The Kadin - Bertrice Small [99]
27
THE GRAND VIZIER might be the man who helped the sultan dictate domestic and foreign policy, but Hadji Bey, agha kislar of the sultan’s household, had a stronger hand in Ottoman family business. He acted in the sultan’s name, and his word was law. He was greatly beloved for his kindness and patience, but equally feared for his swift and final judgments. Hadji Bey was one of the most powerful men in Bajazet’s empire.
Under his guidance the word was spread that the sultan had suffered an attack of exhaustion and was upset following the exposure of his kadin’s treachery. Besma, according to official court records had been strangled by an executioner, and her body sewn into a weighted sack and dumped into the sea.
There were some who were shocked, not by the alleged means of her death, for that was common, nor by the unceremonious disposal of her body, for that, too, was the usual practice, but by the fact that the woman who had tried for so long to rule had finally been caught, and justice had been administered at last The few who had known in advance the kadin’s wicked plans now trembled lest they be discovered and punished for not exposing her. Most however, had underestimated neither the sultan’s intelligence nor the agha’s power, and they had merely waited for Besma to make that final, unpardonable mistake.
In another matter, however, the gossip ran rampant Prince Ahmed had fled Constantinople, and Prince Selim was rumored to be entering the capital with great ceremony. Why had the heir fled? Was he part of his mother’s plot? Was the sultan really suffering exhaustion, or had the heir attempted an unsuccessful or possibly successful asassination? Was Ahmed still the heir? All Constantinople waited eagerly for the answers.
The morning was clear and warm. Hardly anyone had slept, and the streets were crowded There was nothing the people loved better than a spectacle, and the agha kislar had arranged to give them one. The populace would long remember Prince Selim’s entry into the capital, and their sympathies would be carefully manipulated to be with him now and always. Should Prince Ahmed later try to take the city by any means, Constantinople would fight to the death for the sultan’s younger son, Selim.
There were many who remembered the time years before when Prince Selim had left Constantinople to govern the Crimean province for his father. Now he was returning, and there was a great deal of speculation among the common folk as to why, but in the meantime it was a festival day, and the crowds were happy.
Suddenly an urchin high in a tree outside the main city gates cried out, “They come!”
Those nearest the gates strained their eyes and saw a cloud of dust in the distance. With agonizing slowness the dust cloud began to take shape as it came nearer. It was the Tartars, Selim’s wild and fierce soldiers. Suddenly a troop of Janissaries, dressed in red and green and mounted on shining dark-brown horses, galloped from the city toward the incoming horsemen.
For a moment the crowds were startled. What was happening? Was Prince Selim being forbidden entrance to the city at this last moment? The Janissaries drew their scimitars. The Tartars madly brandished their spears as they galloped straight toward the Janissaries. Were they going to fight? The people stirred uneasily and pondered the wisdom of flight Suddenly a collective shout rose from the throats of the Janissaries. “Selim! Selim! Selim!” The two groups of horsemen merged into one. “Selim! Selim! Selim!” The happy roar of voices filled the plain before the city.