appeared everywhere—in man, beast, and earth.  Encircled by an ever-shrinking ring of fire and Islamic horsemen, tormented by arrows and thirst, the Fighters of Christ finally succumbed.

The rout was complete, the gloating great: “This defeat of the enemy, this our victory occurred on a Saturday, and the humiliation proper to the men of Saturday [Jews] was inflicted on the men of Sunday [Christians], who had been lions and now were reduced to the level of miserable sheep,” concluded one Muslim contemporary.   In the end, single Muslim soldiers were seen dragging as many as thirty crusaders with one rope, any of whom would once have terrified the same—so maddened with thirst and reduced to delirium were the Europeans.

Saladin “dismounted and prostrated himself in thanks to Allah.”  Next he ordered the mass slaughter of the military orders—those warrior-monks most committed to the cause, the Knights Templars and Hospitallers: “With him was a whole band of scholars and Sufis and a certain number of devout men and ascetics; each begged to be allowed to kill one of them, and drew his scimitar and rolled back his sleeve. Saladin, his face joyful, was sitting on his dais” as they carved off the heads of their Christian captives.

Then “that night was spent by our people in the most complete joy and perfect delight . . . with cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘There is no god but Allah,’ until daybreak on Sunday,” piously concluded a Muslim chronicler.

Finally, adding insult to injury, Saladin had the True Cross—for centuries Christendom’s most revered relic, which was brought by the crusaders to and captured by the Muslims at Hattin—spat upon and dragged upside down in the dirt.

For long, passersby could still see  “the limbs of the fallen cast naked on the field of battle, scattered in pieces over the site of the encounter, lacerated and disjointed, with heads cracked open, throats split, spines broken, necks shattered, feet in pieces, noses mutilated, extremities torn off, members dismembered, parts shredded, eyes gouged out, [and] stomachs disemboweled.”

Because so many professional fighting men were lost at Hattin, several vulnerable crusader kingdoms and strongholds were quickly captured by the determined sultan.  After a desperate siege that began in September, the holed-upped crusaders even surrendered Jerusalem.

Now “a great cry went up from the city and from outside the walls, the Muslims crying the Allahu Akbar in their joy, the Franks groaning in consternation and grief,” wrote the Muslim chronicler. “So loud and piercing was the cry that the earth shook….  The Koran was raised to the throne and the [Old and New] Testaments cast down,” as Saladin “purified Jerusalem of the pollution of those races, of the filth of the dregs of humanity.”

Muslims appreciated the continuity: “This noble act of conquest was achieved, after Omar bin al-Khattab [the caliph who first conquered Jerusalem in 637]—Allah have mercy on him!—by no one but Saladin, and that is a sufficient title to glory and honor.”

Note: The above account was entirely excerpted from Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West—a book that CAIR and its Islamist allies did everything they could to prevent the US Army War College from learning about it.   

[historyrph]

This might seem like a weird question, but I was wondering if you guys would happen to know if there's a specific name for the types of dresses the Sultanas wore in Magnificent Century and MC Kosem? I love the style and would like to do a bit of research on order to use it as a base for a fantasy series I'm working on. If you don't know either, that's fine of course. Thanks for all you do and have a nice day~

hi there! i’ve recently been diving into ottoman history as well, so hopefully the information i’ve gathered for you is at least somewhat accurate, and you’ll be able to take it and run with it. what i’ve determined is that the dresses the sultanas wore in magnificent century and associated spin-offs are not accurate. i would basically only describe those as westernized dresses with bell sleeves and french inspired brocade–– which is all well and fine for a soap opera, but if you wanted to know what they really wore, i’ve compiled some information for you down below! please bear in mind that the costumes used in magnificent century were heavily criticized by religious groups and ethnic turkish people for the highly secular production and the embellishments taken on what would’ve been an extremely modest and spiritually significant garb... so while liberties are fine, you may want to research a little more before before incorporating it into your series.

what i’ve noticed from magnificent century is that most of the costuming is comprised of georgette and/or poly baroque satin, and they’re more or less drawing inspiration from lord of the rings elf gowns and european medieval fantasy than authentic turkish 16th century court garb. all royal ladies in the series are dressed in western attires, exposing their hair and chest, something unimaginable in that era in the palace of the islamic caliph. women wore caftans and baggy trousers, known as shalwar, rather than tight, scoop-neck dresses, especially during the reign of the ottoman sultan süleyman; most ottoman ladies of golden age, in fact, wore something like this. mc did draw on the incredible jewelers of the age, however, choosing to depict their female leads as wearing amazingly decorative necklaces and even headdresses that veer onto historical accuracy. furthermore, what we see on screen is closer to what france was wearing at the time, so you might want to look into 16th century french fashion if you want to incorporate it into your series!

i hope this helped–– and good luck!

[lsleofthelost]

United Kingdoms of Auradon:

Auradon - ruled by High King Adam and High Queen Belle - based on France

An old Kingdom, brought rapidly from despair it fell into during Beast times after King Adam’s return and Queen Belle’s crowning. Head of the United Kingdoms’ empire.

Houses the Auradon Preparatory Academy, in which all royal children of UKA and some other noble/influential are studying on the goodwill of the crown.

