And finally, we note that the Fatih Law was in force until the beginning of the 20th century, until the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. And it is Nurbana Sultan who should be considered the first representative of the historical period of the Ottoman Empire called the “Women’s Sultanate”. Mehmed III executed 19 of his half-brothers in 1595. This year will go down in history as the bloodiest year of application of the Fatih law.

According to legend: Roksolana failed to achieve the repeal of the law “On fratricide” adopted by Mehmed II Fatih in 1478. She fought this law all her life. However, on this issue, Suleiman the Magnificent, despite his boundless love for her, remained adamant. Suleiman disagreed with Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska on this issue, one of the few. As a result, Roksolana was unable to carry out all her plans; this was largely prevented by the early death of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska.

Fatih Law: in the struggle for power, all means are fair

This ban is the only positive moment in this historical period. The Female Sultanate itself became a great evil for the Ottoman Empire, which destroyed the Empire. Of course, the position of Roksolana’s sons was very precarious, but scientists have not found any evidence that Hurrem Sultan opposed this law and wanted to get it banned.

The Fatih Law was often used by the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire

Many researchers do not act entirely correctly when they connect the activities of women of this period to abolish the “Fatih Law” with Hurrem Sultan, who allegedly also fought against this law. As for the “Women's Sultanate” itself, most historians consider this period destructive for the Empire and characterize it as a negative phenomenon. But the writer Danishmend Ismail Hani speaks about the Women’s Sultanate as follows: “The stagnation (collapse) of the Ottoman Empire was caused by reasons that appeared in the days of its greatest prosperity.

First of all, “stagnation” and “collapse” cannot be synonymous words, since they denote different phenomena in the life of the state. Almost a century and a half passed between the collapse and stagnation in the Ottoman Empire. Stagnation began in the empire after the end of the period of the Women's Sultanate, when the territorial and economic development of the country stopped.

However, difficulties with inheriting the throne still remained - the sultans were not limited in the number of concubines, so they could have many sons

Danishmend, of course, does not dispute these obvious conclusions, although none of them can be applied to characterize Hurrem Sultan. It is simply impossible to call the reign of Suleiman I the collapse of the Empire, if you really call the Women's Sultanate a consequence of the collapse of the Empire.

After 21 years, the son of Murad III, Mehmed III again uses this law and again this will be done at the insistence of the Sultan’s mother, now Valide Safiye Sultan

After Mehmed III, Ahmed I will ascend the throne, whose concubine will be the famous Kösem, in the future the powerful and cunning Valide Sultan. Ahmed I would introduce the practice of imprisoning the brothers of the ruling sultans in one of the palace pavilions, in the “Cafes” (translated as a cell), which, however, was not a repeal of the Fatih law.

The Female Sultanate" or "Sultanate of Women", on the contrary, is a very real historical period in the life of the Ottoman Empire

The common phrase “It began with Ukrainian, and ended with Ukrainian,” directly alluding to Roksolana Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska as the first representative of this period, is clearly inaccurate and erroneous. Later, at the beginning of the 18th century. heirs began to ascend to the throne at a fairly mature age. Therefore, by the middle of the 18th century, the Valides did not have much power at court and did not influence the ruling sultans; they no longer interfered in resolving any issues of the country.

In addition, during the period of the Women's Sultanate, Turhan Sultan contributed to the appointment of her son Mehmed Koprulu as Grand Vizier. This marked the beginning of a new period in the history of the Ottoman state, but this fact deserves a separate article. Any empire rests not only on military conquests, economic strength and a powerful ideology.

First of all, this required a simple and clear system of inheritance of power.

The respectful epithet “Fatih”, that is, Conqueror, was given to him by his admiring subjects and descendants in recognition of his outstanding services in expanding the territory of the empire. Mehmed II really did his best, conducting numerous victorious campaigns both in the East and in the West, primarily in the Balkans and Southern Europe.

The correct date for the “Women’s Sultanate” should be considered 1574, when Nurbanu became Valide Sultan. Consequently, it was he who had the highest chances of taking his father's throne. In this case, the new Sultan could use the Fatih law and kill his brothers, the sons of Hurrem.

