The Sun and the Lion

As the situation at sea becomes increasingly tense, the autumn hunt in the Zagros Mountains is proceeding in an orderly manner. After Ibrahim moved the capital to Isfahan, because the capital was adjacent to the Zagros Mountains to the west, he selected several nearby mountains, forests and grasslands to form a new royal hunting ground, and before the autumn hunting, he and Ismail After visiting here for a week, he also ordered the hunting chief to select a site near the water source to build a hunting lodge for rest.

However, on such an important occasion as a royal hunt, the temporary hut was not elegant enough. The King of Kings had to let his attendants set up the royal tent in the open space in front of the door until the builders expanded the hut into a palace that matched his status.

The first royal hunt after moving the capital had more participants than before. In addition to the Qizilbash tribe that originally supported the Safavid family and the old tribe of the Aries Dynasty that had surrendered, this time he also met people who were interested in gaining favor. The new tribes include some Kurdish tribal leaders who came with Ustaji Khan, Balochs and Afghans from the southeast of the empire, and Mughals and Turks from the northeast. If the hunting ground is converted into an exhibition hall, it can be smoothly transformed into an exhibition for the nomadic tribes under the rule of the King of Kings.

The King of Kings also worked tirelessly to accept the allegiance offered by these tribal leaders one by one in the ceremony after several days of hunting, and rewarded them with status symbols such as high-ranking officer uniforms, accessories, and armor.

The tribal leaders who had seen the powerful Safavid cavalry felt that it was the right decision to join the "Khan of Khans". During the ceremony, all the newly accepted tribal leaders shouted long live and knelt down in parallel.

There were also foreign envoys watching, including the Venetian ambassador stationed in Iran, as well as Kazakh and Tatar envoys. Both the Kazakh Khan and the Astrakhan Khan wanted to enhance relations with neighboring powers.

As a major patron of the Slavic white slave business, Iran has established close economic ties with Astrakhan. There are dozens of merchant ships traveling between the north and south shores of the Caspian Sea. An Iranian community has been formed in the city of Astrakhan with residents As consul, the Khan also signed a trade agreement with Diwan to ensure that slaves exported would be given priority to Iranian merchants.

Eastern European specialties such as slaves and furs flowed southward, while Iranian products such as silk, armaments, and spices flowed northward. Some Shias also went northward to settle in Tatar territory and preach. This prompted Kasasi, who had just succeeded for several years, to Mhan sent envoys south to discuss missionary and trade matters with the King of Kings.

Ibrahim wanted all Central Asian pilgrims and merchants passing through Astrakhan to be guided to Iran. The more trade and pilgrimage routes passing through Iran, the fuller his treasury would be and the greater his international status would be. High and unshakable.

At the same time, in order to improve his poor international image and appease the Sunni people in the newly conquered areas, he officially issued an edict after moving the capital to stop violent attacks on Sunnis, including slandering, insulting and cursing the three caliphs. appear in public. The palace no longer prepared barbecue performances for Sunni clerics for visiting foreign guests. Therefore, the Sunni ulema who were forcibly detained in dungeons waiting to be burned at the stake were basically exiled from the country.

Just at this stall, the victory report from Hormuz arrived. Ibrahim took the battle report with his own hands and read it carefully on the spot.

Having been mentally prepared to receive the news of defeat, he breathed a sigh of relief after reading. Although he lost a Caravel and nearly a thousand sailors, the shore defenses built worked as expected, successfully defeating the weak troops. The Portuguese were defeated. And they also got in touch with the Mamluk fleet.

The nobles and foreign envoys below looked at Ibrahim with great curiosity and whispered to each other, waiting for him to announce what victory the Safavids had achieved.

After a while, the battle report was handed over to the clerk aside for collection, and Ibrahim announced: "The cunning and vicious Frankish pagans intended to attack Aden to block the Red Sea, but they were defeated by the heroic and tenacious resistance of our soldiers. That's one small step for Iran, one giant leap for jihad."

And as proof, the Portuguese royal flag was displayed to everyone. It was seized from the shipwreck of Aden and the fortress of Socotra Island. The damage and oldness on it strengthened the persuasiveness and impact.

Hearing that Portugal had failed to block the Red Sea, Franco, the new Venetian ambassador present, was overjoyed. Before others could react, he quickly stepped forward and bowed to congratulate: "The foreign minister congratulates your majesty on your great victory over Portugal. On behalf of Venice, I The Republic pays tribute to your country’s outstanding and irreplaceable contribution to the defense of the Red Sea trade routes.”

The ecstasy of the Venetians was expected by Ibrahim. The ambassador was most concerned about the Indian Ocean in his diplomatic activities in Isfahan. Assad complained at the imperial meeting that "these Italians asked the ministers about the matter every now and then." Regarding the initial war situation in Dahai, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already stored more than a dozen letters!"

As long as the Venetian ambassador spreads the news westward, the consuls, senators, and committee members sitting quietly in Venice waiting for the news will know that he is more reliable than the Mamluk Sultan, and Iran's presence in the Mediterranean will further increase. She is not just a wanderer. Vendors selling silks and carpets.

The more the European Christian world understands the power of Safavid, the better it will be for future diplomacy.

The Venetian ambassador was followed by congratulations, salutes and praises from the nobles present, although not everyone understood what was happening on the southern sea.

Although Ibrahim's sharp blade was basically slicing the necks of Muslims in the past, the Mamluk Sultan was calling for jihad due to the Portuguese invasion. Now that the war between Safavid and Portugal has begun, and they have successfully defended the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, the entrance to the Red Sea, the name Ghazi cannot escape.

He also wanted to be modest and said, "I just did a little bit of work and achieved a little bit of results...", but he didn't know whether being modest in such an occasion would undermine his authority. It's better to shut up, put on a smile and accept flattery and compliments.

The people present suddenly became noisy, and all kinds of names reached Ibrahim's ears. The number of titles suddenly increased, making his mind a little confused, and he couldn't tell who was flattering him. .

At this time, a flattering and good-faith low-level red-headed nobleman walked through the crowded crowd, stepped forward, and loudly announced to the audience: "To the King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran, the King of the Four Directions of the World, and the Khans The Khan of Sultans, the Sultan of Sultans, the Ghazi of Ghazis, the agent of the Hidden Imam, the leader and perfect teacher of all believers, the shadow of Huda on the earth, the successor of the aura, the righteous king of the world... …pay tribute!"

After listening to this long title, a feeling of surprise came to my heart. Ibrahim, who had not arranged to entrust the control field, turned to look at the clerk on the side and found that he had wisely mentioned that it had not appeared in edicts or official documents. titles are recorded.

Everyone who had not yet reacted was silent. Fortunately, the clerk was quick. The tout and the clerk repeated this long list of titles under Ibrahim's instruction.

The crowd, who still couldn't remember the phrases and sequence, shouted: "Long live!"

When the messengers present saw this scene, they all believed that the King of Kings was worthy of these titles. Both the Venetians and the envoys of the two Khans recorded these titles one by one and added them to this diplomatic report.