I remember I was doing some research for an article on a lost work of Shakespeare, The King of Tashkani, which some believe was set in a fictional version of Istanbul. Perhaps you have heard of it?’ “I shook my head. “‘It is quoted in the work of several English historians. From them we know that in the original play, an evil ghost called Dracole appears to the monarch of a beautiful old city that he—the monarch—has taken by force. The ghost says he was once the monarch’s enemy but that he now comes to congratulate him on his bloodthirstiness. Then he urges the monarch to drink deeply of the
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