The capture of Constantinople was the first great victory of the New Arms, which, by the will of fate, ended up in the hands of the Ottomans. New Weapons in the hands of "new soldiers" - history has not yet seen a more powerful force: it was a Fundamental Discovery that spawned a wave of conquests. Armed with arquebusses and cannons, the Janissaries marched along the roads of Europe and Asia, and the peoples bowed obediently to the almighty conquerors. During the reign of Mehmed II, Albania, Wallachia, Peloponnese, Moldova, Bosnia were conquered; then the Ottomans turned east.
Behind the Taurus mountains, in vast areas of Asia, nomadic hordes and steppe khans continued to dominate, as one hundred and two hundred years ago, they fought among themselves for "cattle" and "pastures". This was the world of the barbarians, and the Janissaries came to this world as soldiers of civilization, bringing liberation to the enslaved peasants. In August 1514, a grandiose battle took place on the Chaldyran plain near Lake Urmia, in which new soldiers crushed the combined forces of the nomads who dominated Iran. Then Syria and Egypt were conquered, the Janissaries entered the holy Muslim cities, Mecca and Medina, and in 1534 they occupied Baghdad, the capital of the Arabs, famous for centuries.
The Ottoman Empire turned into a huge World Power, heir to the great Caliphate; the sultans began to call themselves caliphs, "deputy prophet" and "rulers of the faithful." The glory of the great sultans Selim the Terrible (1512-20) and Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-60) reached the borders of Europe and Asia; some nations pronounced these names with reverence, others with fear. The sultans were the leaders of the Muslims in the holy war with the infidels and spent most of their lives on campaigns; even the rite of coronation of the Sultan consisted not in the laying on of the crown, but in girding with the "sacred sword." When, after the coronation, returning to the palace, the Sultan passed by the janissary barracks, one of the commanders came out to meet him and brought a bowl of sherbet. After drinking sherbet and filling the bowl with gold coins, the sultan uttered a ritual phrase:"Kyzyl Elmada Geryushuryuz" - "We will meet again in the Land of the Golden Apple." This meant that the Janissaries had to prepare for a march to the west - to Christian Europe, which the Turks called the "Land of the Golden Apple".
In 1526, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, at the head of a 100,000-strong army with 300 guns, invaded Hungary. On August 29, the Turks met the Hungarians on the field near Mohach; the Hungarian cavalry rushed into a desperate attack on the Janissary fortifications and was shot at point-blank by artillery; King Louis II drowned in a swamp while fleeing. The Turks took possession of most of Hungary and in 1529 moved to Vienna, all of Europe was gripped by fear; it seemed that Christians would not be able to stop the Muslim advance. At the end of September, the Ottomans besieged the Austrian capital and pushed 300 cannons to its walls, the cannonade lasted from morning to evening, miners dug tunnels and blew up the fortifications. On October 9, the Turks launched an assault, which lasted three days without interruption - but the janissaries did not manage to break the besieged; anticipating the onset of cold weather, the Ottoman army lifted the siege.
Returning, the Turks ravaged the Austrian lands and drove away more than 10 thousand peasants. The war for the faith knew no mercy, and neither Muslims nor Christians spared their opponents. However, any Christian prisoner could say: “I admit that there is no God but Allah,” and immediately receive freedom. On the conquered lands, Christians were not oppressed and lived in their communities, according to their own laws. Christians were required to dress in black clothes and were not allowed to carry weapons; for the protection and patronage of Muslims, they paid taxes, "kharaj" and "jizya" - but these taxes were much less than the dues that the peasants paid to their masters before the conquest. Many peasants were former serfs and the Turks brought them freedom, so they happily converted to Islam and wore a turban. Becoming Muslimsthey paid only a small tax - a tithe of the harvest, and by law they were entitled to a plot of land that was cultivated by a pair of oxen.
The Ottoman Empire was founded on the laws of Islamic justice, "adalet", and its order was unlike the order of Europe, where there were masters and there were slaves, and where the nobility boasted of their noble origins. "There is no boyars there," the Slavic educator Yuri Krizhanich wrote with surprise, "but they look only at skill, at reason and at courage." The Prophet Muhammad said that all people are brothers in father and mother, Adam and Eve, and this socialist principle was the basis of all Islamic states. The believers had to help each other, and the rich man, who turns away from the poor man, was threatened by "cruel tortures and fiery hell." Fearing the torment of hell, everyone who had some kind of wealth sought to donate it to waqfs - charitable institutions where they helped the poor, fed orphans and beggars. Muslims united in communities led by Qadi judges,who monitored the observance of fairness, the proper distribution of taxes and the prices in the market: traders were not supposed to profit from buyers and receive more than ten percent of the profit. All land plots, income and taxes owed were registered in the “defters” registers, and scribal officials made sure that there was no concealment anywhere.
