Before her departure to another world, Khyurrem Sultan took an oath from Rustem that he would save her sons from the enmity and wrath of the sovereign. Especially Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska asked to save Shehzade Bayazid.
Rustem Pasha himself supported Bayazid himself, therefore, without hesitation, he put his hand on the Koran and swore an oath that he would do everything in his power.
Perhaps Rustem would have kept his word, but the affair with Grazia Mendes for the pasha turned out sadly.
The nephew of Grazia told Selim about the warm relations between the grand vizier and his aunt, and the shehzadeh set a condition for Pasha, either he would take his side, or the sovereign himself would find out about his betrayal. And the punishment for such an act is the most severe - expulsion or execution.
Rustem Pasha remembered this oath of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, but he also did not want to lose his life, so he called Dioscur Efendi to him to ask for advice:
- What to do if a slave took an oath on the Koran, but breaks it against his will. What awaits this slave?
Efendi said that this slave needs to repent. And also, who committed a sin, you need to give alms to all those in need, in the amount of your income.
Rustem Pasha collected two chests of gold, and ordered Mahmut-aga to build a mosque in his honor for one chest, and send the second to the Khurrem Sultan mosque to distribute gold to all the poor and needy.
Thus, Rustem Pasha paid off for the oath he had broken on the Koran and, with a clear conscience, would side with Selim, substituting Bayezid.