FATIHA LAW AND THE WOMEN'S SULTANATE. Part 2. Historical facts. Thus, the most correct version of the date for the beginning of the period of the “Female Sultanate” is 1574, the year of receiving the title “Valide” by Nurban Sultan, the real founder of this era. And although Nurbanu Sultan began to manage the Sultan’s harem back in 1566, contemporaries did not note her special influence on the decisions of her husband, Sultan Selim II, which confirmed the fact that Nurbanu Sultan acquired truly serious power only at the beginning of the reign of her son, Sultan Murad III. In the same year, the first serious blow to the Ottoman Empire occurred, which brings us back to the original topic of this refutation, namely the application of the “Fatih law”, since Murad III, who ascended the throne after the death of his father, on the instructions of his mother, who was supported by the Great Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokollu (by that time already completely under the influence of Nurbanu), gave the order for the execution of five half-brothers. Before this event, the law had not been applied for 62 years. Later, in response to a question about the need for such radical measures, Murad III referred specifically to the law of his ancestor Mehmed II “On Succession to the Throne,” adopted in 1478. 21 years later, his son Sultan Mehmed III will again apply this law, and again at the insistence of his mother, the next Valide Safiye Sultan, and after ascending to the throne he will execute 19 of his own brothers. Thus, the execution of 1595 will go down in history as the bloodiest case of application of this law. After the reign of Mehmed III, during the time of Ahmed I, (the later legendary Valide Kösem Sultan was his concubine), the practice of imprisoning the brothers of the current Sultans in a separate pavilion of the palace, the so-called “Cafes” (“cage”), would be introduced, which did not at all mean the abolition "Law of Fatih" In addition, Kösem Sultan herself has nothing to do with this; she became famous much later and for somewhat different things. By the way, it was from her image that many of the negative traits attributed to Haseki Hurrem Sultan were taken. But within the framework of this article, it is only worth noting that one of Kösem’s sons, namely Murad IV, who left no children behind, in 1640 ( Last year his reign) before his death will try again (after a 45-year break) to apply the “Fatih law”, giving the order to kill his own brother, the future Sultan Ibrahim I the Crazy. Kesem, who at that time already had enormous influence, would not allow this order to be carried out, since its implementation would mean an instant end to the 341-year existence of the Ottoman dynasty. In general, the Fatih law was never officially repealed and was legally in effect until the end of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the first quarter of the 20th century. Its last use dates back to 1808, that is, 121 years after the end of the period of the “Female Sultanate” (which ended in 1687, 4 years after the death of the last influential Valide in the history of the Ottoman Empire, Turhan Sultan). Then (in 1808), by order of Sultan Mahmud II, who ascended the throne, his brother, the former Sultan Mustafa IV, will be killed. As for the influence of the era of the female Sultanate on the history of the Ottoman Empire, it cannot be denied that the actions of women of this era indirectly pushed the empire into stagnation, and then mostly due to Turhan Sultan and her son Mehmed IV, who lost the Battle of Vienna on September 11, 1683 . But nothing more, that is, “the main reason for the decline of the Ottoman Empire,” despite all the efforts of Danishmend, the “Women’s Sultanate” cannot be called. And the popular phrase: “It began with a Ukrainian, and ended with a Ukrainian,” hinting at Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska as the founder of this period, turned out to be completely unfounded. Later, more precisely by the beginning of the 18th century, the throne began to be occupied by heirs who, in comparison with the previous sultans, could hardly be called young by the time they received the throne. And their mothers by that time were either already dead, or were at a very respectable age and did not show much activity in the affairs of the state, thus, by the middle of the 18th century, the influence and importance of Valide had greatly weakened, and the last matriarchal elements in all more or less serious affairs of state have completely disappeared. If we talk about other events that began during the era of the “Sultanate of Women” and continued to operate after the end of this period, then here we should note only the found alternative to the “Fatih law”, namely the imprisonment in the Kafes pavilion, which, despite all its humanity, did not bring much benefit, since due to the cessation of the appointment of heirs by provincial governors, this alternative only gave the empire several insolvent politicians and cowardly rulers. And also the fact that it was Turhan Sultan who advised her son to appoint Mehmed Koprulu as Grand Vizier, which gave rise to a new era of the Ottoman state, but that is a completely different story.

Fatih Law(or law of fratricide) - later name of one of the provisions from the Kanun-name (collection of laws) of Mehmed Fatih. It allowed the heir to the Ottoman throne who became sultan to kill the others for the public good ( Nizam-I Alem) - preventing wars and unrest.

The existence of this law was not recognized by everyone; a common view is that Mehmed could not legalize the killing of innocents. Doubters believed that Europeans had invented this law and falsely attributed it to Fatih. Turkish scientists have proven that this is not so.

The assessment of the legitimacy of this provision (compliance with Sharia norms), as well as the influence of this law on the history of the Ottoman Empire, is ambiguous. It has been erroneously believed that Sharia law cannot condone the killing of an innocent person.

Scholars who positively assessed the role of the law pointed out that if the law was applied, a fatwa from a high-ranking mufti was also necessary (that is, the appropriateness of its application was discussed each time) and that the country avoided many fratricidal wars for inheritance. They focus on the fact that this law made it possible to maintain the integrity of the empire, in contrast to other Turkic states, each of which was fragmented among all members of the ruling dynasty. Scientists who assess the role of the law negatively believe that the law provoked wars and riots of the sons of the sultans during the lifetime of their fathers.

Law of fratricide

Formulation

The "law on fratricide" is contained in the second chapter ( bāb-ı sānī) Eve-name of Mehmed II. The wording of the law in different manuscripts has minor spelling and stylistic differences from each other. The following is a version from the text published by Mehmed Arif Bey in 1912:

Lyrics

Two textually identical lists of Kanun-name are in the Austrian National Library in Vienna (Cod. H. O. 143 and Cod. A. F. 547). One manuscript, dated 18 March 1650, was translated into German with omissions by Joseph Hammer and published in 1815 under the title The Code of Sultan Muhammad II. About a century later, Mehmed Arif Bey published the text of an older manuscript dated October 28, 1620, entitled Ḳānūnnnāme-i āl-i’Os̠mān(“Code of the Ottomans”). This manuscript was published in Russian translation in 1990. Until the discovery of the second volume of Koji Hussein's unfinished chronicle Beda'i'u l-veḳā"i(“Founding Times”) these two manuscripts from the Vienna Library remained the only ones known lists Eve-name. Koja Hussein, who served Reis ul-Kittabom(secretary) of the divan, used records and texts stored in the Ottoman archives. Copy of the chronicle (518 sheets, in Nesta'lī Du-Duktus, sheet dimensions 18 × 28.5 cm, 25 lines per page) was purchased from a private collection in 1862 in St. Petersburg and ended up in the Leningrad branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where it is stored (NC 564). The first facsimile publication of this manuscript after lengthy preparation took place in 1961 in the series "" .

Another, shorter and incomplete list of Kanun-name (which does not include the law of fratricide) can be found in the work of Hezarfen Hüseyin Effendi (died 1691) in his work “Summary of Explanations of the Laws of the House of Osman”. According to the preface, it was written by one Leysad Mehmed bin Mustafa, head of the state chancellery ( tevvi'i), in three sections or chapters. The creation of the manuscript dates back to the time when Karamanli Mehmed Pasha (1477-1481) was the Grand Vizier.