Just like other empires of the East, the Ottoman Empire was a socialist state, and the authorities intervened in all affairs, controlled and distributed everything. All lands were considered state property; only things created by their own labor could be in private property. In the state, each was assigned his own place, and the peasants had to maintain soldiers: some villages were allocated in timar to the "men of the sword" and transferred to them a part of the collected taxes. However, the warrior's income did not exceed the income of several peasant households; with this money it was necessary to equip every spring for a campaign - and if a disorder in the equipment was found at the inspection or the asker did not show courage in battle, then the timar could be taken away. The officers received large timars, "ziamets", but had to equip and bring with them a certain number of ghoul horsemen,so that the treasury made sure that the soldiers did not live in luxury. “No one, on pain of death, sought expensive outfits,” wrote the Polish ambassador, “luxury and effeminacy were condemned and eradicated … Salaries and other awards were small, but since the expenses were low, everyone was satisfied with the income from the timar. Since obedience and abstinence were revered above all, it was always not a burden when they fought. This cord of power, so beautifully woven, was in the possession of one master - the monarch. "then always, when they fought, it was not a burden. This cord of power, so beautifully woven, was in the possession of one master - the monarch. "then always, when they fought, it was not a burden. This cord of power, so beautifully woven, was in the possession of one master - the monarch."
In a Europe torn apart by constant turmoil, order and discipline were perceived as unusual; European philosophers and politicians were surprised to describe the powerful Ottoman Empire, presenting it as a role model. The Sultan's court amazed Western ambassadors with its luxury and splendor of ceremonies; here were collected all the talents of the East, famous poets, famous architects and venerable theologians. Suleiman the Magnificent was one of the enlightened sovereigns of the time; he wrote poetry, knew six languages and was an admirer of Aristotle. The Europeans were especially surprised that all the highest dignitaries, assistants of the Sultan in matters of government, were his slaves - "kapykulu"; they were recruited from among the janissaries: the most talented were selected from the young slave warriors and were trained as officials, "people of the pen."Over time, a slave who had won a favor could become a grand vizier or governor-pasha - but he always remained a disciplined and obedient slave, and for the slightest offense, the sultan could order his head to be cut off. The head of the guilty vizier was brought to the Sultan on a silver platter, and then exposed to the public at the gate of the Sultan's palace; there usually lay many heads, some on precious dishes, others on wooden plates, and the heads of minor officials were simply thrown on the ground.and the heads of minor officials were simply thrown to the ground.and the heads of minor officials were simply thrown to the ground.
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The slave officials who were trembling for their lives did not dare to steal and take bribes; they diligently carried out the tasks entrusted to them and, according to the testimony of the Polish ambassador, "were a model for the whole earth." The highest reward for a kapykul slave was an honorable dress presented by the Sultan; officials received salaries, and the highest dignitaries lived in palaces and had harems - but all this could be taken away at any time. The palace of the grand vizier was called "Bab-i Ali", "High Gate"; in French "La Sablime Porte" - that's why European diplomats called the Turkish government "High Porte". The Grand Vizier headed the council of dignitaries, the “sofa”, and decided all current issues; sometimes the Sultan attended the meetings of the divan and, remaining unnoticed behind the curtain, listened to the discussion of matters.
