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Chapter 1471 Post-War Sequelae 2
Even if there were a legitimate heir, succeeding to the throne at this time would be a difficult task, and could even cost them their lives. The once powerful Ottoman Sultanate had been constantly humiliated and weakened ever since it provoked the Ming Dynasty.

Murad IV's gamble has squandered his last remaining fortune. The Guards fighting at Fao Port have refused to obey the Sultan's orders any longer, unwilling to be slaughtered like sheep. If his successor fails to handle the demands of these soldiers, he might very well face a mutiny.

In times of national crisis, women often step forward. Examples include Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, Queen Victoria of England, Empress Catherine of Russia, Joan of Arc of France, and Hua Mulan of China.

Unsurprisingly, when the Ottoman Sultanate was leaderless, another woman bravely stepped forward to turn the tide. Her name was Kosem, the mother of Murad IV, and the Queen Mother of the Ottoman Sultanate.

It's not easy for a queen mother to interfere in politics; if local nobles don't support her, she could be ousted in no time. But the timing was perfect; nobody wanted to take on this mess. And Kosem was clever; instead of declaring she would rule from behind the curtain, she played a trump card no one had expected: Prince Ibrahim!
As mentioned earlier, the first thing Murad IV did after ascending the throne was to kill his brothers. All his brothers born to the same father, regardless of who their mother was, were killed so that no one could compete with him for the Sultanate title.

His plan was good, and he executed it quite thoroughly, but unfortunately he didn't foresee that he would die at the age of 27, and that he wouldn't even have time to have a son.

However, many people do not know or have forgotten that Murad IV actually had a younger brother who was alive, named Ibrahim bin Ahmed.

He and Murad IV were full brothers, so why weren't they eliminated? The answer is simple: mental illness. Ibrahim had been mentally unstable since childhood, and witnessing his brothers being killed one by one caused him immense psychological pressure, ultimately leading to his madness.

Murad IV only targeted his brother to secure his position as Sultan. Since Ibrahim had gone mad and lost his right to the throne, there was no need to exterminate him. So he placed his younger brother under house arrest in the palace for over a decade, during which time he rarely appeared in public and was largely forgotten by most people.

However, Queen Khosem did not forget her son. After Murad IV's sudden death, she immediately proposed that Ibrahim succeed to the throne, which was supported by the nobles. However, Ibrahim's mental state made it temporarily impossible for him to rule, so Queen Khosem assisted him, effectively ruling from behind the curtain.

As a close neighbor and formidable rival of the Ottoman Sultanate, Persia was not idle either. Seeing his lifelong enemy and adversary suddenly pass away, Safi Shah felt lonely and desolate, lamenting that he would have no rivals left, and decided to go down to the underworld to continue being an enemy as well.

Ten days after Murad IV's sudden death, Safi Shah of Persia also died in his palace in Isfahan, reportedly bitten by a venomous snake and dying in his sleep. As for whether there were venomous snakes in the palace bedroom, that's a matter for outsiders to speculate on.

According to a confidential report from the Naval Statistics Department, Safi Shah's cause of death was indeed poisoning, but not from snake venom; it was opium. Persia has been a major producer of poppies since ancient times, and many nobles had a habit of smoking opium. However, Safi Shah consumed a rather large amount this time, and also drank strong liquor, making his actions resemble suicide.

However, the Naval Statistics Department believed that the possibility of suicide was very low, because two days earlier Safi Shah had summoned Guoli Khan of Abbas and inquired about the possibility and specific steps of easing relations with the Ming Dynasty.

If he had already considered surrendering and had begun preparing for it, why would he suddenly commit suicide? It doesn't make sense, so homicide is more likely.

However, the Naval Statistics Department couldn't provide concrete evidence as to who murdered Safi Shah. They only had a hypothesis, reasoning based on the principle that whoever benefits has a motive, and concluded that Safi Shah's wife was the prime suspect. Safi Shah's son was only six years old at the time; if Safi Shah died, his son would undoubtedly succeed him. But a six-year-old child is completely incapable of governing the country, so Safi Shah's wife, the mother of the new young Shah, would have to act as regent, or, in other words, rule from behind the scenes!

At this point, some readers will surely ask: since the Ottoman Sultan was also ruling from behind the curtain, why didn't he suspect that Queen Mother Khosem was the murderer who killed her son Murad IV?

That's a valid question; such a possibility certainly exists. However, based on a detailed analysis and reasoning of the existing materials, Murad IV's death wouldn't have been of much benefit to Korsem. If the Janissaries and nobles were unwilling to allow a mad prince to succeed him, Korsem might have faced considerable danger.

Safi Shah's wife, Qaham, was likely to benefit greatly. She not only placed her own son on the Shah's throne but also became the regent queen mother. The lust for power knows no gender; if men are allowed to kill their fathers and brothers for power, then women must be allowed to murder their husbands for power.

Was Queen Khagan Mu capable of seizing absolute power after killing her husband? Were all the Persian nobles fools? Regarding this question, the Naval Statistics Department provided detailed evidence, which can be summarized in two words: ethnicity.

Anna Qaham was not Persian; she was born in Armenia. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Armenians harbored deep hatred for the Ottomans because they were frequently attacked.

Before deciding to go to war with the Ottomans, Murad IV tried to win over more supporters by arranging marriages with Armenian nobles, getting them to contribute manpower and money to fight the Ottomans to the death.

However, Murad IV did not stick to his original stance. During this world war, he abandoned his original demands and instead sought peaceful coexistence with the Ottomans. He also suppressed the Armenian nobles who were determined to fight the Ottomans to the end, which sowed the seeds of future trouble.

If Murad IV's strategy had been correct, the Armenian nobles would have had no chance of recovery. However, it turned out that Murad IV was not only wrong, but terribly wrong, and as a result, he suffered retaliation from the Ming Empire.

Then the Armenian nobles had an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Under the pretext of restoring relations with the Ming Empire, they killed Murad IV. This was probably also the idea of ​​some Persian nobles.

After all, negotiating with the Ming Dynasty without any real sincerity was too insincere. It would be more in the Ming Empire's interest to have a Shah who was sworn enemies of the Ottoman Sultanate in power, and it would be easier to negotiate with him.

The Europeans were too preoccupied with what exactly had happened within Persia and what the Ming Dynasty's attitude was. They were more concerned with the reaction of another country: Tsarist Russia.

(End of this chapter)