from his reserve. He determined to give battle. The two armies met
at Calderan, not far from the capital, on August 14th, 116 days from
the commencement of the march, which must have covered nearly twelve
hundred miles. This was a great performance on the part of the Turkish
army. It was by this time reduced to one hundred and twenty thousand
men, of whom eighty thousand were cavalry. The Persian army consisted
of eighty thousand cavalry, splendidly mounted and equipped, and well
trained. But there were no infantry and no guns. The Turkish soldiers
were fatigued by their long march. They were ill-fed and the horses
were stale and out of condition. The issue turned upon the success
of the charges of the Persian cavalry. They attacked the Turks with
great impetuosity in two bodies on either flank. That under command
of Ismail himself was successful and broke and dispersed the opposing
wing of the Turks. The other column was unsuccessful. The Ottomans
fell back behind their guns. The Janissaries formed a solid front. The
cannons opened a destructive fire, which was supported by the fire of
the Janissaries, who were now armed with muskets. The Persians were
shattered and destroyed. The defeat of the other wing of the Turkish
army was retrieved. Twenty-five thousand Persian horsemen lay dead on
the field. Ismail himself was badly wounded and escaped with difficulty.
After this victory Selim entered Tabriz, and remained there eight
days. It was his wish to winter in Persia and to renew his campaign in
the following spring, but his soldiers objected and insisted on being
led home. This time Selim found himself unable to refuse. He turned
homeward with his army. No terms of peace were concluded with Ismail,
and the two countries continued nominally at war during the remainder
of Selim’s life. But the great provinces of Diarbekir and Khurdistan
remained in the hands of the Turks. Selim left them in charge of
the well-known Turkish historian, Idris, who spent the next year in
organizing these two departments and in putting down any attempt at
resistance. He was eminently successful in this, and the two provinces
were permanently annexed to the Ottoman Empire. The whole campaign of
Selim must be considered as a most striking success. To have marched
a hundred and forty thousand men, with eighty thousand horses and
three hundred guns, over twelve hundred miles, and to have defeated a
powerful army, backed by all the resources of a great country, was an
achievement which earned for Selim a place in the first rank of great
generals. Selim does not appear to have been anxious to include Persia
in his Empire. His hatred of the Schii heresy was such that he aimed
rather at isolation than annexation. He issued a firman forbidding any
trade with Persia, and when a number of merchants were reported to
him for having broken the law by entering into illicit trade with the
Persians, he ordered them to be executed. He was only with difficulty
induced to revoke the order by the Mufti Djemali.
On his return to Constantinople Selim, inflamed by his success in
putting down the heresy of the Schiis and his victory over heretical
Persia, determined to extirpate Christianity from his dominion. Again
with the greatest difficulty he was dissuaded from this course by
the courageous Mufti. But he insisted on depriving the Christians in
Constantinople of all their churches, which he turned into mosques.
In the spring of 1516 Selim determined to extend his Empire by the
conquest of Syria and Egypt. These countries had been for many years
past under the rule of the Mamelukes, a body of soldiers recruited from
Circassian slaves, and from whose ranks Sultans were elected for their
lives. The existing Sultan, Kansar Ghowri, was eighty years of age,
but was still able to take command in the field of his Mamelukes. The
immediate pretext for war, as in the case of Persia, was a religious
one. A claim was preferred by Selim for the protection of the holy
cities of Mecca and Medina.
On June 26th Selim arrived at Konia, and thence sent an insolent
missive of defiance to Ghowri, who was at Aleppo. In return, a mission
was sent to the Turkish headquarters. It consisted of an envoy and a
suite of ten Mamelukes in splendid military array and glittering with
armour. Selim was indignant at this warlike demonstration. He directed
the immediate execution of the ten members of the suite, and with
difficulty was persuaded not to deal in the same way with the envoy. As
an alternative the envoy was shorn of his beard and hair, his head was
covered by a nightcap, and he was mounted on a broken-down donkey, and
was returned in this ignominious way to Ghowri.
