sultan's crescent

Chapter 88 Circassians (for subscription)
As soon as it was daylight, Selim got up from the bed.

Although it was not his intention, Selim felt a headache when he saw Mahmoud, who was at the side of the bed, which was almost as tall as the bed or not as high as the bed.

This kid is only five years old, why is he so energetic and addicted to drugs?

Selim waited slowly for the maid to get dressed for him, and then washed up before leaving the Baghdad Palace.

The little guy yelled as he ran.

"Brother, hurry up, isn't Justinian going on a blind date with the noble daughters of those families today?
Hurry up, let's go and stay for him first. "

Selim yawned, grabbed Mahmoud, and threw him to the maid behind him.

"Children, what are you running for? Follow the sister behind, do you hear me!"

Mahmoud struggled for a while, trying to break free from the handmaid's hand, and almost let the boy escape successfully several times.

Selim looked at it, and then signaled the guards on the side to take care of Mahmoud. Mahmud, who was held by the guards with iron fists, looked at Selim resentfully.

Sudan made a haha, and then headed towards the destination.

It was said that it was a blind date for Justinian, but in fact, the sultan’s harem needed additional maids. Almost all of these candidates were noble daughters of many small and medium-sized families in Greece and Anatolia.

After all, big families don't need to rely on this method, their own strength is already strong enough.

Compared to sending her daughter to the palace to fight for a chance to be favored by the Sultan, marrying into a big family of the same level is a better way.

This is the status quo of the Ottoman Empire. Selim can weaken the family, but he cannot eliminate it directly. It is actually a fairly obvious question, and he can answer it without even thinking about it.

So this draft is held out of the idea of ​​supporting small and medium-sized families. Whether it is a typhoon, a tornado or a black storm, it is not as powerful as the pillow wind.

Let's not worry about whether the Sudan slept with these girls or not. All in all, these small and medium-sized families did borrow their prestige.

Of course, the reason is not as noble as what Emperor Sai the Great said, because in the past, the maids in the sultan's harem actually came from a variety of sources.

For example, the European women snatched by pirates, the female slaves donated to the Sultan by the rich, and the big slave traders such as the Kara Ottoman family who often do business with the Sultan are all important sources of the Sultan’s harem.

As for why the maids in the sultan's harem don't import them from slave traders, nonsense, Emperor Sai has already decided to abolish serfdom, so can he still do such an act against Tiangang?

Sudan can't talk like farting. Besides, the Russians have been making more and more moves in the Caucasus recently, and buying Muslims in the north, so don't do things that are not conducive to unity.

The last Russo-Turkish war made the tsarist government suffocate from top to bottom.

For Catherine II, since the Ottoman Empire cannot be punished, the only option is to take the Circassians who are Muslims as close as the Ottoman Empire.

The Circassians have also been brilliant in the past.

In the sixteenth century, the Circassians and Tsarist Russia jointly fought against the Crimean Khanate, and they sent envoys to Moscow to meet Tsar Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible even married a Circassian princess as his queen to win over the combative Circassians.

The Mamluks of Egypt also liked to recruit them because they were brave and good at fighting.

But after all, they are a small nation and do not have the strength to expand further.

In the 18th century, the increasingly powerful Tsarist Russia began to conquer and encroach on the Caucasus region, and the Circassians living in the North Caucasus region were not immune.

In order to resist Tsarist Russia, they moved closer to the neighboring countries in the south, the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire for support. For this reason, the Circassians converted to Islam and became Muslims ever since.

In fact, according to the historical process of the original time and space, Tsarist Russia would not attack the Circassians so quickly.

Tsarist Russia did not officially start the process of conquering the Caucasus until it defeated Napoleon in 1812.

In the process of conquering the Caucasus, the Cossack cavalry who had been conquered by Tsarist Russia and originally belonged to the Ottoman Empire became thugs of Tsarist Russia. They participated in most of the battles of the Caucasus War.

During the war that lasted for half a century, the Circassians were gradually eaten away by Tsarist Russia.

In the end, under the coercion of the Cossack cavalry and the Russian army, most of the Circassians were expelled from the land where their ancestors grew up.

They were forced to take refuge across the Black Sea by boat to the Ottoman Empire.

The Circassians who arrived in the empire resumed their old jobs and continued to serve as mercenaries for the Ottoman Empire against Tsarist Russia.

The Circassians also acted as thugs in the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire.

According to the news that Selim has received in the past few months, Tsarist Russia has sent troops to attack the gathering places of the Circassians several times.

Thousands of Circassians had been killed by the Russians, and it was not that they hadn't thought of resisting.

How could soldiers with scimitars beat the Russian army with muskets and cannons?
Selim could imagine that scene, the Circassian cavalry and infantry wearing nose helmets launched an attack on the Cossack cavalry and the Russian army, but were massacred by muskets and cannons.

As for why the Ottoman Empire did not give weapons to the Circassians, who were also Muslims.

The reason is simple. The Circassians believe in Muslims, and the Turks also believe in Muslims. Although the languages ​​of the two sides are different, there are certain similarities.

It can be said that the Circassians are the highest quality material that Selim can find to supplement the Turks.

When these people became refugees, the Ottoman Empire welcomed them with raised hands.

Although Emperor Sai the Great did have the idea of ​​​​building a great Ottoman nation, it is not a matter of a sultan saying that everyone will collectively agree to change the blood line immediately.

The establishment of a nation cannot be created by writing a few history books and publishing a few news articles. The problem of the nation is far from that simple, not to mention that the Ottoman Empire was also mixed with religious divisions.

Although Selim has promulgated the policy, it will take time to prove the effect.

It is not so easy to build a nation, and the most important thing here is national identity.

The reason why the Han nationality is the toughest nation in the world (don’t argue, you are right), the war of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty against the Xiongnu is actually the most important part of building the identity of the Han nation.

After the first emperor kneaded the six countries together by force for the first time, unified the writing and weights and measures, and undertook the counterattack of the old nobles of the six countries.

There is a germ called the Han nation in the future, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty shaped the branches for this sprout. The subsequent development of the history of the Han Dynasty and a certain eastern power strengthened the consciousness of the Han nation.

This is what gives a certain big eastern country an advantage that no country in the world can match.

But Selim did not have this condition. He could not even get the recognition of the Turks. In the original time and space, Kemal shaped this nation.

So before engaging in the big Ottoman nation, Selim had to make the Turks a certain scale to overwhelm the formation.

Sudan did not dare to send troops to Tsarist Russia, but taking advantage of the gap in the Napoleonic Wars, it was more than enough to fight Sudan (southern Egypt), Persia, and the remnants of the Arabian Peninsula.

After all, the new army needs practice, and national identity also needs war. Hard power and soft power must be grasped with both hands, and both hands must be hard.

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(End of this chapter)