§ 1. Formation and main stages of development of the Ottoman Empire
IN 11th century The Seljuk Rum Sultanate was defeated by the Turks and moved to the borders of Byzantium, the process of Turkization of the local population began: Greeks, Slavs, Georgians, Persians. True, these peoples retained their religions, including Christianity. In the XIII century. The Sultanate of Rum completely collapsed. At the turn of the XIII - XIV centuries. Bey Osman created the Ottoman Sultanate. The Ottomans gradually pressed Byzantium in the southeast of Asia Minor, then captured the Balkans. In 1389 they defeated the Serbian army on the Kosovo field, and in 1396 they defeated the united militia of the crusaders from almost all of Europe. In 1453 Constantinople was taken by storm. In 1475, the Crimean Khanate, as a fragment of the Golden Horde, became a vassal of the Turkish Sultanate. At the beginning of the XVI century. the Ottomans conquered Iran, Kurdistan, Syria, Arabia, then Egypt and almost all of North Africa. The power of the descendants of the Arab caliphs in Cairo was abolished, while the Sultan, as it were, became the successor to the caliph as a religious leader, although in fact the Ottoman sultans, not being descendants of Muhammad, did not have the right to be considered the heads of the Muslim church, but in fact they were at the head of the Muslim world. Almost all of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Transcaucasia were part of the Ottoman Empire.
State system of the Ottoman Empire in the XV - XVII centuries.
Ottoman Empire - typical eastern state. The ancient Eastern despot states were characterized by the absolute all-encompassing power of the monarch. K. Marx believed that the supreme property gave rise to the supreme absolute power of the monarch. Hegel derived the form of property from the form of power. So what is primary, what is secondary in the ancient Eastern states - power or property?
In our opinion, there is no absolute superiority here. In the East, there is primary property, secondary power, and vice versa - primary power and secondary property, but most often they form a unity: power - property or property - power, in other words, power over property and at the same time ownership of power. This is an alternative to the European model of the relationship between property and power. In general, the European model is only suitable for Europe. Most of humanity did not live according to the European model. The European model is an offshoot of the universal main line of the world development of the state. The attempt of the crusaders to seize the East failed, in the XVI - XVII centuries. Europeans, relying on a powerful shipbuilding industry, firearms began a new expansion in the world. In the XVIII - XIX centuries. having conquered almost the entire non-Christian world, the Europeans imposed public consciousness and scientific developments that the optimal and most progressive model for the development of civilizations is the European model based on predominantly private property, where government is secondary to industrial relations.
Thus, it is believed that despotism appears where there is no private property. Primitive communal forms of power (potestas) are gradually developing into tribal state authorities. In the East, all power passes to the leader; communal democracy, with its popular assemblies and councils of elders remain in the lower tier of government bodies, while the upper tier is occupied by monarchs and their administration. Thus, the military-communal democracy grew into a tribal state, which also gradually grew into an absolutely totalitarian monarchical state. Over the years, a powerful centralized administrative system has been formed. Power-property in it is primary. The market, private property, social strata are subordinate to power-property.
In the Ottoman Empire, on the basis of a tribal state, a “theocratic military-administrative monarchy” is being formed, based on the eastern model of ownership of land, water, mines and other real estate. Initially, a tribal system of power develops according to this model, gradually it is superimposed on the territory, the economy, covers politics, management, administration, armed forces, and law enforcement. Gradually tribal and tribal bodies merged with the military-territorial, military-administrative bodies, they grow together with forms of ownership, lease, allotments for service. According to European terminology and ideas, it seems that a military system of government is being formed here, but the Ottoman system of ownership and use of land, water, other property, territorial, military, administrative management is a completely different system.
It is arranged according to the tribal, military-territorial principle. The territorial unit of the country is sanjak("banner") - the battle banner of the clan, the clan division of warriors, headed by the head of the clan, the sanjak-bey. Warriors on the territory of the sanjak sipahis("cavalrymen") received Timar- conditional hereditary possession of the territory with the right to collect a strictly defined amount of taxes from the population. Timar - collection in favor of timariot should not exceed the amount necessary for the maintenance of the family, horse and military equipment of the warrior. The state strictly followed this. Timar was neither an estate nor a possession, the timariot was not supposed to exceed his rights and powers and infringe on state interests.
In connection with large land conquests, large land grants appear - zeamety. Timariots and Zeamets formed the basis of the Ottoman army. Subsequently, hassy And arpalyks- territories with tax immunity. The tax from them went completely to the owner, was strictly fixed by the financial authorities of the country, but was never inherited, remaining strictly in state ownership, and infringement of state interests was also not allowed. This is how a military-administrative monarchy is formed, which was based on the power-property formula. All land belonged to the state in the person of the Sultan, it was disposed of by the state apparatus.
Sultan crowned the top of the state pyramid. However, there was no succession law in the empire, all members of the next generation potentially had the right to power, the throne, cruel dynastic fights were inevitable and often ended in bloody massacres. Given the polygamy and the harem, there could be dozens of brothers, and in this case they were all destroyed, in a word, blood flowed like a river.
The Sultan was the personification of omnipotent power over his subjects, the system of total slavery. Each subject could at any time end his life on a stake. The personality of the Sultan was not deified, but his power was sacred, sacrificial. At the same time, he was not a representative of Allah on Earth, he was considered his shadow. At the same time, the Sultan was not required to have any outstanding abilities or charisma. He and his personality had to meet a number of requirements:
1.Belonging to the Sunni persuasion in Islam.
2.Only male, because according to Sharia, a woman is not equal to a man.
Fine appearance without external defects.
Be an adult, at least 15 years of age.
Mental and intellectual usefulness.
Free status past and present.
Moral qualities go back to traditional norms: prudence, wisdom, justice, greatness, dexterity. But it was not required that the ruler of the faithful surpass his subjects in knowledge and deeds.
clothed supreme authority The person of the Sultan is sacred and inviolable.
All secular and spiritual power was concentrated in the hands of the Sultan, the ruler of the Sunni Muslims.
1. Opening a common prayer on holidays and daily.
2. Minting coins.
3. Maintenance general order in the country.
4. Control over the execution of sacred laws.
5. Supreme High Command.
6. He has the supreme judicial power.
7. He is obliged to suppress rebellions.
8. Issues laws that must be consistent with Shariah.
As the Ottoman Empire grew, a powerful centralized system management.
The Sultan delegated his power to the Vezir, who ruled on his behalf. He led Grand Council- the government of the country (Divan-i-humayyun), consisting of ministers - viziers. The government in its activities was guided by the Sharia and the Code of Laws Kanun-name.
