I saw the Sultan once, at a distance, attended by a brilliant throng. A party of bowmen surrounded him as he rode› and as they might
not turn their faces from him, those in front had to run backward. When on Fridays the Sultan rode to his father’s mosque, anyone-even the poorest-might present a petition to him at the end of a long, cleft stick. Many of these petitions were actually read and were dispatched by the Divan to the appropriate officials, for the wrongs recorded therein to be redressed.
The more I thought about this vast empire, built up by the Ottomans from small beginnings and now comprising within its borders more races than I could name, the more deeply impressed was I by the remarkable statesmanship that held it together and made life there agreeable and safe. This realm was governed by milder, juster laws than those of Christendom, and the moderate taxes were not to be compared with the merciless extortions practiced by so many Christian princes. And further, the tolerance shown by Ottomans toward other _ religions was something unheard-of elsewhere; no one was persecuted for his faith save the Persian Shiites, the heretics of Islam. Christians and Jews had their own places of worship and might even observe their own laws if they so chose.
Christians indeed had one heavy tribute to pay, in that every third year they must hand over their sturdiest sons to be trained from their eleventh year upward as the Sultan’s janissaries. But these boys did not complain; they were proud of the honor and became more vigorous champions of Allah than Moslems born and bred.
The High Porte was indeed the Refuge of all Peoples. Not only did the core of the Sultan’s army consist of professional soldiers born of Christian parents, and adopted, brought up, and trained by Turks; the highest appointments in the Empire were held by men of every race who were slaves of the Sultan. To him alone they owed advancement, to him their heads were forfeit if they failed in prompt and meticulous execution of his commands. The Sultan bestowed great power on these men, but his incorruptible agents constantly toured every district of every province and listened to the people’s complaints; thus the local governors were prevented from overstepping the limits of the authority vested in them by custom and the Sultan’s laws.
My life was now bound up with the welfare and success of this empire, and so at first I strove to see everything in the most favorable light. There were signs that the Sultan was preparing for a great campaign, and without wishing ill to anyone I was keenly curious to know what would become of the King of Vienna. I had had experience of
the Emperor’s poverty and did not believe he could send much help to his brother; moreover an inherent feature of the Ottoman Empire was its tendency to expand. In this it followed the doctrines of Islam, which preached unceasing war against the unbeliever. Also the janissaries grew restless and discontented if the Sultan failed to lead them at least once a year into a war in which plunder and fresh honors were to be gained.
Whereas the Emperor Charles’s campaigns cost enormous sums and far exceeded his economic resources, the Sultan’s wars by an ingenious and farsighted arrangement paid for themselves. His regular cavalry, the spahis, drew their income from farms which they held from the Sultan and which were worked by slaves taken in battle. Thus these spahis served their sovereign for almost no wages. In districts bordering the Christian countries light cavalrymen, known as akindshas, lived on a war footing; their traditional banditry inclined them to enter the service of the Sultan. Similar tastes brought a vast number of idle men to the Sultan’s colors as auxiliary troops, which were commonly thrown in as cannon fodder at the forefront of any attack. The Sultan therefore found himself in a far more advantageous position than the Christian leaders and could, even while sustaining losses, slowly but surely wear down enemy resistance. And so, when like Giulia I indulged in dreams of a splendid future, I saw nothing fantastic in the idea that one day I might find myself governor of some wealthy German city, in reward for my services.
But when I discussed Seraglio affairs with Giulia she warned me against relying too much on Ibrahim’s favor, and asked in some derision what it had done for me so far. From our neighbors and at the baths she heard gossip enough, and knew that the Sultan’s favorite slave, Khurrem the Russian, had already borne him three sons. This young and ever vivacious woman had so captured her lord’s heart that he paid not the least attention to the rest of his harem, and had even shamefully dismissed the m®ther of his first-born son. It was now this underbred Russian woman on whom foreign envoys showered their presents; they called her Roxelana and sought by every means to gain her favor. Such was her influence over the Sultan that he would do anything to gratify her smallest wish, and envious voices in the harem had begun to hint at sorcery. Giulia said, “Grand viziers come and go, but woman’s power over man is eternal and her influence stronger than that of even the closest friend. If in some way I could win Sultana Khurrem’s favor I know I might do a great deal more for both of us than the Grand Vizier ever could.”
