Trade adventurers, intelligence service and Iran – Part two

Rexolana and the focus around her had the main role in inciting hostility against Iran and they were the ones who made a basic rotation in Solomon’s military strategy since 1532 and with varied tactics including promoting anti-Shia, deviated the main target of the invasion of Europe to Iran and the Safavid state so to blow out Habsburg empire from the strok. When the Treaty of Alliance of Solomon and Francis I, King of France, against Charles V (1536), the trick was compromised, they accomplished the conspiracy of murder of Ibrahim Pasha, the Ottoman Prime Minister (March 15, 1536) because he did not tend to fight with Iran. Hummer Porgeshtal, the famous Austrian historian and Ottoman scholar, wrote:
without doubt the wind of Iran's war was blew from the Hurrem Sultan side, and ten years before the date, one of the women, that had a great popularity in the king’s sight, was finally married to Sultan by the canon’s law. She was a Russian woman; and called her Hurrem Sultan. French historians wanted to link her with their nationality and wanted to call her Roxelana. The mentioned Khatoon (lady) caused the failure of proximate Minister Ibrahim Pasha the former prime minister. One of her faults was that she prevented and banned Sultan’s corps from taking loots or murdering people after invasion to Iran and conquer of Tabriz and Bagdad …and she wanted to prepare a vast war square for Rustem Pasha, her son-in-law, to present his conquest and war arts there, so that her eldest son becomes the successor of Solomon in Europe, while Solomon is busy by kingdom’s campaign. Queen’s wish of the Iran’s war came true.
The mbassador of France who was a way for the conclusion of the alliance to the Ottoman had an effective role in the conspiracy of Rexolanah against Ibrahim Pasha. Stanford Shaw finds a common motivation between these two which was desire to continue their militarist policies of the Ottoman Empire. "French Ambassador called for prime minister who is interested in fightings of Ottoman Empire in the West more than Abraham", and so, Rexolana, with his support, persuaded Suleiman to betray on the Ibrahim Pasha. However, it should be noted that the murder of Ibrahim Pasha was not to profit of France because Rexolana wanted this war on the side of the East and against Iran not against the West and the Habsburg Monarchy. Hence, the secret of this cooperation should be elsewhere, in combination of delegation of France. This period coincided with the presence of Jewish swindlers and dubious Kabbalists such as Agrypa and Nostradamus and Guillaume Postel at the court of France and the Ambassador is the one who Postel was with him as interpreter while moving to the Ottoman way. As we know, Postel started touring in Ottoman, and he was in Palestine and Syria once more at the years 1549-1550. He is the one who in spite of connection with the court of Francis I was in great interest of Charles V, Francis’ blood enemy, and the doctor Seligman recognizes this contradiction as "very strange".
In 1543, seven years after the murder of Ibrahim Pasha, craniate of Croatia's citizens named Rustam Pasha, became the chancellor. He was the husband of Rexolana’s daughter. Thus the era of absolute authority Rexolana and her affiliates began and Ottomans Empire was in steep decline of increasing Nepotism, the increasing involvement of harem in the government’s affairs, and the use of government positions to accumulate personal wealth.
In spite of the fact that the Sultan Suleyman let his sister to marry Abraham and his daughter to marry Rustam, delegated the position of prime minister with full authority to them. He had a total deviation from their ancestral law, because Sultan Selim I did not pay much regard to his grooms and was never satisfied to let them get involved in the affairs of government. During the Abraham’s rule [and] Rustem Pasha the doom interfere of Harem’s members entered in general government’s affairs and Roxelana or Hurram Sultan who ruled over Sultan’s heart and mind till his death, did not stop interfering in affairs and her interfering caused strengthening and supporting the Chancellor [Rustam Pasha]. But in the next reigns that beloved ones of Sultans (kings) in imitation of Rexolana interfered in ministers and kings affairs, caused damage to their jobs; and not only harems but even epicenes had authority in deposition and installation of prime ministers and in fact the rule was done by them.