For the most part, however, the sultans spent their time on hikes or indulging in pleasures in their huge Topkapa palace. Topkapa was a complex of many marble buildings among beautiful gardens - a world of luxury and grace, ascended on a hill high above the city and the sea. The innermost center of the palace was the "house of delights", the Sultan's harem, where hundreds of beautiful odalisques lived under the protection of black eunuchs, most of them captured in the campaigns of captive slaves. Sometimes the sultan came to the "house of delights" and sat on the throne; slave girls in transparent muslin danced and sang, trying to attract his attention, and the one he liked, the sultan put a small scarf on his shoulder. "I want to be returned to me at night," said the sultan, and this meant that the chosen one should spend the night with him. Once a saffron shawl lay on the shoulder of the Russian slave Nastasya - she gave birth to a son and became the favorite of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Having learned the Turkish language and having mastered the customs of a foreign country, the clever Nastasya turned into the sultana Roksolana, who sat on the throne next to Suleiman and before whom the European ambassadors cursed. When the time came, the sultan chose the son of Roksolana as heir to the throne - according to the custom of the court, this meant that the rest of the children were doomed to die. “The one of my sons who will ascend the throne has the right to kill his brothers so that there is order on the earth,” said the law of Mehmed II, and his successors followed this law - on the day of the death of the Sultan, black eunuchs broke into the harem and sobbed and shouted concubines strangled their children. Having learned the Turkish language and having mastered the customs of a foreign country, the clever Nastasya turned into the sultana Roksolana, who sat on the throne next to Suleiman and before whom the European ambassadors cursed. When the time came, the Sultan chose the son of Roksolana as heir to the throne - according to the custom of the court, this meant that the rest of the children were doomed to die. “The one of my sons who will ascend the throne has the right to kill his brothers so that there is order on the earth,” said the law of Mehmed II, and his successors followed this law - on the day of the death of the Sultan, black eunuchs broke into the harem and sobbed and shouted concubines strangled their children. Having learned the Turkish language and having mastered the customs of a foreign country, the clever Nastasya turned into the sultana Roksolana, who sat on the throne next to Suleiman and before whom the European ambassadors cursed. When the time came, the Sultan chose the son of Roksolana as heir to the throne - according to the custom of the court, this meant that the rest of the children were doomed to die. “The one of my sons who will ascend the throne has the right to kill his brothers so that there is order on the earth,” said the law of Mehmed II, and his successors followed this law - on the day of the death of the Sultan, black eunuchs broke into the harem and sobbed and shouted concubines strangled their children.the sultan chose the son of Roksolana as heir to the throne - according to the custom of the court, this meant that the rest of the children were doomed to death. “The one of my sons who will ascend the throne has the right to kill his brothers so that there is order on the earth,” said the law of Mehmed II, and his successors followed this law - on the day of the death of the Sultan, black eunuchs broke into the harem and sobbed and shouted concubines strangled their children.the sultan chose the son of Roksolana as heir to the throne - according to the custom of the court, this meant that the rest of the children were doomed to death. “The one of my sons who will ascend the throne has the right to kill his brothers so that there is order on the earth,” said the law of Mehmed II, and his successors followed this law - on the day of the death of the Sultan, black eunuchs broke into the harem and sobbed and shouted concubines strangled their children.
The brutality of the Ottomans really helped maintain order - there were no wars for the throne in the Empire, usual for other states. The capital of the Empire, Istanbul, was a symbol of prosperity and power; it was the largest city in Europe, hundreds of ships crowded in its port, and huge covered markets surprised travelers with a large population and an abundance of goods. Recent nomads, the Turks had not yet mastered all the intricacies of trade, and it was mainly Greeks, Armenians and Jews who traded in the markets. Many Christians lived in the city and there were many churches - but there were much more mosques, each sultan considered it his duty to erect a mosque that rivaled the beauty of Hagia Sophia. The famous architect Sinan built for Sultan Suleiman the magnificent Suleymaniye Mosque, outwardly very similar to Aya Sophia, but filled inside with the luxury and grace of the East. Same,like many courtiers of the Sultan, Khoja Sinan was a janissary in his youth, studied military affairs and, among other things, the art of building, then fought, built fortifications and bridges, and, in the end, became the main architect of the Empire. During his long life, he erected about a hundred mosques and many palaces, libraries, baths - Turkish baths looked like palaces, they were decorated with high lead domes and trimmed with marble inside.
Muslims adopted the love of baths from the Romans and Greeks. Like Roman baths, Turkish baths were built with government funds and served as a favorite place for rest and entertainment of the common people. For a small fee, the bath attendants gave the visitors the famous Turkish massage, kneaded joints until they crunched, rubbed the body and brought the visitor into a state of keif - “bliss”. After steamy enough, one could sit in the lounge, discuss the news, have a cup of coffee and smoke a pipe. At that time, coffee was a new drink imported from Arabia, but the Istanbulites already fell in love with it; the Arabic word "kahva" used to mean "wine" - but the prophet forbade drinking wine, and it was gradually replaced by coffee combined with hashish and tobacco: the Turks were heavy smokers and never parted with their long pipes.
The residential quarters of Istanbul did not outwardly differ from the quarters of Muslim cities of the Middle Ages: the same narrow unpaved streets, the second floors of houses hanging over the street, wooden bars on the windows. The women covered their faces with a veil, through the slit of which only black eyes, drawn with antimony, were visible. Life proceeded according to once and for all established laws; imams read sermons in mosques, and here teachers-fakikha taught children to read and write, writing letters on whitewashed tablets. Craftsmen worked in their workshops in front of passers-by; the coffee houses smelled tartly of roasted coffee and tobacco, and the sherbet sellers offered their refreshing drink. Istanbul lived a peaceful life, the Empire was at the zenith of its power - and no one knew about the impending catastrophe.
Sergey Nefedov