Succession to the throne

For a long time after the formation of the Ottoman state, there was no direct transfer of power from one ruler to the next in the ruling dynasty; there were no clear rules that made it possible to determine the heir. In the east, in particular in the countries of Dar al-Islam, as a legacy of nomadic times, a system was preserved in which all male family members descended from the founder of the dynasty in the male line had equal rights ( Ekber-i-Nesebi) . The Sultan did not appoint a successor; it was believed that the ruler did not have the right to determine in advance which of all the contenders and heirs would receive power, since power passed to the one “who [according to Duca] was helped by fate.” The appointment of an heir was interpreted as an intervention in divine predestination - “The Sultan is named by the Almighty.” Suleiman wrote to his rebellious son Bayazid: “The future had to be left to the Lord, because kingdoms are not ruled by human desires, but God's will. If he decides to give the state to you after me, then not a single living soul will be able to stop him.” In practice, the throne was occupied by one of the applicants whose candidacy received the support of the nobility and ulema. There are indications in Ottoman sources that Ertogrul's brother, Dündar Bey, also claimed leadership and the title of chief, but the tribe preferred Osman to him.

In this system, all the sons of the Sultan theoretically had equal rights to the throne. It did not matter who was older and who was younger, whether it was the son of a wife or a concubine. From a very early time, following the traditions of the peoples of Central Asia, rulers assigned all male relatives to govern various areas. At the same time, the sons of the ruling sultan gained experience in managing the state and the army under the leadership of the lala. With the advent of administrative units such as the sanjak, the sons of the sultan received the post of sanjakbeys. In addition to administrative, until the middle of the 16th century, Ottoman princes also gained military experience, taking part in battles and commanding troops. The last were the sons of Suleiman: Mehmed and Selim took part in the campaign on the Danube in 1537, Selim and Bayezid took part in the siege of Buda in 1541, Selim and Cihangir took part in the Nakhichevan campaign of 1553, Mustafa also took part in this campaign and was executed.

When the sultan died, the new sultan became the one who had previously managed to arrive in the capital after the death of his father and take the oath from officials, ulemas and troops. This practice contributed to the coming to power of experienced and talented politicians who were able to build good relations with the state elite and gain their support. All the sons of the Sultan tried to get an appointment to the sanjak closer to the capital. The riots of Shehzade Akhmet and Shehzade Selim, sons of Bayezid II, and Shehzade Bayezid, son of Suleiman, were associated with reluctance to go to a more remote city. But even more important than proximity to the capital were the forces behind one or another son of the Sultan. For example, after the death of Mehmed II, letters were sent to both of his sons (Cem and Bayezid) informing him of this. As I wrote Angiolello, who served Mehmed: “The whole point was who would arrive in the capital first”; “And he will seize the treasury,” he specified Spandunes. Cem's sanjak was closer; in addition, there was an opinion that Mehmed favored him more, and moreover, he was supported by the Grand Vizier. However, Bayezid's party was stronger. Occupying key posts (beylerbey of Rumelia, sanjakbey in Antalya), Bayezid's supporters intercepted the messengers traveling to Cem, blocked all routes, and Cem was unable to arrive in Istanbul.

The practice of sending shehzade to sanjaks ceased at the end of the 16th century. Of the sons of Sultan Selim II (1566-1574), only his eldest son, the future Sultan Murad III (1574-1595), went to Manisa; in turn, Murad III also sent only his eldest son, the future Sultan Mehmed III (1595-1603) there. . Mehmed III was the last sultan to go through the “school” of management in the sanjak. For the next half century, the eldest sons of the sultans bore the title of Sancakbeys of Manisa while residing in Istanbul.

With Mehmed's death in December 1603, his third son, thirteen-year-old Ahmed I, became sultan, since Mehmed III's first two sons were no longer alive. Since Ahmed was not yet circumcised and had no concubines, he had no sons. This created a problem with the succession, and so Ahmed's brother, Mustafa, was left alive - contrary to tradition. After the appearance of his sons, Ahmed was twice going to execute Mustafa, but both times he postponed the execution for various reasons. In addition, Kösem Sultan, who had her own reasons for this, persuaded him not to kill Mustafa Ahmed. When Ahmed died on November 22, 1617, at the age of 27, he left seven sons and a brother. Ahmed's eldest son was Osman, born in 1604. The ulema, viziers and Janissary leaders decided to place Mustafa on the throne. This was the first time that not the son, but the brother of the previous sultan became the sultan. From that time on, upon accession to the throne, the sultans did not execute the brothers, but locked them in the cafeteria under constant guard. And, although the heirs were, as a rule, kept in luxury, many shehzade went crazy from boredom or became debauched drunkards. And this is understandable, because they understood that they could be executed at any moment.

In 1876, the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire was adopted, which enshrined de jure the de facto seigneurial principle (ekberiyyet) of succession to the throne (inheritance by the eldest in the family) that had existed for centuries:

Application

Cases of murder of close relatives during the struggle for power (or as a result of it) in the Ottoman dynasty, as in any dynasty, occurred from the very first days: Osman contributed to the death of his uncle, Dündar Bey, without forgiving him for the fact that Dündar claimed the role leader And, of course, when a rival in the struggle for the throne was executed, all his sons were often executed, regardless of age. Before Murad II, in all cases, only the guilty princes (and their sons) were executed: rebels and conspirators, opponents in the armed struggle. The only thing missing from this series is death. Yakuba, who, according to legend, was killed on the orders of his brother, Bayezid, on the Kosovo field after the death of Murad I. Murad II was the first to impose punishment on the innocent minor brothers (8 and 7 years old), ordering them to be blinded absolutely without their guilt. His son, Mehmed II, went further. Immediately after julyus (assuming power), Murad's widows came to congratulate Mehmed on his accession to the throne. One of them, Hatice Halime Khatun, a representative of the Jandarogullar dynasty, recently gave birth to a son, Küçük Ahmed. While the woman was talking with Mehmed, on his orders, Ali Bey Evrenosoglu, the son of Evrenos Bey, drowned the baby. Duca gave special meaning to this son, calling him “porphyry-born” (born after his father became Sultan). In the Byzantine Empire, such children had priority in inheriting the throne. Moreover, unlike Mehmed, whose mother was a slave, Ahmed was born from a dynastic union. All this made the three-month-old baby a dangerous rival and forced Mehmed to get rid of him. Murder (execution) during the accession of an innocent baby brother only to prevent possible problems was not practiced by the Ottomans before. Babinger calls this “the inauguration of the law of fratricide.”