The two armies met in battle not far from Aleppo. The issue was not in
doubt. The Egyptians had no guns. They also suffered from the defection
of the Djellans, a section of Mamelukes of the second and inferior
rank. An hour sufficed to ensure complete victory to the Turks.
Ghowri fled and died, trampled to death, it was said, by the mass of
fugitives. The victory caused the loss not only of Aleppo but of the
whole of Syria. Selim, after a few days at Aleppo, went to Damascus,
and there organized the invasion of Egypt. This involved the provision
of many thousands of camels to carry water for the troops when crossing
the desert. He sent five thousand men to Gaza, under Sinan Pasha, the
brave general who had led the victorious wing of his army against the
Persians. They met there an Egyptian army of about the same number, and
a fierce battle ensued, which resulted in the defeat of the Mamelukes,
mainly owing to the Ottoman artillery.
Selim left Damascus with his main army on December 16th. On arrival at
Gaza he ordered the immediate slaughter of all its inhabitants. He also
directed the execution of one of his own generals who ventured to point
out to him the danger of an invasion of Egypt. On January 10th the
arrangements for this expedition were complete. Ten days were occupied
in crossing the desert between Syria and Egypt. The army was harassed
by Arabs, but there was no attempt to resist on the part of the main
Egyptian army. When, at one time, the Grand Vizier, thinking that the
cloud of Arabs meant a more serious resistance, persuaded Selim to
mount his war-horse, the Sultan, on finding it was a false alarm and
that it was only an affair with Arabs, directed the execution of the
Vizier.
On the last day of the year 1516 Selim arrived with his army within
a few miles of Cairo. Meanwhile the Mamelukes had elected Tourman Bey
as Sultan to succeed Ghowri. But there was much opposition to this
on the part of those who favoured the claim of the son of Ghowri. As
a result, there was dissension in the Egyptian army. Two of their
leaders, Ghazali Bey and Khair Bey, entered into treasonable relations
with Selim. Ghazali persuaded Tourman to send the guns, with which
the Egyptian army was now provided, by the ordinary route, and then
secretly sent information of this to Selim, who was able to avoid the
guns by taking another route.
The two armies met near Ridania. The battle resulted in the complete
defeat of the Egyptians, with a loss of twenty-five thousand men, owing
to their want of guns. Selim then advanced on Cairo. There was no
resistance at first, but later the Mamelukes reoccupied it and made a
desperate resistance to the Turkish army. The streets were barricaded
and every house was turned into a fortress. Selim spent three days in
getting possession of the city. Eight hundred Mamelukes who surrendered
on promise of their lives were put to death. A general massacre of the
inhabitants then took place, and fifty thousand of them perished by
the sword, or were thrown into the flames of the burning houses. As a
result of this, and further military operations in the Delta, Egypt was
completely subdued. The brave and generous Tourman was taken prisoner
and, after denouncing the two traitors in the presence of Selim, was
put to death.
Some months were then occupied by Selim in organizing the conquered
country. It was not annexed as an integral part of Turkey. The
Mamelukes, or rather the section of them who had been unfaithful
to their Sultan, and who had survived the general slaughter, were
entrusted with the administration of Egypt, subject to the superior
control of a pasha appointed by the Turkish government. Ghazali and
Khair Bey received the reward of their treason—Ghazali was appointed
Governor of Syria and Khair Bey of Egypt. A garrison of five thousand
Ottoman soldiers was left at Cairo. The Turkish army insisted on an
early return to Constantinople. A war against Moslems, where there was
no opportunity of making captives for sale as slaves or for harems, had
no charm for them. Selim had once more to give way.
It was not till September 17th that he was able to commence his
homeward march. Having safely passed the desert, he said to his Grand
Vizier, Younis Pasha, who was riding beside him, “Well, our backs are
now turned on Egypt and we shall soon be at Gaza.” Younis, who had
originally been opposed to the expedition, could not resist the reply:
“And what has been the result of all our trouble and fatigue, if it is
not that half our army has perished in battle, or in the sands of the
desert, and that Egypt is now governed by a gang of traitors?” This
imprudent speech cost the Grand Vizier his life. His head was struck
off as he rode by his master’s side.