The central administrative apparatus consisted of three main departments (systems) of administration: military-administrative, financial and judicial-religious.
military administrative department, which was headed by the Grand Vizier himself, was the backbone of the entire governing structure of the empire. The country was divided into 16 regions - eyalets headed by beylarbey(governors) subordinate to the Grand Vizier and having all kinds of power in the territory of the eyalets. They were subject to sanjakbeys - commanders - governors of sanjaks - counties, of which there were 250. The power of the sanjakbey was quite strong, it was controlled from above by the beylarbey and regulated by county laws and Kanunname. The lower level of the military-administrative power in the empire was the Timariots, the holders of the land, who were responsible for the security and equipment of the soldiers (sipahs), who had to be represented by their Timars. The Timariots also kept order in the territory of the Timar.
Financial department headed by a vizier-defterdar had special officials in eyyalets and sanjaks. The functions of the central department and its local officials included: accounting for the resources and income of the treasury; determining the amount of taxes, taxes and other duties; control over the incomes of the Timars, Khass and Arpalyks. Types of taxes: legal taxes - tithe from Muslims, "kharaj" and poll tax "jizya" from non-Muslims; zakat is a tax in favor of the poor from all those who have. There were additional duties, emergency and local.
Judicial-religious department in the most general sense, controlled the way of life and behavior of the population and every Muslim. Sheikh-ul-Islam was at the head of the department. In the eyyalets (provinces), this department was headed by two Qadis - judges. Qadis had very broad judicial, religious, financial and administrative functions. They resolved cases concerning Muslims, in addition, they were notaries, intermediaries in transactions, resolved trade, financial and other disputes, exercised control over the collection of taxes, prices, and order; were clergymen and officials. In non-Muslim areas, the leaders of the communities performed the same functions.
This state system flourished in the 16th century. during the reign of Suleiman I Kanuni (Legislator) or Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566).
§ 2. The development of the statehood of the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the XVI - early XX centuries. Major government reforms
By the middle of the XVI century. The state system and the system of government of the Ottoman Empire experienced a certain crisis. First of all, the causes of the crisis were seen in the shortcomings of the timariot system. Timariots were an integral part of the military, administrative, tax and police system. Important factors that caused the weakening of the empire were the distribution of state lands, a decrease in military booty, and the cessation of the increment of territories.
The first reforms in the Ottoman Empire were practically military reforms. In the XVI century. instead of warriors - sipahis, the corps was created and repeatedly increased janissary("yeni cheri" - new army), who were in the public service and received state salaries, which dramatically increased government spending on the army. In addition, the Janissaries, being the Sultan's guard, often interfered in the political and palace life of the country. After this failed reform in the middle of the XVII century. a new reform was carried out by the Grand Vizier Mehmed Keprelu. He again strengthened the Timariot system, seizing the lands of the Hass and the waqf lands.
Late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries in the Ottoman Empire became centuries of major state reforms.
The first two rounds of reforms are associated with the activities of Sultan Selim III (1789 - 1807) and Mahmud II (1808 - 1839). The first round dealt mainly with the reform of the allotment timar system, military and partially religious spheres:
The formation of a new army on the European model, the creation of modern artillery, fleet and engineering troops.
Liquidation of the Janissary corps (1826).
Elimination of the Bektashi Sufi order from the political life of the empire (1826 onwards).
Complete abolition of the timar system.
1.Reform central control on the European model, the creation of new ministries and departments.
2. Tax reform.
3. Reform of the post office, hospitals, education system.
The reforms of the second round quickly came to naught. The wars of Muhammad Ali of Egypt weakened the empire. Among the great powers of Europe, the question arose of dividing the "sick man" of Europe - the Ottoman Empire. In 1839, the West took the Ottoman Empire under "collective guardianship." Sultan Abdul Majadid received him.
The next stage of reforms 40 - 70 years. received the name "tanzimat" (transformation, reform).
On November 3, 1839, the “Gulhane Hatt-i-Sheriff” (rescript), sometimes simply called the Gulhane Act, was signed. Hatt-i-sheriff prescribed:
To provide all citizens, representatives of all religions with guarantees of inviolability of life, honor and property.
Abolish the system of farming out and streamline taxation.
Change the order of conscription for military service.
In 1865, a movement of “new Ottomans” arose in the Ottoman Empire, who advocated the creation of a constitutional monarchy. After nine or ten years, their activities have brought certain results. In 1876, Sultan Abdul-Hamid adopted the constitution of the Ottoman Empire. She proclaimed the rights and freedoms of the citizens of the empire, and a bicameral parliament was created. However, already in February 1878, Abdul-Hamid carried out a coup d'etat, dissolved the already elected parliament and established tyranny - "Zyulyum". Under this regime, newspapers were closed, censorship was tightened, many new educational institutions were closed. For the first time, the doctrine of “pan-Islamism” was proclaimed, the purpose of which was to adapt the world of Islam to existence in the new conditions; to oppose Muslim unity to the onslaught of European colonialism. At the same time, Abdul-Hamid saw pan-Islamism as a tool to strengthen his power. However, his ambitious plans soon failed. The country had long been bogged down in foreign debts and in 1879 was declared bankrupt. Western powers began to prepare tools for establishing their control over the empire. First of all, financial control became an instrument of Western governance of the country. In 1881, the Office of the Ottoman Debt was created, and then the Ottoman (Ottoman) Bank, the main purpose of which was the control of the Western powers over the Ottoman government, the country's budget, by controlling or even participating foreign representatives in the collection of taxes and spending budgetary funds. Of course, as in other cases in Europe and Asia, Western governments, bankers and entrepreneurs sought to destroy the remaining empires on earth in order to destroy them, establish control and even seize the parts that had broken away from the empires.
The failure of the reforms, the establishment of foreign control over the country, caused protests both in ruling circles, and among the bureaucracy, the military and the intelligentsia of the country. Secret anti-government circles and organizations began to emerge. The “New Ottomans” movement was replaced by the “Young Turks” movement. In 1889, an underground cell was created in Istanbul among the cadets of the military medical school, whose members set the goal of ridding the country of despotism and restoring the constitution. In Paris, Riza Bey created the Ittihad ve Terraki (Unity and Progress) society. His program included: the struggle for freedom, justice and equality of all subjects; preservation of the empire on the path of reforms; establishment of a constitutional order; non-intervention of foreign affairs of the empire.
In 1902, the first, obviously, founding congress of the Young Turks took place. In 1907, the Second Congress of the Young Turks adopted a Declaration calling for an uprising against Adul-Hamid. In 1908, there was an uprising of Turkish troops in Macedonia. The Sultan accepted their demands. The Chamber of Deputies was created, a third of the seats in which went to the Young Turks. In 1909, Abdul-Hamid tried to carry out a counter-coup, but the Young Turks occupied the capital with their troops and, having real power, enthroned the new Sultan Mehmed V. This is how the Young Turk revolution took place.
