Eastern Commonwealth: A Pre-Exodus Ottoman Story

*It is a somewhat cold night of December in the palace of Topkapi in Konstantiniyye and despite the late hour, the corridors of the building are filled with activity. Master Shahin takes a walk and smiles at the sight of such chaos, remembering how dead the place used to look just a decade ago when the previous sultan was still in power. Good man Ahmed he was known as, and filled with corruption and decadence was his reign; now however, the new sultan was putting the entire weight of the empire on his nimble shoulders in order to bring it back from the brink of collapse. Whether he would make it before collapsing himself…that, only time could answer.*

*While arriving on the gardens, he is notified that the sultan was to meet him immediately; he sighs at the prospect of another late night working the wheels of a transcontinental empire but deep down he feels joy, it’s always good doing whatever is possible to ensure the betterment of the future generations and besides, sleeping never gets anything done anyways. He arrives at the sultan’s chambers shortly after, nocks on the door and is told to come in almost immediately after.*

**Mustafa:** *Evening Shahin, hope I did called you in a bad time, I do know I have a tendency of always calling you whenever you’re about to sleep.*

**Shahin:** *Not at all Efendi, In fact I was wondering somewhat aimlessly around the palace because I was unable to sleep myself. I decided to pass the time around the tulips, which always calm my mind and of course it’s always a joy being close to those beautiful red roses, remind me of home quite the lot.*

**Mustafa:** *You know you have my permission to go back to your motherland, right Shahin? I’ve told you so several times already, you have done more than enough to earn your freedom and I’m pretty sure I would be able to get past the crushing feeling of abandoment (chuckles while rolling his eyes)*

**Shahin:** *You can keep telling yourself that “your magnificence” but…*

**Mustafa:** *Please don’t call me that…*

**Shahin:** *And miss the priceless reaction on your face Efendi? I’m afraid that’s one of the few pleasures I can afford to have at my age.*

**Mustafa:** *You know I could have your head for speaking to me in such manner right?*

**Shahin:** *Of course Efendi, but then again what would you do without me? (said with a youthful smile on his face). Going back to the whole returning home affair, I’m afraid I would not know what to do were I to return to my beloved Iran, that is mainly the reason why I left it in the first place years ago. Now, in the twilight of my life, I may not be able to continue my long travels around Europe and the rest of the world like I used to, but part of life is always finding your calling in the many stages of existance, and being here by your side Efendi, helping you achieve your vision for the nation is the path I’ve chosen to follow and I’ve never felt like I made a wrong decision in my life, not going to start now.*

**Mustafa:** *Humbling words friend, filled with wisdom as always, I’m truly lucky to have you by my side and I’m grateful for it as you know. The empire already has come a long way the past few years. The pacts with the Commonwealth and the indians are proving quite fruitful still and eversince the disbanding of the yeniçeriler the military reforms have been falling into place nicely. Tomorrow I shall have a meeting with the ulemas and the iman about the tax issue.*

**Shahin:** *Will you need my assistance Efendi? That seems like It could spiral out of control rather quickly…*

**Mustafa:** *Come on now Shahin, you know it’s not my first time dealing with potential earth shattering crisis (said with a tired smile on his face). Besides, with the european ideological thinking flowing harder than ever bringing their influence to historical lows, I think my chances dealing with them are pretty decent this time around. I also need you to meet with Commonwealth’s prime minister to continue the talks about solidifying the alliance.*

**Shahin:** *Very well, I’ll do my best to represent you and the empire to the best of my ability.*

**Mustafa:** *No doubts about it from me Shahin. Come, let us prepare for the day ahead.*

**Shahin:** *I’m sure we have plenty of time for that Efendi.*

**Mustafa:** *Think again old friend.*

**Shahin:** *(Looks at the horizon only to find with shock that the sun had already started coming up). How on earth do you always guess the exact moment the sun is coming without even looking I will never know. Have you been travelling to Wallachia without me knowing?*

**Mustafa:** *Nothing so drastic Shahin (said the Sultan with a genuine good laugh), numerous late nights working will do that to your body. What suprises me is that it hasn’t happened to you yet. In any case, it is time for us to go; action ahead counselor.*

**Shahin:** *As you wish “your magnificence”*

**Mustafa:** *Ugh, by the prophet…(looks up smirking)*

***A typical late night conversation between Sultan Mustafa III***

***and his friend and advisor Shahin the Iranian.***

***Konstantiniyye, December 26th of the year 1749.***

Born in 15th of March 1717, the life of the young Mustafa III Osmanli was not a kind one, then again, the Ottoman Empire was not a kind place to be, especially in the early 17th century version of the empire. The once mighty jewel of the islamic world and the boogeyman of all of Europe, had fallen to decadence and was now riddled with people too craven to allow the empire to flourish under a solid leadership, too ambitious to allow for internal stability and far to stuck in their old, inmobile and decadent ways to allow the once mighty behemoth to catch up with it’s previous prey and now would be hunters. This was the empire in wich Mustafa the third and his brother Abd-ul-Hamid I were born in and worse of all, conspiracies and scheming inside the palaces of Konstantiniyye had become the norm during the past few decades; it became so terrible that Mustafa’s own brother would meet an early demise at the age of three years old, been found horribly stabbed on the gardens of Topkapi, an image the five year old Mustafa would never manage to forget.

His father Ahmed III was never around much for him, mostly due to the fact that the empire required all of it’s attention and the death of Hamid had strucked them both in such a way that none could deal with such a thing properly and so, more distance grew between the two. For Mustafa, this was reflected on his studies and general attitude, not implying that it was unbearable to be near him, rather he simply did not care anymore, for he saw no rhyme nor reason for anything and he was unable to find solace in the arms of the prophet or Allah, creating a breach between him and the clergy that would never be truly resolved. The young prince became more and more erratic with the passing of time, going to such extremes as to covering his entire face so noone could see his true self and for those who had already seen him, to forget about how he looked with time. This sad but pivotal time in his life would meet a sudden end three days before his twelve birthday in a hot and dry spring day, a day in wich he was approached in the gardens by a seemingly unremarkable old man, one of his father’s many advisors; an old persian man with eyes that told many stories, stories young Mustafa was unable to appreciatte for his mind was already saying goodbye to the world given that such a man was probably looking to finish the job in the same garden in wich he had found his brother many years ago. He embraced his fate only to be completely thrown away by the old man talking to him about tulips and how they eased his mind whenever he needed time to rest.