The conquest of Egypt entailed the acquisition of the interests of
that country in a great part of Arabia, including the holy cities of
Mecca and Medina. Selim was also able to induce the titular Caliph, who
through many generations had inherited from the early successors of
Mahomet a certain undefined authority in the religious world, and who
held a shadowy Court at Cairo, to make over to him and his successors,
as Sultans of Turkey, the barren office, together with its symbols,
the standard and cloak of the Prophet. These symbols were removed
to Constantinople, and thenceforth the Sultans assumed the title of
Caliphs and Protectors of the Holy Places—and this may have added to
their prestige in the Moslem world, though it may be doubted whether
it contributed much to the strength of the Turkish Empire. Of more
material advantage was the fact that an annual tribute was paid by the
Egyptian government, which a few years later, under Solyman, was fixed
at 80,000 ducats. It also contributed men and ships to wars undertaken
by the Sultan. In the siege of Rhodes, in 1524, Egypt sent three
thousand Mamelukes and twenty vessels of war.
Selim spent some time at Damascus and Aleppo on his way back in
organizing his new acquisitions. Syria was incorporated in the Turkish
Empire, and has remained so to the present time.
The campaign which ended in the conquest of Egypt and Syria was not
less conspicuous in its result than that against Persia, more on
account of the difficulties of organization, than for success on
the field of battle. Treason and the want of artillery were more
responsible for the defeat of the Mamelukes than the valour of the
Ottoman troops. It is not easy for us to understand why Egypt was not
incorporated in the Empire in the same way as Syria. The Mamelukes were
as much strangers to the country as the Turks themselves. The minority
of them, who survived the war and the bloody executions by Selim, had
no claim to recognition as the ruling class in Egypt, other than their
treachery to their fellow-Mamelukes and their Sultan and the aid which
they had given to the invaders. It will be seen that these surviving
Mamelukes soon regained full power in Egypt, and reduced the pashas
appointed from Constantinople to puppets.
Selim returned to his capital in 1518. In the remaining two years
of his life there were no further military exploits. He made great
preparations for another campaign. He added greatly to the strength of
his navy. He built a hundred and fifty ships of war, many of them of
great size for those days. It was generally believed that he intended
an attack on Rhodes to avenge the defeat of his grandfather, the
acquisition of which, lying as it did across the route to Egypt, was of
great importance. Before, however, any decision was arrived at, Selim
died on his way to Adrianople, very near to the spot where his father
had been poisoned by his orders. He left the reputation of being one of
the ablest organizers of victory, but also the most cruel despot of the
Othman line. It was for long a common expression with the Turks, by way
of a curse, “May’st thou be a vizier to Sultan Selim.”
X.
SOLYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT
1520-66
SELIM was succeeded by his only son, Solyman, at the age of twenty-six,
who reigned for forty-six years, a period of unexampled splendour in
the history of the Ottoman Empire—its culminating era. This was mainly
due to the personal qualities of the new Sultan. He surpassed all his
predecessors, and still more his degenerate successors, in dignity
and graciousness. He was not behind the best of them in military
capacity, vigour of action, and personal courage. He combined with
these qualities statesmanship of high order. With rare exceptions
he stood by his engagements and did not follow the precept of the
Koran that faith need not be kept with infidels. He was great as an
administrator and legislator. Before he mounted the throne he had been
employed by his father as governor of three very important provinces,
and had gained a high reputation for his determination to secure
justice to his subjects, whatever their race or creed. His private
life was free from scandal. He was noted for his clemency and kindness
of heart. If massacres took place after victories or after capture of
fortresses when he was in command, it was because he could not restrain
his turbulent and bloodthirsty Janissaries; but the occasions of such
scenes were comparatively rare. He had, however, a blend of cruelty in
his character, as had most of his predecessors. Being an only son, he
had no occasion, on mounting the throne, to carry out the fratricidal
law of Mahomet II. But he was determined that there should be no
possible rival in his family, however remote. After the surrender of
Rhodes, two years later, on the promise of life and property to its
defenders, he singled out, in breach of his promise, a son of Prince
Djem, who was one of those included in the amnesty, and directed
the immediate execution of him and his four sons. Worse also than
fratricide was the murder by Solyman of two of his own sons. The eldest
of them, Mustapha, was a most promising prince. He had already shown
his capacity as governor of a province. He was endowed with all his
father’s best qualities. He was the idol of the army and the hope of
his country.
