Sehzade Mustafa
Encyclopedia
Şehzade Mustafa Muhlisi (1515 – October 6, 1553), the prince of Manisa
from 1533 to 1541 and the prince of Amasya
from 1541 to 1553, was Suleiman the Magnificent's first born son by Mahidevran
(Moon of the time). (Şehzade means prince.) He was the apparent heir to the Turkish (Ottoman
) throne.
from Manisa
. The rule of Manisa was given to the younger brother, Mehmet. It was important because Manisa was much closer to İstanbul
than Amasya.
According to the Ottoman tradition, Mustafa must be sent to the closest province to İstanbul, the capital of the empire, but he was sent to Amasya. There he got the news of the death of his brother, Mehmet. It seemed like the barriers between the throne and Mustafa were gone but he faced another challenge just after the death of Mehmet. Another brother of Mustafa, Bayezid, was sent to Konya
for his Sancak assignment. Bayezid then passed to Kütahya
from Konya which were both closer to İstanbul than Amasya.
It was a critical decision because Bayezid's mother was Hürrem Sultan. Her support to his own son made Mustafa's political career hard but he successfully ruled Amasya for 12 years. In 1547, during Suleiman's Elkas Campaign, the Sultan met with his sons Selim, Bayezid and Mustafa in different places and talked with them about the political situation. It was long after the death of Mehmet but the race between the three princes was going on. After Bayezid's Sancak assignment, Selim was also sent to Anatolia as the prince of Manisa in 1544.
Possibly, this was a hard situation because now there were three princes in Anatolia with the potential of being the new emperor and two of them were the sons of Hürrem Sultan. This means that the only barrier between the power and Hürrem was Mustafa. Mustafa's life was in danger because of the alliance between Hürrem Sultan and Rüstem Pasha
.
(later Hürrem), a woman who had been taken captive from the Ukraine
and was taken to the harem
of the sultan and became his favorite, accused of wanting one of her sons to be the next sultan. According to the common belief, she prepared a conspiracy to overthrow Mustafa.
Roxelana's partner in this plot was Rüstem Pasha, the son-in-law of Roxelana who was possibly planning to gain more power in the imperial government.
Rüstem Pasha sent one of Suleiman’s most trusted men to report that since Suleiman was not at the head of the army, the soldiers thought the time had come to put a younger prince on the throne, whilst spreading rumours Mustafa had proved receptive to the idea. Suleiman wasn't interested at first but he became ferocious when he heard it from a trusted source.
Mustafa accepted Rüstem Pasha's offer and assembled his army to join his father. Suleiman saw this as a threat and ordered the execution of his son. When Mustafa entered his father's tent to meet with him, Suleiman's guards attacked Mustafa, and after a long struggle they killed him.
Mustafa's execution caused unrest in Anatolia
, especially in Amasya, because people were seeing him as the next sultan. People were angry at Rüstem Pasha and others who were accused of taking part in this conspiracy. In some regions of Anatolia, people remembered Mustafa as the Sultan Mustafa. His life and fate became a part of the Anatolian Turkish literature. The important Anatolian poet Taşlıcalı Yahya composed an elegy for the dead prince. His story was similar to the story of Cem Sultan
.
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
from 1533 to 1541 and the prince of Amasya
Amasya
- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...
from 1541 to 1553, was Suleiman the Magnificent's first born son by Mahidevran
Mahidevran
Mahidevran Gülbahar Haseki Sultan or Gülbahar , , was one of the concubines of Ottoman sultan Süleyman I the Magnificent...
(Moon of the time). (Şehzade means prince.) He was the apparent heir to the Turkish (Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
) throne.
Life
Mustafa experienced problems in his relations with his father. He was the first born son and therefore the apparent heir to the throne but his father, according to some historians, was more interested in Mehmet, the eldest son of Hürrem Sultan and the younger step-brother of Mustafa. Suleiman created more opportunities to the younger one and seemed as if preparing him for the throne. The situation was not pleasant for Mustafa because of the treatment he got from his father. Then he faced a second shock after being sent to AmasyaAmasya
- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...
from Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
. The rule of Manisa was given to the younger brother, Mehmet. It was important because Manisa was much closer to İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
than Amasya.