There was something else too, a peaceful aura surrounding that persian man with a taste for flowers; whatever it was, it made him forget about all the sadness and anger inside of him and he simply let go for hours just listening to that man speaking of flowers, wich ones were his favourites and why. The next day, a same occurrence took place and the next one after that and soon after, it was not only flowery issues they were discussing, but matters of life, death, different philosophies from the muslim, indian, chinese and european worlds, poetry, science and pretty much any discipline except for martial arts, something they both felt quite the desdain for, although he would come to learn it anyways for it was expected for an ottoman prince to excel in it, an so, he did aswell. By the time Mustafa had realised, he had been under the wing of that iranian man called Shahin for a period of seven years and much growth had been experienced during that time. Anno domini 1735 and the then 18 years old prince was a changed man, a man of culture, a man of reason, heavily involved in the politics of the country and quite the renown figure in the brothels of the Fener district also known as the greek quarter.

But he was also still haunted to an extent by his inner demons and ghosts of the past. The city of the world’s desire was in a deplorable state; yes it remained and important trading hub, and people from all around the world still visited the landscapes eager to get at the very least, a glimpse of the glory of ages past, it was the things occuring behind the scenes that were truly telling of the real state of the capital of a once proud warrior and enlightened nation. The ulemas and the nobility, groups meant to do their duty to the state had become complacent and in the case of many nobles, they simply were unable to partake in any productive endeavours because the Janissaries were blocking them at every point with their unchecked privileges and in the case of the Ulemas, no tax or govermental reforms could go past their claims of how such dangerous ideas were against the truest and purest of forms of islam, claims that did little to appease the already notable loathing young Mustafa had for their class. Worst of all was the fact that rumours of plots against the sultan were arriving constantly and shadowy figures were seeing lurking around the corners at night. Corruption was obviously rampant and Mustafa grew evermore impatient wanting to fix the rotting empire as soon as possible, something that put him somewhat at odds with his father although his relationship with the sultan had been quite repaired throughout the years thanks to the influence of Shahin and him letting go of much of his nihilism and anger. However, young Mustafa would get a chance to possitively contribute to the nation as the new governor of the province of Edirne, a place notorious for not paying it’s taxes in recent years and also notorious for rumours of great violence, mismanagement and a strong ulema presence wich without a shadow of a doubt would be linked to the issues.

**Ahmed:** *Listen son, this has been a long time coming and now it is time for you to get directly involved in the governance of the realm. I’m sending you to the province of Edirne to act as my provincial representative and governor since the place is in dire need of a strong hand to guide it back to the path of righteousness and…*

**Mustafa:** *Pretty much like the rest of the empire then (said with a sarcastic tone and a grinning face).*

**Ahmed:** *Watch your tongue boy (responded the Sultan with a livid red face). (Sighs), Mustafa, I know that I haven’t always been there for you whenever you needed me, and I understand that you blame me for not combating the corruption that plagues the nation, the same corruption that took Hamid away from our lives, but I want you to know that I’ve dedicated my life to heal the nation from within in order for you not to suffer another loss like that ever again, and for you to lead forward a nation capable of compete with the other powers of our age. Believe it or not son, everything I’ve ever done has been for you.*

**Mustafa:** *I know that and I’m sorry I haven’t always let you know how much I value everything you do to save the empire and all you do for me. It is true that that I blamed you for many years for the rot that has been plaguing us over the decades but that was the anger doing the talking, and I like to think that is in the past now. All that is left is a strong desire to help you achieve your goal of cleansing the country and I tend to get frustrated at the slowness of the process. I apologise for I never meant to offend you father.*

**Ahmed:** *No need for that kind of talking Mustafa, I know you and I share your feelings and your concerns aswell. It is quite understandable but fixing an empire like ours from within is no small feat as you can imagine; everything will come with time, don’t you worry. In the meantime, you should get ready to leave for I have a carriage waiting for you outside with a retinue of 300 soldiers I hand picked to act as your personal guard, men I personally know and trust to keep you save on your journey and your stay in Edirne. Sending sons to act as provincial governors is an ancient Osmanli tradition to make sure that heirs are up to the task once their turn to rule comes, although I know you shall make an outstanding job there; however please, be careful and be patient in everything you do.*

**Mustafa:** *I will make you proud father.*

**Ahmed:** *You already have son, this is just another step in your path to eternity.*

**Mustafa:** *Before I leave this place, may I ask how is your struggle with the Janissaries is going?*

**Ahmed:** *And how do you know about that?*

**Mustafa:** *By now you must know I have eyes and ears all over the city and specially in this palace father (said Mustafa with a prideful smile).*

**Ahmed:** *(Shakes his head laughing) Of course you do. They are making many efforts to block the reforms but I don’t think they can pose much of a threat at this point.*

**Mustafa:** *You must be careful, they have grown decadent over the years and they would not hessitate to lower themselves in order to keep their power intact, perhaps even going as far as ending your life, so you must take care of yourself when around them.*

**Ahmed:** *Is that concern I hear (said the Sultan smiling)*

**Mustafa:** *Father please…(responded Mustafa with a crack on his voice)*

**Ahmed:** *I will be fine son, no need to get emotional now. I will take care of myself, hopefully you will do the same.*

**Mustafa:** *Indeed father. Very well, I guess I must get going, I promise I shall stop by to visit whenever the governorship allows me the time to do so. Until we meet again.*

**Ahmed:** *Until we meet again Mustafa (he watches as his son leaves the room, gets up, heads to the balcony and sighs while thinking “if only that was true”)*

