What happened was that "Selim" stole Egypt, its antiquities, its craftsmen and its workers, and shipped them off to Istanbul.. and then he rewarded the traitor "Khair Bey" and bestowed on him the title "King of the Princes".. and appointed him governor over Egypt, to rule it as an Ottoman province.
And "Khair" carried out "Selim's" orders, which arrived from Istanbul first thing every time.. so he dissolved the courts of justice for the four schools of law.. and brought in a judge from Istanbul.. and worked to erase Egypt's identity at any price.. so he made the Turkish language the official one in the country.. and a delegate of the Ottoman Sultan arrived, with an iron arm and a copper yardstick and pounds of lengths and weights other than those used in Egypt.. and they announced in Cairo that these Ottoman lengths and weights had replaced the Egyptian ones.
Traders and vendors had to comply with the orders and not deal with anything but these lengths and weights, and whoever violated the Sultan's decree was hanged at the door of his shop.. and then he changed the currency.. and replaced Egypt's laws with Turkey's laws.. and banned singing and weddings in the streets and banned marriage after dinner.. and they imposed a tax on marriage and divorce.. so people could no longer afford to pay and get married.. and he banned the distribution of meat on Eid al-Adha to the poor.. it was for the princes only.. and whoever violated that was killed.
"Khair" killed during his rule, on "Selim's" orders, around 25,000 people.. between hanging, beheading, flaying, burning alive and impaling.. "Ibn Iyas" says of him:
"A stubborn tyrant, oppressive, a shedder of blood, he killed during his governorship of Egypt countless numbers of people.. and he hanged and impaled a great many people, and he devised things for their torment."
And in his time the Janissaries walked the streets with rifles.. cutting off roads and stealing livestock, sheep and chickens.. and looting whatever they wished from shops and vendors.. even the itinerant sellers of eggs and honey did not escape them.. and the rape of women and the kidnapping of children under the threat of rifles became an ordinary, habitual thing in Egypt, in the era of "Selim I".. "Ibn Iyas" recounts that:
"They kidnapped a woman at the ladder of the Mu'ayyadiya school at noon, and debauched her openly at the Mu'ayyadiya fountain under the shop of the one who sells ka'k, while people looked on at them debauching her and no one among the people dared to rescue her from them."
And:
"And the condition of the people of Egypt with them became one of utter distress in every respect."
And the wife of "Tuman Bay" used to walk around the markets every day.. carrying a water skin on her back.. which she had bought with her own money.. and she would go around with it to the poor and the thirsty and give them water.. and she vowed not to stop until God took vengeance for her on those who had betrayed her husband.. and it seems that Heaven was answering her in a strange way.
There was a muhtasib.. appointed by Sultan "al-Ghuri" over the country's administrative affairs, the shops and the goods.. and when "al-Ghuri" died, "Tuman Bay" dismissed him because he was a bribed, thieving muhtasib.. and then, after the martyrdom of "Tuman Bay", "Khair" brought him back to his post again.. because he was not only a thief.. he was a spy for the Ottomans.. and his corruption and his oppression of the people were part of his role as a spy for "Selim".. so that the people would hate the Mamluks and regard them as unjust rulers.. and welcome "Selim's" invasion of Cairo.. and he was the link between "Selim" and his spies in Cairo and the rest of the gang of traitors like "Khair".
This corrupt, spying muhtasib was named "al-Zayni Barakat".
The chief of the citadel's spies in Egypt.. "Zakaria ibn Radi" knew that "al-Zayni Barakat" was a spy.. and he tried to catch him with any incriminating evidence so as to present it to Sultan "al-Ghuri" and let justice take its course.. but "al-Zayni Barakat" was extremely careful.. and "Zakaria" could not catch him with a single piece of evidence.