The Young Turks carried out a number of reforms, the essence of which was the preservation of the empire, the doctrine of Ottomanism was proclaimed - the retention of non-Turkish lands and peoples within the empire. Since 1910, under the slogans of Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkism, they began to persecute non-Islamic peoples.
In 1912, the Young Turks were overthrown by the Islamic liberals "ittilafists" - members of the association "Hurriyet ve ittilaf" ("Freedom and Consent"), who stood for granting autonomy to other peoples. Using Turkey's failures in the Balkan War of 1912, the Young Turks overthrew them. In 1914, the Young Turkish triumvirate came to power: Enver Pasha, Talaat Pasha and Dzhemal-nami. They pushed the Ottoman Empire into a world war on the side of Germany and the Triple Alliance. As a result of the defeat of Germany, the dictatorship of the Young Turks in the Ottoman Empire also fell, the Young Turks fled the country. The empire agonized, the outskirts sought to secede, the nationalist idea matured more and more - to preserve the Turkish lands proper in Asia Minor in a single strong state. The allies decided that they could dictate their terms of peace to the Ottoman Empire. On October 30, 1918, they signed the “Truce of Mudros”, which provided for the opening of irrigation for foreign, including military, shipping, the demobilization of the army, the surrender of warships to the allies, and the establishment of control of the Entente over the country's railways, telegraph and radio, the occupation of the Armenian eyalets. The Ottoman Empire was ending its centuries-old existence.
The history of legislation in the Ottoman Empire in all its details has not yet been researched and written, although it represents big interest for students of Islamic law. Islamic law arose and developed within the framework of the Arab Caliphate. Since the Ottoman Empire can rightfully be considered the successor of the Arab Caliphate and one of the largest Muslim powers of all time, for a more complete picture of the development of Muslim law, it is necessary to consider its development in the Ottoman Empire.
In historiography, it is believed that, to one degree or another, legislative activity took place under all the Ottoman sultans. It is recorded in many decrees, resolutions, etc., which were in an unsystematized state until the second half of the 15th century. The first codification refers to the reign of Sultan Mehmed II Fatih. The code of laws compiled by him contains three parts: 1) a table of ranks; 2) the basics of court ceremonial and the rules for appointing dignitaries and their children to public office; 3) several articles on penalties for criminal offenses, determining the content of dignitaries and their titles. There was another set of laws, compiled under the same sultan. It differed significantly from the first in content, structure and style, and consisted of the following sections: 1) on punishments for adultery; 2) about punishments for fight and murder; 3) on taxes and trade duties; 4) about nomads (Yuriuks); 5) about taxes and duties from non-Muslims (kafirs). The further development of legal concepts in the Ottoman Empire is connected precisely with these still rather primitive provisions set forth in the second code of Mehmed II.
Turkish historians associate the main stages in the development of Ottoman legislation after Mehmed II with the names of the sultans Selim I (1512-1520), Suleiman Kanuni (1520-1566), Ahmed I (1603-1617), the activities of jurists in the XVI- 17th century and the legal reforms of the Tanzimat period.
In the Ottoman Empire for centuries, there were two systems of law - religious laws - Sharia and secular laws that came from the name of the Sultan - eve.
Muslim legal doctrine allowed the introduction of legal changes. Muslim jurists believed that since the rules of conduct on those issues that are not regulated by the Qur'an and Sunnah are formulated by people and are not guaranteed against erroneous judgments, they can be replaced by other judgments. In the writings of medieval Muslim jurists, the opinions of all jurists belonging to the same madhhab were cited. Even if these opinions were contradictory, they were all recognized as valid. Cadius could choose the norm at his own discretion when deciding. The direct abolition of obsolete norms that did not meet the needs was not practiced either. one
Thus, it was traditionally uncharacteristic for Turkish lawmaking to create unified legislative structures.
The religious system of law in the Ottoman Empire was connected with the general principles of Muslim law and corresponded to the interpretation of the Hanafi legal school officially accepted in this country. The difference of this madhhab is that it is applied more flexibly to local circumstances, trying to adapt the rigid framework of Sharia to the practical needs of life. When solving specific issues, the Hanifites operated with three methods of interpretation: rai, qiyas and istikhsan (see page of the manual). At the same time, this teaching was fraught with the danger of arbitrary actions of the Qadis. Sheikh-ul-Islam fatwas were issued on controversial issues, which became the legal basis for subsequent court decisions. Since both the fatwas and the actions of the Qadis had to correspond to the Hanafi sense, in the empire the Hanafi law had primacy and invaded those areas where other schools of Sunni Islam had previously dominated. Qadis and muftis could adjoin any of the Sunni madhhabs, but judge and make conclusions only according to the Hanafi sense. one
Another system of law in the Ottoman Empire is secular laws - kanuns, coming from the name of the sultan. Coexistence of eve and Sharia - specific feature Ottoman state. Kanuns, originally conceived as unofficial - only for the information of the Sultan, later became mandatory in solving state problems and in the practice of Cadian courts. Moreover, in many cases, the Sultan's decrees differed significantly from Sharia dogmas.
The reasons for the emergence in the Ottoman Empire of such a system of law as eve are as follows. First, by the XV-XVI centuries. As a result of aggressive campaigns, the Ottoman state reached the maximum expansion of its borders. A tendency began to appear for the Ottoman sultans to become absolute monarchs, whose power was not limited by any corrective institutions. In their desire to expand the scale of power, the sultans began to rely on the Turkic-Mongolian and Byzantine models of political organization, based on the primacy of the secular principle. An expression of this was the publication under Sultan Mehmed II of the first kanun-nam. The Sultan in his actions relied on the divine destiny, reflected in the norms of Sharia and on his state mind. The first determined the order of the material and spiritual world, and the second made it possible to maintain this order. The Sultan, through his absolute power, had to determine the place of each person in society, ensure social order, and the safety of people. This was achieved with the help of kanuns, which, unlike Sharia norms, were temporary in nature and operated only during the reign of one sultan. In addition, Sharia and eve, according to Muslim views, have never stood on the same level. The purpose of Sharia is to lead believers to perfection during life, and happiness after death. Kanun had a lower status, was aimed only at establishing order in the state and protecting citizens from violence. Eves have never been canceled, but only supplemented by religious laws.