*Mustafa walks the halls of Topkapi rather energized and thinking on the many ways in wich he will fix the troublesome province of Edirne. There is however a feeling he can’t shake away and that is the sensation of the conversation with his father feeling like an unintended goodbye in a way and such thoughts make his skin crawl. Mustafa continues his tribulations all the way to the gardens where he runs into his mentor Shahin, who happens to be mumblin some words in persian while admiring the scenery; not that the prince notices him, since he walks past him with quite the haste. Shahin however notices that his young aprentice could use some distracting, so he rapidly intervenes by bumping in the way of Mustafa.*

**Mustafa:** *Oh, apologies Shahin I did not notice you were there, I was rather distracted.*

**Shahin:** *Are you getting ready to depart Efendi?*

**Mustafa:** *Indeed I’am, come with me old man, the road awaits us.*

**Shahin:** *Us?*

**Mustafa:** *You’re not coming?*

**Shahin:** *Afraid not Efendi, for this is a part of your journey you must traverse on your own. Don’t you worry, you’re more than ready for this task, you’ve been under mi wing for years after all (said in between laughs)*

**Mustafa:** *Ha, yes of course, surely all of that knowledge about flowers and gardens will be most useful when I become the governor of Edirne (responded Mustafa between smirks and laughs). However that is not the reason I’m worried, for my main concern is the fact that I must go leaving my father on his own; although now that I know that you’re staying here I would like to think you will be there for him in my absence.*

**Shahin:** *Haven’t I always?*

**Mustafa:** *Indeed you have, I have contacts inside the city and in this palace so you won’t be alone in your task Shahin, but be careful; noone is safe inside these walls.*

**Shahin:** *By the almighty you have grown quite the lot Efendi (said with an emotional tone)*

**Mustafa:** *Don’t get soft on me now old man, I will return soon enough, you won’t even notice I was gone. In the meantime you have the gardens to keep you company in my absence (said in a cheerful manner)*

**Shahin:** *That will have to do then (responded smiling). Be safe Efendi*

**Mustafa:** *I will, you too Shahin. Until we meet again.*

**Shahin:** *Likewise Efendi.*

***Mustafa III learning of his task and saying***

***goodbye to both his father and Shahin***

***Konstantiniyye, August of 1735***

In 1735, Mustafa parted with his retinue to the province of Edirne, arriving there in the begining of September. Not wanting to add even more infamy to his reputation with the ulemas, he decided that it would be wise to tackle the matters of violence and tax first and anatagonize the church later, although as fate would have it, both taxes and violence issues were directly linked to the one class Mustafa did not want to antagonize first, the ulemas. Edirne, was the very first capital region of the Ottoman Empire once they had a solid foundation in Europe and for generations it had been one of the jewels of the crown; however in recent years at the begining of the seventeen hundreds, both the city and the province had fallen into complete chaos and disarray.

The prince began sending investigation parties to find out the root of all the corruption, and they found out little due to the populace being scared of sharing much information that would clearly put them in harms way. The next step then became interviewing the city and provincial officials and while not much was shared, further investigation did show that those same officials had quite interestingly been appointed in their posts by the ulema class who (as mentioned before) also seemed to have quite the overwhelming influence in the affairs of the city and the province alike. It did not take too long for Mustafa to draw the conection between the ulemas, the taxation problem and all the violence and poverty. The problem was that all of it was circumstantial and proof was needed, especially when going after the church like that, so a secret operation was kickstarted in order to catch corrupt officials on the act and with enough pressure, give up the ulemas behind the corruption and with it root out those people keeping the land from prospering. The plan was a rather simple one; it consisted of two different families coming to Edirne, the farming focused one, numbering 6 people, would settle on the fertile lands on a farm far away from the city and the other, a family of relatively well-off merchants, numbering a total of four, would settle in the city itself. The expenses would paid off by Mustafa himself from his own personal treasury and both families would be protected from a distance by members of the prince’s retinue; if the theory was correct, it was expected that thugs would accompany the collectors and would extort the families into paying more money than anticipated and in a far more frequent manner; once the proof of their crime was solid enough, the soldiers would intervene and arrest as many of those snakes as possible with the objective of questioning who were they serving.

The plan proved to be a success as both families found themselves approached by different collectors and their gangs and were both forced to pay huge amounts of Akçe and promised to return soon for a second payment collection. Once they were done, the criminals were inmediatly aprehended and while there was a little bit of bloodshed due to some arrest resistance, dozens were jailed and questioned. False promises of freedom were given in order to ensure cooperation and the story uncovered was something that truly qualified as a crime against the crown. It all had started in the years between 1702 and 1707, during those years a peculiar thing had happened, in the area of Edirne; some officials in charge of collecting taxes had appeared either killed or removed from their positions and all of them had one thing in common, they had been notorious for butting heads with the local ulemas. Slowly, little by little, members of the church would bribe and campaing for their chosen peope to get in the positions most convenient; and this was not the end of it all, because having control of the appointed officials meant that they had direct control over the provincial revenue and the conspiracy ran so deep that it affected even Konstantiniyye itself. The ulemas would put pressure for the taxes to be collected in order to increase their standing in the empire and their influence, and that was the birth of the gangs, since people were not pleased to be forced to pay double and triple the amount and the frequency of taxes, more ruthless methods were adopted, in this case the aforementioned gangs were the obvious solution. In some parts of the city, organized groups of vigilantes would amass in order to stop the abuses but this only served to increase the overall violence in both the province and the city and little was accomplished to stop the collectors due to them having far more resources. Many tried to flee but many were tracked down, and many others were simply unable to leave because they had nothing and nowhere to go, not counting those simply unwilling to leave their generations old homes aswell.