Solyman was persuaded by his latest favourite concubine, a Russian
lady, Ghowrem by name, who had unbounded influence over him and
retained it till late in life, that Prince Mustapha was intriguing
against him, and aimed at dethroning him, as Selim had done in the case
of Bayezid. She hoped to secure the succession for her own son. Without
a word of warning or any opportunity of defending himself, Mustapha,
in the course of the second Persian campaign in 1553, on entering his
father’s tent, was seized by the mutes and was strangled while Solyman
looked on at the foul deed. There was more excuse for putting to
death another son, Bayezid, who had been goaded by an intrigue in the
Sultan’s harem into taking up arms, in 1561, against his brother Selim.
He was defeated and fled to Persia, where he was at first received
with great honour by Shah Talmasp, the successor to Ismail, with the
distinct promise that he would not be given up. But Solyman obtained
his extradition by threat of war and the promise of 400,000 pieces of
gold. The unfortunate prince was treated with the greatest indignity.
His hair and beard were shorn. He was handed over, together with his
four sons, to an emissary of his brother Selim, who at once put to
death the whole party.
As a result of the murders of these two sons of Solyman, a third one,
the son of Ghowrem, was the only heir to the throne. He succeeded
Solyman and was known as “Selim the Sot.” It will be seen that this
prince had none of the qualities of his race. He was the first of a
long line of degenerates who eventually lost the greater part of the
Empire which had been built up by Solyman and his predecessors.
Though the office of Grand Vizier was not so dangerous to its holders
as under Selim I, it proved to be fatal to two of the nine men who
held it during Solyman’s reign. One of the most remarkable incidents
of Solyman’s life was his infatuation for Ibrahim, the second of his
Grand Viziers. Ibrahim, a renegade Greek by birth, had been captured
as a boy by corsairs and sold as a slave to a widow in Magnesia, who
brought him up as a Mussulman. Recognizing his talents, this lady gave
him an excellent education. Solyman, on a visit to that province, came
across Ibrahim, and, attracted by his musical talent, took him into
service, where he rose to be master of the pages and grand falconer. He
soon acquired immense influence over his master, whose sister was given
to him in marriage. He was rapidly promoted, and in 1523 was appointed
Grand Vizier. The Sultan and his favourite became inseparable. They had
their meals alone together. They concerted between them all the affairs
of State. Ibrahim justified this preference, for he proved to be of
great capacity, not inferior in any respect to his master, and his
superior in education and knowledge of languages and history. He was
appointed Seraskier, or Commander-in-Chief, when the Sultan was unable
personally to command. In the earlier campaigns in Hungary and Persia,
and in the siege of Vienna, he took a most active part, and was the
main adviser to his master.
After thirteen years of implicit confidence in Ibrahim, suspicion arose
in the mind of the Sultan and was fanned by the Sultana Ghowrem, who
coveted the post of Grand Vizier for her son-in-law, Roostem Pasha.
There does not appear to have been any ground for these suspicions,
save that Ibrahim, intoxicated by his elevation, assumed the airs
almost of an equal with the Sultan. A vizier suspected was very near to
his doom. Entering the palace one day in 1536 to dine with the Sultan
as usual, he was never seen alive again. The next morning his body was
found in the palace. His immense wealth was confiscated to the State.
It was said that Solyman in an adjoining room to that where this murder
was perpetrated was smothered with kisses by Ghowrem so as to drown the
cries of the dying Vizier.
In another case, the Grand Vizier Achmet was decapitated in the council
chamber by order of Solyman, solely because he gave advice which
displeased his master. Von Hammer gives a long list of other high
officials who shared the same fate.
