Şehzade Mehmed (son of Ahmed I)
Şehzade Mehmed (Ottoman Turkish: شہزادہ محمد; 11 March 1605 – 12 January 1621) was an Ottoman prince and the second son of Sultan Ahmed I, but his first with Kösem Sultan, Ahmed's favorite concubine, Haseki and probably legal wife.
| Şehzade Mehmed | |
|---|---|
 The sarcophagus of Şehzade Mehmed is located in the Ahmed I Mausoleum, Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey | |
| Born | 11 March 1605 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (modern day Istanbul, Turkey) |
| Died | 12 January 1621 (aged 15) Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Burial | Ahmed I Mausoleum, Blue Mosque, Istanbul |
| Father | Ahmed I |
| Mother | Kösem Sultan |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Life
editŞehzade Mehmed was born on 11 March 1605 in Istanbul. He was the second son of his father Sultan Ahmed I and the first of his mother Kösem Sultan, Ahmed's Haseki sultan.[1][2][3] In January 1609, Mehmed began his education under the guardianship of Hoca Ömer Efendi, together with his elder half brother, Şehzade Osman (future Sultan Osman II).[4]
After his father's death in 1617, when Mehmed was twelve years old,[1] his uncle Sultan Mustafa I ascended the throne. However, he was soon deposed and replaced by Osman in 1618.[5]
Death
editOsman had asked the Şeyhülislam Hocazade Esad Efendi for an affirmative legal opinion to execute his brother. However, Esad Efendi refused to issue legal opinion. The Chief Judge of Rumeli Kemaleddin Efendi instead affirmed the execution of the prince.[6] And so on 12 January 1621,[7][8] Mehmed was executed. When the executioners were stretching rope in his neck he spoke:
"Osman! I wish from Allah your reign get ruined, I hope you could not reign as much as what you have deprived me of my life!"[9]
Twelve days following his death, a harsh snow fall in Istanbul which was considered as Allah’s message to Osman that he killed his brother.[9] Osman ordered Mehmed's execution before leaving the capital for the Polish campaign.[10][11]
He was buried beside his father in his mausoleum[12] located in Blue Mosque, Istanbul.[13]
In popular culture
editIn 2015 Turkish historical fiction TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Şehzade Mehmed is portrayed by Turkish actor Burak Dakak.
References
edit- ^ a b Börekçi, Günhan (2010). Factions And Favorites At The Courts Of Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603-17) And His Immediate Predecessors (Thesis). Ohio State University. pp. 117, 142.
- ^ Tezcan, Baki (2007). "The Debut of Kösem Sultan's Political Career". Turcica. 39–40. Éditions Klincksieck: 350–51, 356. doi:10.2143/TURC.40.0.2037143.
- ^ Tezcan, Baki (2008). "The Debut of Kösem Sultan's Political Career". Turcica. 40: 347–359.
- ^ Çiçek 2014, p. 21 n. 51.
- ^ A ́goston, Ga ́bor; Masters, Bruce Alan (21 May 2010). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. p. 409. ISBN 978-1-438-11025-7.
- ^ Çiçek 2014, p. 32-33.
- ^ Yılmaz, Coşkun (2008). Uluslararası Üsküdar Sempozyumu V, 1-5 Kasım 2007: bildiriler, Volume 2. Üsküdar Belediyesi. p. 493. ISBN 978-9-944-58075-5.
- ^ Çiçek 2014, p. 32.
- ^ a b Sakaoğlu 2015, p. 213.
- ^ Gabriel Piterberg (2003). An Ottoman Tragedy: History and Historiography at Play. University of California Press. pp. 20, 21, 85, 89. ISBN 978-0-520-93005-6.
- ^ Çiçek 2014, p. 33.
- ^ Bey, Mehmet Süreyya; Aktan, Ali; Yuvalı, Abdülkadir; Keskin, Mustafa (1995). Tezkire-i meşâhir-i Osmaniyye. Sebil Yayınevi. p. 68. ISBN 978-9-757-48083-9.
- ^ Çiçek 2014, p. 31.
Notes
edit- "Twelve days following his death, a harsh snow fall in Istanbul which was considered as Allah’s message to Osman that he killed his brother." This part actually wrong. Historian Celal Şengör saying "This winter is the part of the Little Ice Age, not because Şehzade Mehmed's curse."
For more information: Little Ice Age
Sources
edit- Çiçek, Fikri (2014). An examination of daily politics and factionalism at the Ottoman Imperial court in relation to the regicide of Osman II (r. 1618-22). Istanbul Şehir University.
- Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2015). Bu Mülkün Sultanları. Alfa Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-6-051-71080-8.