Needless to say that right after their confesions, a grand total of 30 collectors and their many acquaintances were hanged as a warning and a promise that the prince’s wrath was coming for the rest of them. Mustafa was furious after hearing of such abuse on behalf of men considered to be directly linked with Allah, men trusted by the people and believed to be holy and righteous like no other in the realm; now those same men were a prime example of what had become of the nation created by Osman, a twisted mockery of what they were meant to be. Arrest orders were sent out inmediately and the number of people condemned to death by hanging was staggering; around 600 people died and a manhunt for 5 high ranking church officials and the local Pasha of the yeniçeri Mahmud. Lands and riches from the people indicted were confiscated and redistributed to the populace and also compensations coming directly from the prince’s treasury were given as a way to appease all those affected and also as a way of reinvigorating the mobility of the economy, something that was desperately needed in the area. The ripple effects were felt throughout the empire, even reaching the capital itself, where five high ranking officials had been hanged for being complicit in the Edirne cleanse as the event came to be known; other consequences were the increase in fame of the prince amongst the people, the minor nobility that had also been affected by the corrupt practices in Edirne and also with the young and upper coming greater nobles, an influential but powerful minority, although the infamy of the prince with the clergy and the Janissaries increased dramatically, especially five months later when the 5 ulemas and the Pasha Mahmud were found in a fort in the former albanian territories. Needless to say that their punishment before being hanged like the rest was gruesome and brutal, something that enraged the clergy and the Janissaries alike, although their rage would not mount to anything too big given the circumstances.

One year after the last of the criminals had been hanged came to pass and Mustafa worked day and night to bring the whole of Edirne back into shape, something that was no small task. Trust in the empire’s officials had been severely weakened, some old guard nobles feared the upper coming young star (despite having a growing following of younger nobles), the church denounced him at every opportunity they got with the backing of few loyal peasants/fanatics and the local janissaries did not make the task any easier. Despite all of that, the prince’s popularity continued to grow and became a very respected and law abiding figure worthy of being emulated. He also became known for being fairly open minded to foreign ideas and was also quite respectful to the minorities of the province although the greeks already had quite the favourable opinion of the heir thanks to his reputation while he was still in the capital.

His open mindness to new ideas was a trait of particular importance, for his governorship happened in a time in wich thoughts of revolution, equality, change, independance and defiance against the declining old regimes were spreading like wildfire all across the known world and the Ottoman Empire was an inmediate neighbor of the focus of such ideals wich were making their way into an already ailing nation struggling to survive.

It was the year 1737 and the world had become a changed placed. The Commonwealth, once the sick man of Europe had completely reversed it’s situation by violently getting rid off their corrupt Monarchy and the nobles serving as puppet masters, giving opportunities to the lower classes to shine, treating all their citizens fairly and equally in the eyes of the law, becoming the birthplace of industrialization and also by funding an army so disciplined and so loyal to the republic that despite being surrounded by enemies on all sides, the nation managed to defeat and integrate it’s enemies territories and peoples, improving and assimilating them to levels unseen since the days of the romans. Russia, Sweden, Prussia, Hannover and Austria all fell to the advance of the Commonwealth and with many of those countries being also sworn enemies of the Ottomans, it was only natural that both the Commonwealth and the Ottomans would become de facto allies by the circumstances; although that Alliance would not materialize officially until many years later. Thanks to the association with Commonwealth, the Ottomans had managed to push back not only the russians but also Austrian forces who they had being fighting for nearly a decade without rest. By the end, Their tatar vassal state controlled much of the Pontic Steppe territory and Hungary had been completely restored into turkish hands. However the wins only served to strain the empire even more as it had to deal with very low modernization, an inability to modernize and also rampant corruption across it’s territories, not to mention the dangerous spread of Commonwealth ideals throughout the country. From 1706 the libertarian ideas started to really take hold in the turkish state and by the time Mustafa had started working as a governor he had been exposed quite the lot to such “delusions” (according to many in the ottoman court) especially thanks to his tutor Shahin, a man with numerous ties to the Commonwealth that facilitated ties between the two countries. Mustafa had many ideas he wanted to implement that mirrored those of the Commonwealth and that he knew would benefit the empire greatly, he also believed that increasing the relationship to more official terms would be vital for the survival of the nation although if he wanted to have a more direct role in such affairs he would have to wait until he returned to the capital. Little did he know the opportunity to engage directly in the formation of the alliance would come far sooner that expected…

*Mustafa was sitting alone in his chambers reading the new edicts for the province of Edirne but his mind was not really into the task as much as he would like. That morning, the entire day even had been one of anxiety and procrastination for the prince, something he despised and only contributed to the growing anxiety; he need a rest from such a fruitless day, maybe a visit to the gardens like Shahin would easy his mind, although he was quite skeptical on the fact that it would have a positive effect on his moodiness. He headed out but decided against it almost inmediatly returning to the room to finish the land reform part of the edicts. He entered the room and went directly to his desk completely inoring the figure sitting quietly on the other side; five silent and tense minutes passed and finally Mustafa decided to make the first move in the interaction that would change history as people would come to know it.*

**Mustafa:** *I had assumed a man so busy as yourself would not go around wasting time when there is a nation to keep from falling apart and an entire world to be ruling, ain’t that right mister Roscislaw Czwijnowski?*

**Roscislaw:** *You give me and the Commonwealth far too much credit young prince, I’m merely an assistant for various presidents in our nation and the country itself has no such imperial ambitions as to rule the world, we have grown above such decadent necessities as you can image.*

**Mustafa:** *I’ve studied you and you career for a while now mister Roscislaw, mostly thanks to Shahin who introduced me to your work, and I know all too well that behind every competent president in your country, there is an ever more competent prime minister keeping things in place so the nation won’t fall apart. After all, we both know a nation is as strong as it’s leader and a leader is a good as his advisors, something this empire has clearly forgotten. So please prime minister, let go of that facade of just an assistant and we also know that the Commonwealth holds much influence on the world and that too is a way of control.*

**Roscislaw:** *Perhaps, although that debate will have to take place in another time. I think it’s time you and I have had a conversation coming for a long time now young man; but before we begin I must say I’m suprised you seem to be so calm in my presence despite my unannounced arrival. Where you expecting my visit?*

