Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 566 Marriage?

The Iranian Shah, whom the Tsar was still thinking about, was heading north to inspect the Caucasus region.

Yerevan, Baku, Tbilisi, Sukhumi, and other places have developed more than twice as fast in recent years as they did under Russian rule. Iran's governing policy transforms ethnicity into religion; there are no distinct ethnic groups in Iran, only citizens of different religions. The government is inclusive, treating everyone equally regardless of their religious affiliation as long as they serve the country. Of course, Shia Islam remains dominant, which is fundamental to Iranian culture.

Meanwhile, in the Caucasus region, there is considerable anti-Russian sentiment. Because their lives under Iranian rule are improving, their hatred of Russia is growing. Nobles, landowners, and wealthy merchants dependent on Russia oppress every citizen equally, and although this has continued for thirteen years, the hatred towards Russia among all people, including children, has deepened.

In 1856, nearly 50% of Georgians still spoke Russian. Today, less than 2% still do, and the Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates Mass in Georgian, marking a significant decline in Russian influence.

In Baku, nearly 100,000 people spontaneously welcomed the Shah's arrival. Nasser al-Din toured the city extensively, showing concern for the lives of the local people. A local newspaper even published a photo of the Shah visiting sick oil workers in a hospital—a stark contrast to the Russian Tsar's inhumanity. One might wish he were to be beheaded like Louis XVI.

“Shah, a telegram from Baghdad.”

Nasserdin didn't answer the call, instead showing it to Murad. A few days ago, they received a telegram from Germany, in conjunction with Thiers, preparing to attack Paris. What could this be? Had the attack already begun?

As he had predicted, Thiers ordered his army to attack Paris. The commander-in-chief was French Marshal McMahon.

Driven by the ideology of restoring the monarchy, and with 100,000 French prisoners of war, McMahon easily breached the city walls and began entering the streets of Paris. The most tragic scene of the Commune—Bloody Week—began to unfold.

“Under these circumstances, they won’t last long. Those prisoners are all battle-hardened soldiers, and McMahon is an excellent commander. At most, Paris will be completely transformed again in half a month.”

The workers' actions truly opened Murad's eyes; he never imagined they could form their own government. Moreover, their policies were quite advanced. If they had an army of 100,000, the entire French nation might be transformed.

"It was all Napoleon III's own fault. He wanted to surpass his uncle, but he never escaped his shadow."

They sought prestige in the war but neglected their own capabilities. Internally, they were also in complete disarray; their current predicament is hardly surprising.

Naserdin, standing nearby, commented on Napoleon III, this once-powerful figure in France who ultimately fell before the fortresses of Sedan. Germany's rise was unstoppable; Britain must have regretted not having halted it.

Oh, by the way, there was also a change of government in the UK a few months ago. Liberal Gladstone replaced Conservative Disraeli as Prime Minister, and British policy began to shift towards domestic governance, with a sharp decline in interest in external colonization.

However, Britain, as a long-time neighbor, remained very concerned about the change of government in neighboring France. The rise of Germany and Iran's acquisition of the Suez Canal Company could be seen as dereliction of duty on their part, threatening India and their homeland.

"By the way, the canal opening ceremony next month. Murad, you attend in my place."

"Yes"

With Iran's spending spree underway, the Suez Canal is set to open in October. Nasser al-Din has begun having Murad attend this momentous diplomatic event; the 19-year-old heir needs to make public appearances, especially in countries like Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, to let those nations know what the future Shah of Iran will look like. "Furthermore," Nasser al-Din continued, "you must go to Constantinople again; Sultan Aziz wants to meet with you."

Murad was somewhat stunned, as was Abdullah beside him. It seemed that what the Shah had said earlier was true: Iran was going to marry Osman.

"Father, I don't want to get married yet. I'm only 19!"

"It's just for show. This time, the Sultan has put in a lot of effort to persuade them, and even said he could offer Cyprus as a dowry."

Seeing how sincere they are, I'll let you go take a look first. If you're really not satisfied, then we can find someone else.

This story begins at the beginning of the year when Sultan Aziz formally proposed a marriage alliance between the two royal families to Naser al-Din, namely, to marry an Ottoman princess to him.

To show his importance, Aziz also sent his nephew, Prince Murad, who shares the same name as the Iranian heir, as a special envoy to visit him. At that time, Murad was on an inspection tour in Tehran and was therefore unaware of the visit.

When he returned, he learned that Ottoman was going to marry a princess to him. She was said to be the niece of Sultan Aziz, the daughter of the former Sultan.

The previous Sultan left behind 20 daughters, and Aziz didn't specify which princess would be chosen for marriage; he simply sent the prince to Constantinople. It's likely he was to make the choice himself.

"Is Sultan Aziz of Cyprus desperate?"

Abdullah certainly knew what Cyprus meant; Mahmoud II had previously used Syria and Cyprus as a reward to get Muhammad Ali to send troops to Greece. Now that this territorial deal was back on the agenda, it was enough to show that the difficulties facing the Ottomans had reached an unstoppable point.

"Perhaps. Anatolia has been suffering from a severe drought recently, and it's probably struggling to breathe under the pressure of this situation."

Moreover, Sudan's wasteful spending has already generated considerable resentment within the country. I predict that the military will soon stage another coup.

There were many who wanted Aziz to step down. Domestically, he was unable to carry out in-depth reforms and could only make minor adjustments. Internationally, he was powerless to improve the Ottoman Empire's international standing, as even Serbia could ride roughshod over it, simply because Serbia had sided with Russia.

"It's been so long since I've seen this old neighbor. They must be having a very hard time now."

Nasserdin also felt melancholy. If the Ottoman Empire were to disintegrate in the future, it would be rather boring for Iran to dominate the Middle East alone. But the Ottomans were also Iran's enemies. Perhaps it would be better for the two countries to merge, so that they would be intertwined and invincible.

Of course, this is highly improbable and can only be considered speculation. With the establishment of Germany, the world order gradually took shape, but the rise of Iran has powerfully altered everything, and a world war might even arrive sooner than expected. Iran needs to be prepared.

(End of this chapter)