Hummer Porgeshtal recognizes the prevalence of financial corruption and bribery at the the Ottoman state, as one of the main causes of the decline of the state, which occurred during Rustem Pasha’s rule and absolute authority of Rexolana, and he had stressed on the role of Jews in its development:
getting consignment was as bribery that Rustam Pasha caused its popularity and made it common, and he used to sell rule of different states in a certain amount of money; he also lend the King and government’s lands to Jews and people until they destroyed them all. According to Hammer, “Rustem Pasha was the first chancellor that made offering bribes as tradition, and he made it common to sell the positions of the government in the Ottoman state… as he asked the Egyptian government for ten thousand Doku ..., and he asked five thousand Doku for lower governments. " at the time of his death, he bequeathed a big amount of wealth that it was not ever seen until then. "
Hammer Porgeshtal explains the relationship between Yusuf Nasi and Salim and his place in this combination like this: when Salim was the ruler of Kutahya, the mentioned Jew could offer peals and expensive gems and pleasant wines and lending money in needed time and they affected Salim, then he became one of his close friends. In this extremely closeness, common people believed that Salim has not been the son of King Solomon, but rather was born of a Jewish woman [and], and they brought her to harem in secret to exchange him with Sultan’s daughter, who was just born.
Joseph Nasi has found a strange intrusion in Sultan Selim, he became one of his trustees, and he interfered in all government’s affairs, even in peace and war with states until the rank and title of the Duke of Naxos was given to him.
Yusuf Nasi’s power in the court of second Salim was to the extent that the second Makzymylyan, nephew of Karl and Habsburg’s Monarchy (1564-1576), sent a letter by his own official ambassador in Ottoman court, which surprised the Prime Minister (Muhammad Sokollu) that "the Emperor writes a flattering letter to a Jew like Joseph". Today, it is not surprising to us because we know that Joseph Nasi had his relationships with Charles V and Habsburg’s court since 1545, and it has even been said that he was friend and duel playmate of Makzymylyan.
After Rexolana, the second person in the harem of Sultan who made harem as a leading institution in politics and government affairs was a Jewish woman who is known by name of Nurbanu Sultan. Nurbanu married Salim in the beginning of Rustam Pasha’s rule and about seven years before the establishment of the Garcia and Joseph Nansi in Ottoman, and she became the mother of his son who came to the throne under the name of Murad III. This woman had an effective role in the entrance of Garcia to harem of Sultan, and historians recognize the influence of Joseph Nasi on Salim by her supports. “Jewish Nurbanu” was the head of the harem during the reign of Selim II and Murad III, and she was known as one of the pillars of the Ottoman’s policy. After the death of Rexolana (1556) she was the one who led the war side in Ottoman’s court.
After the death of Rustem Pasha (1562), in the last year of the reign of Solomon (June 1565) a prime minister came to power who was a serious obstacle to Jewish center’s controls despite Nurbanu Sultan's authority for fourteen years. He was Muhammad Pasha Sokollu, from the Sokollu of Bosnia’s residents, who helped the victory of Salim against his brother Bayezid and married the daughter of Salim in 1562. Sokollu was the prime minister of Ottoman during all the reign of Selim and the first five years of the reign of the ruler Murad the third. Historians know Sokollu as a real manager of the Ottoman’s state and guardian of the glorious legacy of the reign of Solomon during Salim II’s era, in spite of "ignorance and witless of the King".
Sokollu not only tried to limit looting of mentioned center but he also had a different approach than them in foreign policy. he was known as the leader of the "peace wing" of Othman, that group of politicians that “remembered well the problems that the Government faced during the Solomon’s attacks [on Iran], and they feared that Europe takes advantage of the Ottoman Empire because of being busy in the East. "
However, this Sokollu is the one who provoked Ottoman government for the first time in support of the Crimean Khanate to deal with the expansion of Ivan IV, and on 4 August 1569, he deployed troops against the Russian in the region. Sokollu had two objectives of this policy: first, to expel the Russians from Astrakhan; second, digging a river between the rivers of Volga and Don which interconnect Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and thus not only Russian invasion to the south is blocked but also he developed the regional trade as the past. Sokollu could take Russians out of Kabardeh town, came to the outskirts of Moscow, and by strengthening the princes of Moldova and Valakia and Poland closed the porch of the gate toward the East and West of Black Sea. But in spite of the blockade of Astrakhan (16 to 26 September 1569) could not open its based defenses. historians recognize the main reason of Muhammad Sokollu’s failure of expelling Russians from Haji Tarkhan (Astrakhan) and in the building the above river, despite the construction of a third of it, the sabotage of the first governor, Khan of Crimea, they know that he had no desire to increase the authority of the central government of the Ottoman Empire in its territory, therefore, in spite of the hostility of Ivan IV, was agreed with him in this regard. In addition, we should mention machinations of the Ottoman court that eventually prompted Sokollu to oppose this policy. And possibly with the guide of the focus, Ivan IV, who had no intercourse with the Ottoman court during the reign of Suleiman, sent an ambassador to the court of Salim, he said he is friend of Islam and Muslims, and he complained of Sokollu’s policies. Ivan made one of the nobles as court officials of Istanbul’s court, said Sultan Selim welcome, and expressed his surprise of Russia no reason attack of the Ottoman army to Russia’s lands, and also said from king’s sight that he has no religious enmity and hatred with Mohammedan religion and often the owner of his office believe in this religion.
