I seem to remember there being some sort of ritual in the Ottoman Empire that if the Sultan was being deposed that he could run to the harbour. If he made it to the harbour in a certain amount of time he'd be allowed exile instead of death. Is this correct? Or am I misremembering something?
Sorry for the vague title, I wasn't sure exactly how to word it properly without having a HUGE title. Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can provide!
Deposed sultans weren't usually exiled, but they were imprisoned or executed. Bayezid II was exiled, however he was poisoned as soon as left the capital.
But there was a custom like that: Sometimes the sultan exiled someone, then he changed his mind and ordered him to be executed. If the poor guy was already on board and his ship had sailed away from Bosphorus, the execution wasn't carried out -because they believed it was God's will, I suppose.
I've read the article you're talking about. It wasn't the Sultan, it was the Grand Vizier, who were notable for having extremely short lifespans in general. Basically, you were summoned to the Topkapi Palace and given some sharbat. If it was white, you were fine. If it was red, you gonna die, unless you beat the head "gardener" (i.e. executioner) to the gate.
This is probably the article you're looking for.
Frankly, I'd rather enjoy the sharbat. I'm fairly certain the things that were needed to be done to become a Grand Vizier would probably leave one out of good physical shape. Why die tired?