Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 49

#49. Ismail and the Princes (1)

To Yusuf, what was Ismail?

‘To exaggerate a bit, he’s like a giving tree.’

Ismail would clutch the back of his neck if he heard that, but Ismail was an indispensable figure in Yusuf’s life plan.

From the start, if it weren’t for Ismail, Yusuf would have packed his bags and fled to another country as soon as he became Yusuf. He was a person who had a huge impact on this succession battle.

‘Because he played a role in lowering the Sultan’s authority.’

In terms of territory, it was far short of its peak, but in terms of military power, it was similar to the heyday.

The Sultan could gather more than 100,000 troops within half a year with a single order, and the large army, consisting of cavalry and infantry armed with gunpowder, was strong enough to hold its own even in a full-scale war with any country.

The military, proud of its military power, was dissatisfied with Bayezid’s passive response to the Safavid’s provocation.

‘It’s understandable. Someone who could wipe them out if he wanted to is just getting his nerves scratched, but the ruler showed a hesitant attitude.’

In the end, the central army, which he had trusted, stabbed Bayezid in the foot at the very end of the succession.

They used force to pressure Bayezid, who was trying to give the Sultan’s position to Ahmed, to hand over the position to Selim.

The Shakulu rebellion played a big role in this process.

“Shakulu, huh.”

As Yusuf looked at the letter that Shakulu and Bayezid’s fifth son, Shehinshah, had met with interest, Shemsi said as if he didn’t understand.

“Why are you interested in such a person?”

“Do you still think sending people to him is a waste of manpower?”

“Yes. Even if he is a follower of Ismail, I don’t think he is worth the Prince’s attention.”

Ismail is a king and the successor to the Safaviyya order [a Sufi religious order], which the Kizilbash [a Shia militant group] believe in.

Shakulu is a person who follows this Safaviyya and is the son of Hassan, a subordinate of Ismail’s father, Haidar.

Now Shakulu was a famous religious leader preaching Shiism to the Turkmens, but he was not worth assigning informants to, which were limited resources.

“We’ll see about that.”

Yusuf smiled meaningfully, and Shemsi sighed lightly.

Yusuf sometimes gave instructions that were out of context, but as a result, they were often the right decisions.

All that was left was to wait and see.

“Right now, the Turkmens who are attached to Shehinshah are more of a problem than Shakulu. Don’t you think so?”

“That’s right. Their power is not something to be ignored.”

The Turkmens, who have many nomads, are people who can turn into cavalry at any time.

Of course, it was less than the number of soldiers that the Crimean Khanate could provide to Selim, but it was a number that could cause some variables.

“What do you think is the reason why the Turkmens joined hands with Shehinshah, Pasha [a high-ranking official in the Ottoman Empire]?”

“Wouldn’t it be because of the recent appearance of Padishah [the Ottoman Sultan]? He is oppressing them.”

Originally, the Sunni Ottoman Empire had been tolerant of the Turkmens and the Shia Kizilbash.

However, this is a story from before the birth of the Safavid dynasty.

Now, the Kizilbash were officially described as heretical rebels suspected of having illegal relations with the Safavids, and after the assassin who tried to kill Yusuf on the last trip to the capital praised Ismail and committed suicide, they were subjected to even greater oppression.

“It can be said to be my father’s mistake.”

Not all Turkmens followed Ismail, but they were lumped together and labeled as potential rebels.

Thanks to this, discontent was boiling, and it wouldn’t be strange if they became real rebels at any time.

Still, Shemsi defended the Sultan.

“But weren’t they suspicious enough?”

“There were many who sympathized with and praised Ismail.”

Ismail had Turkmen blood mixed in, and he had lived a turbulent life from a young age.

His father, who had lost the war, was beheaded, and his severed head was hung in Tabriz for two days before being thrown as dog food.

Ali, the brother who succeeded his father, was betrayed while helping the White Sheep dynasty’s civil war, and while being taken away, he barely escaped with his younger brother Ismail.

However, the pursuing forces soon chased after them, and Ali entrusted the aftermath to Ismail, who was only 7 years old, and stalled for time before being executed.

After hiding for 5 years, Ismail gathered an army, avenged the White Sheep dynasty, and founded the Safavid dynasty.

‘It’s a real movie-like life. The genre is almost fantasy level.’

Anyway, the story of a child who lost his entire family avenging his family like his brother’s last words and becoming a boy king was enough to touch the emotions of many people.

In particular, the Turkmens, who thought of him as the same blood, expressed a deep liking for Ismail’s story.

It’s no wonder that the Ottoman Empire was worried about Ismail’s popularity, and the supporters who followed Ismail caused a rebellion.

“The method was rough, that’s true. Of course, the current trend is not bad for me. If I want to ascend to the position of Padishah, the empire must become more chaotic. Do you think this is wrong?”

Yusuf directly expressed to Shemsi what he had been thinking inside.

At Yusuf’s more honest appearance, Shemsi smiled slightly and said.

“It’s wrong. It’s not a sight that Allah would be pleased with.”

“Either way, you won’t like killing each other, so I can’t help it.”

“Make sure to atone for it later.”

“Yes, I will atone for it on the day I bury all my brothers’ heads in the ground.”

Yusuf, who exchanged jokes with Shemsi, changed the subject.

“Anyway, if the Turkmens take the side of one of the princes, Shehinshah is the most suitable.”

