The Crescent of the Sultan

It was just dawn when Selim had already climbed out of bed.

Although this was not his intention, Selim felt a headache when he looked at Mahmoud who 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? Why is he on drugs?

Selim slowly waited for the maid to dress him, then washed himself, and then left the Baghdad Palace.

The little guy shouted as he ran.

"Brother, hurry up, isn't Justinian going to have a blind date with the noble ladies of those families today?

Come on, let's go and stay for him first. "

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

"Kid, why are you running? Follow my sister behind you, do you hear me?"

Mahmoud struggled for a while, trying to free himself from the maid's hands, and several times he almost succeeded in escaping.

Selim looked at it, and then motioned to the guards on the side to go and take care of Mahmoud. Mahmoud, who was held by the guards with an iron fist, looked at Selim resentfully.

Sudan laughed and then headed towards his destination.

It was said that it was a blind date for Justinian, but in fact the Sultan's harem needed to add maids. Almost all of these candidates were noblewomen from many small and medium-sized families in Greece and Anatolia.

After all, the big families don't need to rely on this method. They are already strong enough.

Rather than sending her daughter to the palace for a chance to be favored by the Sultan, it would be a better way to marry into a large family of the same level.

This is the current situation of the Ottoman Empire. Selim can weaken the family, but cannot directly eliminate it. Who will rule the world is actually a very obvious question, and he can answer it without even thinking about it.

Therefore, this draft is held out of the idea of ​​supporting small and medium-sized families. No matter it is a typhoon, tornado or black storm, it is not as powerful as the pillow wind.

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

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

For example, European women snatched by pirates, female slaves donated by wealthy families to the Sultan, and large slave traders such as the Kara Osman family who often did business with the Sultan were all important sources of the Sultan's harem.

As for why the maids in the sultan's harem don't go to slave traders to import them, nonsense, Emperor Sai has decided to abolish serfdom, can she still do such an anti-Tiangang act?

The Sudanese can't talk like farts. Besides, the Russians have been making more and more moves in the Caucasus recently, and they are buying Muslims in the north. Don't do things that are not conducive to unity.

The last Russo-Turkish war made the tsarist government hold back a breath of bad breath from top to bottom.

For Catherine II, since she could not punish the Ottoman Empire, she could only punish the Circassians who were close at hand and were Muslims like the Ottoman Empire.

The Circassians also had a glorious past.

In the sixteenth century, the Circassians and Tsarist Russia united against the Crimean Khanate. They sent envoys to Moscow to meet with Tsar Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible even married a Circassian princess as his queen to win over the warlike 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, and the Circassians living in the North Caucasus were not immune.

In order to resist Tsarist Russia, they moved closer to their southern neighbors, the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire, to gain support. For this reason, the Circassians converted to Islam and became Muslims ever since.

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

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

During the conquest of the Caucasus, the Cossack cavalry, which had been conquered by Tsarist Russia and originally belonged to the Ottoman Empire, became Tsarist Russia's thugs. They participated in most of the battles in the Caucasus war.

In the war that lasted for half a century, the Circassians were gradually cannibalized by Tsarist Russia.

Eventually, under the pressure of the Cossack cavalry and the Russian army, the vast majority of Circassians were expelled from the land where their ancestors grew up.

They were forced to take a boat across the Black Sea to seek refuge in the Ottoman Empire.

The Circassians who arrived in the empire returned to their old profession and continued to work as mercenaries to help the Ottoman Empire fight against Tsarist Russia.

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

Judging from the news Selim has received in the past few months, Tsarist Russia has sent troops to attack Circassian gathering places several times.

Thousands of Circassians had been killed in Russian attacks, and it was not that they had not thought of resisting.

How could soldiers armed only with scimitars defeat the Russian army armed with muskets and cannons?

Selim could imagine the scene. Circassian cavalry and infantry wearing nose helmets attacked the Cossack cavalry and Russian troops, but were slaughtered by muskets and cannons.

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

The reason is very simple. The Circassians are Muslim and the Turks are Muslim. Although the languages ​​​​of the two sides are different, they also have certain similarities.

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

When these people became refugees, the Ottoman Empire raised its hands to welcome them.

Although Emperor Sai did have the idea of ​​​​building a great Ottoman nation, this was not a matter of everyone collectively agreeing and immediately changing their bloodlines as soon as the sultan said it.

The establishment of a nation cannot be created by writing a few history books and publishing a few news articles. The issue of nation is far from 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 whether it will be effective or not.

It is not easy to establish a nation. The most important thing here is national identity.

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

After the First Emperor united the six kingdoms by force for the first time, unified writing and weights and measures, and undertook the counterattack of the old aristocrats of the six kingdoms.

The germ of a nation that would be called the Han nation in the future was there, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty shaped the branches for this germ. The subsequent development of the history of the Han Dynasty and a certain eastern country strengthened the consciousness of the Han nation.

This gives a large eastern country an advantage that is unparalleled by any country in the world. This is the confidence of a nation that dares to play flower farming.

But Selim did not have this condition. He could not even get the approval of the Turks. In the original time and space, Kemal still relied on Kemal to shape this nation.

Therefore, before establishing the Great Ottoman Nation, Selim had to bring the Turks to a certain scale to suppress the army.

It is true that Sudan did not dare to send troops against Tsarist Russia, but it was more than enough to take advantage of the break in the Napoleonic War to fight against Sudan (southern Egypt), Persia, and the remnants of the Arabian Peninsula.

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

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