Murad III: Sultan's biography, conquest of territories, palace intrigues

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The Ottoman Empire fell into decline under the great Sultan Suleiman I, whose reign fell on 1520-1566. However, the crisis became most tangible when the reins of power passed into the hands of his grandson Murad III.

Biography of the Ottoman ruler

The son of Suleiman I Shahzade Selim was appointed sanjak-bey of Manisa. It was in this city on 1546-04-07 that the future Sultan Murad III was born. His mother was the harem concubine Afife Nurbanu, who later became the wife of Selim II.

Shahzade Murad got his first experience as a manager at the age of 12. He was appointed by Suleiman I to the post of Sanjak Bey of Aksehir and stayed in this post from 1558 to 1566. During the reign of Selim II, he moved to Manisa, where he also held the position of sanjak bey from 1566 to 1574.

After the death of his father, being the eldest heir, he becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Murad III. He took the throne at the age of 28. To get rid of rivals to the throne, the Sultan issues an order to execute five of his brothers.

Murad III died on January 15, 1595, at the age of 48. Afterhis eldest son Mehmed III ascended the throne, who, according to the tradition of Turkish rulers, eliminated potential contenders for the throne by executing 19 of his brothers on January 28, 1595.

The conquests of the Sultan

1578 was marked by the beginning of a new war with the neighboring state of Iran. According to legend, Murad III learned from his wards that the most difficult confrontation during the reign of Suleiman I was with this neighboring state. Deciding to surpass the glory of Suleiman I, he gathers an army on a campaign. Murad III really showed his leadership abilities, and since his army had both technical and numerical superiority, it was not difficult for him to capture vast territories:

• 1579 was marked by the occupation of part of the territory that now belongs to Azerbaijan and Georgia;
• in 1580, the Ottoman army captured the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea from the south and west;
• In 1585, the troops of Murad III defeated the main forces of the Iranian army and occupied the lands now belonging to Azerbaijan.

In 1590, a peace treaty was signed between the Ottoman Empire and Iran. According to him, the rights over most of the occupied lands passed to the winner. Thus, Kurdistan, a significant part of Azerbaijan (including Tabriz), Khuzestan, Transcaucasia and Luristan joined the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

Despite the great achievements, this company has become a failure for the state. She broughtto significant economic losses, and the number of dead soldiers was so great that the army of the Sultan was greatly weakened.

Family Ties

Murad III was a great lover of women, so he preferred more time to enjoy the pleasures of the harem than to deal with the affairs of the empire. It was under this sultan that women began to play an important role in the conduct of politics. There was such a thing as a "women's sultanate".

The concubine Safiye entered the harem in the 60s of the 16th century. For a long time she remained the only woman of Murad. This continued even until shehzadeh ascended the throne. The mother of the Sultan Nurbanu-Sultan insisted on taking other concubines into the harem. She motivated this by the fact that Murad needed heirs, and of all the sons born to Safiye, by 1581, the only Shahzade remained - Mehmed.

The women of the harem skillfully wove intrigues, and in 1583 serious accusations followed from the Sultan's mother towards Safiye. Nurbanu stated that Murad III had become impotent and could not sleep with concubines because of the witchcraft of his wife. Some of Safiye's servants were arrested and tortured.

The Sultan's sister, Esmehan, decided to give her brother a gift in the form of two beautiful slaves, who later became concubines. Within a few years, Murad had several dozen children. It is quite difficult to say exactly how many heirs there were.

The children of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Murad III still remain a mystery to modern historians. It is authentically known about 23 shehzads and 32 daughters. Three boys diedin infancy by natural death, but the fate of 19 sons was unenviable, since they were strangled immediately after Mehmed III ascended the throne. It is known about the daughters that 17 of them died due to the plague epidemic.

In different sources there are completely contradictory data on the number of children of the loving Sultan. The number from 48 to 130 heirs and heirs is noted.

Beloved daughter of the Sultan

Aishe-Sultan is the daughter of Murad III and his concubine Safie-Sultan. She was the first and most beloved child. Ayse was born around 1570. After the death of his grandfather, Selim II, the entire harem of his father moved from Manisa to Istanbul, including Ayse herself, who arrived at the Topkapi Palace. Her mother insisted that the girl receive an education worthy of the daughter of the Sultan.

She was married three times. Ayse's first husband was a Serb, Damat Ibrahim Pasha, who served as vizier three times. Their marriage was childless and lasted from 1586 to 1601. Aisha was left a widow after her husband died near Belgrade while in a military camp. After a while, the beloved daughter of Sultan Murad III remarried. Her husband was Yemishchi Hassan Pasha, the new vizier of the Ottoman state. In 1603, Aisha gave birth to her only child. But in October of the same year, her husband was executed by order of the Sultan. The last husband was Guzelce Mahmud Pasha. And in May 1605, Aisha herself died.

Throughout her life, the daughter of Murad III spent a lot of time and money on charity, which is remembered in her country.