Yusuf, who was repelling Ismail’s army and rising as the enemy of the Shiites, was completely out of the question, and Ahmed, who wanted to be chosen by the Sultan and inherit the position, would not join hands with the Turkmens.

Mahmud, the youngest except for Yusuf, had too weak a support base, and all that was left was Selim and Shehinshah.

‘Selim is already in a deep relationship with the Crimean Khanate, so it would be difficult to help and get his share.’

Korkut? After entering under Ahmed, he is not even treated as a proper successor.

Even looking at the current situation, it is not strange that Shehinshah and the Turkmens joined hands, but.

“Still, I think there is a high possibility that Ismail was involved.”

“Why is that?”

“If Shehinshah was a man of good management enough to attract the Turkmens, he wouldn’t have been so insignificant now.”

You might think that he is ignoring him without knowing him well, but even in the original history, he was a prince who shut himself up in his territory and died mysteriously when other princes were struggling to survive.

You can roughly know his value from his actions in the original history.

“Besides, the doctor who followed Shehinshah was executed a while ago. Some of Ahmed’s spies have also disappeared.”

“I have received such information, but I could not know the detailed reason.”

Shemsi didn’t seem to think it was very important information, but Yusuf roughly guessed.

“There is a high possibility that Ahmed bribed Shehinshah’s doctor to prescribe an excessive amount of opium.”

“Opium?”

At this guess, Shemsi stroked his beard as if he was interested.

Before the first use of chloroform in the 19th century, there were no anesthetic methods other than opium and alcohol, and opium was treated as a medicine worldwide.

The perception that opium is a dangerous drug spread after the Opium War in the mid-19th century.

It is still considered a medicine, but it is not that they do not know the danger.

“Is there a reason why you think so?”

“Let’s just say it’s intuition for now.”

To explain this, I had to say that the reason Shehinshah died in the original history was opium addiction.

If Ismail, who is trying to conquer the Ottoman Empire someday, would want to put a drug addict on the Sultan’s throne.

“Then let’s move on like that. It’s not an important part. Besides, it’s not strange to be involved in the succession from another country.”

It was not unusual for other countries to put a spoon on the succession every time it happened.

During his great-grandfather Murat II’s time, the Byzantine Empire brought in his father’s brother, who was known to have died, and put him up as a rival Sultan, and Murat II, enraged by this, broke the alliance with the Byzantine Empire and drove Constantinople to the brink of collapse.

Even his father, Bayezid II, had a lot of trouble when the Vatican took custody of his younger brother, Cem Sultan.

Such interference in internal affairs is never a good thing, but it is nothing special.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to ask about the crime of interfering in the succession without fear later?”

Yusuf chuckled at Shemsi’s remarks.

“If it’s a simple revenge, it won’t take that long. Because I’ll be moving soon.”

***

Persia has traditionally regarded the beginning of the new year as spring, and on the Persian New Year’s Day, they celebrated a holiday called Nowruz [Persian New Year], which combines nu (now), meaning new, and ruz, meaning day.

It was one of the few holidays that survived Islamization and had a long history, existing even before Islam entered Persia.

Ismail celebrated the New Year in Khoy, which is about ten days’ walk from the capital, Tabriz.

-Kuaaaak!

The screams of the Kurds being brutally executed in a torturous manner were heard far away, but Ismail raised his glass with a happy face as if listening to beautiful singing.

“It’s a pity we missed Salim.”

Last winter, Salim, who led the Kurdish bandit group, started a rebellion, and Ismail suppressed the rebellion during the winter.

Fortunately, Salim escaped, but his subordinates were captured and brutally executed to the point where they begged to be killed.

The screams were so faint that they could be heard from a distance from the banquet hall, but the smell of blood was felt.

“He is a sinner who rebelled against the Shah [Persian king], so he will be caught someday.”

Ismail nodded at the words of Mohammad Khan Ustajlu, who led the Ustajlu, one of the major tribes that make up the Kizilbash.

Mohammad, who played a big role in the last conquest war, was the commander of the army.

Momentarily, Ismail, who was reminded of Nebazar, who had previously been in charge of the army, roughly put down his glass, and Mohammad, who had already experienced the same situation several times, carefully asked.

“Did you think of that vermin again?”

“Yes, I’m still angry.”

“Let go of your anger. There is no one among those gathered here who is inferior to him. If there is another opportunity, we will surely bring victory.”

Words responding to Mohammad’s words poured out, and Ismail strongly rebuked them.

“Don’t ignore Yusuf, that bastard!”

Ismail, who learned about Nebazar’s end through spies, highly praised Yusuf.

Maybe he couldn’t guarantee victory even if he was in that position.

That doesn’t mean he was crushed.

‘I will definitely kill that bastard and prove that Allah’s will is with me.’

When Ismail made up his mind, one of his subordinates carefully approached him.

“Shaysh [Persian honorific], there is news you must hear.”

“Speak.”

“The Bey [Ottoman governor] of Dulkadir is said to be supporting Sultan Murad.”

Sultan Murad was one of the remaining forces of the White Sheep dynasty, and Ismail smiled brightly at the news and poured the remaining alcohol in his glass into his mouth.

A justification was established to stab the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluks.

Ismail got up from his seat and shouted.

“Everyone, enjoy the festival! Because a new war will begin!”

***

In May 1507, Ismail appeared in Erzincan with 20,000 Kizilbash.