forced Zelim Achmet to let Coprogli be quiet for some time In the mean time Amurath who had ended the Persian War and calmed the troubles of his Empire abandoned himself to the delights of the Seraglio But Death which had spared him in Armies where he was exposed to the greatest dangers surprized him in the midst of his pleasures for in the Beyran which is the Turks Easter at which time they are wont to be very merry the better to forget the austerity of their Ramazan or Lent The Sultan made a debauch with the Selichtar Cham Gumar Machut and Iarzai two other Persians in which he drank so excessively of Malvasie and Ros-solis that he inflamed his bowels and fell into a burning Feaver of which he died a few days after Several Diseases had taken away all his Children and his cruelty had put all his Brothers to death except Ibrahim whom he thought incapable of reigning While he was sick he asked often to see him intending as some believe to have had him strangled that he might leave none of his Blood behind him but what should be born of Zaime whom he knew to be with child He had named Rahim Chiras C ham of the petty Tartars to be his Successor and had made a secret agreement with him that in case Zaime should be brought to bed of a Son he should resign the Empire to him But the Divan ordained otherwise and the Sultana Valide had no sooner closed his eyes but she went to take Ibrahim out of Prison This Prince made some difficulty at the proposition which the Sultana his Mother the Mufti the Visiers and Bassa's made him of ascending the Throne believing it to be a design to surprize him and continued to counterfeit himself mad as he had done till then by the advice of the Eunuch Zomboul his Governour who had taught him this way to avoid the cruelty of his Brother Amurath but when he saw the Emperors dead body he convinced them that he had concealed his Reason to preserve his life and shewed so much judgment that he at first suprized those who knew the manner of his Education Ibrahim having taken up the reins of the Ottoman Empire began his Reign with such Justice and Clemency as seemed to give the people an undoubted assurance of an happy Government The first Commandment he gave was to Mustapha his Grand Visier who had succeeded Ragep That he should put no man to death unless he were convict of so enormous a Crime that he could not be pardoned without committing a greater This Prince was extremely good natur'd as might be seen by the lineaments of his face he had a ruddy Complexion a broad Forehead his Limbs well set but his Behaviour was very silly and innocent proceeding from his obscure Education which had quite changed the vigor of his mind and health so that it was feared he could have no children This made the Sultana his Mother have a great care of the Sultana Zaime whom she knew to be with child Zaime who loved the Sultana Valide as her own Mother had discovered it to her and the subtil Sultana Kiozem Ibrahim's Mother not believing he would leave a Son behind him would not suffer Zaime to retire into the old Seraglio where the Sultanas of the deceased Grand Signiors shut themselves up She fancied it would be no hard matter to perswade Ibrahim to love her Zaime was young her great belly appeared not and no body knew of it nor was it difficult to make him believe that the Child she should be brought to bed of was his own but there was no need of all this contrivance for Ibrahim who never knew what love was was so well satisfied with Zaime that examining no farther he abandon'd himself wholly to the enjoyment of her yet afterwards not contented with the delights he found in this Princess who had taught him to love he had a mind to try if another could not as well recommend those pleasures which had so long been unknown to him and took a liking to an handsome Georgian well born and a Christian who had been taken from her Parents at twelve years old and brought to the great Seraglio at Constantinople as a perfect beauty She had been bred very carefully having been taught to sing and play on several Instruments to accompany her voice which was admirable and it was by this that she had attracted Ibrahim This Prince was a great lover of Musick both instrumental and vocal He walked one evening under a Balcony where the young Bassée so was the fair Georgian called sung a Song so passionate that he would needs know the person that had sung it but having found by conversing with her that she had no less Wit than Beauty he was so charmed that immediately he threw her his Handkerchief as a sure pledge of his Love and a certain token that she should that very night receive more particular favours Of all the Passions that Princes are subject to Love is the most powerful and may boast of more triumphs than all the rest and though it is said that fruition diminishes it that of Ibrahim manifested the contrary for by the possession of his new Favourite he became more and more inflamed and his kindness increasing every day contributed to Bassées good Fortune The next morning she had eight women four Eunuchs and four Cooks added to her train The Sultan sent her six Baskets full of very rich Presents with a Cabinet stored with many thousand Shekines augmenting her allowance proportionably to his kindness and not thinking this sufficient he would have her Train as great as that of the Sultana Zaime so that he gave her more Eunuchs and made up her number of women sixteen He furnished a private Apartment for her with the best Furniture in the Seraglio where he often did her the honour to eat with her The compliant humour of this Favourite diverted his natural melancholy she would sometimes prevail with him to walk by the Sea-side and to hunt in the neighbouring Fields At last the Eunuch Zomboul perceiving her to be with Child he carried the news of it to the Grand Signior who took a Diamond of a great value off from his finger to make her a Present of and not being able longer to contein his Joy went himself to congratulate her that she was become the depository of a Pledge so important to the Ottoman Empire afterwards he visited the Sultana Valide to rejoyce with her Zaime was quickly informed of it and the news had like to have kill'd her she found her self ready to lie down which spoiled hers and the Sultana Valide's design The time having deceived them there not remaining enough to make Ibrahim believe that he was the Father of her Child The Sultana Kiosem being one of the most subtle ingenious Princesses that ever was would not quite ruine Zaime whom she tenderly loved nor expose a Child of Amurath for she