**Mustafa:** *Not yours necessarely but I do have eyes all over the province and in many other areas of the empire, so it was only normal that I would find out of the arrival of a substantial amount of europeans, staying in the vecinity of the palace. You may think that such a thing should be nothing worth mentioning given that the Commonwealth receives many visitors from all over all the time but keep in mind this is the Ottoman Empire, where corruption and injustice're rampant and the current issues with hungarian and other nationalism related affairs threatening to destroy the empire from within, we don’t get that many visitors. Your crew also did their best to conceil their signaling with your bodyguard but they were simply unable to avoid being spotted. I was intrigued when I heard of it a few days ago but decided to act as if everything was normal, and were you to be assassins you could’ve acted in many instances and so I simply waited until you deemed it necessary to make your entrance but as mentioned before I did not think it would be Commonwealth’s own prime minister behind all the fuss, now I know and if you’re wondering how I recognized you, that is thanks to Shahin who told me much about you, your ideals and also how you looked where you and I to meet at some point in our lives. That day has come apparently and I can’t help to wonder to what do I own the pleasure of your visit mister Roscislaw.*

**Roscislaw:** *I have to say I’m impressed and a little bit sad I did not manage to keep the mystery for longer but I guess this only reassures me that I’ve made the right decision coming here instead of going once again to Carigrad.*

**Mustafa:** *Care to elaborate on that?*

**Roscislaw:** *As you probably know, over the course of several years, even before you were born in 1717, I have made many efforts to secure an alliance with your Empire. At first if was out of necessity for we shared far too many enemies and we were natural allies; that has not changed especially with the British getting bolder and more powerful by the day and now with their african encroachment, it’s more important than ever for us to secure a lasting and oficial frienship between our too realms. Of course there is far more to gain than just protection from the ever increasing menace, there is also the financial gains for both our nations. Your empire sits in a prime position to facilitate the spice trade with the rest of the asian countries, in fact that very same position and the many obstacles the Ottoman Empire inserted historically forced other countries to look west in the Age of Discovery as we know it today. We have managed to secure some deals with the Mughals that with the asssistance of your Empire would make the whole affair far more profitable, not to mention that an Alliance between our three countries would allow a lot of security, riches and industrial growth for all involved.*

**Mustafa:** *That would seem to suggest that your nation, prime minister, already has some sort of backdoor Alliance with the indians. Am I mistaken?.*

**Roscislaw:** *Well you see, the current leader Muhammad Sha was sent to Europe to study at the age of 16, to the Netherlands to be more precise. That was in 1718 if memory serves, at the time the still prince was quite the humanist and looked up quite the lot to Akbar as a model ruler, he wanted to emulate his policies of tolerance but also wanted to mix them with some European politics, economic ideas and religious reforms that mirrored those here in the continent. I was aware at the time about his european scholarship and decided to extend an invitation to him to come to the Commonwealth so he would take a look and experience good governance because, The Netherlands is great for learning about trade but little else and since his father had been a good partner to us in the Commonwealth I viewed it as a natural thing to bring the young man under my wing and become his tutor. To my surprise he decided to accept it, and for five years he stayed in the Commonwealth learning as much as he could and would return home a changed man. His father would die soon after but the relationship remained there, and we’ve been working hard to tighten the bonds between our peoples ever since.*

**Mustafa:** *I see, so the entrance of this empire in that alliance would only make such a pact stronger and would allow both of you to bypass the british navy improving and consolidating trade between all involved.*

**Roscislaw:** *Indeed.*

**Mustafa:** *Well I like the premise of your proposition, and I agree that an alliance between our two countries, well, three countries now, would only serve to makes us all richer and stronger in the face of the British menace. We share many things in common, including ruling over many groups of peoples, all involved are old and proud nations and our spheres of influence are quite far reaching, well more some than other (said with an inquisitive look in his eyes and a smirk in his mouth). I do think however you would accomplish much more talking to the sultan than coming to me, I don’t rule the country as of now.*

**Roscislaw:** *I’ve dealt with your father many times before, even before Shahin started working in your father’s court after being bought as a slave. In our many interactions, we’ve made a lot of progress and much of the bad blood between our countries has become a thing of the past. However at this point, further negotiations have stalled to a crawl because there’re far too many forces inside the sultan’s own court that are resisting further bonding between us all. There is also the fact that I’ve been exchanging messages with Shahin for a long period of time by now and he has told me much about you; if his thoughts about you are to be believed, you seem to be the man to talk in order to make the alliance happen and just so you know I too have my eyes and ears in key areas, so I know you may not be too popular with the old guard, the Janissaries and the clergy but word is that a rather big following of younger nobles look up to you, and the minor nobility respects you, not to mention how much the people praises your every move. Many think you’re the man that will save the empire and so I’ve decide to pay attention to where the winds are flowing and go with it, and that means betting and investing on the future generation of the Ottoman Empire, and so here I am and here we stand.*

**Mustafa:** *It would seem we stand at a crossroads of sorts, but I too believe in this proposition of yours so you can count with my help, I promise I will champion for Ottoman entrance in the alliance and work tirelessly in order to tighten the bonds between our two countries in the years to come. In the meantime, I will support my father as much as I can in order to upset the current balance in the court, although as long as I remain governor of Edirne, my direct involvement will be more limited but as soon as I return to Konstantiniyye you can be sure Ottoman entrance in the pact will become a reality.*

**Roscislaw:** *I’m glad to see I did not make a mistake coming here, turns out my gamble paid off after all. Well I’ve brought a little contract that will make our association more official in a sense, if you don’t mind.*

**Mustafa:** *I do not although I presume the nature of that contract will remain a secret for most?*

**Roscislaw:** *That would be quite correct.*

**Mustafa:** *Very well (he proceeds to give the contract a thorough read and after a short while he signs it)*

**Roscislaw:** *Well it’s official now, may god or allah look fondly upon our shared goal. I know the doctrines of your religion don’t look kindly to it but, do you happen to have something to celebrate such joyous occasion?*

