Why some Ottoman sultans were raised in cages

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the very heart of Istanbul there is a luxurious palace of the Ottoman sultans - Topkapi. It was here that the royal residence of the rulers of one of the most powerful empires of their time was located. An unremarkable room hidden behind a high wall adjoins the huge complex, given over to the harem. This room is called a cafe, or cell. Potential heirs to the throne were imprisoned here. Here they were doomed to stay until the end of their days, slowly going mad. Why did the sultans treat their siblings so cruelly?

Many Ottoman traditions may seem rather cruel and even barbaric to us. For centuries, Europeans have made up real legends about life in the Ottoman Empire. Much, of course, has been exaggerated. As in many Islamic dynasties, the Turks practiced the “rule of seniority,” where inheritance passed from brother to brother, rather than from father to son. Thus, all men within the older generation had to perish before power would pass to the older man in the next generation.

Everyone who became a sultan, first of all, destroyed all their competitors, even if they were nursing babies at that time. After all, if this is not done, then the state is threatened with conspiracies against the ruler, popular uprisings, internecine wars.

This cruel practice was first used by Sultan Mehmed II. This ruler was famous for many good deeds. First, he defeated the crusaders and conquered Constantinople. It was this sultan who created Porto - the central government of the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed was very devout and knew the Quran well. Based on the sayings of this ancient wise book, he published a code of laws, calling it Kanun. Mehmed II himself received an excellent education at one time and understood how important education is for the state to flourish. The Sultan personally supervised the construction of new schools, made it compulsory to teach the dogmas of Islam, grammar, logic, mathematics, jurisprudence and other sciences.

In addition to all these beautiful things, Mehmed II became famous for the fact that upon ascending to the throne he strangled all nineteen of his half brothers with a silk cord. After that, he issued it as a law. This law has been in effect for almost two hundred years. Abolished by his son Mehmed III, Ahmed I. He, becoming the sultan, refused to kill his mentally disabled brother. Instead, he placed him under house arrest.

In the Topkapi Palace, a one-story building was adjacent to the harem. Ahmed hid his brother Mustafa behind its high walls. This is how the cafe system was born. The building was unremarkable on the outside, but very richly decorated on the inside. Magnificent stained-glass windows adorned the windows. The room had high ceilings, lavishly decorated rooms, covered with magnificent carpets. It had a splendid high terrace, a pool, and a lovely garden. Despite all the sophistication and luxury of the furnishings, it was a prison. Literally a cage.

The Turks realized that such a system is very convenient - all the pretenders to the throne are gathered in one place. They cannot do any harm, but if the sultan suddenly died and did not leave an heir, they took the next in seniority and crowned him. Princes were placed in a cage when they were eight years old. They stayed there until their natural death. They were reliably guarded, but they had certain freedoms. They could receive education, have many concubines. It was not only allowed to marry and have children.

Unfortunately, from such a life very many either got drunk or went crazy. It happened that people who were completely insane and unable to fulfill the duties assigned to them ascended the throne. How it happened with Mustafa I. No better was Murad IV, who reigned after his death in 1623.

He began by issuing a ban on coffee, alcoholic beverages and tobacco smoking. The punishment was severe beating. At the second capture, violators of this law were drowned in the waters of the Bosphorus. At night, Murad himself ran through the streets and if he saw a smoking or drinking coffee, he would chop off his head. Sometimes the Sultan would sit in his gazebo by the water and amuse himself with archery at the boatmen. Also, this insane ruler could jump out with a sword at midnight from his chambers barefoot into the street and kill anyone who got in his way.

Another victim of such isolation is Ibrahim, who was later nicknamed the Mad. He lived in a cage for twenty-two years. In constant fear of death. After the death of his brother, he was elevated to the throne. Ibrahim suspected that this was just a trap, and his brother simply decided to execute him. He refused to leave his chambers until the dead body of the Sultan was brought directly to the door of his prison.

Ibrahim's reign was remembered for shameful orgies and decline. On his behalf, Ibrahim's mother ruled, Kesem Sultan, paired with the vizier. The madman was allowed to amuse himself to his heart's content, which he did. The Sultan adored puffy women. His harem was packed with fatties from all over the world. The weight of the beauties ranged from 130 to 230 kilograms. Ibrahim believed that the thicker the better. The beauties had to adhere to a special diet - they were constantly fed all kinds of sweets and cakes. The insane sultan has lowered the entire treasury on his fat concubines. He let them spend money left and right.

Strange sexual role-playing and fits of uncontrollable rage took his throne first and then his life. Ibrahim's antics were patiently endured when, in a fit of anger, he ordered to drown his entire three hundred harem in the Bosphorus. They endured even when, in anger, he threw his little son into the fountain and he almost died. Once a madman overflowed the cup of patience: he kidnapped and dishonored the daughter of a high-ranking priest. After being bullied, he sent her back to her father. She could not stand the shame and committed suicide.

The mufti complained, and the janissaries raised a real uprising. Ibrahim was saved from being torn apart by his mother. They put him back in the cage. But now he was limited to being kept in a small room in the attic. The maids said that from behind the door they often heard the deposed sultan crying. After some time, the insulted and disgraced mufti achieved the execution of Ibrahim the Mad. When the executioner came to the room of the former sultan, he showed courage for the first time in his life - he fought for his life like a lion.

It can be argued for a long time that such means were justified, but we see the dire consequences of such prolonged isolation. When Suleiman II was enthroned in 1687 and spent thirty-six years in a cage, he said: “If I have to die, then so be it. To languish in prison for almost forty years is a real endless nightmare. It is better to die once than to die slowly every day. In one breath, to experience the horror that has to be experienced for many years."

The last sultan of the Ottoman Empire ascended the throne when he was fifty-six years old. He spent all his life in a cafe. This was the longest imprisonment in the history of this sad practice. Mehmet VI Vahidettin ruled until the abolition of the empire after the First World War.

The Ottoman Empire had a huge impact on the world. For more information on this, read our article. how the Turks, who defeated Byzantium, staged a European Renaissance.