Finally, with the intervention of Salim, a peace treaty was signed between Moscow and Crimea, and Sokollu stopped the efforts to expel the Russians from the Astrakhan and construction of Volga-Don.
in the first five-year of reign of Murad III, which is coincided with the last years of the life of Joseph Nasi, conspiracies of the above center against Sokollu were soared, sharply reduced the scope of his powers and placed him in a mild situation. Historians have described Sultan Murad as rep and "extremely sensual" that “was in love with women and gold as far as madness '. He had forty women in his harem and he had about 130 sons and numerous daughters.
Along with reducing the authority of Sokollu, the political involvement of women and eunuchs of harem of Sultan also rose significantly. Some of these eunuchs were Jewish new-Muslims. For example, Hummer Porgeshtal reports about a new-Islamic Jewish eunuch were fired from harem because of insulting a woman in 1593. among women also there were few Jewish one, and regardless of their quantity, head of the harem, as a sovereign political entity, was in hands of the Jewish Nurbanu, the king's mother, who placed a woman named Khatun as her successor as head of harem while she was dying.
In the harem of Murad III and Muhammed III, the next king (1595-1603) that we also know is a woman named "Kheira” the Jew who had a great" authority "and" she was the dealer of harem”. The Kheira, the Jew, in complicity with Solomon Bin Yaiesh, a Jewish physician of Sultan, was strongly lobbying in politics, especially in Ottoman relations with European countries. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, "Kheira" is not a name but it is a title given to Ottoman matchmaker women who acted as intermediaries to market and harem. The above source added: "These women were generally Jewish." In Ottoman history, we know at least two "Kheira" with the name of “Esther". One lived in the first half of the sixteenth century who was confidential of Rexolana, mother of Selim II, respectively. The other one who is mentioned "Jewish Kheira" was the wife of a Jew by the name of Elijah Handeli. Esther Handeli took jewelry for sale to the harem, and from this way she became confidential of Safiye Sultan, the Venetian beloved of Murad III and Mehmed III's mother, who was considered as a rival of Nurbanu Sultan. In 25 years of end of the sixteenth century, especially after the death of Nurbanu, Safiye had a great influence in the Ottoman’s court. This issue created a special position for Esther handeli and he took an active role in Turkish foreign policy. He took action in favor of Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, and in a case he achieved trade concessions for the state by accepting a bribe in exchange as well. Esther was also involved in the internal politics of the Ottoman Empire, and he purchased aristocratic titles and important government positions for many people. Her sons also owned a great power and wealth and the elder son because of his position, had a big influence among foreign businessmen. The authority of “Kheira the Jew” finished at 1600 C. while her interfering in install and deposition of military authorities raised the “corps” (Ottoman cavalry) anger and caused their rebellion. The rebels were demanding the murder of Esther and her sons. Sultan Muhammad the third denied it. According to the Jewish encyclopedia, Esther and her elder son were killed, her second son escaped and disappeared, and her third son believed in Islam and rescued. Hummer Porgeshtal describes the mentioned rebellion in this way: “because she interfered a lot and turned herself as the head in acting, she gave chances to inappropriate men in exchange of bribes. Therefore, corps asked for her head.” According to the Hummer’s narrations, in this situation, Esther and her three sons were murdered and the fourth son, who believed in Islam and was named “Aq Saaq Mustafa Chavosh” stayed alive. In 1618, Ottoman II, Ottoman’s Sultan (1618-1622) gave Esther Kheira’s properties to her grandchild. The Jewish encyclopedia writes: it is not clear that this was her Muslim grandchild or her Jewish grandchild?” Kheira the Jew’s wealth has been reported around 5 million Aqcha. so in the first years of rule of Murad III, the Jews’ authority was to the amount that even the death of Joseph Nasi (1579), the great Jew, did not collapse it and in contrast, because of some new positions which were given to them, it became a disgrace for prime minister. The reduction of power of Sokollu naturally prepared a background for strengthening the group positions of politicians and military men of Ottoman, leaded by Lala Mustafa Pasha and Sinan Pasha, who were tending to have adversarial policies against Safavid government and they wanted military expedition to Iran and Caucasus. This issue developed after the death of Shah Tahmasib Safavid and it got along with a new wave of anti-Shia advertisings among