Such a system is called mazalim and is accepted today in all Muslim states. The Ottoman peculiarity consisted only in the more complete inclusion of qadi in the system of government and the more frequent use of kanuns in public administration. 1
In order to have a more complete picture of the eve of the XV-XVI centuries, consider the Book of Laws of Sultan Selim I - one of the authoritative collections of laws of this period.
The book of laws of Sultan Selim I is not divided into any structural units, but there is a certain system. The first provisions of the law contain criminal law norms. There are few of them, it is said about the punishments of lechers and harlots, about blood feud, murder and theft. Much of the law is devoted to taxation. It is noteworthy that the criminal law refers to the death penalty only in the case of malicious theft, very little about self-harmful punishments. For most crimes, a fine is provided, even if this does not comply with the provisions of Sharia. For example, in the case of committing adultery, the Qur'an speaks of only one punishment - "beating with a hundred blows" in public. In accordance with the adat regulations in Muslim states, adulterers were traditionally stoned. The book of laws of Sultan Selim I provided for a fine, the amount of which varied depending on the social status of the perpetrator. The rich and married paid more than the poor and single; a slave paid less than a free Muslim for committing any crime, a non-believer paid more. The punishment for the murder was a legalized blood feud, but if there was no one to take revenge or for some other reason the revenge did not take place, a fine was also paid. The death penalty is mentioned in this law only once, it is provided for committing theft with penetration into the house or repeatedly: - let them hang.
For minor thefts, a fine was also provided, despite the fact that the Koran is very strict in relation to thieves and prescribes cutting off hands for any theft.
A distinctive feature of this law is its unusual for the Muslim society of the early XVI century. humanity. However, one should not think that fewer executions were carried out in the Ottoman Empire during this period than in any other. Firstly, the kanuns were valid only during the reign of the Sultan who adopted them, which means that this law existed as valid only for 8 years (the years of the reign of Selim I: 1512-1520), and, secondly, Sharia in relation to the kanun always had dominance and decisions were made mostly on its basis. And the eve only added to it. Qadis, on the other hand, could make decisions both on the basis of Sharia and on the basis of eve. For example, more secular provisions of kanuns were more often applied to non-believers than Sharia. one
In general, the criminal laws of the Ottoman Empire were one of the branches of law that were most free from Sharia norms. Most of the vital criminal law norms were not mentioned in the Koran and Sunnah, so the missing ones were developed by jurists with the help of interpretation, mainly on the Sultan's eve.
As W. Heid notes, a lot of work in this direction was done in the 16th century. under Sultan Suleiman I. The code of criminal laws was improved, systematized, replenished with new articles containing elements of the legal culture of the conquered peoples. one
During the reign of this sultan, the peak of the activity of publishing kanuns fell, for this reason Suleiman I was nicknamed Kanuni - the Legislator. Under him, the General Code of Laws of the Ottoman Empire was compiled. IN in general terms This piece of legislation is as follows. It consists of three chapters, each of which includes a number of sections.
It made inevitable the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which for centuries dominated large territories that fell victim to its insatiable military expansion. Forced to join the Central Powers, such as Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, she, along with them, knew the bitterness of defeat, failing to assert herself as the leading world empire.
Founder of the Ottoman Empire
At the end of the 13th century, Osman I Gazi inherited from his father Bey Ertogrul the power over the countless Turkish hordes that inhabited Phrygia. Having declared the independence of this relatively small territory and taking the title of Sultan, he managed to conquer a significant part of Asia Minor and thus found a powerful empire, named after him the Ottoman Empire. She was destined to play an important role in world history.
Already in the middle, the Turkish army landed on the coast of Europe and began its centuries-old expansion, which made this state one of the greatest in the world in the 15th-16th centuries. However, the beginning of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire was already outlined in the 17th century, when the Turkish army, which had not known defeat before and was considered invincible, suffered a crushing blow near the walls of the Austrian capital.
First defeat by Europeans
In 1683, the hordes of the Ottomans approached Vienna, taking the city under siege. Its inhabitants, having heard enough about the wild and ruthless customs of these barbarians, showed miracles of heroism, protecting themselves and their relatives from certain death. As historical documents testify, the success of the defenders was greatly facilitated by the fact that among the command of the garrison there were many prominent military leaders of those years who were able to competently and promptly take all the necessary defensive measures.
When the king of Poland arrived to help the besieged, the fate of the attackers was decided. They fled, leaving rich booty to the Christians. This victory, which began the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, had for the peoples of Europe, first of all, a psychological significance. She dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the omnipotent Porte, as it was customary for Europeans to call the Ottoman Empire.
Beginning of territorial losses
This defeat, as well as a number of subsequent failures, became the reason for the Peace of Karlovci concluded in January 1699. According to this document, the Port lost the previously controlled territories of Hungary, Transylvania and Timisoara. Its borders have shifted to the south for a considerable distance. This was already a fairly tangible blow to its imperial integrity.
Trouble in the 18th century
If the first half of the next, XVIII century, was marked by certain military successes of the Ottoman Empire, which allowed it, although with the temporary loss of Derbent, to maintain access to the Black and Azov Seas, then the second half of the century brought a number of failures that also predetermined the future collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
The defeat in the Turkish War, which Empress Catherine II fought with the Ottoman Sultan, forced the latter to sign a peace treaty in July 1774, according to which Russia received lands stretching between the Dnieper and the Southern Bug. The next year brings a new misfortune - the Port loses Bukovina, which has ceded to Austria.
The 18th century ended in complete disaster for the Ottomans. The final defeat in led to the conclusion of a very unfavorable and humiliating Iasi peace, according to which the entire Northern Black Sea region, including the Crimean peninsula, departed to Russia.
The signature on the document, certifying that from now on and forever Crimea is ours, was personally put by Prince Potemkin. In addition, the Ottoman Empire was forced to transfer to Russia the lands between the Southern Bug and the Dniester, as well as come to terms with the loss of its dominant positions in the Caucasus and the Balkans.
The beginning of a new century and new troubles
The beginning of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century was predetermined by its next defeat in the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-1812. The result of this was the signing in Bucharest of another, in fact, disastrous treaty for the Ports. On the Russian side, the chief commissioner was Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, and on the Turkish side, Ahmed Pasha. The entire region from the Dniester to the Prut was ceded to Russia and became known first as the Bessarabian region, then as the Bessarabian province, and now it is Moldova.
The attempt made by the Turks in 1828 to take revenge from Russia for past defeats turned into a new defeat and another peace treaty signed the next year in Andreapol, depriving it of the already rather sparse territory of the Danube Delta. To top it off, Greece declared its independence at the same time.
