Editing Charles XII of Sweden (section)

=== Exile in the Ottoman Empire ===
[[File:Royal Monogram Of King Charles XII Of Sweden.svg|thumb|150px|Royal Monogram]]
The [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] initially welcomed the Swedish king when he went to [[Abdi Pasha the Albanian|Abdurrahman Pasha]], commander of [[Ochakiv|Özü]] Castle, as he was about to fall into the hands of the Russian army, and he was able to take refuge in the castle at the last moment. Afterward, he settled in [[Bender, Moldova|Bender]] at the invitation of its governor, [[Ağa Yusuf Pasha]].

In the meantime, Charles sent [[Stanisław Poniatowski (1676–1762)|Stanisław Poniatowski]] and {{ill|Thomas Funck (1672–1713)|lt=Thomas Funck|sv}} as his messengers to [[Constantinople]].<ref name="linquist" >Herman Lindquist (in Swedish): Historian om Sverige. Storhet och Fall. (History of Sweden. Greatness and fall) ISBN 9172630922 (2000) Nordstedts förlag, Stockholm</ref> They managed to indirectly contact [[Gülnuş Sultan]], mother of Sultan [[Ahmed III]], who became intrigued by Charles, and took an interest in his cause, and even corresponded with him in Bender.<ref name="linquist"/>

During his stay in the Ottoman Empire, Charles earned the nickname {{Lang|tr|demirbaş}} (literally "iron-head"). This word can mean stubborn or persistent, and it is usually assumed that this is why the Turks called Charles by this nickname. However, the term {{Lang|tr|demirbaş}} commonly referred to state-owned articles in general and the furniture, equipment, etc. in state offices in particular. Thus, the nickname may be an ironic reference to Charles's visits to Ottoman government offices over a prolonged period.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2012 |orig-date=Orig. published in print in 1965 |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |title=Demi̇rbas̲h̲ |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1791 |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 November 2024 |website=Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English) |publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1791 }}</ref>

Eventually, a small village named Karlstad ([[Varnița, Anenii Noi|Varnița]]) had to be built near Bender to accommodate the ever-growing Swedish population there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://varldsinbordeskriget.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/sweden-the-ottoman-empire-and-the-crimean-tartars-c-1580-%E2%80%93-1714-%E2%80%93-the-realpolitik-of-a-christian-kingdom/|title=Sweden, The Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Tartars, c 1580 – 1714 – The Realpolitoik of a Christian Kingdom |website=Världsinbördeskriget|publisher=Wordpress|access-date=28 April 2016|archive-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011203211/https://varldsinbordeskriget.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/sweden-the-ottoman-empire-and-the-crimean-tartars-c-1580-%E2%80%93-1714-%E2%80%93-the-realpolitik-of-a-christian-kingdom/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gülnuş Sultan convinced her son to declare [[Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711)|war against Russia]], as she thought that Charles was a man worth taking a risk for. Later on, the Ottomans and Russians signed the [[Treaty of the Pruth]] and [[Treaty of Adrianople (1713)|Treaty of Adrianople]] to end the hostilities between them. The treaties dissatisfied the pro-war party supported by King Charles and Stanislaw Poniatowski, who failed to reignite the conflict.

[[File:King Karl XII of Sweden (David von Krafft) - Nationalmuseum - 20352.tif|thumb|left|Portrait by [[David von Krafft]] 1707]]

However, the Sultan Ahmed III's subjects in the empire eventually got tired of Charles's scheming. His entourage also accumulated huge debts with Bender merchants. Eventually, "crowds" of townspeople attacked the Swedish colony at Bender and Charles had to defend himself against the mobs and the Ottoman [[janissaries]] involved. This uprising was called {{Lang|tr|kalabalık}} (Turkish for crowd) which afterward found a place in Swedish lexicon referring to a [[:wikt:ruckus|ruckus]]. The janissaries did not shoot Charles during the [[skirmish at Bender]], but captured him and put him under house-arrest at [[Dimetoka]] (nowadays [[Didimoticho]]) and Constantinople. During his semi-imprisonment the King played [[chess]] and studied the [[Ottoman Navy]] and the naval architecture of the Ottoman galleons. His sketches and designs eventually led to the famous Swedish war ships ''Jarramas'' (Yaramaz) and ''Jilderim'' (Yıldırım).{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

Meanwhile, Russia and Poland regained and expanded their borders. Great Britain, an adversary of Sweden, defected from its alliance obligations while Prussia attacked Swedish holdings in Germany. Russia occupied Finland (the [[Greater Wrath]] 1713–1721). After defeats of the Swedish army, consisting mainly of Finnish troops in the Battle of [[Battle of Helsinki (1713)|Helsinki (1713)]], the Battle of [[Battle of Pälkäne|Pälkäne 1713]] and the Battle of [[Battle of Storkyro|Storkyro 1714]], the military, administration and clergymen escaped from Finland, which fell under Russian military regime.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen|isbn=978-951-0-14253-0|page=265|last1=Zetterberg|first1=Seppo|year=1987}}</ref>

During his five-year stay in the Ottoman Empire, Charles XII corresponded with his sister (and eventual successor), Ulrika Eleonora. According to Mrs. Ragnhild Marie Hatton, a Norwegian-British historian, in some of those letters Charles expressed his desire for a peace treaty which would be defensible in the future Swedish generations' eyes.  However, he emphasized that only a greater respect for Sweden in Europe would enable him to achieve such a peace treaty.  Meanwhile, the Swedish Council of State (government) and Estates/Diet (Parliament) tried to keep the beleaguered Sweden somehow organized and independent.  Eventually, in the autumn of 1714, their warning letter reached him.  In it, those executive and legislative bodies told the absentee King that unless he quickly returned to Sweden, they would independently conclude an achievable peace treaty with Russia, Poland and Denmark. This stark admonition prompted Charles to rush back to Sweden.<ref>R. M. Hatton, ''Charles XII of Sweden'', 1968.</ref><ref>Seppo Zetterberg et al. (eds.), ''A Small Giant (Compendium) of the Finnish History / Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen''. 2nd ed.,  Helsinki, (2003) {{ISBN?}}</ref>{{Page number needed|date=November 2024}}

Charles traveled back to Sweden with a group of Ottomans, soldiers such as escorts and businessmen to whom he promised to repay his debts during his stay in the Ottoman Empire, but they had to wait several years before that happened. According to the prevailing church law in Sweden at that time, all who lived in the country, but were not members of the Swedish state church, would be baptized. In order for the Jewish and Muslim creditors to avoid this, Charles wrote a "free letter" so that they could practice their religions without being punished. The soldiers chose to remain in Sweden instead of making difficult trips home. They were called "Askersson" (the word ''asker'' in Turkish means soldier).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/blekinge/redan-karl-xii-godkande-muslimska-gudstjanster-i-karlskrona|title=Redan Karl XII godkände muslimska gudstjänster|newspaper=SVT Nyheter|language=sv|date=23 September 2015|last1=Friberg|first1=Henrik|access-date=29 April 2020|archive-date=28 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428131747/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/blekinge/redan-karl-xii-godkande-muslimska-gudstjanster-i-karlskrona|url-status=live}}</ref> However, there are accounts implying that following the long stay for Charles to repay his debts, they got paid and left the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vad hände med Karl XII:s kreditorer? |url=https://slakthistoria.se/livet-forr/vad-hande-med-karl-xii-s-kreditorer |website=Slakt Historia |date=19 September 2019 |access-date=18 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031025/https://slakthistoria.se/livet-forr/vad-hande-med-karl-xii-s-kreditorer |url-status=live }}</ref>