Europe he refreshed himself after the â—oils of War in the Arms of a charming Persian Lady who far out-shined all his other Favorites This beautiful Persian was Sister to Emir Gumer who to obtain the Grand Signiors Favor when he basely surrendered Revan to him presented him also with his Sister Rachima The effect which her Charms had on the Sultans Heart made the Sultaness Roxana who had followed him to the Persian War extremely Jealous This Princess was not wont to suffer a Rival her Reign had been long and uncontrolled and she had often sent the finest Women in the Seraglio into the other World so soon as she was informed that they indeavoured to seduce her Gallant Amurath being acquainted with and fearing her humor to prevent her resentment and free himself from her importunate Jealousie sent her away before him to Constantinople where all the extraordinary Honors that were paid her were not sufficient to ballance her vexation for being supplanted by another but not being able to revenge her self on her Rival she resolved to fall upon those who rejoyced at her disgrace Her Jealousie and cruelty made her formidable to all the World but none had more reason to mistrust her than the Grand Signiors Brothers Bajazet Orcan and Ibrahim the two first whose Valor equall'd their Birth were tired with her persecutions they knew her to be the cause that their Brother kept them in Prison and how she had done her utmost to destroy them that none might remain to dispute the Empire with her own Son The fear of death which threatned them had hitherto kept them from shewing themselves justly sensible of the wrongs which the Sultana Valide their Mother and the Princesses their Sisters had suffered at her hands but having learnt that she had lost much of Amuraths esteem they laid aside their former moderation and began openly to complain of Roxana who was so inraged at it that she vow'd their ruin to let her Enemies see that her Authority was not at all diminished and that none should go unpunished who offended her nothing was left undone that might conduce to the accomplishment of her design By fair promises she gained the Caimacan or Lieutenant to the Grand Visier to whom the Sultan had left the charge of his two Brothers to act without acquainting Amurath left that should discover her Treason She counterfeited Letters which assured him that these Princes had intelligence with their Brothers Enemies and after she had prepared all things necessary to justifie what she was about to do she produced a false Order of the Sultans and was so cruel as to go herself attended by the Executioners to tell the unfortunate Princes that she sacrificed them to her own hatred rather than to the interest of Amurath Bajazet after he had reproached her with all her crimes and given her thanks for taking away that life which he could not imploy in destroying her submitted to the Mutes who came to strangle him Orcan was not so patient for without upbraiding her he stood upon his Guard and having slain two disabled two more from having any hand in his death which he was forced to undergo at last as well as his Brother The Murder of these two Princes caused an universal sorrow and consternation their Courage had given the World great hopes and their death so inflamed the People against the Sultana that had not the Grand Signior arrived they had torn her out of the Seraglio and made her a victim to the Public hate Amurath was received in Triumph with more magnificence than was ever afforded any of his Predecessors after their most Signal Victories He had left Rachima at Damas which made Roxana believe that she was not quite blotted out of his Heart and that she should soon recover her ground To this end she made it her whole business to appear more charming in his Eyes besides she brought him to thank her for the death of his Brothers as an extraordinary service by which she had diverted the dangers that threatened his Person and Empire She had indeed a greater Ascendent over Amurath than she could hope for and found it no difficult matter to rekindle in him all those flames which the fair Rachima seemed to have extinguished He now heaped new favours on her and abandoned himself to such excess of Love as proved fatal to one of the Princesses his Sister As she came one day to cast herself at his Feet to complain of Roxanas injurious carriage towards her and of the unjust death of her two Brothers he was so inraged at her that with a Battle-ax which he held in his hand he gave her a blow on the head of which the Young Princess died on the place Roxanas hatred was not satisfied with this Murther she would have added that of the Grand Visiers Achomat because he was of the Sultana Valides party of whose Authority she was Jealous Besides the intention she had of putting the Caimacan who was wholy her creature into his place she found means to render him criminal by accusing him of being acquainted with and favouring the designs of the Princes This was enough to ruin him but the fall of this great Favourites head made such a noise that it awakened all the Grandees of the Empire they complained loudly of the injustices which the Great Sultana made the Emperor every day commit they ript up all the Murders she had been guilty of and caused the Mufty in behalf of the Public to complain of her to Amurath He had no sooner begun to acquit himself of his dangerous Commission but the Sultana Kiozem Amuraths Mother came and presented her self to him together with a Slave whom she brought to discover the Plot that Roxana had formed against her Life The Sultan at first would believe nothing but the Eunuch whose remorse had made him acquaint the Sultana Valide with what was contrived against her protested so earnestly that after he had discharged his Conscience of those secrets which filled him with horror he was not afraid to die that at last Amurath was convinced Roxana was sent for to answer to the crimes that were laid to her charge which she did with so much Pride and Disdain that not being able longer to defer her punishment by burying his Poynard in her heart he endeavoured with his own hand to repair all those ills she had been the cause of She was three and twenty years old and was thought the handsomest woman that ever came into the Seraglio Her Picture that Amurath ordered to be Drawn in the first transports of his Passion which he always kept in his Closet shews her to have been an accomplished Beauty She was tall and well shaped her Min was noble and her Gate becoming her Hair of a fair light Brown the turn of her Face was Oval her Complexion was very Clear and Smooth her Eyes full and sparkling her Nose well made her Mouth little her Lips Vermillion
their cruelty and avarice who have robbed so many innocent people are at last stripped themselves and have rendred that money of which they have defrauded you This proceeding seemed a little bloody and made it feared that his administration would be very severe but he regulated his actions with so much Justice that he never put any man to death unless he certainly knew that he deserved it The chief scope of this Grand Visier was to raise his Princes Authority weaken'd of late by the frequent Seditions of the Janizaries whose insolence he endeavoured to curb for the establishment of his own fortune too He told them they were unworthy of being inrolled and receiving pay if they were not in condition to serve and ready to obey the Emperors orders But they instead of being satisfied with the death of Ibrahim thought to take the advantage of Sultan Mahomet's youth and believing that the Grand Visier was as weak and timorous as his Predecessors whom they had either murthered or deposed they slighted his commands and refused to pass into Candy alledging that the Janizaries were priviledged from making War by Sea that they were not to march any where without the Emperor whom they would not leave for fear of some innovation against him in their absence The Sultana Kiozem furnished them with this pretence the better to compass a design which she had contrived This Sultana who had still the title of Valide was Grandmother to Mahomet the Fourth She had contributed to the death of her Son Ibrahim because he took away the Authority which she had usurped She fancied that since she had a share in the Government in three Emperors Reigns she should have been made Regent of the Empire during her Grandsons minority but the Grandees of the Port and the Divan