Short-term success, again replaced by defeats
The only time luck smiled at the Ottomans during the years of the Crimean War of 1853-1856, stupidly lost by Nicholas I. His successor on the Russian throne, Tsar Alexander II, was forced to cede a significant part of Bessarabia to Porte, but the new war that followed in 1877-1878 returned everything to its place.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire continued. Taking advantage of the favorable moment, in the same year, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro separated from it. All three states declared their independence. The 18th century ended for the Ottomans with the unification of the northern part of Bulgaria and the territory of their empire, called South Rumelia.
War with the Balkan Union
The final collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the formation of the Turkish Republic dates back to the 20th century. This was preceded by a series of events, the beginning of which was laid in 1908 by Bulgaria, which declared its independence and thus ended the five hundred year Turkish yoke. This was followed by the war of 1912-1913, declared by the Porte of the Balkan Union. It included Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro. The goal of these states was to seize the territories that belonged to the Ottomans at that time.
Despite the fact that the Turks fielded two powerful armies, the South and the North, the war, which ended with the victory of the Balkan Union, led to the signing of another treaty in London, which this time deprived the Ottoman Empire of almost the entire Balkan Peninsula, leaving it only Istanbul and a small part of Thrace. The main part of the occupied territories was received by Greece and Serbia, which almost doubled their area due to them. In those days, a new state was formed - Albania.
Proclamation of the Turkish Republic
One can simply imagine how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire took place in subsequent years by following the course of the First World War. Wanting to regain at least part of the territories lost over the past centuries, Porta took part in hostilities, but, unfortunately, on the side of the losing powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. It was the final blow that crushed the once mighty empire that terrified the whole world. The victory over Greece in 1922 did not save her either. The decay process was already irreversible.
First World War for the Porte ended with the signing in 1920, according to which the victorious allies shamelessly plundered the last territories that remained under Turkish control. All this led to its complete collapse and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. This act marked the end of more than six hundred years of Ottoman history.
Most researchers see the reasons for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, first of all, in the backwardness of its economy, the extremely low level of industry, the lack of a sufficient number of highways and other means of communication. In a country that was at the level of medieval feudalism, almost the entire population remained illiterate. In many respects, the empire was much worse developed than other states of that period.
Objective evidence of the collapse of the empire
Speaking about what factors testified to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, we should first of all mention the political processes that took place in it at the beginning of the 20th century and were practically impossible in earlier periods. This is the so-called Young Turk Revolution, which took place in 1908, during which members of the Unity and Progress organization seized power in the country. They overthrew the Sultan and introduced a constitution.
The revolutionaries did not last long in power, giving way to the supporters of the deposed sultan. The subsequent period was filled with bloodshed caused by clashes between warring factions and a change of rulers. All this irrefutably testified that powerful centralized power was a thing of the past, and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire had begun.
Briefly summing up, it should be said that Turkey has completed the path prepared for all the states that have left their mark on history from time immemorial. This is the birth, rapid flourishing and finally decline, often leading to their complete disappearance. The Ottoman Empire did not leave completely without a trace, becoming today, though restless, but by no means the dominant member of the world community.
Why was it necessary to compete with the executioner on the run? Why were almost all the sons of the Sultan killed? And what terrible tribute did non-Muslims pay?
It used to be possible to literally run away from justice
In the Ottoman Empire for a long period of time there were no civil and internecine wars. One of the reasons for this was the executions of high-ranking officials, which were carried out with the approval of the Sultan. However, not every death sentence was carried out due to a rather strange custom that developed in the 18th century. A convict from among the highest nobility could challenge the chief executioner and compete with him in running from the main gate of the Topkapi Palace to the place of public execution on fish market. In case of victory, the execution was usually canceled and replaced by expulsion from Istanbul. But in fact, this was not so easy to do, as the officials had to compete with younger and hardier executioners.
Legalized murder of the sons of the Sultan
In the 15th century, a war broke out in the Ottoman Empire between pretenders to the throne, as a result of which Mehmed I became the sultan, uniting all the lands. His grandson Mehmed II, in order to avoid such destructive civil strife, introduced the practice of killing brothers who could also have views of the throne. The bloodiest in this aspect was the reign of Mehmed III, who killed 19 siblings and half-brothers. The tradition was canceled in the 17th century by Sultan Ahmed I, replacing the murder with imprisonment. Here is an excerpt from the laws of Mehmed II: “If any of my children becomes the head of the Sultanate, then in order to ensure public order, he must kill his brothers. Most of the ulema approve of this. Let this rule be observed.
Vizier is one of the most dangerous species activities
Despite being second only to the Sultan in power, the Grand Viziers were usually executed or handed over to the crowd whenever something went wrong. During the reign of Selim the Terrible, so many grand viziers were replaced that they began to constantly carry wills with them.
Sultan and dimensionless libido
The Sultan's harem consisted of a huge number of women. It is noteworthy that during the reign of some sultans, there were up to 2000 wives and concubines in it. It is worth noting that they were kept locked up, and any outsider who saw them was executed on the spot.
Taxation
Devshirme is one of the types of tax on the non-Muslim population, a system of forced recruitment of boys from Christian families for their subsequent education and service as personal slaves of the Sultan.
The main reason for the emergence of devshirme was the distrust of the Ottoman sultans towards their own Turkic elite. From the time of Murad I, Ottoman rulers had a constant need to "balance the power of the (Turkic) aristocracy through the creation and development of a personal army of Christian dependent soldiers."
Analogue of the ghetto
Ottoman laws assigned certain rights and obligations to the members of each millet. Naturally, the Ottoman state tried in every possible way to emphasize the primacy of Islam and Muslims on its territory. Muslims enjoyed the most rights. Members of other communities had mainly responsibilities: a certain color of turbans; the line of settlement, that is, living in a certain quarter; riding ban; tax in money or children. The conversion of "infidels" to Islam was encouraged in every possible way, while Muslims were punished for converting to other religions. death penalty. At the same time, the state budget of non-Muslim millets was cut from year to year, their marginal nature was emphasized in every possible way, and a “transitional period” was declared on the way to the complete triumph of Islamic Sharia law.
The Ottoman Empire arose in 1299 in the northwest of Asia Minor and lasted 624 years, having managed to conquer many peoples and become one of the greatest powers in the history of mankind.
From the spot to the quarry
The position of the Turks at the end of the 13th century looked unpromising, if only because of the presence of Byzantium and Persia in the neighborhood. Plus the sultans of Konya (the capital of Lycaonia - regions in Asia Minor), depending on which, albeit formally, the Turks were.
However, all this did not prevent Osman (1288-1326) from expanding and strengthening his young state. By the way, by the name of their first sultan, the Turks began to be called the Ottomans.