After the death of "Tuman Bay" and the accession of "Khair".. "al-Zayni Barakat" exhausted the Egyptians with levies and taxes.. on top of the misery they were already in.. and he began collecting levies for his own account.. and sharing in people's food by force.. and the traders lost their trade, the rich became poor and the poor became destitute.. begging for their daily bread.
And fate lay in wait for this whole group — including "Selim" himself — for the Arab sheikh in Beheira, "Hassan Mar'i", his sons and his brother.. who had betrayed "Tuman Bay".. were rewarded too by "Selim".. but they went back to cutting off roads.
And in June of the year 1517.. they cut off the road of an Ottoman caravan and plundered it.. so the traitors turned on one another.. and "Selim" ordered his governor "Khair" to arrest "Hassan Mar'i".. and indeed "Khair" arrested him and threw him in prison.
But in December of the same year.. "Hassan Mar'i" manages to escape.. he breaks his chains and files through the bars.. and escapes from the prison net in the citadel with a long rope.. and the news reaches "Selim".. so he demands that "Khair" bring him the head of "Hassan Mar'i".
And "Khair" does send his men to Beheira to hunt down "Hassan Mar'i".. and he keeps hiding and fleeing and running until "Khair's" men manage to lure him to Gharbiya.. and there they arrest him and his sons.. awaiting their deportation to Cairo.
But a group of Mamluks, among those who had fought with "Tuman Bay".. attack the Beheira lockup.. and fight "Khair Bey's" men.. and free "Hassan Mar'i".. and then they slaughter him and his brother "Shukr Mar'i".. and cut their bodies limb from limb into small pieces.. and then they bring "Tuman Bay's" horse.. which "Hassan Mar'i" had stolen when he informed on "Tuman Bay" while he was spending the night at his place.. and they hang on it the heads of "Hassan Mar'i", his son and his brother...
And on 23 March 1519 AD, "Tuman Bay's" horse enters Cairo.. with the heads of the traitors hanging from its neck amid the trilling of the women and the cheers of the men.. and then they take these heads.. and hang them on Bab al-Nasr.
And fate turns its gaze toward "Selim".. to whom something strange suddenly happens...
His skin tightens and becomes waxy.. and then dark pustules appear on it, afflicting him with itching and bleeding all the time.. and leaving permanent scars.. or turning into ulcers.
No one knew at the time what this was.. but it was an aggressive skin cancer.. it began to envelop his entire skin.. and turned his life into hell.. and the doctors were baffled by it.. and they treated him and failed, and he slaughtered them when they failed.. and he brought a final physician.. and ordered him to relieve him of this disease.. or else he would follow those who came before him.. and indeed the physician relieved him of life altogether.. and slipped him poison at the instruction of "Suleiman".. "Selim's" son.. so that he met his end on 22 September.. of the year 1520 AD.
When "Selim" dies.. they conceal the news of his death.. until "Suleiman" his son arrives.. and "Suleiman" had been on the run, hiding, until the certain news reached him.. because "Selim" had been thinking of killing him so that he would not rise against him.. and the Grand Vizier "Ibrahim Pasha" was afraid.. the husband of "Suleiman's" sister.. that with the death of "Selim".. the Janissaries would revolt as they do every time a sultan dies or is killed.. so the Grand Vizier emptied out "Selim's" entrails and threw them in the rubbish pan as they spoil quickly.. and stuffed his body with straw and covered his corpse with salt.. and left it a week, waiting for "Suleiman" to arrive on 29 September.. 1520.
As soon as "Suleiman" assumed power.. the Janissaries revolted against him as usual.. and attacked people in the streets of Istanbul.. and stormed the government offices and burned the granaries.. and headed for the palace to depose him and kill him.. so "Suleiman" ran to his mother "Sultana Hafsa".. so she brought the Agha of the Janissaries.. and paid him enormous sums.. in exchange for recognising her son and protecting him.. and they agreed on a monthly sum he would collect.. for as long as "Suleiman" was in power.. in return for none of them turning against him.
