The Sun and the Lion

The King of Kings was at the height of his power at this time. If anyone asked who was the most powerful monarch in the Ummah at the time, ten out of ten people would say that the honor belonged to Ibrahim. The court literati openly preached: "The King of Kings is not a contemporary person. He is a unique divine king who descended from heaven. He is not more glorious by being juxtaposed with the famous kings of ancient times. There is only one sun in the universe, and neither the stars nor the bright moon are qualified to appear under the sun. .”

In short, the higher the priority, the better, when visiting such a lofty monarch. The envoy to Isfahan not only had a large number of attendants, but the envoy was directly led by the Governor of Aleppo, Hail Bey. This was not his first diplomatic mission of this kind. He had previously gone to Costantiniya to inform the high gate of the change of ownership of Saladin Castle.

The emir, who manages a well-known commercial hub and frequently meets with Iranian consuls and wealthy businessmen to handle trade and foreign affairs, can be said to be the "Iran Hand" among senior Mamluk officials, although he has never been to any land under Ibrahim's rule. But he could proudly say that sentence in front of Malik and his colleagues - "No one knows Persia better than me."

Based on all the factors, he was naturally selected as the best candidate to go to Isfahan, with a diplomatic mission of unknown purpose and meaning, to meet with the Shah in order to calm Cairo's stress reaction.

Everything went very smoothly. Passing through the jurisdiction of the Governor of Kurdistan and senior Iraqi officials, the Mamluk mission came to Iran's Gyeonggi Province with ease. Their frequent visits made the Foreign Vizier and the King of Kings a little confused. Hailbey He had to meet with Assad first to explain his intention.

The diplomats first dealt with the Mamluks. At this moment, the negotiations with the Tatars made new progress-Astrakhan Khan, who was attacked by Nogai, was forced to agree to the Safavid trade through the Caspian Sea. Lu was heavily infused with Iranian influence, and the Crimean Khan reluctantly agreed to concessions, and Prince Sadet was moved to the Iranian concession in Astrakhan to facilitate visits by Crimean envoys.

After the agreement was reached, Ibrahim asked the consul responsible for delivering the message to convey his dissatisfaction: "The envoy of Kerim Khan was extremely rude and did not come to Isfahan to see him. This is an offense to me. I will spare it this time." , Tatars should seriously learn courtesy and respect for the strong.”

This accusation, which seemed to be deliberately provoking trouble, received no response. The Crimean envoy expressed silence on this "crime" and brought news of the peace talks back to Bakhchisale.

As relations between the Safavids and the Crimea stabilized, the Poti-Kaffa-Kostantiniya trade route replaced the pre-war trade route, and Caucasian Christians used the Tatars to bypass the conflict between the two monarchs. Hostile, tacitly resume commerce.

Although some trade was restored, Selim still refused to give in. He continued to refuse to recognize Murad's "legitimate rule" over Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands, ordered the navy to continue harassing the coastal areas of Asia Minor, and continued to publicly condemn Shiites, A public appeal to the Abbasid Caliphate called on Sunnis across the Ummah to rise up against the Safavids.

After dealing with some trivial matters, Hailbey, who was left alone, received permission to meet the King of Kings. After preliminary contact with the Foreign Affairs Vizier, Ibrahim had already learned that the Mamluks did not seem to be coming this time. Nothing really important to talk about, but the specs are higher than last time.

The governor of Aleppo did not complain at all when he was treated coldly. He still respectfully saluted the Shah in accordance with Iranian etiquette and blurted out auspicious greetings.

Since there was nothing serious to talk about, Ibrahim simply rambled: "This is my first time to receive a distinguished guest of this level. It turns out that the Circassian Turkic Sultan attaches so much importance to the relationship between the two countries, but I ignored your country's good intentions. . Is the recent reception in line with Your Excellency’s wishes and satisfying everyone in the mission?”

Placed in a caravanserai, he was given the treatment he deserved, and because of the delay, he had more time to visit Isfahan than the envoys who had been sent earlier.

Compared with Cairo and the Levant cities that suffered heavy losses and declined, the conquerors spent huge sums of money to build a more magnificent capital. The only flaw was that Ibrahim did not bother to build the city fortifications of Isfahan. There was no one. Build a wall that can wrap around the entire city.

This is understood as a kind of self-confidence. The Shah of Iran is at its peak and has never been defeated since the founding of the country. Who has the ability to attack Isfahan, the heart of the empire?

Hailbey said repeatedly: "Your ministers are very competent and there is nothing wrong with what they do."

Then he brought the topic to the Holy Land. Logically speaking, this is not controversial. Pilgrims from the two countries can travel legally in the territory of the other country. Many Safavid subjects make pilgrimages to Mecca and Jerusalem, and some also set out from Mount Lebanon. Shia pilgrims to Karbala and even Mashhad.

However, the guardian of the Holy Land wanted to highlight its special status at this time: "It is a good thing that God likes that the pilgrimage road is so prosperous, but we have several suggestions on this matter. I hope you can listen patiently." The words of the servants of the Holy Land.”

The most important thing is to declare sovereignty. Don’t go around Cairo and contact Sharif in Mecca. It’s not good to donate money or anything on your own. If the Shah or an Iranian dignitary wants to make a generous donation, it’s best to contact the Emir of Hajj in advance. Report it.

Moreover, under the influence of the Safavid sect, there are many Iranian Shia fanatics who come to Jerusalem and the Two Holy Cities for pilgrimage, and they often clash with the local Sunni masses and Ulama. I hope that Ibrahim will The "Perfect Mentor" can exert religious authority to restrain believers not to mess around in holy places. Be careful that they may not be open to Shiites due to mass pressure in the future.

Then Khail Bey said that the Caliph believed that the two factions should be reconciled. As long as the King of Kings is willing, the Shia school of sharia Ja'afari can be accepted as the leader of Shafi'i, Malik, Hanbali and Hanai. This move will undoubtedly ease the relationship between Sunnis and Shias.

Ibrahim slowly changed his kind smile into a kind smile: "Is your country sending you as an envoy to our country with such a grand ceremony just to provoke me? The Holy Land belongs to the entire Ummah. The Sultan in Cairo has What qualifications prohibit other Muslims from performing the Hajj?”

As for the fifth school, for Ibrahim, it was a surrender. The ulema present directly attacked this issue. However, the emir was not a theologian and could not debate the scriptures with Shia scholars on the spot. He could only Taking fire unilaterally.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became tit-for-tat. Seeing that the situation was not good, Hailbey had no choice but to request an end to today's audience. The King of Kings, who originally wanted to give the distinguished guest a meal, was so angry that he canceled the arrangement.