It is difficult to count the victims of this law. It cannot be said that after the adoption of this law it was applied often. However, it is possible that some of the princes' rebellions occurred due to the fear of being killed during the accession of their brother. In this case, one could consider Fatih Shehzade Mehmed, Shehzade Korkut, Shehzade Akhmet, Shehzade Mustafa and Shehzade Bayezid as victims of the law, but in all these cases the executed princes themselves gave reason to accuse themselves in one way or another: they either rebelled or participated in a conspiracy, or they were suspected of disloyal actions, that is, they were executed as rebels.

The Ottomans inherited the idea that shedding the blood of members of the dynasty was unacceptable, so the relatives of the sultans were executed by strangling them with a bowstring. The sons of the Sultan killed in this way were buried with honor, usually next to their deceased father. Bayezid II and Selim I did not apply the Fatih law during their accession, since relations with their brothers were sorted out by force of arms. Suleiman I was survived by only one son, Selim II, therefore in pure form The Fatih law was applied from the accession of Murad III in 1574 until the death of Murad IV in 1640:

"...Sultan Murat<...>with tears in his eyes, he sent the mutes, instructing them to strangle the brothers and with my own hands handed them nine scarves to the elder.”

Subsequently, the Fatih law was no longer applied. It is estimated that 60 princes were executed throughout the history of the Ottoman Empire. Of these, 16 were executed for rebellion and 7 for attempted rebellion. All others - 37 - for reasons of general benefit.

A turban was placed on the coffin. Most often, innocent executed princes were buried next to their father.
Turban on the coffin of the executed prince, Hüner-name	Turbe Selima II	Turbe of Murad III	Turbe of Ahmed I

Grade

The role of fratricide and the Fatih law is assessed differently. According to one point of view, fratricide spared the Ottoman Empire from civil wars after the death of the sultans and helped maintain the integrity of the empire - unlike the Turkish states that existed before it.

There is a point of view that the Fatih law is a fiction. The fact that until the 20th century only one copy of the Kanun-nama was known, containing the Fatih law, and this copy was in Vienna, gave reason to say that the code was a Western fake. However, during the research, other specimens were found. Historians Halil Inalcik and Abdulkadir Ozcan showed that Kanun-name was created by Fatih, but copies from the reign of Fatih's son (Bayazid II), containing later inclusions and edits, have survived to this day.

Some modern scholars believe that the executions of princes who did not do anything wrong, did not rebel and did not correspond with the conspirators, were illegal and violated the rules of Sharia. Punishing an innocent person to prevent a possible future crime is against the law under the presumption of innocence. But Ottoman (Sharia) law in most of its provisions did not deny the need to prove guilt. The execution of an innocent person was recognized as legal (justified) only as “the lesser of the possible evils,” and this point of view was based on the principle maslakha. "Maslaha" means the priority of public benefit over personal benefit. According to the Koran, fitnah (chaos, rebellion, rebellion) is worse than killing a person, and therefore some interpreters of Islamic laws believe that they allow the killing of an innocent person for the common good. "Fitna is worse than murder", Qur'an 2:217. Each such act required a “sanction” - a fatwa, and the different ulema, who had the right to interpret the law and make a decision, could have different understandings of the situation and opinions. For example, the Ottoman Sultan Osman II wanted to execute his brother before leaving for Khotyn in order to avoid a possible rebellion. Osman first turned to Sheikh al-Islam Hojazade Esad Efendi, but he refused the Sultan. Then Osman turned to the Kadiasker Rumelia Tashkopruzade Mehmed Efendi, who judged differently than Sheikh al-Islam and authorized the execution of Shehzade Mehmed.

see also

Comments

Notes

Literature

• “Eve of the Name” of Mehmed II Fatih on the military-administrative and civil bureaucracy of the Ottoman Empire // Ottoman Empire. State power and socio-political structure / USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oriental Studies; resp. ed. S. F. Oreshkova. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - ISBN 5-02-016943-9.
• Hussein. Beda'i "ul-veka'i" (Amazing events), Parts 1, 2 / Edition of the text, introduction and general editing by A. S. Tveritinova. Annotated table of contents and indexes by Yu. A. Petrosyan. - M., 1961. - T. 29(XIV,1), 30(XIV,2). - 1122 s. - (Monuments of literature of the peoples of the East. Texts. Large series).
• Finkel K. History of the Ottoman Empire: Osman's Vision. - Moscow: AST, 2017.

