The history of the Ottoman empire is well researched, yet it is still controversial,
as many of the practices and traditions were unique to this realm, which was itself unique
both for Europe and the Middle East. Among these practices was the execution of the Sultan’s
brother after the ascension to the throne. The fratricide continued for centuries, and
in this video, we will discuss its history.
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Although feudalism was the dominant political system almost everywhere in the world throughout
the Middle Ages, it had different flavors in every region. Middle Eastern feudalism
was heavily influenced by the Sassanid system, which was more vertical than its Western European
counterpart: the ruler had direct control over all the land, which was then conditionally
granted to the lower nobility for military or administrative service.
Meanwhile, the governors of the regions were not feudal lords, but rather administrative
representatives. The Seljuks and the Mongols mostly continued using this system, with an
important distinction – these empires were divided between the sons of the leaders.
The Ottomans were not the direct descendants of the Seljuks, yet they saw that the division
of the empire between the Seljuk princes was disastrous. However, after the first sultan
– Osman I died in 1324, his son Orhan offered his brother Alaeddin to divide the burgeoning
empire, but the latter refused, probably knowing that this arrangement would make future civil
wars inevitable. Many events influenced the change in the Ottoman
succession laws: the first was the battle of Kosovo in 1389. According to the various
sources the sultan, Murad I, died either during or after the battle, becoming the first and
only Ottoman ruler to be killed in action. Murad did not designate an heir, so a conflict
between his sons Bayezid and Yaqub was imminent. Again, the sources are conflicted here, but
some claim that Yaqub was killed by his brother in the chaos of battle.
The next succession would prove even more tricky: Bayezid I was defeated by Timur at
Ankara in 1402 and became his hostage. His four sons supported by the Timurids, Byzantines,
Serbia and local Turkic beyliks entered an 11 year long Civil War- the longest in the
Ottoman history. The Empire was never so close to falling. As external influence was a factor
in this Civil War, the Ottoman sultans mostly stopped entering into dynastic marriages during
this period, and foreigners would not become a part of the Ottoman harems.
It was becoming clear that the old nomadic practice of letting the princes decide who
is the strongest among them was leading to more conflicts, so Mehmed II became the first
sultan to officially start his reign with a fratricide, as he ordered the execution
of his 8-month old half-brother. He legalized the fratricide using these words: "Whichever
of my sons inherits the sultanate, it behooves him to kill his brothers in the interest of
world order. Most jurists have approved this; let the action be taken accordingly." Strangulation
would become the most popular type of execution for the Ottoman princes, as with this method
their blood would not be spilled. Mehmed was also the first to name an heir-apparent
– his son Cem. This prince and his brothers were appointed governors of various regions
to learn statecraft. At the time Constantinople became the Ottoman capital, and the distance
to it became an important factor in the succession. In order to ensure that Cem would become the
next Sultan, Mehmed needed him to reach the capital faster than his other son – Bayezid.
However, as soon as Mehmed passed away in 1481, the Janissaries revolted in Constantinople,
and the messengers sent to Cem were captured. So, Bayezid entered the capital before his
brother and became the new Sultan. Still a short civil war between the brothers took
place. Cem was defeated and exiled but remained a headache for Bayezid for more than a decade.
Similar events transpired at the end of the rule of Bayezid II in 1511, but this time
his heir Ahmet attempted to take the throne while his father was still alive, which forced
the other prince- Selim to start a rebellion in Thrace. Selim was defeated by Bayezid and
retreated to Crimea, while Ahmed was denied entry to the city. Soon the Janissaries and
the viziers revolted against Bayezid and Selim I became the new sultan. The latter defeated
and killed his siblings Ahmed and Korkut. The succession of Suleiman in 1520 was peaceful,
as most of his brothers died very young. To ensure the loyalty of his youngest sibling
Uveys, Suleiman sent him to the furthest province of empire – Yemen. Although the Ottoman
realm reached the peak of its power during the reign of Suleiman, civil wars would occur
again by the end of his rule. Suleiman broke tradition and started accepting foreign consorts
into his harem, and some of these consorts gained never before seen influence, ushering
what would be later called the Sultanate of Women. Among them were Mahidevran, who was
either from Crimea or Albania and Hurrem from Ruthenia, and their rivalry shook the empire.
Mahidevran’s oldest son Mustafa was the designated successor of Suleiman, yet Hurrem
knew that upon the succession of Mustafa, her sons would get strangled. She managed
to use the help of and allied grand vizier to turn Suleiman against Mustafa, who ordered
the execution of his oldest son. Hurrem’s sons Selim and Bayezid were the
last remaining princes, and they started a civil war, while their father was still alive.
Suleiman supported Selim and defeated Bayezid had to find refuge at the Safavid court. However,
this escape was temporary: soon Suleiman either bribed or threatened the Safavid Shah Tahmasp
I, and Bayezid was strangled along with his four sons. In 1566 Selim II became the sultan.
All these events created an interesting practice. A prominent historian of the Ottoman empire
Leslie Peirce calls it “temporary reproductive monogamy.” The Ottoman princes would only
be intimate with one concubine before coming to power and would use medical means to have
just one male heir, so by the time they would assume the throne, this heir was in his teens
Ahmed I was just 13 when he came to power and had no heirs. The only other living male
representative of the Ottoman line was even younger Mustafa and killing him could have
ended the dynasty if Ahmed failed to procure an heir down the line.
Ahmed I died in 1617 and as his sons were too young, his brother Mustafa I was brought
to power by a court clique, marking the first time seniority was used in Ottoman succession.
During this period the rules of succession changed in one more way. No longer were the
Ottoman sultans legally allowed to execute their brothers. The new rule stated that any
sultan willing to get rid of his siblings needed to ask the chief religious and judicial
figure, the Sheikh ul-Islam permission to do so, and this permission was often denied.
In response, the sultans stopped sending their relatives to be governors of regions and kept
them in what was called Kafes – “the golden cage.” That meant that most of the possible
heirs were left uneducated and inexperienced in governmental affairs, which in turn became
a reason why the Sultans of the 17th and later centuries were less skilled. At the same time,
various cliques within the capital gained a new way to influence the sultans, as a new
member of the dynasty was just one rebellion away from being brought to power.
We will continue to cover various topics concerning the history of the Ottoman Empire, so make
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