Honored by the Glory of Islam. Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe

inauspicious enthronement 31

him, Ibrahim said, “ ‘Hey! Traitors! What are you doing? Am I not the sul-

tan?’ Karaçelebizade responded ‘No, you are not the sultan. You destroyed the

world by neglecting the matters of Islamic law and religion, skipped over the

fi ve daily prayers, spent your time amusing yourself heedless of the affairs of

state, fi lled the world with bribery, corruption and tyranny, and squandered

the treasury. You are not suitable for the throne.’ ” Ibrahim was incredulous

that they would put a tiny boy who barely came up to his waist on the throne

in his place.^28

A Ceremonial Visit to Eyüp and the Execution of Ibrahim

Nearly a week after Ibrahim was dethroned and put under house arrest and

his son and future hope of the dynasty, Prince Mehmed, became Sultan

Mehmed IV, the royal family boarded a skiff at the imperial boathouse down

the hill from Topkapı Palace and took a short journey up the Golden Horn to

make a pilgrimage to the district of Eyüp, a fundamental part of an Ottoman

sultan’s enthronement.^29 The purpose of the boy’s fi rst trip beyond the palace

walls was for him to visit the city’s most sacred cemetery, gird the sword of the

sultanate in its most holy mosque, acquire both the charisma of a man who

fought for Muhammad and that of his sultanic predecessors, ride on horseback

through the city mimicking Mehmed II’s triumphant path after the conquest,

and, fi nally, to display his munifi cence to his subjects, who would be able to see

him for the fi rst time.^30 On the return journey overland, with great ceremony

he entered Edirne Gate and visited the tombs of previous sultans. His hazel

eyes were tinged with kohl. On top of an embroidered gold inner garment he

wore a spotted violet and gold embroidered cloak. On his head he wore a sixty-

fi ve-centimeter cylinder wrapped in fi ne white cloth, with two aigrettes; in the

upper one was a green emerald the size of half an egg. On his return to Topkapı

Palace he showed his face to the people by dispersing coins to the poor and

passing through the city markets.^31 People who paid careful attention to his

face noticed “his radiant, noble beauty.”^32 And when they saw him they cried,

“May God help him.”

Each neighborhood and district of Istanbul that the sultan passed through

had a particular character. Although many neighborhoods were marked by the

predominance of one group, no neighborhoods were exclusive to members of

only one religious group. Christians, Jews, and Muslims interacted on a daily

basis, in the market, in the tavern, on the street, during public festivals and

imperial celebrations, in the Shariah court and other institutions. By the end

of the seventeenth century the city had an estimated population of between