having conferred the Sovereign Power on the Grand Signiors Mother she was extremely offended to see the affairs of the Ottoman Empire mannaged by a woman who owed her fortune and greatness to her She hoped that Zaime would surrender her Authority to her but this being too unreasonable and improbable a wish to succeed Ambition which considers the extent of the desires more than of duty made her think of revenge She thought of nothing but how to execute her projects and despaired not yet to make her self absolute Mistress of the Empire To this purpose she imparted her design to the Kislar Agazi who had always been her confident but he could not so much as hear her Treason without horror How Madam said he to her in disorder is it possible that you would destroy a Princess who honours you as her Queen and respects you as her Mother could you be so cruel as to kill young Sultan Mahomet because he is her Son is he not yours too does not nature it self speak in his behalf No continued he I will rather lose my life than be an assistant in so foul an enterprise Well well Vglan replied the malicious Princess who perceiving how coldly the Eunuch entertained her proposition bethought her self of counterfeiting repentance lest he should betray her endeavour then to restore my Authority and dispose Zaime to take me along with her in the Regency my advice will be very advantagious to her and I will always behave my self like a good Mother towards her The Kislar Agazi promised her more than she asked and swore never to speak of what she had imparted to him neither had he any time to do it he spoke with her in the beginning of the night and the next morning he was found dead in his bed No body could tell how it came to pass but since that time it has been discovered that a Slave whom she had gained had blown poison into his Nose when he was asleep The death of this Eunuch was exceedingly deplored by the Great Sultana who reflected on all the good Offices he had done for her and she would have been more afflicted if she could have comprehended the greatness of her loss in him who would have done her a more important service than ever if death had not prevented him The Grand Visier who owed his fortune to him and looked on him as his Father was inexpressibly grieved and suspected somewhat of the truth but could not guess at it all In the mean time the Sultana Valide lost no time she had by great promises ingaged the Aga of the Janizaries to the Aga of the white Eunuchs the Bostangibachi the Governour of the Pages called Iâ—hoglans who are six hundred of the handsomest young men in the Empire the Captain General of the Seas and some of the most considerable Bassa's She had so disposed every thing that her design would infallibly have succeeded if Heaven which takes a particular care of crowned heads had not put it into the Visier Azems mind to go out of his Seraglio at the beginning of the night and to pass through the quarters of the Town in disguise with one Slave only whom he trusted most to see what the Janizaries did of whom he had some apprehension as not being well affected either to him or the Emperors service He was much surprised to find them all in the Hippodrome with their Muskets on their shoulders and their Matches lighted and Sentinels placed at all avenues He was presently stopt his looks betrayed his intention of not being known but he wanted not courage and on this occasion manifested the presence of his mind He asked with a great deal of confidence for Bactas the Aga of the Janizaries and being led to his Oda was astonished at his arrogance in not rising to salute him though he knew him very well when at another time he would have prostrated himself before the Grand Visier who never goes to see any body but the Grand Signior and when he receives a Visit never rises to any body but the Mufti However he dissembled his thoughts at present knowing himself certainly lost if he did not make use of some subtilty to disingage himself from the danger he was in The Aga in the mean time having made him sit down on his left hand which is the most honourable place among the Turkish Souldiers was just going to ask him the cause of his disguise when Mahomet preventing him Bactas said he I was informed that you assembled your Troops to night for some great enterprise I received this notice from the Seraglio from persons whom you know to be your chiefest friends and I disguised my self for fear of being known to come and learn of you what I should do for your security and my own Bactas was struck speechless to hear that the Grand Visier was informed of all the Plot he easily believed that he was come on purpose to him to endeavour his own preservation and imagining it would be a great advantage to ingage this first Minister in the Conspiracy he examin'd him a little and then discovered the whole design to him telling him that he was to
abated that he could not have taken a fuller revenge of them who had been so bold as to undertake to dethrone their Emperor He deliberated a while whether he should re-establish this Militia or no which is accounted the best of the Ottoman Empire whose strength and support it is said to be And this presumption is the reason of the liberty it so often takes of being seditious It was in this Ministers power to abolish them but considering that then the Spahies who take themselves to be the only Gentlemen among the Turks would grow so potent that they would be no less dangerous to the Emperor and the State He concluded it would be better to maintain two sorts of Militia in the Empire whose emulation and jealousie would keep them in obedience Therefore he made a levy of men fit to bear Arms out of whom he chose fifteen thousand of the best to be Janizaries These he Disciplined for some time often taking reviews of them and exercising them before the Grand Signior To accustom them to be obedient he gave them Captains that were at his devotion who conducted them into Candia where he resolved to continue the War though it was very toilsome and expensive The Generals who had been sent to the Conquest of this Island since the beginning of the War made use of the command they had over the Army to raise their authority so that they would hardly submit to the Port. They pretended at least to be equal to the Grand Visier whom they no longer looked on as their Superior The exigency of affairs and the troubles that hapned in the State had hindred the Divan from repressing their insolence But Mahomet Coprogli thought it high time to oppose the growth of an authority that destroyed his and prevent the ill consequences which the ambition of Bassa Delle Vssain General of the Army in Candia might have who took a great deal of state upon him contemned the Grand Visier would receive no orders from the Port but such as pleased him and used threats when he had not every thing he asked He craftily got this proud General to Constantinople to make a memorable example of him to posterity and to maintain the honour of his Master and the authority of his Charge Vssain Bassa was no sooner arrived at the Port whither his own presumption fortified by the Visier Azems splendid promises had unhappily brought him but he was thrown into the bottom of a prison with a great many Christian Officers whom he had brought along with him in triumph and whom swelled with pride and rashness he still abused in the Dungeon where not long after he was strangled before them which afflicted him more than death it self By this exact Justice Mahomet