**Mustafa:** *Now that you mention it, a greek acquaintance of mine gave me a bottle of wine of his own making as a way to thank me for ruling in his favor in a dispute. If there was an occasion in wich that bottle would come in handy, this would be it. A toast then, to what future will bring.*

**Roscislaw:** *To what the future will bring.*

*Both men spent the rest of the night drinking, having laughs and sharing both stories and knowledge in a scene resembling what the world could like if the alliance were to take place. By the end, Roscislaw prepared to make the long way back home, and Mustafa decided to go to bed and unlike the previous night and many others before it, managed to sleep soundly, hopeful for the nation and it’s future.*

***Mustafa and Roscislaw pave the way for***

***Ottoman entrance in the alliance***

***for the first time ever.***

***Edirne, 1737.***

While the prince might have thought that his return to the capital was still a couple of years away, the wheels of destiny were already working and tragedy was about to hit the young prince once more, because back in Konstantiniyye, a two year long struggle was finally about to explode. Even before Mustafa left for Edirne, the current sultan Ahmed III had been for a while trying to curtail the power held by the janissaries, but he was facing a lot of opposition from them and especially from one of the most influential if not the most influential of them all, Atabey Pasha. Atabey was a hardline traditionalist and most importantly, was head of the army second only to the sultan himself, so he had a vested interest in not seeing all his amassed power go away and because of it, he denounced the sultan at every chance he got and sought for allies inside the court to undermine the reform of the army. The back and forth would last for two years aproximately, but there would come a point in wich the lunacy could be tolerated no longer and in a faithful night of November in the year 1737, the sultan decided to take action himself and prepared alongside a few loyal guardsmen and loyal noblemen (that despised the influence the Janissaries exerted on the empire) a night raid to the Janissaries main quarters where the ringleaders opposing the sultan (including Atabey) were stationed. A total of 1000 were gathered on the outside of the palace of topkapi and they were storming the Janissaries quarters within the hour, however there was noone there to receive the invading forces and in fact the buildings were completely deserted. The sultan ordered most of his men to cordon the area and begin a search, but hours would come to pass without any fruitful results but that too was about to change. At the break of dawn cornets were heard and a great shout gave the order to advance signaling the terrible truth…the sultan and his men had fallen into a trap. Hordes of janissaries poured into the narrow streets belonging to the quarters, killing everyone on their path; the bloodshed lasted for an entire hour ending with the sultan being thrown at the feet on Atabey’s horse. The comander looked at his liege with disdain and ordered his men to chop off the head to finally give way to a new age in the empire, the end of the Osmanli dynasty was about to begin then and there. The sultan raised his head, completely ignoring the situation in wich he was situated, looked up to the sun and smiled, for he knew that this was not the end, but the begining of a great age; the age of Mustafa was about to begin. With those thoughts on his mind and a smile on his face, the sultan said his farewell on this world.

The head had not even fallen completely to the ground, when Atabey ordered the runner to head to the palaces and begin the second part of the purge of Konstantiniyye as the event became known. Carnage ensued throughout the day with royal servants, officials and loyalist all being massacred by the hundreds at the hand of the soldiers and only a handful managed to survive. Amongst those very same survivors was Shahin who, at the time the attacks on the palaces began, was writing about his voyages in Turkestan; just when he was about to call it a night and begin the day, the door of his room collapsed and a blood thirsty soldier took it’s place; a great struggle took place with Shahin desperately fighting for his live which with every passing second slept away from his fingers more and more. In the end Shahin managed to hit the soldier on the throat with a candle holder gaining the upper hand, he followed this with a thrust on the belly with a broken table leg but not before being stabbed himslef with a dagger. There was however no time to waste, with blood puring out of his left side, he made way to one of the many secret passages in the castle of Topkapi and finally managed to scape that hell and find refuge in the greek quarter, where he and the prince had some friends that could help. A desperate 30 minutes trying not to die would pass until Shahin finally arrived to the house of a friendly merchant family known as the Kantakouzenos only to collapse inmediatly after with just about enough time to whisper a few words.

*-Warn Mustafa…he needs to know…*

What Shahin did not know at the time was the fact that Mustafa himself was already in a desperate struggle of his own, for Atabey’s plan to annihilate the Osmali dinasty included eliminating Mustafa almost simultaneously with the sultan, and by the time the massacre at the palaces in Konstantiniyye were about to take place, the attack on the palace of Edirne had already started for a while an the fight was a brutal one. Mustafa was caught in the gardens when the attack began and found himself attacked by two janissaries wich he managed to defeat after taking the iniative; after that, all hell broke loose and the sounds of swords clashing with one another and the shouting of men could be heard all across the halls. There was something different about the defence of the palace of Edirne compared to those in the capital and that was the presence of the 300 veterans of Mustafa’s retinue; those men were the elite among the elite, battle hardened soldiers, extremely loyal to their master, aboslut weapons of mass destruction and now they were fighting against an enemy lacking in all of those traits, in an enviroment suitable for the defenders and most importantly, they were fighting for their liege. Soon enough, Mustafa found the support of five of his men, and together they started cutting down any janissarie unfortunate enough to cross their path and a similar situation was taking place all over the buildings. The prince knew however, that if the rumours were to be believed, then they would not be able to hold on against the enemy’s numbers wich were around 2500 men strong, and soon enough the self fulfilling prophecy started to take hold and the defenders number began to drop at a dramatic rate. Sure, every fallen man took more than ten with them but that was simply not enough and more than 170 bodyguards would meet their end in the following hours; that was to be the end, time slowed down to a crawl, the air filled itself with tension, all knew it was about to happen and it did; Mustafa raised his voice to boom, resonating all over the palace of Edirne and as it was a signal sent by the heavens, all defenders including the prince himself launched themselves forward with the fury and the wrath of Allah himself upon unbelievers. Countless enemies died and so did many defenders; and when all seemed like it was about to end then and there, a shout resounded across the walls.

