ANST - FW: Musing on Sept 5th --The Magnificent & the Gal with the Antelope Eyes

[j'lynn yeates]

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- -----Original Message-----
From: Ellsworth Weaver [mailto:astroweaver at yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2000 19:42
To: 2thpix at surfari.net
Subject: Musing on Sept 5th --The Magnificent & the Gal with the
Antelope Eyes


(resending, screen went blank first time, delete if this is a
duplicate.)

Dear Folk,

Today, September 5, 1566 marks the passing of the greatest of all
Sultans of the Turks: Suleyman I – the Magnificent.

Suleyman (or Suleiman) was the only son  of Selim I. He was born into
the role of ruler, as so many have been; however, he was wise and
capable beyond most I have written about. You might remember him as
the
gentleman leading the Ottoman Turks against Louis II at the Battle of
Mohacs. Go back and read that in "Know Mohacs" in the Archives if you
do not.

When I say Ottoman Turks, you might think that it was some sort of
designation of an area. It wasn’t. One family reigned over the
Ottoman
Empire for seven centuries, and, unlike most dynasties, they ruled in
an unbroken line, thirty-six of them altogether, from the 13th
century
until the 20th century. Of course there were abdications and
depositions but never a real break. They were never overthrown by a
foreign power and no usurper ever gained the throne. The Western
world
called them Ottoman, but their Turkish name is Osmanli, taken from
the
first ruler of the Ottoman state, Osman I (died 1326). What other
throne can boast such a lineage?

It seemed amazing at the time, 1453 CE, that this previously obscure
clan breached the walls and conquered the Byzantine capital of
Constantinople. It was partially the clan’s strength and cunning but
also that the Byzantine Empire was overripe and rotten. The Mongols
had
pushed the Empire to its limits, there was no leadership, the Empire
was morally and spiritually bankrupt. It took little for the Turks to
kick butt. Under Mehmed the Conqueror, the Ottomans rebuilt the
devastated city of Constantinople into the fabulously wealthy capital
they renamed Istanbul, with large warehouses, the Covered Bazaar,
Topkapi Palace, and several mosque complexes.

It was Sultan Süleyman (born 1494) however, who brought the Ottoman
Empire to its zenith. He was the fourth Ottoman sultan to reign, from
1520 until 1566. He presided over the most powerful state in the
world
spanning three continents.  A remarkable military strategist, he more
than doubled the Ottoman land holdings he inherited from his father.

He also brought a profusion of elegant mosques, baths, schools,
fountains, and gardens to Istanbul. A virtual renaissance occurred in
literature, the arts, the sciences, and he set a new standard of
jurisprudence. . The Turks called him "The Lawgiver." So brilliant
was
Süleyman that it was actually the Europeans who added the sobriquet
"the Magnificent" to his name. "I know no State which is happier than
this one," reported the Venetian ambassador in 1525; "it is furnished
with all God's gifts. It controls war and peace; it is rich in gold,
in
people, in ships, and in obedience; no State can be compared with it.
May God long preserve the most just of all Emperors."

Races and religions coexisted under his rule. Muslim, Christian and
Jewish families lived together in the Ottoman capital of Istanbul,
and
Christians and Jews freely practiced their religion, customs, and
laws.
Officers to Suleyman’s court were appointed by merit and not by
birth.
What a strange concept!

He ruled over everything and everybody but was nevertheless
restricted
to a daily expense allowance of two purses, one of gold, the other
silver. What he did not distribute by the day's end, he generously
shared among his pages. He himself was skilled in poetry and the arts
and was trained as a goldsmith. On various occasions lavish
spectacles
were organized lasting weeks and featuring acrobatics, juggling,
fireworks, and the reenactment of battles and sieges in shadow play.
He
lived his life in balance and moderation, according to his sacred
book,
The Koran.

The sultan used to consult theologians on crucial decisions. He
attached importance to justice and fairness. For example, he returned
an overpayment in Egypt's taxes. How about that, modern politicians?
He
was just, letting no corruption or injustice go unpunished. But he
sometimes acted before he had all the facts. And he could be
influenced
as can we all.

There were palace intrigues and backstabbings going on in his court.
What medieval court was free of them? Some of them centered around
the
beautiful Roxelana, a Russian slave girl whom he married out of his
harem when he became Sultan. You don’t think that set some tongues to
wagging? Hey, Suleyman dug her! he wrote of her in a poem, "She has
antelope eyes." Okay, it sounded better in Turkish, trust me. His
wife
and her son-in-law, The Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha, so poisoned his
mind
against his eldest son, Mustafa, that Suleyman had him strangled in
1553. There then ensued a conflict between the sons of Roxelana:
Selim
and Bayazid. The latter took up arms and was later killed due to a
payment made by Suleyman.

For a warlike Sultan, Suleyman ruled for a remarkably long reign of
46
years. He led his army in person. He had ten campaigns against the
Europeans and three in Asia. He realized how vital Hungary was to
securing his borders, hated the Habsburgs, and never conquered
Vienna,
though not for want of trying.

Besides invasions and campaigns, Suleyman was a major player in the
politics of Europe. He pursued an aggressive policy of European
destabilization; in particular, he wanted to destabilize both the
Roman
Catholic church and the Holy Roman Empire. When European Christianity
split Europe into Catholic and Protestant states, Suleyman poured
financial support into Protestant countries in order to guarantee
that
Europe remain religiously and politically destabilized and so ripe
for
an invasion. Several folk who study such  have argued that
Protestantism would never have succeeded except for the financial
support of the Ottoman Empire. How about that, intrigue-oriented
folk?

Suleyman died in a battle September 5, 1566 at the siege of Szigeth
in
his last campaign against the growing Habsburg influence in the
region.
Upon Süleyman's demise, the gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire
began, finally ending completely three hundred years later in 1924
when
Kemal Ataturk abolished the Muslim caliphate and founded the Republic
of Turkey. It is strange, historians still argue as to what happened.
Selim II, Suleyman’s son, had an undistinguished and alcoholic
career.
And things just slid downhill from there. Some folk think it was that
the Turks gave up on the practice of killing rival claimants to the
throne and just started imprisoning them. Hey, if they were still
alive, their forces could always try a coup. You tell me.

Anyway, what have we learned? Wise rulers base offices on merit
rather
than birth? Even folks not of your faith can have worth and wisdom?
The
enemy of my enemy is sometimes my friend (and strangely so)? Never
trust the Grand Vizier? How about beware of making slave girls your
wife?

Hey, if you are out there painting miniatures, peeling pomegranates,
or
just killing a few Europeans, and the urge comes upon you to forward
these missives by caravanserii or email, please keep my name and sig.
attached.

Wishing Suleyman were running for Prez,
Ellsworth Weaver

SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats


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