According to the Ottoman tradition, Mustafa must be sent to the closest province to İstanbul, the capital of the empire, but he was sent to Amasya. There he got the news of the death of his brother, Mehmet. It seemed like the barriers between the throne and Mustafa were gone but he faced another challenge just after the death of Mehmet. Another brother of Mustafa, Bayezid, was sent to Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
for his Sancak assignment. Bayezid then passed to Kütahya
Kütahya
Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...
from Konya which were both closer to İstanbul than Amasya.
It was a critical decision because Bayezid's mother was Hürrem Sultan. Her support to his own son made Mustafa's political career hard but he successfully ruled Amasya for 12 years. In 1547, during Suleiman's Elkas Campaign, the Sultan met with his sons Selim, Bayezid and Mustafa in different places and talked with them about the political situation. It was long after the death of Mehmet but the race between the three princes was going on. After Bayezid's Sancak assignment, Selim was also sent to Anatolia as the prince of Manisa in 1544.
Possibly, this was a hard situation because now there were three princes in Anatolia with the potential of being the new emperor and two of them were the sons of Hürrem Sultan. This means that the only barrier between the power and Hürrem was Mustafa. Mustafa's life was in danger because of the alliance between Hürrem Sultan and Rüstem Pasha
Rüstem Pasha
Rüstem Pasha Opukovic was a Croat who became an Ottoman general and statesman. He served as the Grand Vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha and Rüstem Paşa .-Biography:Rüstem Pasha was born in Skradin, Croatia...
.
Conspiracy
RoxelanaRoxelana
Haseki Hürrem Sultan was the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire.-Names:Sixteenth-century sources are silent as to her maiden name, but much later traditions, for example Ukrainian folk traditions first recorded in the 19th century, give it as "Anastasia" , and Polish...
(later Hürrem), a woman who had been taken captive from the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and was taken to the harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
of the sultan and became his favorite, accused of wanting one of her sons to be the next sultan. According to the common belief, she prepared a conspiracy to overthrow Mustafa.
Roxelana's partner in this plot was Rüstem Pasha, the son-in-law of Roxelana who was possibly planning to gain more power in the imperial government.
Rüstem Pasha sent one of Suleiman’s most trusted men to report that since Suleiman was not at the head of the army, the soldiers thought the time had come to put a younger prince on the throne, whilst spreading rumours Mustafa had proved receptive to the idea. Suleiman wasn't interested at first but he became ferocious when he heard it from a trusted source.
Execution
During Suleiman's Iran campaign, his army settled in Ereğli for a while. While Suleiman's army was in Ereğli, Rüstem Pasha offered Mustafa to join his father's army. At the same time he warned Suleiman and he persuaded the Sultan that Mustafa was coming to kill him.Mustafa accepted Rüstem Pasha's offer and assembled his army to join his father. Suleiman saw this as a threat and ordered the execution of his son. When Mustafa entered his father's tent to meet with him, Suleiman's guards attacked Mustafa, and after a long struggle they killed him.
After the Execution
After the death of the prince, janissaries and Anatolian soldiers of Mustafa protested the decision of Suleiman. Mustafa's army found the execution unfair because they were thinking that the reason of the execution was the political maneuvers of Hurrem Sultan and Rüstem Pasha, neither of whom were Anatolian or Turkish. Janissaries were supporting Mustafa, both because of the Ottoman traditions about the succession and the success of Mustafa as a warrior. After the protest of the army, Suleiman took Rüstem Pasha from his position and sent him back to İstanbul.Mustafa's execution caused unrest in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, especially in Amasya, because people were seeing him as the next sultan. People were angry at Rüstem Pasha and others who were accused of taking part in this conspiracy. In some regions of Anatolia, people remembered Mustafa as the Sultan Mustafa. His life and fate became a part of the Anatolian Turkish literature. The important Anatolian poet Taşlıcalı Yahya composed an elegy for the dead prince. His story was similar to the story of Cem Sultan
Cem
Prince Cem , December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495) was a pretender to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. He was a son of Mehmed II the Conqueror and younger brother of Sultan Bayezid II. He was banished to Europe, first under the protection of the Knights Hospitaller of St...
.