Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 110

Became the Sultan of Osman – 110 Religion (3)

The hand wielding the paint-stained brush moved with caution.

Color was applied, layer by layer, onto the wood that had been treated to prevent splitting with steam and coated with glue and white pigment.

Michelangelo, for whom brushwork felt foreign as he had never formally studied painting and usually considered it inferior to sculpture, never imagined he would be painting a portrait.

He had taken on the Sistine Chapel ceiling under pressure from the Pope, but if the Pope had asked him to paint his portrait, he would have thrown the brush in his face.

But now, things were different. He didn’t want to be a galley slave again.

‘It’s not that I’m afraid of losing my life.’

Blisters bursting on his hands, his whole body screaming, and having to force disgusting food down his throat.

Being a galley slave was terribly arduous, but he could endure that much.

He had always lived a life far removed from luxury, shunning alcohol and women.

But he couldn’t bear the fear of never creating art with these hands again and dying as sea garbage.

‘So, I have to please the Sultan no matter what.’

Fortunately, he had gained some sense of painting while completing about half of the ceiling.

He was almost grateful to the Pope, whom he didn’t even want to look at right now…

‘No, if it weren’t for that man, I wouldn’t have been captured here!’

In a moment of frustration, the brush slipped, and a chilling voice was heard.

“It seems there was a problem with that brushstroke.”

Michelangelo, after hearing the translation, felt a chill down his spine.

The Sultan had pointed out a small mistake, and murderous eyes poured down on him as if questioning how he dared to make a mistake after receiving the honor of painting the Sultan’s face.

Michelangelo quickly moved the brush to cover the mistake.

“How could there be? There is no problem with the painting.”

Michelangelo was slightly nervous at the clear green eyes that seemed to see through him, and Yusuf spoke.

“If that is what you say, then so be it.”

Thinking he had overcome one hurdle, Michelangelo increased his painting speed.

He only had to paint the face. The permitted time was short, and he felt like his lifespan was shortening the longer he was in the same space as the Sultan.

Having barely finished painting Yusuf’s face, Michelangelo put down the brush and said.

“The face is finished.”

“Bring it here.”

At Yusuf’s command, Silahdar Agha [chief sword-bearer] Alper Pasha, who was in charge of guarding him, brought the panel painting.

A young, unfamiliar beauty was in the portrait.

Not that it was beautified, but because there were no clear mirrors, one’s own face was bound to be more unfamiliar than the faces of others.

“Alper Pasha, what do you think? Is it the same?”

“I think the painting falls short compared to the Padishah [Ottoman honorific title meaning Great King, used for Sultans].”

“So, it’s painted properly.”

Yusuf, cutting off the obvious flattery, looked at the painting with satisfaction.

The favor gained through his face was quite important, and with a face like this without beautification, it seemed he had invested well in his charm.

“You will paint 100 portraits based on this face. And I will assign you guards.”

“I will not run away.”

He would run away if he could, but he knew he would be dragged back within a day.

Yusuf twisted his lips at Michelangelo’s answer.

“I said I would assign guards, not that I would assign watchers. How long do you think your life would last without guards?”

“…What do you mean?”

“About two years, I suppose. The possibility of you dying will be high when I go on expeditions.”

Michelangelo’s pupils shook violently, and Yusuf rose from his chair.

On one side of the wall was an Islamic miniature painting, depicting his coronation.

Modern people more familiar with Western civilization might dismiss Islamic miniatures as flat and seemingly cartoonish, but this style of painting certainly has its own value.

However, the reason he had Michelangelo paint the portrait was because the Western style of painting, which is more realistic, was more suitable for this task.

‘But it would be troublesome if I believed that Islamic miniature painters would understand that.’

He would be seen as a threat to their position.

“Painting my portrait is not a simple matter. Among the painters in the palace, you will be at the center of change and controversy. You will also be envied.”

“I am not a painter, but a sculptor.”

“Having painted my portrait, you are now also a painter. You should have made a hundred sculptures instead.”

Yusuf smiled playfully.

Of course, even if Michelangelo had known this in advance, he would have certainly painted the portrait.

He was not the type to churn out the same sculptures like a machine.

He lightly patted Michelangelo’s shoulder, who looked slightly wronged.

“Don’t worry. With the guards I send, there will be no reckless person who will harm you.”

At this point, Yusuf decided to offer a carrot.

He seemed obedient now, but he had a strong rebellious streak, so he had to be treated well.

“If you finish all the portraits, I will support you so that you can do the sculptures you want. Of course, you will have to do painting work again if necessary.”

There was a condition attached, but Michelangelo’s eyes sparkled at the thought of being able to sculpt again.

Support for a genius with little material desire was nothing special.

“If you want, you can go directly to the quarry and find the stone you like. You were hoping for this, weren’t you?”

“How did you know?!”

Michelangelo looked surprised, but for Yusuf, who knew him relatively well, it was not a difficult prediction.

Michelangelo thought of sculpture as liberating the form trapped in the stone.

When he was making the David, he told a girl who came to him with a curious face that he was awakening the angel inside the rock.

There was even an anecdote of him wandering around the quarry for months to find the stone he wanted.

He could easily grant the simple desire to find a stone he liked.

“Of course, all of this is after you have completed all the portraits.”

“Just leave it to me. I will complete them as soon as possible!”

Yusuf, leaving behind the passionate Michelangelo, smiled slightly.

It wasn’t bad for him to finish the portraits quickly and immerse himself in sculpture.

After all, the ownership of the sculptures made by the slave belonged to him, the master.

“Alper, summon the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Sheikh al-Islam [highest religious authority in the Ottoman Empire].”