Coprogli kept the Souldiers and all the Officers of the Empire in obedience The resolution of this great Minister was admirable in this bold action of putting to death so famous and so important a man who thought his Authority secure and much more his Life having gained an absolute power over the Souldiers and engaged the chief of the Empire to his side But the apprehension of the consequence of this blow hindred not the Visier Azem from giving it to prevent the Bassa's intrigues which must needs have been prejudicial to the Emperor and his Subjects He foresaw how much he should expose himself but his zeal to serve the State and his Master made him pass by such considerations and slight all dangers He was not at all concerned that his enemies blamed this action being certain that those who were of Vssain Bassa's party would impute his death to his jealousie but he knew that there is no station at Court free from censure and no behaviour so prudent as to prevent all accidents and that the Ministers of Princes are most exposed to the wounds of envy This consideration kept him from punishing the chief of the Port among whom was the Mufti The Sultana Valide was Regent of the Empire she knew the fidelity and wonderful genius of Mahomet Coprogli she had an intire confidence in him relied on his care communicated all things to him and was not ashamed to testifie her gratitude to him to whom she owed her life and her Son his life and Empire Those who envied the greatness and desert of the Visier Azem found fault with the Sultana Valide's kindness to him which when this wise Politician perceived that he might prefer the good of the State before his own interest he was so generous as to desire the Sultana to moderate her affection which perhaps was but the pure effect of her gratitude And she did it in conformity to the prudence of this great man who established his fortune with so much modesty and discretion that it was never subject to the least difgraces and he sustained the affaults of his Enemies with so much constancy and steddiness that they were forced at last to beg his pardon which the generous Coprogli easily granted them besides many other favours In the mean time the Recruits which he had sent into Candia and the Troops which Ali Bassa had led into Dalmatia gave hopes of great advantages over the Venetians who seeing themselves attaqued by two powerful Armies at once thought it their best way to make a League with some Prince that was able to divert the Ottoman Forces To this purpose they sent to their Agent whom they usually maintain in the Persian Court to treat an Alliance out of hand with the Sophy to oblige him to take Arms in behalf of the Republick The Resident succeeded in his Negotiation as well as the Signiory could wish And Achab Acmes Sophi newly newly come to the Throne by the Death of the King his Father took occasion to demand of Sultan Mahomet the restitution of Bagdet which has ever been the Domain of the Kings of Persia and in case of denial declared War against him Babylon now Bagdet is not only one of the best flowers of the Ottoman Crown but is a place of such importance that the Turkish Emperor could not restore it to the Persian without opening him the way to Constantinople The Grand Visier thought it not convenient to facilitate the means of so dangerous an Enemies visiting his Master when he should have a mind to it therefore he sent back the Persian Embassador with a refusal which made the Sophy endeavour to reduce Babylon with a powerful Army The Grand Duke of Muscovy had pretensions to the Provinces that border'd his Dominions he listned favourably to the Complaints and Propositions of the Venetian Embassador and received his presents with the offers which the Common-wealth made him of a very considerable sum in case he would invade the Turks He sent an Embassador to Venice to assure the Senate of his assistance At the same time the Cham or Emperor of the Tartars thought of revenging the death of his Father who was murthered by Sultan Ibrahim The alliance that has always been
deserves to be known He was the Son of Sultan Amurath the Fourth and that Rachima of whom we spake in his reign Though this Sultana had abundance of wit yet she was very superstitious so that she believed the predictions of an Almasairis so are the followers of Hali called whom the Persians and Arabians own as a great Prophet fancying that all his race have the gift of Prophesie Rachima consulted this man upon all occasions as soon as she found her self with child she would needs know the success of her lying in The Almasairis after some consideration answered That she should bring forth a Prince who would be one day Emperor of the Turks if he could avoid the cruelty of his nearest kindred and that if Heaven did free him from a misfortune that was to happen to him in the capital City of the Empire which he was to avoid dwelling in he would surpass the greatness of all the Ottomans his Predecessors Rachima received this answer as an Oracle she desired Amurath who prepared to return to Constantinople notwithstanding a Prediction of the Almasairis which forbad it to leave her at Damas. Sir said she lying at his feet if I deserve any grace of your Highness shew that your faithful Slave is not displeasing to you at this time by granting her one favour You know Sir that I never importuned you it is true your magnificence has loaded me with all sorts of benefits but the favour I now implore will be more welcome to me than any I have already received because your Highness is concerned in it it is to suffer me to stay here till you return I know no greater unhappiness than such a separation it would kill me with sorrow Sir but I had rather lose my life than expose you to the misfortunes that threaten you if I follow you to the Seraglio where my presence would cause too much disorder Sultan Amurath was at first more surprized at this request which he expected not than unwilling to grant it whether he apprehended the effect of the Almasairis's Prophesie or that his passion for Rachima was abated or that he would not expose her to the resentments and jealousie of the Sultana Roxana whose love was increased more than ever by his absence He bestowed rich Presents on Rachima commanding the Bassa of Damas to have a care of her and to pay her a very considerable Pension He assigned her besides the Tribute which the King of Arabia paid him and took leave of her with great marks of affection A little while after Amurath's departure Rachima was brought to bed of a Son whom she named Soliman Amurath She observed the circumstances of the Prediction and brought him up secretly lest Roxana being informed of his birth should order him to be put to death She knew that this great Sultana was no less dangerous than powerful and that only her distance from her freed her from her cruelty The news of her death was the more welcome to her because she hoped to have supplied her place And she was preparing to let the Sultan know the birth of his Son when Amurath's death spoiled her design and she thought it not fit to discover the young Prince Soliman Amurath not having power enough to place him on the Throne On the contrary she was careful to keep him from being known to Ibrahim who succeeded Amurath lest he who came not to the Empire but for want of an heir and was thought incapable of leaving any should follow the cruel policy of his Ancestors by sacrificing Prince Soliman who alone would dispute the Crown with him Rachima therefore stood upon