• Kanunname-i Al-i Osman قانوننامهء آل عثمان .
• Inaldzhik G. Ottoman Empire: classical doba, 1300-1600 / trans. from English Oleksandr Galenko; Institute of Similarities A. Krimsky NAS of Ukraine. - K.: Criticism, 1998. - 286, p. - ISBN 966-02-0564-3.(Ukrainian)
• Akgunduz A.; Ozturk S. Ottoman History - Misperceptions and Truths. - IUR Press, 2011. - 694 p. - ISBN 978-9090261-08-9.
• Alderson, Anthony Dolphin. The Structure of the Ottoman Dynasty. - Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956. - 186 p.(English)
• Babinger F. Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time / Edited by William C. Hickman, translated from the German by Ralph Manheim. - Princeton University Press, 1992. - 549 p. - ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6.(English)
• Babinger F. Sawdji / In Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor. - Leiden: BRILL, 2000. - Vol. IX. - P. 93. - (E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936). - ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6.(English)
• Emecen F. Osman II: Islamansiklopedisi. - 2007. - No. 33. - P. 453-456.(tour.)
• Emecen F. Selîm I: Islamansiklopedisi. - 2009. - T. 36. - P. 407-414.(tour.)
• Eroglu H.Şehzade-2. bölüm (madde 2 bölümden oluşmaktadır) : Islamansiklopedisi. - 2010. - T. 38. - P. 480-483.(tour.)
• Fisher A. Musrafa / In Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor. - Leiden: BRILL, 1993. - Vol. VII. - pp. 710-713. - (E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936). - ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6.
• Hammer-Purgstall J.F. Des Osmanischen Reichs Staatsverfassung und Staatsverwaltung, dargestellt aus den Quellen seiner Grundgesetze . - 1815. - 532 p.

1. How did the shehzade ascend the throne?

The documented history of the Turkish state begins with Mete Khagan (Oguz Khan. 234-174 BC), who ruled the great Hun Empire. Therefore, many traditions of a later period were called “Oguz custom”. According to this legal custom, everything in the state belongs to the Dynasty, and government, according to Turkish tradition, occurs through the joint participation of members of the Dynasty.
There was no legally prescribed official system for selecting the Ruler. Each of the heirs had the right to ascend to the throne. Therefore, the next ruler usually became the most ambitious and most capable. Although this method of inheritance ensured that power would be transferred to the most worthy heir, it was also the cause of much turmoil.

Western engraving depicting Valide Sultan and Şehzade

2. How were the Shehzade raised?

They began to study theoretical knowledge in the palace. Famous scientists were invited as shehzade's mentors. They certainly studied Arabic and Persian as a foreign language.

In the third courtyard of Topkapi, under the supervision of the ich oglans, the shehzade learned to ride a horse and use weapons. For the practical application of the studied theory, the shehzade was sent to the sanjaks.

Scene from the daily life of a sehzade in the third courtyard of Topkapi, miniature from Surname-i Vehbi

3. When did they stop sending shezkhades to sanjaks?

After the uprising of Shehzade Baezid during the time of the Kanuni of Sultan Suleiman, only shehzade heirs to the throne began to be sent to sanjaks. Selim II's son Murad III and Murad III's son Mehmed III were sent as governors to Manisa.

While the heirs to the throne were in the sanjaks as governors, the rest of the shehzade were under control in the palace. For stability in the state, as soon as the heir to the throne, who ascended the throne, acquired offspring, the rest of the shehzade were executed.

Since the time of Sultan Mehmed III, who ascended the Ottoman throne in 1595, the heirs to the throne no longer went to the sanjaks, they also remained to live in Topkapi.

Sultan Ahmed I did not execute his younger brother Mustafa when he became Sultan in 1603 because he had no heirs of his own. When he got them, government officials did not allow Mustafa to be executed. Thus, the fratricide that had lasted for more than two centuries for the benefit of the state was put to an end, and all the heirs lived under supervision in Topkapi.

Miniature of Manisa

4. “Governance on paper” – how is it?

During the reign of Mehmed III, the tradition of sending all shehzade as governors to sanjaks was interrupted, but the heirs to the throne - Veliakht Shehzade - continued to be sent to sanjaks.
In the subsequent period, the eldest heir to the throne, even on paper, was certainly appointed governor. Only instead of them, the so-called mutesselims (representatives) left as governors. Sultan Ibrahim Sehzade's son Mehmed was appointed governor of Manisa when he was 4 years old. Since Sultan Mehmed IV, the tradition of appointing sehzade as governors has ceased even on paper.

Kanuni Sultan Suleiman checks the things of Shehzade Baezid (drawing by Munif Fehmi)

5. Which sanjaks were allocated for shehzade?

In the Ottoman Empire, during the reign of their father, sehzade were sent as governors to the regions, next to them was an experienced statesman - lala.
Thanks to the governorship, the shehzades studied art government controlled. The main sanjaks for shehzade are Amasya, Kutahya and Manisa. Usually the shehzade went to these three regions, but, of course, possible sanjaks were not limited to them. According to research conducted by Khaldun Eroğlu, throughout Ottoman history the Sehzade served as governors in the following sanjaks:
Bursa, İnönü, Sultanhisar, Kütahya, Amasya, Manisa, Trabzon, Shebinkarahisar, Bolu, Kefe (modern Feodosia, Crimea), Konya, Aksehir, Izmit, Balikesir, Akyazi, Mudurnu, Hamidili, Kastamonu, Menteshe (Mugla), Teke (Antalya) ), Çorum, Nigde, Osmancik, Sinop and Çankırı.

Sultan Mustafa III and his sehzade

6. What were the duties of the lala under the shehzada?

Before the period of the Empire, a mentor was assigned to the shehzade, who was called “atabey”. During the Empire, the same tradition continued, but the mentor began to be called lala.
When a shehzade went to the sanjak, a mentor was assigned to him; the lala was responsible for managing the sanjak and teaching the shehzade. Letters sent from the palace to the sanjak were addressed to the lala, and not to the shehzade. Lala was also responsible for raising the shehzade and it was he who was obliged to stop any attempts by the heir to oppose his father.
The position of lala was preserved even when shehzadehs were no longer sent to sadaks. During that period, the lala was chosen from among the palace staff.