Michelangelo, who was faster with his hands than a painter, was putting his heart and soul into it, so the portraits would be made quickly.

It was necessary to proceed with the work in line with that speed.

***

The church within the Ottoman sphere of influence did not yet have the name of the Orthodox Church.

As many things changed in the Western Church through the Reformation, they used the expression Orthodox Church to mean that they had not changed and had maintained their orthodoxy.

There were still seven years left until Martin Luther opened the door to the Reformation by criticizing the church for selling indulgences, so the name Orthodox Church had not yet appeared.

In any case, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was in charge of the affairs of the church within the Ottoman Empire.

‘There is also the Armenian Patriarch, but this side is a bit troublesome.’

It was not yet the time for nationalism to emerge, but the Armenians were tightly united around the Armenian Apostolic Church.

It was similar to how the Jews were united around Judaism, and since religion was replacing the state, he did not want to increase their power recklessly.

“You have both come well.”

Yusuf warmly greeted the two who knelt and paid their respects.

“Patriarch Pachomius, Sheikh al-Islam Zenbilli. Soon, portraits will be completed one by one. But there is a problem.”

“What is it?”

“There is no suitable place to put the portraits.”

The portraits of the Sultan could not be placed in just any building.

Considering security, it would be best to keep them inside the city’s fortress, but the meaning of making the portraits with such difficulty would fade as the public’s accessibility decreased.

“So, I intend to place the portraits in churches and mosques.”

Patriarch Pachomius nodded as if it were not difficult, but Sheikh al-Islam Zenbilli expressed his opposition.

“You know how sensitive we Muslims are to idolatry, don’t you? There is already some talk about this portrait.”

“There is nothing to worry about. We will be building new buildings in each city. It is only temporary.”

The buildings to be built in the future are not just places to put portraits.

The immediate plan is to post news of the empire to the public in the form of posters.

‘It’s a kind of national propaganda site.’

The most useful means of propaganda that could be attempted in this era was the newspaper, but he couldn’t afford to pay attention to that while preparing for a major expedition.

It would be enough at the current level to announce propaganda content that suited his taste in posters, at least after conquering the Mamluks and having some 余裕 [leeway or margin for error].

At Yusuf’s words, Zenbilli replied as if relieved.

“If it is temporary, I will try to smooth things over as much as possible.”

“You are always reliable. And Patriarch, after sending the portraits, we will also publicly announce the abolition of the Devshirme system [Ottoman practice of taking Christian boys into government service].”

“Thank you, Padishah! All the people will praise the Padishah’s mercy.”

The Patriarch bowed deeply.

Although under Ottoman control, the role of the Patriarch was only to care for the well-being of the people who believed in the church.

There was no better news than the abolition of Devshirme, which caused cries of mourning from the church every time it was implemented.

“The children currently being educated will be given the choice to return to their parents.”

If Devshirme is abolished, there will be pain and confusion for a while.

Among the trainees, there would be children who wanted to return to their parents, but there would also be those who had been separated from their parents for a long time or who regretted the education they had already received.

He intended to embrace such children, and the vacant seats could be filled with orphans.

‘The bigger problem is the Janissaries [elite Ottoman infantry] and those who have already completed their education and established themselves.’

Those who went out as officials were rather 괜찮다 [Korean for “okay” or “fine”]. Although they were from Devshirme, they were no different from ordinary officials.

However, the Janissaries were subject to many restrictions, starting with the prohibition of marriage, because they were slaves of the Sultan.

‘Eventually, these restrictions must be lifted.’

Ultimately, this also meant that the central army had to be reformed.

The reason why the Janissaries became a corrupt force in original history was because the Janissary position was inherited as marriage was allowed and support from Muslims became possible.

This problem was not urgent. After all, as guns were supplied, the utilization of conscripts increased, and there were many ways to check the Janissaries.

“Patriarch, you know what your role is, right?”

“I will ensure that all church members are impressed by the Padishah’s grace.”

“You know it well.”

Now is an era where if you don’t publicize good deeds, people don’t know about them.

It was better to spread the word far and wide than to wait for someone to recognize it, and if things went well, he could increase his influence in the Orthodox Church.

‘Ultimately, the Ottoman family must not be tied to one religion.’

He had to gain the flexibility needed to govern the vast empire without 탈 [mishap or trouble].

“In addition, discrimination based on religious background will soon disappear.”

In the Ottoman Empire, occupations were greatly influenced by religious background. Only Muslims were conscripted as soldiers, so the military was mainly occupied by Muslims.

Greek and other Orthodox Christians mainly worked in maritime affairs and commerce, and Jews and Armenians mostly worked in commerce and industry.

When the Patriarch, whose face had brightened even more at the thought of eliminating this framework, was about to offer his thanks, Yusuf raised his hand.

“It’s not something to be happy about. From now on, not only Muslims, but all people will be included in the conscription 대상 [target or subject].”

Taxes would decrease, but the advantage of increasing the number of troops to be armed with guns could not be ignored.

Especially considering that he would have to wage war frequently in the future.

“You must smooth over any opposition that may arise.”

“…I will try my best.”

“Yes, in the long run, the current decision will be better.”

This was also good for the empire.

If occupations were almost fixed, wealth could be concentrated in a specific ethnic group, and this would grow into resentment against that ethnic group.

“Go now. Go and carry out what I have commanded.”

***

Two months after the Patriarch and Sheikh al-Islam shouldered their heavy orders.

Michelangelo, who had produced 100 portraits, collapsed from overwork, and Yusuf’s portraits began to be delivered throughout the Ottoman Empire.