her guard and contented her self with the Revenue that Sultan Amurath left her But Sinan Bassa Governour of Damas who always had honoured her in the life of the deceased Grand Signior and paid her Pension exactly discontinued his respect to her in the new Emperors time and threatned to send her to the old Seraglio at Constantinople The Sultana mistrusting the Bassa resolved to retire into Persia where she was born or to some Prince whose Authority might protect her and her Son from her enemies To colour her retreat she gave out that she had made a Vow to visit the Tomb of the great Prophet Mahomet and having begun her journey under this pretence she went to Reba King of the Arabians the same who was to pay his tribute to her This Prince not being so barbarous as usually those of his Nation are received Rachima with a great deal of kindness This young Sultana who was not above two and twenty years old appeared so handsome to him that he not only promised her his protection but also offered her his Crown and his Heart Rachima was no less pleased with King Rabas person than his generosity He had so many good qualities that he easily made himself be beloved The Sultana sought a Protector and thought it not fit to neglect the Arabian King They found they had inclination enough to one another she received so many marks of sincere good will from him that she made no great difficulty to bestow her heart on him He took a particular care of the young Prince Soliman Amurath being glad of having such a Subject as might revenge the persecution he had suffered from the Port in the Reign of Amurath who reduced him to pay Tribute from which he would have freed himself by joyning with Emir Ficardin Prince of Dus his Kinsman whom Bassa Giaphar overcame and sent to Constantinople where he was ignominiously put to death King Reba preserved his resentment only waiting an occasion to shew it and impatiently suffered the obedience and homage which he was bound to render to the Grand Signior To shake off this yoke he armed Prince Soliman whhm he educated as his own Son and negotiated secretly with the Bassa of Aleppo and some other Governors of Provinces in Asia who revolted from Sultan Mahomet when his Empire was invaded on all sides with intention to drive him from the Throne and place Prince Soliman Amurath on it in his stead We have seen how their enterprize succeeded and the King of Arabia was slain with his arms in his hand performing the part of a brave Souldier and a great Captain in the Battle that Soliman lost Rachima who followed him in this War died a little while after of grief that she had destroyed her Son by endeavouring to bring him to the Throne according to the Prediction of the Almasairis This Prince had something extraordinary in his air and Person The Turks affirmed that he perfectly resembled Sultan Amurath his Father who was the handsomest man in his Empire After the death of Soliman Amurath Orcan Ogli and the Bassa's and Governours who followed his Fortune the retreat of the Persian Sophy left Asia in a peaceable condition which made the Grand Visier apply himself to oppose the other Wars that menaced the Ottoman Empire He ordered all his Troops
Signior The other on the contrary relied on the Sultan and promised to own him for his Sovereign These two pretenders divided the Estate by their Factions Count Barelays submission was accepted of at the Port and in his behalf the Grand Signior ordered Ali Bassa to enter Transylvania with fifty thousand men who presently took a strong place called Waradin which refused to acknowledge Count Barelay The Emperor on the other â—ide sent an Army to defend Chimin Ianos and to keep the Turks from breaking into his Territories Ali Bassa was no sooner informed of this but he sent to Count Souches the General of the Imperial Troops to pay the Sultan Homage for the places which the Emperor possessed on the Frontiers of Hungary and in case of refusal denounced War and threatned his Highnesses own coming with an Army of an hundred thousand men The Emperor having received this news put twelve thousand men under the conduct of Count Montecuculi to guard the Frontiers and sent to demand aid of all the Princes of the Empire fearing the Grand Signior would break the Peace But the arrival of a Chiaux whom the Sultan dispatched to him by the advice of the Visier Azem who was not yet fully prepared to make War on the Emperor secured him a little The Sultan sent him word that he desired to maintain the Peace with him and that he disapproved the proceedings of Ali Bassa whom he had only ordered to support the Prince of Transylvania who put himself under his protection But the Emperor finding that without any regard to the assurances of this Envoy the General of the Turkish Army continued his Conquest in Transylvania he stood on his guard and recalling Count Souches to face the Enemy and enter into the Ottoman Dominions he sent Count Serini to command his Troops So that these two parties provok'd one another by little and little without coming to an open War The Grand Visier was unwilling to declare yet he would not lose the opportunity of wholly reducing Transylvania or atâ— least of making its Prince hold directly of the Grand Signior To this purpose he solicited Chimin Ianos whom the Estates owned as their lawful Prince and who in spight of the Ottoman Army had possessed himself of the best places to submit himself to the Port giving him hopes of a favourable protection but the Prince rejected his propositions which so provoked him who had set his heart upon joyning this Province to the Sultans Dominions that he could no longer contain his displeasure against the Emperor resolving to have satisfaction from him for hindering his projects and to revenge himself more speedily and obtain that by force which he could not get fairly he put the Cham of the Tartars in mind of his promises to the Grand Signior and received thirty thousand men from him with which he augmented Ali Bassa's Army This General being thus re-inforced divided his Troops to make several attaques at once at the same time besieging Zeiklit Callo and Zatmar three places that belonged to the Emperor but he found so much resistance that with all his attempts he could take none of them but Callo and was forced to raise the other Sieges and retire to avoid fighting with the Imperial General who offered him Battel This War hindred not the Grand Visier from pressing that of Candia and sending continual refreshments to the Army which held Canea against the Venetians and after he had put all the Affairs of the Ottoman Empire to a good posture he designed to go in person to carry on the Transylvanian War not being satisfied with the General Ali. He mistrusted the great power which this Bassa had gained among the Souldiers and feared he would be very troublesome to him on the least discontent he could not take away his command or revoke him without a specious pretence for fear of reducing him to make use of his present reputation to maintain himself in his charge This consideration made him resolve to command the Army himself finding no better expedient to take away all suspicion from Ali Bassa who would be obliged to give place to him without complaining because the Souldiers always look upon the Grand Visier when he is in the Camp as their only General He had a mind besides to establish his Son among the Souldiers who already knew how to gain their kindness and he flattered himself with the hopes that he should one day be able to repose