Istanbul’s thinkers and Abdullah Khan Uzbek’s threatening massages and they could finally make Murad do their demand. Thus, by Ottoman’s corps moving by the commanding of Lala Mustafa Pasha (5 May 1578 C.) a new round of invasions to Iran began and the rich lands of Azerbaijan and Caucasian were occupied which their wealth helped solving financial problems of Ottoman’s state for about half a century. In fact, a vast amount of this money went to Jewish network’s pocket settled in Ottoman. Iranian historians tell about a new economic phenomenal during the occupation of Azerbaijan and Caucasian which is selling Iranian women and children to Christian and Jewish and Gheber businessmen. Other thing was captivation of Muslim women and children which had never occurred since that time and none of the Muslim kings had ever made this popular, durinh Murad III’s period it became common and popular, he captivated lots of Iranian women and kids to sell to Christian and Gheber and Jeiwsh men and this process developed from Rome to Transoxiana, and Abdullah Khan and his son did the same in Khorasan as well; this attitude continued among the rulers during his time. In addition, we shall say this military expedition was the beginning of sedition which turned Iran to a great market for English gun dealers and his Jewish warmonger partners. Hummer Porgeshtal describes this warmonger and immoral atmosphere as “stormy” which had targeted “destruction and extinction” of Muhammad Sokollu. Finally this wise prime minister became a victim as well; he was killed by apparently a Bosnian man, who was dressed as dervishes, to beat of the sticker in his office. At the time they knew the suspected Sokollu’s murder and as a conspiracy by Lela Mustafa Pasha. Today, Stanford Shaw explicitly speaks of his "executions", and he calls the murderer "one of the agents of the King". Hummer Porgeshtal describes Sokollu as the linchpin of order and glory of the Ottoman Empire during hisfourteen years of ruling and believes that if the authority of Sokollu was preserved, Ottoman’s decline did not occur until he was alive. With the murder of Sokollu, the most important obstacle in the way of war-mongering against Iran outside the center of above and inner plunder and corruption were removed ,and the Ottomans were placed in such a situation: in ten years four Mufti and seven Chancellor and some army judges were transformed. As the Prime Minister's authority was decreased, the nearest control and confidentiality and between Chiang was added and this tribe that had the permanent privilege to sultan's service, apply the credit and score in a bad and unfaithful way, and interfered in all things ... the Jews entered in Sultani state, and fines and bribes were equal... years after the murder of Sokollu, Jews and Jewish new-Muslims found a reckless and prominent role in foreign politics of Ottomans, and as dealers and brokers seized great concessions and profits for European commercial center and governments. Excess of business interests and facilitation of testament by ministers and business agents who were all new-Muslims or Jews could provoke the greed of nations and nation states of Europe so that even the Republic of Switzerland also wanted to sign the trade agreement with the Ottoman state and the nation's lawyer, Angel the Jewish, got a written from Mustafa, Translator of State, for the heads of the nation (Helvetii) of Switzerland and sent it to them. "The task of the mint and coins" fell into the hands of the Jews as well who had full authority in the court and in the city since Salim II’ era. The head of the Ottoman Mint in Murad III time was a person named Nasim. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, he and Musa bin Venizt began to "reform" the Ottoman currency which caused the rebellion of guerrillas YENGI in 1583. This is the same policy of fiscal adjustment that was carried in the year 992 BC. / 1581 AD., and in spite of the proceeds of the looting of the occupied territories, value of Ottoman money lower four to five times and caused multiple forces riots. Devaluation of the Ottomans money was significant to the extent that the Spanish ambassador in Venice wrote to Philip II: "The Empire is so poor and so empty that the only common coins now are Aspars which are madeentirely of iron”. Ben Venizt had a close relationship with Edward Barton, British ambassador and representative of the Levant Company, and these two cooperated at some political machinations. Levant company also like the East India Company, was established by directors of the Moscow Company and the commercial adventurers company and with the support and partnership of William Cecil and Sir Francis and Walsingham. In 1585, six years after the death of Joseph Nasi and in the atmosphere of mentioned decadence and unbridled, another prominent Jew immigrated to Istanbul, and in the words of the Jewish Encyclopedia, revived Joseph Nasi’s status in the Ottoman court. He also belonged to the family of Mendes, his Christian/Portuguese name was Alvaro Mendes who officially called himself as a Jew in Ottoman, and placed with the name of Solomon ibn Yaiesh as a doctor and counselor and confidant of two Ottoman Sultans (Murad III and Mohammed III) and as many political figures of the country for 18 years. Alvaro Mendes was born in Tavira (Portugal).he went to India when he was young and apparently by exploring in the diamond mines of Narsingreh region reached the wealth. