Post by Sublime Porte on Oct 9, 2016 16:55:54 GMT
The commander of Yoros Castle, is dragged once more into daylight by two Janissaries grasping at his arms. He refuses to walk willingly to his death, eyes full of tears, but the strong Janissaries use his arms as handles and drag him out of the dungeon out into the Second Courtyard, the Courtyard of the Divan. From behind grille windows in the Tower of Justice, the Sultan’s family watch as Justice is meted out. They see the commander dragged towards two waiting Bostanji, the imperial palace guards, who take possession of the prisoner and drag him over to a block of white stone. There, more Bostanji surround the block, and the Grand Vezir stands before it, flanked by the members of the Imperial Council. Behind the guilty commander stand assorted members of the Ulema, and lower ministers, come to see the execution of imperial justice. The scene is quickly sketched by a young artist, who has been granted permission to record imperial occasions.
“Are you ready, Bostanji-Bashi (Captain)?” asks the Grand Vezir.
“We are ready,” he declares in response. “The Executionar Kara Ali [Black Ali] is awaiting orders f-,” the Bostanji-Bashi almost slips by saying ‘from His Majesty’, as is the traditional form. The Grand Vezir would look to the Tower of Justice and await a signal to confirm the executioner. In the absence of an active or present Sultan, the Grand Vezir would give the order by right of his possession of one of the four great seals of state.
The Grand Vezir nods. The Bostanci respond by pulling the sentenced man down onto his knees, placing his head upon the block. A strange man, with dark skin and a loosely hung brown turban, clad in rough cloth and some furs, looking more like a provincial Serbian warlord, save for his complexion, than a man who belonged in the silk-clad luxury of the Topkapi, draws a scimitar from its sheath, which he places on the ground. Stepping over to the executioner’s block, he raises his arms to the air, holding his scimitar high above the neck of the pitiful figure now muttering out a last minute appeal to Allah with his final breaths. The executioner waits for the man to finish his final prayers, and brings down the scimitar with deadly precision. The commander is granted a clean death. The executioner leaves the scene, heading to the back of the Gate of Felicity, where he washes his hands and blade in the Fountain of the Executioner.
The commander’s head is carried through the First Courtyard out to the Imperial Gate (known as Bâb-ı Hümâyûn or Porta Augusta), where it is placed upon a spike. Below the head a sign is placed explaining his crimes: “Treason through gross failure of duty. This man allowed Russian spies to pass through the watchful gaze of the twin fortresses at the mouth of the Bosphorus, where they were then free to cause havoc and devastation to the trading docks of Istanbul.” The body is sent to be hung from the walls of Yoros Castle, looking out to sea.
“Are you ready, Bostanji-Bashi (Captain)?” asks the Grand Vezir.
“We are ready,” he declares in response. “The Executionar Kara Ali [Black Ali] is awaiting orders f-,” the Bostanji-Bashi almost slips by saying ‘from His Majesty’, as is the traditional form. The Grand Vezir would look to the Tower of Justice and await a signal to confirm the executioner. In the absence of an active or present Sultan, the Grand Vezir would give the order by right of his possession of one of the four great seals of state.
The Grand Vezir nods. The Bostanci respond by pulling the sentenced man down onto his knees, placing his head upon the block. A strange man, with dark skin and a loosely hung brown turban, clad in rough cloth and some furs, looking more like a provincial Serbian warlord, save for his complexion, than a man who belonged in the silk-clad luxury of the Topkapi, draws a scimitar from its sheath, which he places on the ground. Stepping over to the executioner’s block, he raises his arms to the air, holding his scimitar high above the neck of the pitiful figure now muttering out a last minute appeal to Allah with his final breaths. The executioner waits for the man to finish his final prayers, and brings down the scimitar with deadly precision. The commander is granted a clean death. The executioner leaves the scene, heading to the back of the Gate of Felicity, where he washes his hands and blade in the Fountain of the Executioner.
The commander’s head is carried through the First Courtyard out to the Imperial Gate (known as Bâb-ı Hümâyûn or Porta Augusta), where it is placed upon a spike. Below the head a sign is placed explaining his crimes: “Treason through gross failure of duty. This man allowed Russian spies to pass through the watchful gaze of the twin fortresses at the mouth of the Bosphorus, where they were then free to cause havoc and devastation to the trading docks of Istanbul.” The body is sent to be hung from the walls of Yoros Castle, looking out to sea.