Part 4, On the European Stage, Chapters 40-46 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 40, "The Sultan's World," colorfully surveys the situation in the vast Ottoman Empire with which Peter renews hostilities after Poltava. The government and army are filled with Christians kidnapped and converted. The Janissaries resemble the Streltsy in their potential for political disruption. The Sultan lives as a demigod in luxury in the Seraglio, enjoying his harem. Under weak sultans, including after 1703, the morose aesthete Ahmed III, grand viziers rule. Chapter 41, "Liberator of the Balkan Christians," backgrounds Peter's meddling with Ahmed's restive subjects in 1710-11. Turkey stays out of the Northern War largely thanks to Peter Tolstoy's diplomacy, which Charles as the Sultan's guest sets about subverting, culminating in a declaration of war. The Tatars are loosed on the Ukraine while an elite force pushes to the Danube. Illness keeps...