Osman was actively engaged in the development of internal culture and carefully treated someone else's. Therefore, many Greek cities located in Asia Minor preferred to voluntarily recognize his supremacy. Thus, they "killed two birds with one stone": they both received protection and preserved their traditions.
Osman's son Orkhan I (1326-1359) brilliantly continued his father's work. Declaring that he was going to unite all the faithful under his rule, the Sultan set off to conquer not the countries of the East, which would be logical, but the western lands. And Byzantium was the first to stand in his way.
By this time, the empire was in decline, which the Turkish Sultan took advantage of. Like a cold-blooded butcher, he "chopped off" area after area from the Byzantine "body". Soon the entire northwestern part of Asia Minor came under the rule of the Turks. They also established themselves on the European coast of the Aegean and Marmara Seas, as well as the Dardanelles. And the territory of Byzantium was reduced to Constantinople and its environs.
Subsequent sultans continued the expansion of Eastern Europe, where they successfully fought against Serbia and Macedonia. And Bayazet (1389-1402) was "marked" by the defeat of the Christian army, which King Sigismund of Hungary led on a crusade against the Turks.
From defeat to triumph
Under the same Bayazet, one of the most severe defeats of the Ottoman army happened. The Sultan personally opposed Timur's army and in the Battle of Ankara (1402) he was defeated, and he himself was taken prisoner, where he died.
The heirs by hook or by crook tried to ascend the throne. The state was on the verge of collapse due to internal unrest. Only under Murad II (1421-1451) did the situation stabilize, and the Turks were able to regain control of the lost Greek cities and conquer part of Albania. The Sultan dreamed of finally cracking down on Byzantium, but did not have time. His son, Mehmed II (1451-1481), was destined to become the killer of the Orthodox empire.
On May 29, 1453, the hour of X came for Byzantium. The Turks besieged Constantinople for two months. Such a short time was enough to break the inhabitants of the city. Instead of everyone taking up arms, the townspeople simply prayed to God for help, not leaving churches for days. The last emperor, Constantine Palaiologos, asked for help from the Pope, but he demanded in return the unification of churches. Konstantin refused.
Perhaps the city would have held out even if not for the betrayal. One of the officials agreed to the bribe and opened the gate. He did not take into account one important fact - the Turkish Sultan, in addition to the female harem, also had a male one. That's where the comely son of a traitor got.
The city fell. The civilized world has stopped. Now all the states of both Europe and Asia have realized that the time has come for a new superpower - the Ottoman Empire.
European campaigns and confrontations with Russia
The Turks did not think to stop there. After the death of Byzantium, no one blocked their way to rich and unfaithful Europe, even conditionally.
Soon, Serbia was annexed to the empire (except for Belgrade, but the Turks would capture it in the 16th century), the Duchy of Athens (and, accordingly, most of all of Greece), the island of Lesbos, Wallachia, and Bosnia. 
IN Eastern Europe the territorial appetites of the Turks intersected with the interests of Venice. The ruler of the latter quickly enlisted the support of Naples, the Pope and Karaman (Khanate in Asia Minor). The confrontation lasted 16 years and ended with the complete victory of the Ottomans. After that, no one prevented them from "getting" the remaining Greek cities and islands, as well as annexing Albania and Herzegovina. The Turks were so carried away by the expansion of their borders that they successfully attacked even the Crimean Khanate.
Panic broke out in Europe. Pope Sixtus IV began to make plans for the evacuation of Rome, and at the same time hastened to announce a Crusade against the Ottoman Empire. Only Hungary responded to the call. In 1481, Mehmed II died, and the era of great conquests ended temporarily.
In the 16th century, when internal unrest in the empire subsided, the Turks again directed their weapons at their neighbors. First there was a war with Persia. Although the Turks won it, the territorial acquisitions were insignificant.
After success in North African Tripoli and Algiers, Sultan Suleiman invaded Austria and Hungary in 1527 and laid siege to Vienna two years later. It was not possible to take it - bad weather and mass diseases prevented it.
As for relations with Russia, for the first time the interests of states clashed in Crimea.
The first war took place in 1568 and ended in 1570 with the victory of Russia. Empires fought each other for 350 years (1568 - 1918) - one war fell on average for a quarter of a century.
During this time, there were 12 wars (including the Azov, Prut campaign, Crimean and Caucasian fronts during the First World War). And in most cases, the victory remained with Russia.
Dawn and sunset of the Janissaries
Talking about the Ottoman Empire, one cannot fail to mention its regular troops - the Janissaries.
In 1365, on the personal order of Sultan Murad I, the Janissary infantry was formed. It was completed by Christians (Bulgarians, Greeks, Serbs, and so on) at the age of eight to sixteen years. Thus, devshirme worked - a blood tax - which was imposed on the unbelieving peoples of the empire. It is interesting that at first the life of the Janissaries was quite difficult. They lived in monasteries-barracks, they were forbidden to start a family and any household.
But gradually the Janissaries from the elite branch of the military began to turn into a highly paid burden for the state. In addition, these troops were less and less likely to take part in hostilities.
The beginning of decomposition was laid in 1683, when, along with Christian children, Muslims began to be taken as Janissaries. Wealthy Turks sent their children there, thereby solving the issue of their successful future - they could make a good career. It was the Muslim Janissaries who began to start families and engage in crafts, as well as trade. Gradually, they turned into a greedy, impudent political power, which interfered in state affairs and participated in the overthrow of objectionable sultans.
The agony continued until 1826, when Sultan Mahmud II abolished the Janissaries.
The death of the Ottoman Empire
Frequent troubles, inflated ambitions, cruelty and constant participation in any wars could not but affect the fate of the Ottoman Empire. The 20th century turned out to be especially critical, in which Turkey was increasingly torn apart by internal contradictions and the separatist mood of the population. Because of this, the country fell behind the West in technical terms, so it began to lose the once conquered territories.
The fateful decision for the empire was its participation in the First World War. The allies defeated the Turkish troops and staged a division of its territory. On October 29, 1923, a new state appeared - Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal became its first president (later, he changed his surname to Atatürk - "father of the Turks"). Thus ended the history of the once great Ottoman Empire.
Any Hollywood scenario pales in comparison with the life path of Roksolana, who has become the most powerful woman in history great empire. Her powers, contrary to Turkish laws and Islamic canons, could only be compared with the capabilities of the Sultan himself. Roksolana became not just a wife, she was a co-ruler; they did not listen to her opinion - it was the only one that was correct, legal.
Anastasia Gavrilovna Lisovskaya (born c. 1506 - d. c. 1562) was the daughter of priest Gavrila Lisovsky of Rohatyn, a small town in western Ukraine, located southwest of Ternopil. In the 16th century, this territory belonged to the Commonwealth and was constantly subjected to devastating raids by the Crimean Tatars. During one of them in the summer of 1522, the young daughter of a clergyman was caught by a detachment of cannibals. The legend says that the misfortune happened just on the eve of Anastasia's wedding.