I smiled at her simplicity, but warned her, “Speak low, woman, for in this city walls have ears. I came here to serve the Grand Vizier and through him Khaireddin, lord of the sea. And you’re mistaken-nothing in the world is so fleeting as sensual passion. How can you suppose that the Sultan will be bound to one woman forever, when the choicest virgins of every race and country wait to obey his slightest sign? No, Giulia, women have no place in high politics; no future can be founded on a wayward houri of the harem.”
Giulia retorted with some asperity, “I’m edified to learn from you that love and passion are such ephemeral things. I shall not forget. But perhaps some men are less fickle than you.”
A few days later the Sultan held a Divan on horseback at which, according to ancient Ottoman custom, questions of peace and war were debated. He appointed Ibrahim commander in chief, or seraskier, of the whole Turkish army and once again confirmed Ibrahim’s position as Grand Vizier, whose commands and ordinances were to be obeyed by high and low, rich and poor, as if they had been the Sultan’s own. The proclamation was so comprehensive and detailed as to convince everyone that from now on Seraskier Ibrahim was, next the Sultan, the highest authority in the Empire.
In token of his favor the Sultan gave him, besides a great quantity of splendid presents, seven horsehair switches instead of the four with which he had previously been honored, and also seven banners-one white, one green, one yellow, two red, and two striped ones-to be borne before him always. The Sultan had further granted him a salary of ten thousand aspers a day: ten times that of the Aga of Janissaries, who held the highest rank of all the agas. In my lowly position I never caught so much as a glimpse of the Grand Vizier, but was delighted to find that my faith in him was justified. When I mentioned this to Giulia she answered, “Have it your own way, Michael. Pin your faith on the Grand Vizier, who has remembered you so often and to such purpose! But allow me to seek my fortune elsewhere.”
Three days later the Sultan released King Ferdinand’s envoys who had been imprisoned in the Fort of the Seven Towers, and bestowed upon each a well-filled purse in compensation for what they had endured. I was told that he addressed these words to them: “Salute your master, and tell him he does not yet know all that our mutual friendship can achieve. But he will soon find out, and I mean to give him with my own hand all that he desires of me. Bid him make timely preparation for my coming.”
To these playful words King Ferdinand’s envoy replied, in a manner quite devoid of finesse, that his sovereign would be most happy to welcome the Sultan if he came as a friend, but that he would also know how to receive him as an enemy. Thus war was declared. But both official and secret agents of Christian states in Istanbul had already sent dispatches flying to their princes as soon as they heard that the Divan had met on horseback.
Spring advanced to the sound of drums and trumpets, and ceaseless rain turned the ground to mud. It was the custom, when the seraskier had set forth in advance to mobilize his troops, for the Sultan to march somewhat later at the head of his janissaries. But now every day small detachments started for the frontier in a prearranged order, and with the creaking, lumbering gun carriages went my brother Andy. For the second time in his life he found himself on the road to Hungary, though this time to fight for the Mussulmans instead of against them. He seemed dubious of the enterprise and wondered how the guns were to be conveyed along pulpy roads and across rivers swollen with the spring freshets. But, he thought, the Mussulmans had perhaps found some method of overcoming these obstacles, since they marched regardless of bad weather.
There was also great activity in Piri-reis’s department, for the fleet was making ready for war. It was to patrol the coasts of the Black Sea and the Aegean, and some vessels were to make their way up the Danube in support of the advancing army. At this time I was sent on many errands to the arsenal and the forecourt of the Seraglio.
One exceptionally fine and sunny day after a long period of rain I was sitting and waiting in the Court of Peace, for my chief duty as messenger was to wait. I was by now familiar with the different dresses worn by the Seraglio servants-their materials, colors, badges, and headdresses-and no longer gaped about me like a stranger. Suddenly I saw a eunuch stumbling toward me. His fat face was swollen with weeping and he wrung his hands in despair as he