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, he is at this time,"apparently Christian" after returning to Europe joined crusade cult "Knights of St. James” (Santiago) and inhabited in Madrid, Florence, Paris and London. In 1580, Philip II, King of Spain, took the throne of Portugal, too, and Alvaro Mendes, Hector Nanz, Rodrigo Lopez and other secret Jews of London, started great efforts to benefit of the reign of Don Antonio. Jewish Encyclopedia mentioned Alvaro Mendes as "one of the most active supporters of Don Antonio". He was established in Istanbul in 1585 and continued the suspicious and speculative mentioned activity on new dimensions. Great wealth and great communication facilities in Christian Europe, with extensive infiltration of Jews in the royal palace and harem of king, brought him a lot of power and political influence; he was the one who incited Ottoman to make alliance with the British against Philip II of Spain and to the benefit of Don Antonio. Thus, Solomon ibn Yaiesh played an important role in the first connection between the UK and Turkey to the extent that he is called "one of the architects of the Anglo-Ottoman alliance". Sulaiman Bin Yaiesh even designed a plan to make Don Antonio rule in the East to reign, in the Portuguese colonies that also contained Hormuz. However, the relationship between Ibn Yaiesh and Hector Nanz and Rodrigo Lopez and other members of the network collapsed with Don Antonio to the extent that Lopez in exchange for bribes from the court of Philip II's tried the assassination of Antonio. Finally, as noted, in 1595Antonio left London in deplorable condition and left his Jewish supporters and died in Paris. Jewish Encyclopedia recognizes the reason of failure of these projects and the strained relationship as "weakness and insecurity" of Don Antonio, but in fact, the main reason should be relentless profiteering of Jewish plotters and beginning of mysterious and secret connections and conflicts of him with Duke of Braganza, who was another one that claimed to the throne of Portugal and belonged to illicit Avish family. In continuation of the above connection, the network organized marriage of Charles II and Catherine Braganzaee and by supported of British court, finally realized rule of Braganza finally in Portugal. We said that the special physician for the Catholic bride was Fernando Mendes, ancestor of head dynasty, and also Daniel Cox, who later became the governor of Jersey and one of the greatest landowners in western North America. The Jewish Encyclopedia says: Solomon Bin Yaiesh also, "like Joseph Nasi”, ruled a modern intelligence agency in Europe that it was very useful for the Ottomans". In order to accomplish it, he had a continuous relationship with hidden Jewish network based in the UK, led by Hector Nanz and Rodrigo Lopez, and it was in this way that for the first time, the news of the defeat of the Spanish in Armada War (1588) was brought to the notice of the Ottoman court. We know that communications of Solomon Bin Yaiesh with the British court were in the highest levels. For example, in 1591, he sent a Jewish named Solomon Kormano as his personal representative to London and to Queen Elizabeth and in 1592 he sent Judah Serfaty. What is strange is the story of the mysterious death and Rodrigo Lopez (1594) which also did not shake the position of Ibn Yaiesh in London. Solomon Bin Yaiesh’s information links in Istanbul, and Hector Nanz in London are very important issues that should pay enough attention to them: the first one managed a network in Europe, and apparently in the name of the Ottoman empire, and the second one managed a network in Mediterranean and other commercial ports in the name of Court of England and in connection with Sir Francis Walsingham. We can imagine that these two were at the head of a the same network which performed "bilateral operations", and as history proves, true performance of it was in benefit of their strategic partners, overseas British oligarchy, and had great influence in the harem of Sultan through others like Esther Handli (Kheira the Jew). Naturally, this network more than anything noticed to disorderly goals and interests of the Jewish plutocracy. The presence and power of Alvaro Mendes (Solomon Bin Yaiesh) in the Ottoman Empire (1585-1603) coincided with the final two years of the reign of King Mohammed Khodabandeh and the first sixteen years of rule of Shah Abbas I of Safavid dynasty in Iran.