#1 The Ottoman Empire - Clothe your conquests in virtue and righteousness.

Click ⁠here⁠ to receive this episode's Sultan Letter. ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠Substack linktr.ee/willtopowerpod ------------------------------------------------------------------ The principles were extracted from The Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey by Standford J. Shaw. The Principles: 1. Clothe your conquests in virtue and righteousness. This will inspire men to answer the call of your crusade and justify your expansion. 2. Grow your strength by defeating the weak before you take on the strong. 3. The motivation for conquest must be twofold: there must be an idealistic drive that appeals to man's higher nature, and there must be a primal drive that appeals to man's lower nature. Without both drives, there is not enough force to sustain conquest. 4. Tolerance, when backed by economic benefits, is the most sustainable way to ensure peaceful coexistence. 5. To ensure longevity centralise and systemise power within institutions instead of permitting power to be wielded by individuals alone. 6. There are always multiple centres of power. Human society is complex, and factions centralise power. As the ruler, counteract these centres by playing them off against each other to prevent one centre growing to eclipse your power. 7. The desire for obtaining power is enflamed by the displeasure of feeling weak. 8. Once you obtain power in an organisation, eliminate the old guard and their power centres. Replace them with men loyal to you. 9. Infuse your ambitious goals with mythical and religious significance. 10. Never rely on the loyalty of a powerful subordinate. Instead, ensure that their self-interest and privileged position is inextricably tied to your authority. By making them dependent on your rule, you transform a potential rival into an effective ally.