part of his cares on him He knew his valour and conduct and believed him capable of filling up that place in the Army which was not fit for himself and which he could not securely trust another with but death prevented this great mans design He was no sooner gone from Constantinople with the Grand Signior who removed from thence because of the Plague but he found himself attaqued by a violent Feaver which forced him to stay at Adrianople whither he sent for his Son to give him his last instructions foreseeing that he should not recover At this time he imparted to Achmet Coprogli all the politick maximes which his long experience and penetrating wit had taught him He charged him never to do any injustice to sacrifice his own interests and particular inclinations to the good of the State to be always faithful to the Sultan and to advise him to undertake no new War till those of Candia and Transylvania were ended Remember my Son said he to observe the Laws and that to serve your Prince is to accomplish the greatest part of the Law After these Remonstrances he called Fatima his Wife who was infinitely afflicted to see this great man die without leaving any authority to his Son but Mahomet Coprogli having somewhat recovered his spirits resolved to do something before he died worthy of his subtilty and prudence He contrived with Fatima and his Son all that was necessary to make his last designs succeed and he writ a Letter to the Grand Signior in which he told him that finding himself at the point to die nothing troubled him more than that he died before he had finished the Wars which his Highness had with two powerful Enemies but he hoped that he would happily put an end to them if he made use of the counsel which he had given his Son Achmet to whom he had delivered the Seal of the Empire to give it to his Highness if he judged him unworthy to keep it yet if the Sultan had any respect to his passed services or gave any credit to the last words of the faithfullest of his Slaves he protested to him that he could not choose a man worthier to be Grand Visier than Achmet Coprogli of whose ability he was assured and whom he had furnished with all instructions necessary to acquit himself perfectly of that great charge He added that he knew well enough this choice was unusual but that the Sultans interest ought to make him neglect a piece of Policy that was not so
should do to hide their own but they could not find any way to be soon happy and to protect their love from the storm that threatned it in the Seraglio The Sultans passion was an impediment to their felicity Achmet was forbid to own that he knew Iohaime's birth and she durst not declare that Fatima was not her Mother so that they were obliged to keep a secret that contributed to their unhappiness They concluded that they ought not to put the Grand Signior in despair lest they should want a pretence to see one another and after a thousand reiterated protestations of inviolable fidelity Achmet took his leave of her to go and give Mahomet an account of his negotiation who waited for his return with all the disquiet of an impatient Lover He told him that he found more difficulty in perswading his Sister than he imagined he should and that her fear of displeasing the Sultana Valide made her refuse the honor which his Highness offered her but that he hoped in time to render her more flexible provided he might have the liberty of conversing privately with her sometimes The Emperor embraced his Favourite and promised him his favour on all occasions that might require it In the mean time Achmet and Iohaime who abused the Sultans credulity to carry on their love had new subjects of complaint and were once more forced to suffer the torments which Lovers feel in long absence Mahomet Coprogli sent his Son with a powerful Army against the Bassa of Aleppo and Prince Soliman Amurath who pretended to be the lawful successor of the Ottoman Empire This second separation afflicted him more than the first he could not resolve to go without discovering his passion to his Mother and making her promise him that she would assist him and oppose Prince Mahomet Fatima perceiving her Sons despair promised him all that he desired and told him she would endeavour to make him happy and that if he would write to the Princess Iohaime she would deliver his Letters to her and send him her answers But she required of him that he would trust her to mannage his affairs with the Sultana Valide lest he should provoke the Grand Signior who would have reason to be angry if he should come to know his falshood These assurances did a little compose Achmets mind he marched against the enemy with more courage and fought them so successfully that he defeated them and he took the new Prince Soliman Amurath and the rebellious Bassa prisoners and his good fortune was such that the Sophy of Persia who intended to besiege Babylon being informed that Achmet was coming to its relief left his enterprise imperfect After this expedition he returned glorious and triumphant to Constantinople where all the applause that he met with did not please him so much as the hope of seeing his Princess But this joy lasted not long for fate envying his felicity soon put an end to it he hoped to have laid all those Laurels which love had animated him to win at the feet of Iohaime but the Sultana Valide apprehending the consequences of her Son Mahomets passion for Iohaime to keep him from seeing her had confined her to a secret apartment pretending that she was sick and was to bathe her self privately The sorrow and melancholy that appeared in Iohaime's countenance made her pretended sickness probable enough The report of her being sick soon spread abroad and Achmet heard it before his Mother could have time to disabuse him by telling him the true cause of her feigned indisposition She loved her Son too well to let him continue in his mistake believing that since she had discovered more important secrets to him she ought not to let him be ignorant that nothing troubled Iohaime but his absence By this means she comforted him a little but could not quite cure him of the melancholy which the impossibility of seeing his Princess put him into In the mean while the Sultana Valide endeavoured to take off the Sultans thoughts from Iohaime by making him fall in love with some other beauty She found none so capable of ingaging him as a young Candiot named Eugenia She was a Greek and a Christian and was born at Retimo a Town in Candia from whence she was taken away very young and made a Slave when the Turks made their first descent upon that Island and took and sacked Retimo in the reign of Ibrahim She changed her name into that of Zachi which signifies dear or favourite in respect of her beauty which gave place to none Her stature was moderate but so just that it could not be higher or lower without losing some of its grace her complexion was admirably white and smooth her eyes were so lively and sparkling that one could not discern their colour her mouth and teeth incomparable her hair of the finest black that was ever seen her neck and arms as one would wish them her min and behaviour were so agreeable that it was impossible for Sultan Mahomet notwithstanding all the pre-possession of his soul not to yield to so many charms He found Zachi so handsome and so witty that he could not keep himself from showing that Iohaime had not so much inslaved him as to hinder her from having some influence on him Eugenia was strictly charged by the Sultana Valide