First, the captive ended up in the Crimea - this the usual way all slaves. The Tatars did not drive the valuable “living commodity” on foot across the steppe, but under vigilant guards they carried it on horseback, without even tying their hands, so as not to spoil the tender girl’s skin with ropes. Most sources say that the Krymchaks, amazed by the beauty of the Polonyanka, decided to send the girl to Istanbul, hoping to profitably sell her in one of the largest slave markets in the Muslim East.
“Giovane, ma non bella” (“young, but ugly”), the Venetian nobles told about her in 1526, but “graceful and short in stature.” None of his contemporaries, contrary to legend, called Roksolana a beauty.
The captive was sent to the capital of the sultans on a large felucca, and the owner himself took her to sell - history has not preserved his name. - Pasha. Again, the legend says that the Turk was struck by the dazzling beauty of the girl, and he decided to buy her to make a gift to the Sultan.
As can be seen from the portraits and confirmations of contemporaries, beauty clearly has nothing to do with it - I can call this combination of circumstances with only one word - Fate.
During this era, the sultan was Suleiman I the Magnificent (Magnificent), who ruled from 1520 to 1566, considered the greatest sultan of the Ottoman dynasty. During the years of his reign, the empire reached the apogee of its development, including all of Serbia with Belgrade, most of Hungary, the island of Rhodes, significant territories in North Africa to the borders of Morocco and the Middle East. The nickname the Magnificent was given to the Sultan by Europe, while in the Muslim world he is more often called Kanuni, which in Turkish means Lawgiver. “Such greatness and nobility,” wrote about Suleiman in the report of the Venetian ambassador of the 16th century, Marini Sanuto, “they were also adorned by the fact that, unlike his father and many other sultans, he did not have a penchant for pederasty.” An honest ruler and an uncompromising fighter against bribery, he encouraged the development of arts and philosophy, and was also considered a skilled poet and blacksmith - few European monarchs could compete with Suleiman I.
According to the laws of faith, the padishah could have four legal wives. The children of the first of them became heirs to the throne. Rather, one firstborn inherited the throne, and the rest often met with a sad fate: all possible contenders for supreme power were to be destroyed.
In addition to wives, the ruler of the faithful had any number of concubines that his soul desired and the flesh required. IN different time under different sultans, from several hundred to a thousand or more women lived in the harem, each of which was certainly an amazing beauty. In addition to women, the harem consisted of a whole staff of eunuchs-castrates, maids of different ages, chiropractors, midwives, masseuses, doctors and the like. But no one, except the padishah himself, could encroach on the beauties belonging to him. The head of the girls, the eunuch of Kyzlyaragassi, led all this complex and restless household.
However, one amazing beauty there were few: the girls intended for the harem of the padishah were obligatorily taught music, dance, Muslim poetry and, of course, the art of love. Naturally, the course of the love sciences was theoretical, and the practice was taught by experienced old women and women, experienced in all the intricacies of sex.
Now back to Roksolana, so Rustem Pasha decided to buy a Slavic beauty. But her Krymchak owner refused to sell Anastasia and presented her as a gift to the all-powerful courtier, rightly expecting to receive for this not only an expensive return gift, as is customary in the East, but also considerable benefits.
Rustem Pasha ordered to comprehensively prepare it as a gift to the Sultan, in turn, hoping to achieve this even greater favor with him. The padishah was young, he ascended the throne only in 1520 and greatly appreciated feminine beauty, and not just as a contemplative.
In the harem, Anastasia receives the name Hurrem (laughing). And for the Sultan, she always remained only Hurrem. Roksolana, the name under which she went down in history, is just the name of the Sarmatian tribes in the II-IV centuries of our era, who roamed the steppes between the Dnieper and the Don, translated from Latin means "Russian". Roksolana often, both during her lifetime and after death, will be called nothing more than a “Rusynka” - a native of Russia or Roxolanii, as Ukraine used to be called.
The secret of the birth of love between the Sultan and the fifteen-year-old unknown captive will remain unsolved. After all, there was a strict hierarchy in the harem, violating which a cruel punishment awaited. Often death. Recruit girls - ajami, step by step, first jariye, then shagird, gedikli and mouth became step by step. No one, except for the mouth, had the right to be in the Sultan's chambers. Only the mother of the ruling sultan, the Valide Sultan, had absolute power within the harem, and decided who and when to share a bed with the sultan from her mouth. How Roksolana managed to occupy the Sultan's monastery almost immediately will forever remain a mystery.
There is a legend about how Hurrem came into the eyes of the Sultan. When the Sultan was introduced to new slaves (more beautiful and expensive than she), a small figure suddenly flew into the circle of dancing odalisques and, pushing the “soloist” away, laughed. And then she sang her song. The harem lived according to cruel laws. And the eunuchs were waiting for only one sign - what to prepare for the girl - clothes for the Sultan's bedroom or a string with which they strangled the slaves. The Sultan was intrigued and surprised. And on the same evening, Hurrem received the Sultan's handkerchief - a sign that in the evening he was waiting for her in his bedroom. Having interested the Sultan with her silence, she asked for only one thing - the right to visit the Sultan's library. The Sultan was shocked, but allowed. When after some time he returned from a military campaign, Hurrem already knew several languages. She dedicated poems to her Sultan and even wrote books. It was unprecedented in those days, and instead of respect, it aroused fear. Her learning, plus the fact that the Sultan spent all his nights with her, made Hurrem enduringly famous as a witch. They said about Roksolana that she bewitched the Sultan with the help of evil spirits. And indeed he was bewitched.
“Finally, we will unite in soul, thoughts, imagination, will, heart, everything that I threw mine into you and took yours with me, oh my only love!”, The sultan wrote in a letter to Roksolana. “My lord, your absence has kindled a fire in me that does not go out. Have pity on this suffering soul and hasten your letter so that I can find at least a little consolation in it, ”answered Hurrem.
Roksolana greedily absorbed everything that she was taught in the palace, took everything that life gave her. Historians testify that after some time she really mastered the Turkish, Arabic and Persian languages, learned to dance perfectly, recite contemporaries, and also play according to the rules of a foreign, cruel country in which she lived. Following the rules of her new homeland, Roksolana converted to Islam.
Her main trump card was that Rustem Pasha, thanks to whom she got to the palace of the padishah, received her as a gift, and did not buy it. In turn, he did not sell it to the kyzlyaragassi, who replenished the harem, but presented it to Suleiman. So Roxalana stayed free woman and could claim the role of the padishah's wife. According to the laws of the Ottoman Empire, a slave could never, under any circumstances, become the wife of the ruler of the faithful.