And "Suleiman" had 3 brothers.. who could contend with him for power.. his mother assassinated them one after the other.. and cleared the way for him.. and he became officially sultan.
And the truth is that the actual sultan who ran the country was not him.. it was "Mama".. Sultana "Hafsa".
And in September in Egypt.. in the year 1522 AD.. "Khair Bey" was struck by a strange tumour.. and his urine was blocked and he began suffering indescribable pain.. and the doctors were baffled by his treatment.. so he took to his bed.. and felt that it was the end.. and it seems he was suffering from intense pangs of conscience.. because at that point he freed all his slaves and concubines and released all the prisoners.. and distributed his money and his wheat stores to the poor.. and "Ibn Iyas" says that he finally knew God in the hour of his illness:
"And the people did not see in the days of the King of the Princes better days than these, for he was generous with the people and dutiful to the poor and the wretched, and he did not know God except while under the burden, and none of that availed him anything."
And on Sunday 5 October of the year 1522.. "Khair" met his end, succumbing to his unknown illness.
With the death of "Khair" and the appointment of "Mustafa Pasha" in his place.. two of the disciples of al-Ashraf "Tuman Bay" and his men seize the opportunity.. namely "Inal al-Sayfi" and "Janem al-Sayfi".. and these were the very ones who had slaughtered "Hassan Mar'i" and hung his head on the horse.. and they mount an attack with a detachment of men on the Janissary forces.. and kill a large number of them.. and take control of a number of areas.. and they take Gharbiya and Fayoum and drive the Ottomans out of them.. and they begin a new street war.. along the lines of their master "Tuman Bay".
The truth is that the Ottoman occupation of Egypt could never calm down or rest at all from resistance movements the whole time.. and they looked upon Egypt as a source of troubles.. and semi-independent.. even while under occupation.
And when "Mustafa Pasha", "Khair Bey's" replacement, found himself in a street war.. and found the Janissaries and the Ottoman forces agitated and tense.. he did not know how to act.. so al-Zayni Barakat advised him to send him to go negotiate with "Inal" and "Janem".
And "al-Zayni's" aim was to scout the two men's military preparations and capabilities.. and return to "Mustafa Pasha" with certain news.. that would enable the Ottoman forces to rout them.
And "Inal al-Sayfi" sits with "al-Zayni Barakat" in the former's camp in Fayoum.. and "al-Zayni Barakat" is astonished when "Inal" tells him of all his fortifications, his preparations and his future plans.. and "al-Zayni Barakat's" eye flashes.. and his mouth waters before this stream of dangerous information.. but "Inal" tells him.. that he has long known that he is a spy.. and one of the gang of traitors who betrayed his master "Tuman Bay".. and that he told him all this information.. because he will not leave the tent alive.. and "Inal" follows up his sentence with his sword as it cleaves the air.. and tears the head of "al-Zayni Barakat" from above his shoulders. And when "al-Zayni Barakat" goes missing.. "Mustafa Pasha" sends another envoy after him.. but "Inal" and "Janem" drive him away after sending with him to the Ottoman governor.. the head of "al-Zayni Barakat", eyes staring, lifeless.
As for "Janbirdi al-Ghazali" and his two companions in Syria.. just as they betrayed their principles for the sake of "Selim's" money.. as soon as "Selim" died they threw themselves into the arms of whoever paid more.. so they made contact with the Safavids.. and then agreed with them on independence from the Ottoman state in the Levant.. and making it subordinate to the Safavid state.. but "Hafsa", "Suleiman's" mother, learns of the story.... and sends a massive army to Damascus.. which returns to her with the heads of "Janbirdi al-Ghazali" and his companions.
And "Suleiman" is the one known as "Suleiman the Lawgiver".. and he was reckless to a considerable degree.. and after the death of his mother "Hafsa".. a Jewish concubine named "Roxelana" drew close to him.. she had been oppressed in Italy with her family.. and they had fled to Russia.. and there, on the borders of Anatolia, she fell captive into the hands of the Tatars.. who sold her to the Ottomans. And she entered the palace as one of the concubines in the harem.