to neglect nothing that might ingage the Grand Signior to love her but the Sultans own merit and good qualities prevailed more with her than this command So accomplished a beauty as Zachi finds no great difficulty in the conquest of so tender a heart as the Grand Signiors With this new Mistress he diverted the melancholy that Iohaime's sickness had caused but unhappy Achmet who could love none but his Princess grieved almost to death that he did not see her and to increase his sorrow the Grand Visier his Father who thought of nothing but the good of the State and of making his Son capable of being hereafter necessary to his Master without reflecting on Achmets amours or giving him time to contrive any thing sent him into Dalmatia to make War on the Venetians who were at the same time invaded in Candia His obedience to his Father and his own glory obliged him to sacrifice his Love to his Duty therefore he went away without any other comfort than that of writing a Letter to his Princess His Mother promised him to deliver it into her own hand Without staying for an answer he went to besiege Clissa where as I have already told you he behaved himself with extraordinary courage Fatima was not very punctual in delivering her Sons Letter but at last she sent it to Iohaime who found it to this purpose Fate the enemy of my joy and repose hinders me from seeing you my Princess and I go a great way off from you to seek death which alone can put an end to my pains my duty takes me against my will from the place where my
Negotiation made no question but that the Visier Azem would endeavour all he could to come and besiege him in Vienna Therefore he fortified that City that it might be in a condition if need were to resist the Ottoman Forces implored the assistance of all the Potentates of Europe and with four distinct Armies secured the hereditary Provinces of the Empire The Grand Visier on the other side aimed at some considerable Expedition and having determined what to do passed the long Bridge of Essek and sate down before Newhausel He immediately invested the place and defeated some Troops which Count Forgate and Balsi and Marquiss Pio would have put into it then he summoned it according to the custom of the Turks who do so to all places they besiege But Count Forgats the Governour having given such an answer to his summons as made him find that fair words and splendid promises were not sufficient arguments to perswade him to surrender a place which the Emperor had intrusted him with he planted so furious a Battery as soon made breaches wide enough to invite the Turks to an assault in which great numbers of them were slain by the defendants But the Grand Visier pressed the Siege so vigorously that the Governour was forced to yield the place upon composition and the Articles were so advantagious that several of the Officers and the chief of the besieged knowing to what necessity of surrendring the Town was reduced and what multitudes of their Enemies had perished before their Walls in so small a time were of opinion at first that the Grand Visier readily consented to whatever Count Forgats demanded with design to break his word and to have it the sooner in his power to revenge the loss he had sustained during the Siege but the event shewed that they did him wrong to suspect he could be guilty of a baseness so much below the greatness of his soul though otherwise such actions are very common among the Turks Achmet Coprogli has always profest himself an enemy to treachery and thinks himself concerned in honour to keep his word on all occasions The Governour of Newhausel was the first that found this to be true the good usage he received from the Grand Visier constrained him to be just to his vertue and desert and far from what his Officers apprehended to thank him for the complement he made him upon his generous defence of a Town which seemed incapable of holding out against so powerful an Army Count Forgats being marched out of Newhausel the Visier Azem made his entry into it and at the same time dispatched an Officer to carry the news to the Grand Signior but designing to make an entire conquest of Hungary to accomplish it without shedding of blood for ruining the Country he bethought himself of issuing out a Proclamation that all the places that would submit to the Ottoman Empire should be exempted from Contribution for six years at the end of which each house should pay but a Rixdoller This did not succeed so well as he expected however he possessed himself of Schinta Novigrad Levens and some other places of less importance with which he ended the Campagna that he might refresh his Army and be at leisure to look after the affairs of the Port which he still took care of notwithstanding the War To this end he had Courriers continually on the way who informed him of all that passed and carried messages from him to the Sultan who was then at Adrianople where he made publick rejoycings for three days together for the Victories of his chief Minister and concluded them with the death of his principal Nectangis or Secretary His Highness caused him to be beheaded upon the advice he had from the Visier Azem that he was corrupted by the Emperors Ministers from whom he had received a very considerable sum of money which was found in his Coffers being not only a certain argument of his Crime but a mark of Achmet Coprogli's faithful correspondence in all parts The season of the year which obliged the Visier to retreat did not hinder him from sending Succors to Canea and Recruits to the Troops that were in Dalmatia so that at the same time that he had undertaken another War he pressed the Venetians in two several places to show the Christian Princes that the Sultan could maintain more Armies than one against his Enemies and that he did not at all fear the great preparations they threatned him with being advertised that Count Serini did very much distress the Troops that wintered in the conquered places and along the River Traag and Dravus He composed three small Armies of Tartars Moldavians and some Turkish Companies to wast Moravia and Silesia and to make inroads as far as Presburg the Capital City of Hungary by that means to divert Count Serini who by the Emperor and the Diet at Ratisbon was nominated Generalissimo of the Hungarian Forces But neither these Forces nor the extremity of Winter could hinder this Hero from taking Bernezet Raboscha Seques and several other places which the Turks had conquered He made himself Master of Palanka and Peez a populous trading Town and leaving his Army under the conduct of Count Horlac he besieged and took Tainskirken and attacked the Bridge of Essek where he met with a vigorous resistance which however could not keep him from burning that and many Magazines which the Turks had along the River Dravus After this he undertook the Siege of Canisia a place of great importance The Grand Signior hearing of this Siege was resolved to go in person and relieve this Town and stay the course of Count Serini's conquests but the Visier Azem dissuaded him from his design representing the danger he exposed himself to and the mischievous consequences of his absence from Constantinople where the people being provoked at the punishment the Sultan had inflicted on the chief of the City who conspired against him were ready to rise and spoke of making one of his brothers Emperor The Grand Visier too had a mind to finish the War he had so happily begun and was unwilling that his Highnesses presence should rob him of his glory and be thought to have effected more than all his industry yet the care of his own glory was not the only motive that caused him to divert Sultan Mahomet from this expedition the affection and zeal which he ever had for his Masters service at this time prevailed over all other considerations knowing the violence of his nature and the greatness of his courage he feared he would engage himself too far into danger and that he would receive more prejudice by the enterprizes of the Mutineers at Constantinople than advantage by the conquest of the whole Kingdom of Hungary Nor did he doubt but that he should finish the Expedition successfully without the assistance of the Captains and old Generals that were in his Army who out of jealousie opposed his design and hindred him from