*-Defend the prince! For he glory of Mustafa and the Osmali!*

Hordes of men and women poured through the entrances and halls of the palace killing each and every single janissarie that they encountered in their way, the city had come to the aid of their hero and leader. More carnage ensued for not all were well versed in martial arts and so, many found themselves at the other end of a Janissarie’s sword but even that did not stop the furious mob from advancing and after many sacrifices, all atackers laid dead or wounded. Problem was that the mob was unable to disperse once the bloodshed started and now with the attacking forces defeated, they found new targets in the shape of ulemas and other officials rumored to be corrupt; mosques burned to the ground, corpses were defiled and families were broken, Edirne spent the entire day in flames, and it took Mustafa that very same full day to calm the mob down but, by that time, the damage had already been done.

Crying and lamentations could be heard all over the city, the night following the attack was a sad and arduous one, the city needed to be rebuilt as soon as possible and so, once the thirst for blood abandoned people’s minds, everyone began the process of healing. Mustafa, furious, exhausted and horrified about what had happened, helped as many as he could and so did his men; that night would be a long one and no rest would be had. The next day looked like the same thing would repeat itself until a breathless rider came to the city, asking to see the prince and saying he had an urgent message from the capital; after looking around for a short while he encountered Mustafa around a pile of bodies and a few of his bodyguards. The rider was stopped by the guards but Mustafa recognized the youngest son of the Kantakouzenos and let him pass, delighted to see a friendly face after the events of the previous day, unfortunately for the heir, the news brought by the young boy were grimm; the sultan had been decapitated, many loyal nobles were killed and the palaces of Konstantiniyye had been dyed red by the blood of the dead…the capital had fallen.

Mustafa found himself inmersed in stupor, nothing else of what the rider said entered his ears, for in that very moment, he could feel life scaping him even without being injured physically. In a single day he has lost his remaining family, much of the work he has done on Edirne and countless people laid dead for nothing more than pure ambition and corruption, both things he had spent so much time fighting against. The rider and the guards surrounding the prince tried to help him snap out of his stupor but to no avail. Finally the young Kantakouzenos revealed the final part, Shahin’s survival. Hearing abou it impacted Mustafa as if he had been resucitated from the dead, he came back to his senses and asked several times if it was true that Shahin have survived the attack. The rider confimed the news and the prince, finally back in control of himself, realised that time was running against him, he needed to head back to Konstantiniyye and storm the grand city before Atabey grew more powerful, something that would surely become a reality given the position of the traitor within the army and there was a chance part of the nobility and probably all main representatives of the ulemas class would forget their pledge of loyalty in exchange for reassurances. The die was cast and now quick action meant everything, and so Mustafa reached the top of the nearby podium and adressed the people of Edirne.

-*Citizens of Edirne, brothers and sisters of the Ottoman Empire, at this very moment, I speak to you as the sole survivor of the Osmanli Dynasty. Those men in janissaries clothing were sent from the capital to make sure that my head, much like my fathers, laid on top the walls of this proud city as a way to signal the fall of the old order. Yes, it is true, Konstantiniyye has fallen for the first time in centuries and I intent to go back inmediately to reclaim it; I wish to ask the support of all of you to come with me but I will understand if you decide agains it for there’re many who desire a change in the administration wich has been degenerating for several generations already. Many view the current goverment under the Osmanli as a corrupt and oppressive entity and I can’t blame those who think that because they’re right; I myself have experienced first hand what the rot within the empire can do, for as a child I had my brother taken away from me and now that very same corruption has decided to take my only living relative aswell and his murderers display his head on the walls of the great city as if it was something to be proud of.*

*I have dedicated my life to fight against those same oppresive forces and so did my now deceased father. Because of it, we’ve lived our lifes fighting an uphill battle with corrupt officials from all areas of governance blocking and plotting in order to stop the empire and it’s people, all of it’s people from prospering. Now those very same corrupt forces have gotten grip of the nation and it is a matter of time before they consolidate. I understand many are hopeful that this change will signal a revival of all things good the empire used to display and have, but they have very different ideas in mind; right now their only goal is to secure themselves and once they do that, they will oppress everyone on their path in order to keep the decadence going while the people the’re meant to serve and protect, continue to die and be mistreated. I only have my reputation and my name to provide as backing for my claims, you know me and you know what I stand for so I ask you…People of Edirne, proud citizens of the empire, my people...Will you help me?*

A tense silent moment ensued with people from all over started looking at their fellow man and women as a way of asking what their decision would be. Seconds felt like hours as the people were making ready to give their opinion until finally a ghostly voice of rebellion made it’s way back from ages past as one by one the people (both greek and Turkish surprisingly) started shouting ***Niká! Niká! Niká! Niká! Niká!*** Many guards felt nervous seen this but Mustafa calmed then down with a smile on his face, because he knew better; the people had his back and the day of reckoning was coming for Atabey.

The armory of Edirne was ransacked, scouts were dispatched to call for the support of the remaining loyalists and supplies were gathered to start the march for the capital. In the end, two days came to pass and finally a total numering around ten thousand of irregulars men and a notable number of women (numbers were rather scarce and everyone able to fight was required to do so) were gathered on the gates of the city and headed to Konstantiniyye at a neckbreak pace, increasing the numbers of the army on the march and arriving to the destination the next day, willing to fight for their disputed sultan although rather exhausted after the march. Mustafa knew that his chances of taking the city with the forces assembled were slim and that was quite an optimistic possibility, even more considering that Atabey had not been sitting idle in the meantime. Reports about forces of Janissaries coming to the grand city were quite concerning and the defences of Konstantiniyye were bolstered in order to gain as much time as possible; not all were bad news however, because the now Sultan’s army have been reinforced by an extra 12 thousand professional soldiers, increasing the size to a total of nearly 22 thousand strong and if Mustafa’s plan came to fruition, mutual assured destruction would be avoided.