Sud Cour Royale (Auroria in Disney) - ruled by Queen-Mother Leah - based on Algeria and Monaco

Divided in two parts by the Melomar sea. Before joining UKA, it was known as Liguria.

Mainland part used to be a military base during the war with the Moors faeries. Now, the capital and the economic centre are located there. Alamasi part used to be the home to common folk, and now is the cultural centre.

Agrabah - ruled by Sultan Aladdin and Sultana Jasmine - based on Ottoman Empire

Opulent sultanate that consolidates the seven deserts. One of the biggest countries in UKA.

Ancient empire. Previous sultans united the desert tribes into a prosperous and culturally forward country it is today.

Apheldotia - ruled by King Petyr - based on Croatia

Quiet kingdom, that used to be a part of Faraway (mysterious closed-off lands).

Left Faraway about thirty years ago, together with Devyat. When UKA were created, Apheldotia decided to join, wanting to send their villains to the Isle and supporting the magic ban.

Arendelle - ruled by Queen Elsa - based on Norway and Sweden

A northern Kingdom that joined UKA under the rule of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna. After their deaths, it was ruled by the Auradon council until Princess Elsa came of age.

In a dangerous state as of right now, with the ruler being an inherently magical being and trying to lift the magic ban.

The Southern Isles - ruled by King Felix II and Queen Ingrid - based on Denmark

A very small kingdom, consisting of one main and twelve satellite islands.

Currently in a power crisis as five eldest brothers after the king (of twelve) are trying to make a bid for the throne. Youngest brother is on the Isle of the Lost for treason and war crimes.

Atlantea (Atlantica in Disney) - ruled by Queen Ariel and King Eric - based on the Caribbean

Connecting their neighbouring land and underwater kingdoms, current King and Queen created Atlantea.

Due to its tropical location and exotic sights, their number one business quickly became tourism.

Camelot (Camelot Heights in Disney) - ruled by King Arthur - based on England

A kingdom that before joining UKA was relying heavily on magic. Because of that it is technologically behind the rest of the world.

The progress on updating it is going slowly due to King Arthur’s dislike of the idea.

Corona - ruled by Queen Rapunzel and Prince-consort Eugene - based on Italy

The sun kingdom. It’s capital stands on an island, and most of the country is surrounded by the sea as well.

It is renowned as a beautiful and culturally rich country, with it’s art and architecture.

Lunara - abandoned land - based on Slovenia

It used to be a prosperous kingdom but now only thick unexplorable woods stand there.

Moors - ruled by the Auradon council - based on Ireland and Tenerife

Technically are reigned by Princess-consort of Sud Cour Royale Aurora, but relinquished to the council when they entered the UKA.

Origin of and home to faeries. Many have emigrated through the years, during wars and after the magic ban. Today, UKA gives privileges to humans who choose to immigrate and settle there.

Maldonia - ruled by King Naveen and Queen Tiana - based on Côte d’Ivoire

An Alamasi Kingdom, that a century ago used to be Auradonian colony. After the revolution, the current royal family took reign. They quickly recovered and cultivated the coffee and cocoa production.

With a strategically located port, it became a shipping hub after joining UKA. It is known that many commoners dislike the county’s decision to join the UKA.

Olympus (Mount Olympus in Disney) - ruled by Emperor Theodious - based on Ancient Greece

Birth place of the Greek Gods, deities with major magical power. Traditionally reside on Mount Olympus, but there haven’t been any sightings for more than twenty two years.

Neverland - ruled by High King Adam and High Queen Belle and the Auradonian council - based on colonial America

A colony mining jewels. Due to the local time-stopping magic, the troops/miners have to be taken off every few months.

The previous inhabitants have been relocated to their home Kingdoms. The faeries maintain their hold on the Pixie Hollow.

Schwarzwald (Charmington in Disney) - ruled by King Florian and Queen Snow - based on Germany

A big kingdom with a small population.

A lot of the land is taken by the Black Forest, the namesake of the kingdom. Biggest export are gnome-mined precious stones.

Sujeong (Cinderellasburg in Disney) - ruled by King Henry and Queen Ella - based on Korea

One of the farthest and most private Kingdoms. With centuries-old regime still in place, it is a country of complicated etiquette and many noble houses.

It is hard to get a permission of entry and the communication between Sujeong and the rest of UKA is quite limited, unless a celebration is taking place. Rumour has it, the only reason they joined is to empty the prisons.

Ulstead - ruled by King Phillip - based on Portugal

A coastline kingdom, that used to be at devastating war with Tangu in hopes of conquering the Alamasi country.

As ascribed in the betrothal agreement, once Princess Aurora takes reign, it will become a province and be ruled by the second in line. King Phillip will take his place alongside Aurora.

Wei - ruled by Emperor Sui - based on China

A huge empire, made bigger with the defeat of Huns and subsequent conquering of their land lead by General Li Mulan.

Provides a major chunk of the UKA army.

Isle of the Lost - ruled by the Auradon council

A prison colony housing the greatest villains of Auradon, as well as minor villains, their minions, magical outlaws, traitors of the state, etc. Covered with a magical barrier forbidding anyone to leave and any magic to go through.