between the Chams and the Sultans makes those Princes be thought to hold in some sort of the Turkish Empire because they receive great sums of mony to maintain the vast Armies which they have always on foot to furnish the Grand Signior with Troops when he undertakes any War which causes a continual commerce between them therefore the Grand Cham is not treated at the Port like other Forein Princes but is looked on as the presumptive Heir of the Ottoman Empire in case the Race of the Sultans comes to fail for want of Males And this was it that caused the Cham to send an Embassador at Mahomets coming to the Empire to desire that he might be named Tutor to the young Prince believing that it belonged to him before any other by the right which the laws of the Musulmans and the Turkish Constitutions give him to the Crown But the Divan having rejected this Demand he did not openly shew his displeasure waiting an occasion to make it appear and to require satisfaction as well for that as for the murther of his Father This conjuncture of affairs seeming favourable to his design he declared the cause of his discontent by denouncing War against the Grand Signior and sending his Forces to spoil his Dominions This Enemy was very considerable the Sophy was no less formidable the Moscovite was not to be slighted and the Venetians on their side made great preparations but beside there sprung up a domestick dissension which was no less dangerous The Spahies and the Janizaries who are the two strongest nerves of the Grand Signior's Forces and are in continual enmity by reason of their jealousie of one another hapned to quarrel and proceeded so far as to fortifie themselves one against the other so that they became intractable and could not be brought to march to the place where they were ordered They kept Constantinople in perpetual fears no body durst stir abroad into the streets nothing was heard of but Murthers and Robberies and apprehensions of Fire the desolation was general and the Seraglio was in the greater consternation because it seemed impossible to provide against so many mischiefs at once But as if fate had raised all these disorders together on purpose to set forth the prudence of the Visier Azem by his prodigious conduct he found means to appease the domestick tumults and to stop the torrent of so many Potentates who seemed to have united their Forces in order to the Sultans ruine However Mahomet Coprogli preserved his constancy in the midst of their misfortunes shewing how advantagious it is both to a Prince and his people to have a Minister whose steady courage no revolutions can shake He judged it necessary to resist the greatest danger first The Persian War seemed the most important therefore he resolved to discontinue that of Candia that he might not be obliged by so many diversions to encounter so many enemies at once It was requisite to unite the Ottoman Forces to repulse the Sophy who had made a furious irruption into the Sultans Dominions but though he withdrew some of his Troops out of Candia and Dalmatia he left enought behind to let the Venetians see that he did not abandon his design The Garrisons were sufficient to preserve the conquered places and the Works that were begun which were furnished with provisions enough to subsist till he should be in a condition to supply them with new Forces to continue his Conquests These Troops being formed into the body of an Army were sent towards Transylvania under the conduct of Ali Bassa At the same time he caused a mighty Fleet to be rigged with which the Bassa of the Sea was to oppose the Venetians He ordered the Governors of Syria and Mesopotamia and the Provinces bordering on Persia to send all the Provisions they could to Bagdet and to make speedy Levies to reinforce the Garrisons whilst he prepared a numerous Army to resist the Sophy who on his side also made great preparations for the War The Divan seeing the Grand Visier had so many Armies to bring into the Field proposed to him to put the Law in execution by which all the Grand Signior's Subjects above the age of seven years are obliged to take Arms for the defence of the State But Mahomet Coprogli would not suffer it to be published though they reproached him of rashly exposing the Sultan's Honour and Power and the liberty of his people who were invaded on all sides and had not forces enough to repulse so many Enemies at once He answered that it was true the summoning of all the Grand Signior's Subjects might compose vast Armies but that he did not think it fit to come to those extremities besides that among such multitudes a thousand disorders would happen more prejudicial than their assistance would be useful that it was the way to expose the Emperors and the Nations glory that the Enemies would believe the Empire was reduced to the utmost straits and would make their advantage of it and lastly that the people whom they advised him to arm not being disciplined would make a tumultuous Army and would confound the other Troops and that he hoped the Sultan might face his Enemies and finish the War without this last refuge But as if Fortune had a mind to punish his presumption and put his courage and constancy to the highest proofs she raised him up a new enemy whom he never dreamt of This Orcan Ogli Bassa of Aleppo who having made use of the Grand Visier's orders to raise an Army of forty thousand men caused them to march towards Constantinople without declaring his design Mahomet Coprogli was advertised of his march at that time when he was busied in raising of men to provide against the most pressing necessities He was much surprized when he understood that he had taken the Field without his order not thinking at first that he was revolted but he soon found that this Bassa who had succeeded him in the Government of Aleppo and was Nephew to Delli Vssain Pacha whom he had put to death some time before was resolved to make use of this conjunction of time to revenge his Unkle and some private grudges of his own He had drawn to his side several Captains and abundance of Souldierr who had served under this famous Bassa Dalli Vssain Pacha whose memory was dear to them and to make his revenge the more remarkable and give the enterprize more weight he pretended to establish one Soliman Amurath on the Ottoman Throne who said he was the Son of the Emperour Amurat and joyned himself to him with an Army of twenty thousand Arabians Drus and Armenians Orcan Ogli acknowledged him and made his Army own him to be the lawful Successor to the Empire This news was quickly spread over all the Provinces and met with so much credit that several Bassa's came to pay homage to the new Prince who already behaved himself as Emperor The Provinces of Asia made