During the forty-six years of his reign Solyman added enormously to
the Empire. Belgrade, Rhodes, nearly the whole of Hungary, the Crimea,
the great provinces of Mossul, Bagdad, and Bassorah, and a part of
Armenia taken from Persia, Yemen and Aden in Arabia, Algiers, Oran, and
Tripoli, and an undefined extent of hinterland inhabited by Arabs in
North Africa, and a wide extension of Egypt in the direction of Nubia,
were the contributions which he transmitted to his successors. There
were few years of his long reign in which he was not under arms. War
with Hungary and Austria in the north alternated with war with Persia
in the east and with Spain in the west. Solyman was often in command of
his armies. He conducted personally thirteen campaigns, some of them,
such as those against Persia, extending over two years. For the most
part these wars were embarked on without any just or even plausible
cause. They were stimulated by lust of conquest on the Sultan’s part,
and by craving for active service and for loot on the part of the
Janissaries. Religious fanaticism seems to have had little concern with
the motives or results of them.
Solyman’s first campaign, in 1521, was directed against Belgrade, the
city which had successfully defied Mahomet II. He marched against it at
the head of an army of a hundred thousand men with three hundred guns.
It was bravely defended by the Hungarians. But they had no guns. After
seven days of bombardment the city was assaulted and captured. There
was no massacre of the garrison or the inhabitants. Solyman converted
the principal church into a mosque. The city was thenceforth garrisoned
by a Turkish force. It constituted the principal stronghold of the
Empire on the Danube, and was the gateway for many invasions of Hungary.
In the next year, 1523, Solyman followed up this success by an
attack on the island of Rhodes, where Mahomet had also failed, and
the capture of which had become more important since the conquest of
Egypt, lying as it did on the direct route by sea from Constantinople.
For this purpose Solyman sent a fleet of three hundred vessels with
eight thousand Janissaries and a hundred siege guns. He marched at
the head of a hundred thousand men through Asia Minor to the bay of
Marmerice, opposite to Rhodes, whence they were conveyed to the island.
The knights, six hundred in number, with only five thousand trained
soldiers and a _levée_ of peasants on the island, made a heroic defence
under their Grand Master, de Lisle Adam. It was only after a siege of
nine months that they were at last compelled to capitulate. It was the
first occasion on which a great fortress was approached by sap and
spade work, so as to avoid gun fire, and in which bombs were used by
the attacking army. Solyman’s army is said to have lost fifty thousand
men in casualties and as many more by disease. Under the terms of
capitulation, the survivors of the garrison with all their personal
property were to be conveyed to Crete, after twelve days, in their
own galleys. After an interview with the Grand Master the Sultan is
reported to have said, with great generosity, “It is not without regret
that I force this brave man from his home in his old age.” The arms of
the knights are still to be seen carved on the houses they occupied in
Rhodes. The Turks have always respected them in memory of the gallant
defence. The terms of surrender were faithfully observed by Solyman
with the exception already referred to. The knights eventually settled
at Malta, at that time a nearly desert island. They made it the seat of
their order and fortified it. Its central position in the Mediterranean
made it a stronghold of the utmost importance. Solyman, in the last
year but one of his long reign, thought it necessary for the expansion
of his Empire, in the North of Africa, to oust the knights from their
new nest. He sent an army and a fleet under command of Piale Reis to
besiege it. There commenced another celebrated siege in which the
knights, under command of their Grand Master, Lavallette, covered
themselves with glory. The Turks were defeated in many assaults on the
fortress, and were ultimately compelled to withdraw with heavy losses.
The two years after the conquest of Rhodes were spent by Solyman in
organizing his kingdom. His inaction was greatly resented by the
Janissaries, who hated their dull life in barracks and longed for
war and for loot. They broke out in revolt and pillaged the houses
of Ibrahim and other great functionaries. The outbreak was quelled,
Solyman killing with his own hand three of the rebels. Their Agha
and other leaders were put to death. But Solyman found it expedient
to appease the mercenaries by generous presents, and in the next
year—mainly at their instigation—embarked on another war. He was urged
to invade Hungary by Francis I, King of France, who hoped to create a
diversion from the ambitious projects of the Emperor Charles V. This
may be considered as the first entry of the Turks into the maze of
European politics. Hungary and Bohemia were at that time united under
the rule of Louis II, a very young and inexperienced man.