Nazira: Kumal’s youngest sister
Fatima: Nazira’s maid
Amal: A young servant in the palace
Military Figures in the Ottoman Empire
Ilyas: A Janissary commander
Kazanci Dogan: Military leader of the Janissaries
Ivan: A Janissary with a nasty disposition
Matei: An experienced Wallachian Janissary
Nicolae: A Wallachian Janissary and Lada’s closest friend
Petru: A young Wallachian Janissary
Stefan: A mysterious Wallachian Janissary
Tohin: A gunpowder expert
Political Figures in Opposition to the Sultan
Constantine: The emperor of Constantinople
Orhan: A false heir to the Ottoman throne, used by Constantinople as leverage
Skanderberg: Iskander Bey, also known as Skanderberg, a former Janissary and favorite of Murad, now holding the Albanian city of Kruje against the Ottomans
bey: A governor
beylerbey: Governors of the largest and most important provinces
boyars: Wallachian nobility
concubine: A woman who belongs to the sultan and is not a legal wife but could produce legal heirs
dervish: Religious ascetics (mostly from the Sufi branch of Islam) who take vows of poverty
dracul: Dragon, also devil, as the terms were interchangeable
emir: A leader of the Turkmen tribes, Ottoman allies to the east
eunuch: A man who has been castrated, highly valued as a servant and a prestigious slave
hajj: Religious pilgrimage taken to Mecca as one of the Five Pillars of Islam
harem: A group of women, consisting of wives, concubines, and servants, that belongs to the sultan
Janissary: A member of an elite force of military professionals, taken as boys from other countries, converted to Islam, educated, and trained to be loyal to the sultan
Order of the Dragon: Order of Crusaders anointed by the pope
pasha: A noble in the Ottoman Empire, appointed by the sultan
pashazada: A son of a pasha