A few years later, Suleiman enters into an official marriage with her according to the Muslim rite, elevates her to the rank of bash-kadyna - the main (and in fact - the only) wife and addresses her "Haseki", which means "dear heart".
The incredible position of Roksolana at the Sultan's court amazed both Asia and Europe. Her education made scientists bow down, she received foreign ambassadors, responded to messages from foreign sovereigns, influential nobles and artists. She not only resigned herself to the new faith, but also gained fame as a zealous orthodox Muslim woman, which earned her considerable respect at court.
One day, the Florentines placed a ceremonial portrait of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, for which she posed for a Venetian artist, in an art gallery. It was the only female portrait among the images of hook-nosed bearded sultans in huge turbans. “There was no other woman in the Ottoman palace who would have such power” - Venetian ambassador Navagero, 1533.
Lisovskaya gives birth to four sons to the Sultan (Mohammed, Bayazet, Selim, Jehangir) and a daughter, Khamerie. She and her children became mortal enemies of the power-hungry and treacherous Roxalana.
Lisovskaya was well aware that until her son became the heir to the throne or sat on the throne of the padishahs, her own position was constantly under threat. At any moment, Suleiman could be carried away by a new beautiful concubine and make her his lawful wife, and order some of the old wives to be executed: in the harem, an objectionable wife or concubine was put alive in a leather bag, they threw an angry cat and a poisonous snake there, tied the bag and a special stone gutter lowered it with a tied stone into the waters of the Bosphorus. The guilty were considered lucky if they were simply quickly strangled with a silk cord.
Therefore, Roxalana prepared for a very long time and began to act actively and cruelly only after almost fifteen years!
Her daughter was twelve years old, and she decided to marry her to ... Rustem Pasha, who was already over fifty. But he was in great favor at court, close to the throne of the padishah and, most importantly, was someone like a mentor and " godfather"The heir to the throne, Mustafa - the son of the Circassian Gulbekhar, the first wife of Suleiman.
Roxalana's daughter grew up with a similar face and chiseled figure to her beautiful mother, and Rustem Pasha became related to the Sultan with great pleasure - this is a very high honor for the courtier. It was not forbidden for women to see each other, and the sultana deftly found out from her daughter about everything that was going on in the house of Rustem Pasha, literally bit by bit collecting the information she needed. Finally, Lisovskaya decided it was time to strike the death blow!
During a meeting with her husband, Roxalana secretly told the ruler of the faithful about the "terrible conspiracy." Merciful Allah vouchsafed her time to learn about the secret plans of the conspirators and allowed her to warn her adored husband about the danger that threatened him: Rustem Pasha and the sons of Gulbekhar planned to take the life of the padishah and seize the throne by placing Mustafa on him!
The intriguer knew well where and how to strike - the mythical "conspiracy" was quite plausible: in the East during the time of the sultans, bloody palace coups were the most common. In addition, Roxalana cited as an irrefutable argument the true words of Rustem Pasha, Mustafa and other "conspirators" that the daughter of Anastasia and the Sultan heard. Therefore, the grains of evil fell on fertile soil!
Rustem Pasha was immediately taken into custody, and an investigation began: Pasha was terribly tortured. He may have slandered himself and others under torture. But even if he was silent, this only confirmed the padishah in the actual existence of the "conspiracy." After being tortured, Rustem Pasha was beheaded.
Only Mustafa and his brothers left - they were an obstacle on the way to the throne of Roxalana's first-born, red-haired Selim, and therefore they simply had to die! Constantly urged on by his wife, Suleiman agreed and gave the order to kill his children! The Prophet forbade shedding the blood of the padishahs and their heirs, so Mustafa and his brothers were strangled with a green twisted silk cord. Gulbehar went mad with grief and soon died.
The cruelty and injustice of the son struck the valide Hamse, the mother of the padishah Suleiman, who came from the family of the Crimean khans Girey. At the meeting, she told her son everything that she thinks about the "conspiracy", the execution and her son's beloved wife Roxalana. It is not surprising that after this Valide Hamse, the mother of the Sultan, lived less than a month: The East knows a lot about poisons!
The sultana went even further: she ordered to find in the harem and throughout the country the other sons of Suleiman, who were born by wives and concubines, and to take their lives! As it turned out, the sons of the Sultan found about forty people - all of them, some secretly, some openly, were killed on the orders of Lisovskaya.
Thus, for forty years of marriage, Roksolana managed the almost impossible. She was proclaimed the first wife, and her son Selim became the heir. But the victims didn't stop there. Two younger sons of Roksolana were strangled. Some sources accuse her of involvement in these murders - allegedly this was done in order to strengthen the position of her beloved son Selim. However, reliable data on this tragedy has not been found.
She no longer managed to see how her son ascended the throne, becoming Sultan Selim II. He reigned after the death of his father for only eight years - from 1566 to 1574 - and, although the Koran forbids drinking wine, he was a terrible alcoholic! One day, his heart simply could not stand the constant excessive libations, and he remained in the memory of the people as Sultan Selim the drunkard!
No one will ever know what the true feelings of the famous Roksolana were. What is it like to be a young girl in slavery, in a foreign country, with an imposed foreign faith. Not only not to break, but also to grow into the mistress of the empire, gain fame throughout Asia and Europe. Trying to erase the shame and humiliation from her memory, Roksolana ordered the slave market to be hidden and a mosque, a madrasah and an almshouse to be put in its place. That mosque and the hospital in the building of the almshouse still bear the name of Haseki, as well as the adjacent district of the city.
Her name, shrouded in myths and legends, sung by contemporaries and denounced by black glory, has forever remained in history. Nastasia Lisovskaya, whose fate could be similar to hundreds of thousands of the same Nastya, Khristin, Oles, Mariy. But life decreed otherwise. No one knows how much grief, tears and misfortunes Nastasya endured on the way to Roksolana. However, for the Muslim world, she will remain Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska - LAUGHING.
Roksolana died either in 1558 or in 1561. Suleiman I - in 1566. He managed to complete the construction of the majestic Suleymaniye mosque - one of the largest architectural monuments Ottoman Empire, near which the ashes of Roksolana rest in an octagonal stone tomb, next to the also octahedral tomb of the Sultan. This tomb has been standing for more than four hundred years. Inside, under a high dome, Suleiman ordered to carve alabaster rosettes and decorate each of them with a priceless emerald, Roksolana's favorite gem.
When Suleiman died, his tomb was also decorated with emeralds, forgetting that ruby was his favorite stone.