The plan was developed in the preparation phase back in Edirne; after gaining the support of the people, Mustafa went back to the young greek man and gave him instructions of what to do when the forces were spotted near the capital. Shahin needed to know that Mustafa lived and was about to reclaim his birthright, and so, orders had to be given on how to proceed when the time came to fight back against Atabey and his supporters and also what to do in the meantime in order to ease the reclaiming effort. On his way back, the young Kantakouzenos bribed the men guarding one of the entrances of the city and managed to get back to his home were his family and Shahin were nervously waiting for his arrival. He was received jubilantly and even more so when he revealed that the new Sultan lived and was coming to end the pretender’s life. The boy also told Shahin about what Mustafa needed of him, and that was to gather the support of the people by stirring trouble and increasing the disatisfaction with the intent of making all implode when the attack on the city commenced. Shahin did exactly that and for three days he gathered the support of people in key areas wich when the attack began, would ensure that the uprising spiraled out of control against the forces defending the city and on a final note, Shahin made sure to bribe as many guards denfending the entrances as possible in order to ensure that the sultan’s forces did not have to go for the walls. It was risky, but there was no stopping now.

Four days passed since the attacks in the capital and Edirne and now both sides were facing each other; the attack that would mark the path of the empire the Osmanli had created was about to begin. An hour long staredown took place and it was only broken when Mustafa raised his sword and the sigal was given, the attack have begun. Sultan’s forces started the assault with a bombardment utilizing canons meant to garrison Edirne, this was followed by the infantry advance and it was at that moment the trap was sprung, cornets sounded and an uproar could be heard all over the streets of Konstantiniyye, the city with Shahin at it’s head, rebelled and streets were flooded with people chanting the name of the fallen sultan and Mustafa. At the same time the infantry meant to storm the city increased the speed and started runing towards the defenders, something that raised more than one eyebrow, the explanation would come fairly soon when the attackers started puring in from the gates, the bribes had the intended result and those who tried to keep the gates closed were killed on the spot; with all pieces falling in place now swords, musquets, canons, rocks, passion, discipline and determination would have to do the talking.

In the palace of Topkapi, Atabey was making preparations to head for the walls and inspire his men, for he needed only to delay the attack for long enough until relieve forces arrived and lifted the siege. He headed out with his ten guards but was interrupted in the way by the shadow of an unkown figure wich after raising it’s hand, gave way to dozens of shots that annihilated Atabey’s bodyguards.

**Mustafa:** *Going somewhere Atabey?*

**Atabey:** *Who’re you? Don’t you see we’re under attack you traitor?*

**Mustafa:** *Funny you of all people would use such a word Atabey, but allow me to satisfy your curiosity (gives five steps forward revealing himself to be Mustafa)*

**Atabey:** *Mustafa…how did you…*

**Mustafa:** *How did get here? Well just let me say you did a particularly poor job making sure all secret entrances to the palace were sealed shut. Then again with the current level in which the empire is in, expecting competence even in a coup is too much to ask. I’m here to put an end to your miserable existance.*

**Atabey:** *Very well, at the end of this you will join your father as decoration for the walls of the city. This is how the Osmanli dynasty dies.*

Mustafa gave a signal to his men to leave the two alone and make sure the palace was cleaned up from the filth inhabiting it. The soldiers left, and both Mustafa and Atabey were left alone; both man drew their swords and a brutal fight ensued. Swords clashed time and time again, Atabey, despite of how corrupt he was, was a masterful swordsman and his dominion with the scimitar was almost unchallenged in the realm, he was known for the quickness of his attacks and now was using them in quick sucession to cut Mustafa in pieces. Mustafa was quite the gifted swordsman himself despite loathing fencing, and managed to keep up quite well stopping most of the cuts coming his way.

However, while most of the cuts were deflected, many others found their mark and with every passing minute, Mustafa knew Atabey would gain an advantage. He tried thinking of a plan but with his attention mostly fixed on Atabey and his attacks, little came to his mind. More cuts met their mark, taking the life of Mustafa one cut at the time. Atabey was making sure his prey suffered but with each successful blow, he became complacent and most importantly, impacient to finish Mustafa up.

Ten long and excruciating minutes passed and the time came to finally end the duel. With the quickness of a lighting bolt, Atabey disarmed Mustafa and followed up his attack with an upward cut to the face but thinking fast, Mustafa used his cape to momentarely blind Atabey, inmediately inmobilized the attacking arm and followed with a dagger attack to Atabey’s neck. The attack was successful and Atabey died inmediately after, collapsing in a pool of blood. Mustafa was left standing there panting due to exhaustion and with adrenaline flowing through his veins, looked at Atabey’s corpse postrated on the floor and decided to take one final action before claiming justice once and for all. He kneeled, and proceeded to cut the head of the snake, once it was done, Mustafa grabbed it and went out to the streets holding and displaying it for all to see. Seeing the head of their comander in the hand of the Sultan was too much and the remaining defenders (out of the initial ten thousand) surrendered inmediately; the battle was over and Mustafa had reclaimed his birthright. The forces coming to aid Atabey had been intercepted by some Commonwealth backed mercenaries courtesy of the Prime Minister Roscislaw and the traitors that escaped Konstantiniyye and headed to Poland-Lithuania were returned to face the death penalty thanks to the Prime Minister once again.

A great purge took place throughout the empire and six months would need to pass until normality was reinstated to the nation. After that an official ceremony of coronation would take place with emissaries from all over coming to congratulate the young sultan, including Commonwealth’s Prime Minister Roscislaw. Once the ceremony was over, he stopped by the sultan, congratulated him and both man raised a toast to what the future would bring. The celebrations would last for an entire month and during said celebrations, he would meet the woman that would become the mother of his children, two daughters and one son and the love of his life; the eldest daughter of the Kantakouzenos family called Penelope, a beautiful 22 year old woman, known to be incredibly independent, smart and willfully like no other, all traits Mustafa loved and respected.

Mustafa would spent the rest of his years as a loved and respected man, tirelessly working alongside his trusted mentor Shahin to reverse the decline of the Ottoman Empire and to also formalize the alliance with the Commonwealth and India, and alliance wich would be expanded later on to include two other major players. Although that is a story for another day.