7. Where did the shehzade live in the palace?

During the reign of Mehmed IV in 1653, male members of the Dynasty, in addition to the Padishah, lived in a 12-room building called “Shimshirlik”, its other name is. The building had everything for the comfort of a shehzade, only it was surrounded by high walls and boxwoods (shimshir in Turkish). The doors in Shimshirlik were chained on both sides, black harem agas were on duty around the clock both in front and behind the door. In 1756, the French merchant Jean-Claude Fléchat compared the building to a secure cage.
Shehzade, who were kept in Shimshirlik, had no right to go outside or communicate with anyone. In case of illness, doctors were called to Shimshirilik, and they carried out treatment there.
In the 18th century, life became easier for shehzade in Shimshirlik. During the reign of Osman III from 1753 to 1757, Şimşirlik was slightly rebuilt, the height of the outer wall was reduced, and more windows were added to the building. When the Padishah went to the palace in Besiktas or some other palace, he began to take shehzade with him.

Sultan Ahmed III and his sehzade

8. What did the forced life of the shehzade lead to, locked up in the palace?

Shimshirlik is the result of the fact that the Padishahs no longer wanted to kill their brothers and nephews. But sometimes these shehzade were used by the malicious enemies of the Sultan for blackmail.
Apart from official ceremonies, the padishahs usually did not see the shehzadehs who lived in the Cell. The heirs were not given much education. As a result, inconspicuous padishahs are in power. Especially in the second half of the 17th century, some shekhzdade ascended the throne straight from Shimshirlik, due to the lack of any education and minimal knowledge about the world, they experienced great difficulties in gaining power, their actions were entirely directed by statesmen.
From the point of view of today, the fratricide (especially of very small children) that lasted for 2 centuries plunges us into horror. But all events should be assessed in their historical context. In order to avoid fratricide, there had to be a clear system of succession to the throne. It appeared only in the 17th century, when the eldest shehzade was the direct heir. Thanks to the legalization of fratricide in the early period of history, the Ottoman Empire occupies a special place in Turkish history. It was thanks to this law that the Empire managed to survive for 6 centuries.

Sultan Ahmed III with his heirs in the palace in Ayvalik (detail from a miniature of Levni)

9. When did the last execution of Shehzade take place?

For the first time in the history of the Ottoman Dynasty, Ahmed I did not execute his brother Mustafa, but fratricide was not immediately abolished. After this incident there were several more exceptions.
Ahmed I's son Osman II, during his reign, ordered the execution of his younger brother Şehzade Mehmed, who was only a couple of months younger than him. Then Murad IV, who ascended the throne, was also forced to follow the same path, because he could no longer cope with harem conspiracies. Although Mehmed IV tried to execute his brothers, Valide Sultan and other government officials prevented this. After Mehmed IV's failed attempt at fratricide, with one exception, the era of the "Fatih Law" came to an end.

10. What happened to the children of Shekhzade?

Shehzade, who lived in Shimshirlik, was served by concubines and harem agas. Agamas were not allowed to see each other alone in the shehzad. They lived in Shimshirlik's building on the first floor. The heirs satisfied all their needs within the walls of the Cage. They could enter into intimate relationships with any concubine they liked, but they could not have children. If a concubine accidentally became pregnant, she was given an abortion. Some still managed to keep the child and raise him outside the palace.
Shehzade was also not allowed to grow a beard. The beard was a symbol of power, so Shehzade, who ascended the throne, began to grow a beard at a special ceremony called “irsal-i dashing” (literally: growing the beard)

© Erhan Afyoncu, 2005

FATIHA LAW.

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In this topic we will talk about the Mehmed II Fatih Law and what the “Women's Sultanate” is.

A little history. What kind of power awaits our Nurbana, the wife of Sultan Selim II?

The Women's Sultanate is a historical period in the life of the Ottoman Empire, which lasted a little over a century. It is characterized by the transfer of actual power into the hands of four mothers of the sultans’ sons, whose sons, the ruling padishahs, obeyed them unconditionally, making decisions on domestic, foreign policy, and national issues.

So these women were:

Afife Nurbanu Sultan (1525-1583) - Venetian by origin, birth name Cecilia Baffo.

Safiye Sultan (1550-1603) - Venetian by origin, birth name Sofia Baffo.

Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan (1589-1651) - Anastasia, most likely from Greece.

Hatice Turhan Sultan (1627-1683) - Nadezhda, originally from Ukraine.

The correct date for the “Women’s Sultanate” should be considered 1574, when Nurbanu became Valide Sultan. And it is Nurbana Sultan who should be considered the first representative of the historical period of the Ottoman Empire called the “Women’s Sultanate”.

Nurbanu began leading the harem in 1566. But Nurban managed to seize real power only during the reign of her son Murad III.

In the year of his accession to the throne, Murad III, succumbing to the influence of Nurbanu's mother and the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokollu, who was an obedient executor of Nurbanu's will, gave the order to execute all his half-brothers, explaining his decision with the Mehmed Fatih Law on Fratricide, issued in 1478. Before this, the Law had not been used for 62 years, so there was no need for it.
When Suleiman ascended the throne, at that time he had no competing brothers.
Also, when his son Selim ascended the throne, he (Selim) no longer had brothers. (Mustafa and Bayazet were executed by Suleiman, Cihangir died of natural causes and he was not a contender for the throne due to illness, and Mehmet was specifically infected with smallpox back in Manisa by competitors for the throne.

21 years later, when Sultan Murad III, the son of Selim II, dies, the new Sultan, the son of Murad III, Mehmed III, will again use this law and again this will be done at the insistence of the Sultan’s mother, Valide Safiye Sultan.
Mehmed III executed 19 of his half-brothers in 1595. This year will go down in history as the bloodiest year of application of the Fatih Law.

