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the Sipahis were being punished for gambling while the Sultan was so sick. This was the excuse for the men to go to their horses and leave the camp.
    The two men stood up and leaped upon their waiting mounts. Nobody had noticed that their saddles were already loaded, the saddle bags packed with food and water. The two sped from the campat full gallop. Achmed Agha would head east for Istanbul, one hundred fifty miles away. His duty was to maintain the peace and take command of the Palace Janissaries at all costs until Piri Pasha could arrive. The two would ride together for a while, and then Abdullah would turn and ride directly south across the Dardanelles at its narrowest point and into Asia to find and deliver the news to his new master, Suleiman.

    Piri Pasha could not stop thinking of his years as Grand Vizier to Selim. Selim had always been so difficult. Always. The life of the Grand Vizier was not easy and often short. He might well be the second most powerful man in the world, but the price was so high. Though he was only in his early sixties, he was weary beyond those years. Seven Grand Viziers had served Selim before Piri, and all had been quickly beheaded in fits of anger. There was a death curse heard in Turkey in the reign of the Sultan Selim that said, “Mayest thou become Selim’s Vizier!”
    One Vizier had come before the Sultan and asked to know the date of his own execution. He said, “My Sultan, I need to know when you plan to kill me so that I may put my affairs in order and bid my family farewell.”
    Selim had laughed and said, “I have been thinking for some time about having you killed. But, at the moment I have nobody in mind to replace you. Otherwise I would willingly oblige.”
    The long wars had taken a great toll upon Piri, and his body now obeyed his commands only with great reluctance. Selim’s military campaigns had taken the two of them to the farthest reaches of the Empire. During those years, Piri was always at Selim’s side. That empire now reached from the waters of the Nile, north to the Danube; from Asia to Europe; from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
    Now Selim was dead. It was up to Piri Pasha to assure a peaceful succession. He must carry out the pretense that the Sultan was still alive. He needed ten full days for Suleiman to learn the news, and return to Istanbul. The new Sultan must be girded with the Sword of the House of Osman at the Tomb of Ayyüb just outsidethe city walls. Abu Ayyüb al-Ansari had been the Standard Bearer for Mohammed, the Prophet–the Messenger of Allah. Ayyüb was slain in Islam’s first siege of Constantinople in the seventh century. His tomb outside the walls of Istanbul was among the most sacred places for Muslims of the Ottoman Empire. To be seen by the people and the Janissaries to be the Sultan, Suleiman needed to be girded with the sword at Ayyüb’s Tomb.

    Piri Pasha passed the next five days making his rounds among the men, but staying as close to Selim’s serai as he could. He paid careful attention to the gossip around the camp, for he knew it was critical that he keep control of the Janissaries and the Sipahis. He recalled so vividly the day that Selim had returned to Istanbul. Bayazid’s Janissaries had turned against the old Sultan in a minute, and pledged their allegiance to Selim. They knew that he would lead them back into battle, and reward them with purses of gold and treasure looted during his conquests.
    But, as the days wore on, it became apparent to Piri that tension was growing in the camp. Rumors began to spread among the men. Piri Pasha did not want the Janissaries to find out for themselves that Selim was dead. They must not hear it from anyone but the Grand Vizier. They must not feel they had been deceived. Ten thousand armed and disciplined soldiers deserved respect.
    Before dawn on the fifth morning, Piri Pasha told his servants to bring him his military uniform. He would dress in the uniform of the Janissaries. He