And she drew close to Sultan "Suleiman".. and bewitched him and captivated his heart.. so he consorted with her as husbands do, without a contract.. and she came to have the final word in the palace.. to the point that she exiled his legal wife to Amasya on the Black Sea coast.. and monopolised him completely.. and became the new sultana of the palace.
And of course it would not do for her name to remain "Roxelana" and for her to remain a concubine.. so she made him marry her and changed her name to Sultana "Hurrem"...!
And this Sultana "Hurrem" was the one running the whole story.. and playing with the foolish Sultan as she wished.. and moving the sultanate as she liked.
Sister "Hurrem", the first thing she thinks of.. is revenge on the Catholic Italians who had persecuted her and her family as Jews.. so she unleashes "Suleiman".. and makes him ally with France in a war.. to weaken the kingdoms of Charles V of Spain.. and the Italian republics.. France was an enemy of the Spaniards.. and it also aspired to bring down Italy so as to monopolise church authority.. and seize Italy's treasures, for it was very wealthy.. and indeed.. the French-Ottoman alliance moves.. but Spain besieges the Ottoman fleet, after it had won a few small battles, and destroys half of it.. and forces the rest to withdraw.
And "Suleiman" sends a hundred thousand soldiers, to attack the southern side at the Italian port of Otranto.. but the Italian navy crushes them.. and here voices rise in Europe.. that "France" has apostatised from Christianity.. and is attacking Italy to help the Ottoman Berbers occupy it.. and the French street and the general public begin to revolt.. so France backs down.. and the alliance fails and "Hurrem Hanim's" revenge fails.. after "Suleiman" had lost half the fleet.. and more than a hundred thousand soldiers.
And then "Hurrem", or "Roxelana".. whispers in "Suleiman's" ear.. that his lifelong friend and the husband of his sister, the Grand Vizier "Ibrahim Pasha".. is a man of popularity and his presence is a danger to him.. and he must get rid of him.. so "Suleiman" invites him to a secret working dinner.. in the "Topkapi" palace.. and there, after dinner, "Ibrahim" enters a room to rest.. so the Janissaries pounce on him.. and slaughter him while he sleeps.
And then "Roxelana" instructs him to do something new.. so she orders him to suspend the application of Islamic Sharia in the country.. and to replace it with European laws.. and "Suleiman" complied.. and he began bringing European laws and installing them.. and issuing them.. some from France.. some from England.. etc.
And of course this is nonsense.. so the laws consequently contradicted one another.. so he sat adjusting them.. and issued a legal code containing his new laws.. and that is why he was named "Suleiman the Lawgiver".
Among the first of these laws.. were the laws regulating prostitution in the Ottoman sultanate and the countries they occupied.. after prostitution had been forbidden.. it became by law.. and every prostitute had to pay a certain sum to the sultanic treasury monthly.. and in return for that she received a "prostitution licence".. with which she plied her trade as she liked.
And after an intimate night, in which "Hurrem" let "Suleiman" taste pleasure in every variety.. she obtained the palace treasuries and their keys and their seals.. and because she was a kind, cooperative wife.. she lavished on her husband concubines and slave boys and ordered for him whatever he wished from the wine cellars.. and thus.. "Suleiman" went completely to hell.. and remained drowned in concubines, wine and slave boys the whole time.. and she became the "Ottoman Sultan" in effect.
And then "Hurrem" thinks up a new game.
A game by which she guarantees that her influence, her dominance and her control over the Ottoman state will last her a lifetime.
And this game would take long to talk about.. so we will continue the story later.
And the talk.. has a remainder.
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- Previous posts in the first comment.
- The painting is of Bab al-Nasr in Cairo.
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#The_Ottoman_Caliphate 24