After Mehmed III, Ahmed I will ascend the throne, whose concubine will be the famous Kösem, in the future the powerful and cunning Valide Sultan.
Ahmed I will introduce the practice of imprisoning the brothers of the ruling sultans in one of the palace pavilions, in the “Cafes” (translated as “Cage”), which, however, is not the abolition of the Fatih law, but only complements it with the right to choose - death or a cell for life imprisonment And Kösem Sultan did not make any effort to introduce this practice, since she was able to interfere in the decisions of the sultans much later.
Let us only mention that the ruling Sultan Murad IV, son of Kösem, in 1640, left without heirs, for fear of competition, tried to kill his brother, another son of Kösem. However, Kösem, who had enormous power at that time, would prevent this, because otherwise, the rule of the Ottoman dynasty would have ended, and the Ottomans ruled the empire for 341 years.
To be fair, we note that the Fatih Law was in force until the beginning of the 20th century, until the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. The last time it was used was in 1808, when Sultan Mahmud II, who had taken the throne, killed his brother Sultan Mustafa IV.

Who is Mehmet Fatih? Whose name made powerful sultanas and their heirs to the throne tremble with fear throughout almost the entire existence of the Ottoman Empire?
The mention of the name of Mehmet Fatih made Hurrem Sultan and her sons tremble, only Mahidevran slept peacefully, not fearing that her son would come under attack.
The culprit is none other than the LAW OF FRATRICIDE, a law that was invented and introduced by Mehmet Fatih (the Conqueror), the ancestor of Sultan Suleiman, the same one who conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul. The law allows the reigning brother to kill all the remaining brothers so that later they do not encroach on his throne.
Mustafa, the son of Mahidevran, did not fall under the Fatih law, since he was the eldest and main heir to the Ottoman throne. Of course, Makhidevran was lucky in this, because before him the Sultan had sons from previous concubines - from Fulane and Gulfem. But they died of illness during the years of epidemics, and THEREFORE, Mustafa became the first and main contender for the Ottoman throne.
Mahidevran was not afraid of the Fatih law.
After Mustafa, the Sultan had 6 children from his new beloved concubine and future wife, Hurrem: daughter Mihrimah and 5 sons (Mehmet, Abdallah, Selim, Bayazet, Jihangir.) Abdallah died in infancy, so they did not consider it necessary to introduce him into the series, it wasn't even mentioned.
In addition to all of the above, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was afraid of this damned law more than anyone, because she knew that having reigned, Mustafa would kill her sons, no matter how kind or merciful he may seem - the law is the law, and the Council will insist on the implementation of this law in order to live in peace, without fear that one of the brothers would encroach on the throne.

And now more about the Fatih law:

In 1478, Mehmet II Fatih the Conqueror introduced the law “On Succession to the Throne,” the second more common name is the law “On Fratricide.”
The law states: “Any person who dares to encroach on the Sultan’s throne must be immediately executed. Even if my brother wants to take the throne. Therefore, the heir who becomes Sultan must immediately execute his brothers to maintain order.”

Mehmed II introduced his law at the end of his reign. It was supposed to serve the heirs of Mehmed II as reliable protection from pretenders to the throne who were dissatisfied with the power of their opponents, primarily from the siblings and half-brothers of the ruling Sultan, who could openly oppose the Padishah and start a rebellion.
To prevent such unrest, the brothers were to be executed immediately after the new sultan ascended the throne, regardless of whether they encroached on the throne or not. This was very easy to do, since it was impossible to deny that at least once in their lives the legitimate shehzade did not think about the throne.

And finally, we note that the Fatih Law was in force until the beginning of the 20th century, until the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. The last time it was used was in 1808, when Sultan Mahmud II, who had taken the throne, killed his brother Sultan Mustafa IV.
The Ottoman Empire lasted until 1922 and collapsed due to defeat in the First World War.

The Fatih Law or what the great Hurrem Sultan feared most in the world.

Law of Fatih. A cruel and immutable rule of the existence of the powerful Ottoman dynasty, an inevitable fate that plunges into horror the powerful sultanas who gave birth to their ruler Shehzade. How was this custom established, which gave rise to many intrigues at the foot of the Sultan’s throne?

Just the thought that her sons would become victims of the Fatih Law made Hurrem Sultan’s heart clench with burning anxiety. On the contrary, Makhidevran was not very worried that this norm would bring misfortune to her son Mustafa in the future. The fact is that Mehmet Fatih legalized real fratricide- the heir who was lucky enough to become the chosen one of Allah and ascend the throne was obliged to kill his brothers in order to avoid unrest and disobedience.

Mustafa was lucky: he was the eldest boy among the children of Sultan Suleiman and was not subject to the Fatih Law. Of course, if the sons from previous favorites, Gulfem and Fulane, had survived, then Makhidevran would have had to desperately intrigue to save the life of his only shehzade. However, fate for the time being allowed the ruler’s main wife to remain calm and not think about the sad fate of the mother who lost her son.

But over the heads of the sons of the red-haired Hurrem Sultan, the Law of Fatih swung like the sword of Damocles. The mother of five boys understood perfectly well that if the son of her rival became the sultan, they would not live. No matter how kind and understanding brother Mustafa is, he will stop at nothing to save the state from collapse and civil war. The law is strong, but it's law. The Council will insist on its implementation, denying kinship feelings in the name of the interests of the country.

More about the Fatih Law

Mehmed Fatih, who carried out many glorious campaigns, became famous among his subjects not only as a conqueror, but also as a legislator. The Law on Succession to the Throne, issued in 1478, which went down in the annals of history as the law on fratricide, stated that any person who dared to encroach on the throne of the ruler should be executed. Even if it is a close relative. It followed from this that the new sultan would first of all be obliged to destroy all potential rivals for supreme power.

This norm appeared at the end of the reign of Mehmed II and was supposed to help consolidate the rights to the throne of the heirs of Fatih himself, and not his half-brothers and uncles, who had the opportunity to oppose the reigning padishah and lead the population dissatisfied with the rule. For the purposes of internal security, the empire had to immediately secretly or openly eliminate male competitors, especially since there were always reasons: every legitimate shehzade dreamed of the throne at least once in his life.

The last time the law on fratricide was implemented was in 1808, when Mahmud II dealt with his brother Mustafa IV. Subsequently, this norm will cease to exist with the collapse of the Ottoman state after the defeat in the First World War in 1922.

