The Kadin - Bertrice Small [111]
Then one day the Janissaries overturned their kettles and began to beat upon them. Striding into their midst, the sultan demanded to know their complaint
“Where is the gold you promised to fill our kettles with?” demanded a young soldier.
Selim glowered at the boy and toyed with the idea of lopping his head off, but fortunately for all, his sense of justice remained intact “Prepare yourselves,” he shouted at them. “We march within a month!”
The Janissaries roared their approval. War! Glorious war had come to the Ottoman Empire.
29
THE OTTOMANS had consistently faced west in their conquests, yet Selim Khan chose Persia for his first war. There was a good deal of speculation regarding this move. Some said he marched east because Shah Ismail had supported his brother Ahmed. Others, because his son, Prince Omar, had been killed by the Persians, who had aided Ahmed. The latter appeared to be true, since his third wife, Zuleika Kadin, went with him.
In part they were all correct, but a greater motive lay behind the sultan’s decision to war on Persia. Selim’s spies had found a descendant of Baghdad’s last Abbasid caliph, the man who was spiritual ruler of Islam. Selim believed that all the Muslim world should be united under one leader, both spiritual and temporal, and he intended that he and each Ottoman sultan who followed him would be that leader.
Technically he had no claim, and, more important, he did not have the murdered caliph’s heir, who now lived in Egypt. There were others who also sought to become the spiritual head of Islam. Selim knew he must work quickly.
Selim, with a wisdom that had helped him to survive these forty-seven years, turned to Persia, where Shah Ismail, a convert to the Islamic schism of Shiism, now ruled. The sultan, like his Catholic counterparts in Europe now facing a similar problem in the form of Martin Luther, intended to stamp out this heresy, rescue the caliph’s heir, and, based on his devotion to the pure and true form of Islam, have himself named hereditary Defender of the Faith.
In the month that followed Selim’s decision to go to war, the great army was fully provisioned and the government set up to run smoothly in the sultan’s absence. Firousi and Sarina were to remain in Constantinople, where in Selim’s absence they were to take charge of the children and the harem, while the sultan’s new vizier would see to the everyday affairs of the government
Suleiman, Mohammed, Kasim, Abdullah, and Murad were to accompany their father, as was Cyra. Zuleika, reminding the sultan of her own secret quarrel with Persia, also went with her lord.
They left Constantinople on a bright morning in late winter. The air was crisp despite the sun, and snow still clung to the distant mountains. Riding out from the Eski Serai, Sultan Selim was a magnificent sight on his black stallion, Devil Wind. The horse sported a beautiful gold-embroidered and fringed-green silk throw, made by the ladies of the harem, over his shining back and flanks. Selim was particularly pleased with his dark leather saddle, bridle, and heavy gold stirrups. Like all Ottoman princes, Suleiman and Mohammed had learned a trade. The heir was an extremely competent goldsmith. His brother was a fine leatherworker. Despite their heavy schedule of studies, the two princes had found the time to make their father this gift
Selim was dressed in dove-gray silk embroidered with silver thread and small emeralds. He was accompanied by his Tartars and a troop of Janissaries. They would be ferried across the Bosporus, which separated the European side of the city from the Asian side where the army awaited them. The crowds lining the streets cheered wildly as their lord rode off to war with the Persians.
After two years as sultan, Selim still retained his popularity. It was true he rarely smiled now, was becoming more short-tempered and had already disposed of three grand viziers. But these failings were easily overlooked because of his one great