Fatih Law: in the struggle for power, all means are fair

Any empire rests not only on military conquests, economic strength and a powerful ideology. An empire cannot exist for a long time and develop effectively without a stable system of succession to supreme power. What anarchy in an empire can lead to can be seen in the example of the Roman Empire during its decline, when virtually anyone who offered more money to the praetorians, the capital’s guard, could become emperor. In the Ottoman Empire, the question of the procedure for coming to power was regulated primarily by the Fatih law, cited by many as an example of cruelty and political cynicism.

The Fatih Law of Succession came into being thanks to one of the most famous and successful sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Sultans of the Ottoman Empire: 600 years of conquest, luxury and power , Mehmed II (reigned 1444-1446, 1451-1481). The respectful epithet “Fatih”, that is, Conqueror, was given to him by his admiring subjects and descendants in recognition of his outstanding services in expanding the territory of the empire. Mehmed II really did his best, conducting numerous victorious campaigns both in the East and in the West, primarily in the Balkans and Southern Europe. But his main military act was the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Byzantine Empire by that time it had actually ceased to exist, its territory was controlled by the Ottomans. But the fall of the great city, the capital of a monumental empire, was a momentous event, marking the end of one era and the beginning of the next. An era in which the Ottoman Empire had a new capital, renamed Istanbul, and it itself became one of the leading forces in the international arena.

However, there are many conquerors in the history of mankind, much less great conquerors. The greatness of a conqueror is measured not only by the scale of the lands he conquered or the number of enemies he killed. First of all, this is a concern for preserving what was conquered and turning it into a powerful and prosperous state. Mehmed II Fatih was a great conqueror - after many victories, he thought about how to ensure stability for the empire in the future. First of all, this required a simple and clear system of inheritance of power. By that time, one of the mechanisms had already been developed. It consisted in the principle on which the life of the Sultan’s harem was built - “one concubine - one son.” Sultans very rarely entered into official marriage; usually their children were born to their concubines. To prevent one concubine from gaining too much influence and starting intrigues against the sons of other concubines, she could only have one son from the Sultan. After his birth, she was no longer allowed to have intimacy with the ruler. Moreover, when the son reached more or less sane age, he was appointed governor of one of the provinces - and his mother had to accompany him.

In politics, brothers are the most dangerous

However, difficulties with inheriting the throne still remained - the sultans were not limited in the number of concubines, so they could have many sons. Taking into account the fact that every adult son could be considered a rightful heir, the struggle for future power often began even before the death of the previous sultan. In addition, even after gaining power, the new Sultan could not be completely calm, knowing that his brothers were capable of revolting at any moment. Mehmed II himself, having finally come to power, resolved this issue simply and radically - he killed his half-brother, a potential rival in the struggle for power. And then he issued a law according to which the Sultan, after ascending the throne, has the right to execute his brothers in order to maintain the stability of the state and to avoid future revolts.

Fatih Law in the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire: the southern bridge between East and West formally operated for more than four centuries, until the end of the sultanate, which was abolished in 1922. At the same time, one should not make Mehmed II a fanatic, who supposedly bequeathed to his descendants to mercilessly destroy all his brothers. The Fatih Law did not say that every new sultan was obliged to kill his closest relatives. And many sultans did not resort to such radical measures. However, this law gave the head of the empire the right, through such intra-family “bloodletting,” to ensure the political stability of the entire state. By the way, this law was not the cruel whim of the maniac Sultan: it was approved by the legal and religious authorities of the Ottoman Empire, who considered that such a measure was justified and expedient. The Fatih Law was often used by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Thus, upon his accession to the throne in 1595, Sultan Mehmed III ordered the death of 19 brothers. However, the last case of application of this emergency legal norm was noted long before the fall of the empire: in 1808, Murad II, who came to power, ordered the murder of his brother, the previous Sultan Mustafa IV.

Fatih Law: laws and series

It is unlikely that such a large number of non-Turkish people, that is, those who did not study the actions of Mehmed II in a school history course, would have remembered the Fatih law in our time, if not for the notorious TV series “The Magnificent Century”. The fact is that the screenwriters made the Fatih law one of the main plot springs of the entire narrative. According to the script, Hurrem, the famous concubine and beloved wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, began to weave her intrigues against other concubines and the eldest son of Sultan Suleiman. At the same time, her main activity was directed precisely against the Fatih law on succession to the throne. The logic was this: Sultan Suleiman had an eldest son, born of another concubine. Consequently, it was he who had the highest chances of taking his father's throne. In this case, the new Sultan could use the Fatih law and kill his brothers, the sons of Hurrem.

Therefore, Hurrem Sultan allegedly sought to get Suleiman to repeal this law. When the Sultan did not want to repeal the law even for the sake of his beloved wife, she redirected her activities. Not being able to abolish the law as a threat to her sons, she decided to abolish the root cause - and began to intrigue against her eldest son Suleiman in order to discredit him in the eyes of his father, and, if possible, destroy him. This activity led to the strengthening of the influence of Hurrem, who thus became the founder of the tradition that in the history of the Ottoman Empire is known as the “Women’s Sultanate”.

The version as a whole is interesting and not devoid of logic, however, it is just an artistic version. Hurrem Sultan is not an activist of the “Women’s Sultanate”; this phenomenon, characterized by the great influence of the women of the harem on the political situation in the country and even on the supreme power, arose half a century after her death.

In addition, it is again worth remembering that the Fatih law did not provide for the inevitable reprisal of the Sultan against his brothers. It is characteristic that in some cases the law was circumvented: for example, in 1640, before his death, Sultan Murad IV ordered the death of his brother. However, the order was not carried out, since if it was carried out there would be no direct heirs in the male line. True, the next Sultan went down in history as Ibrahim I the Madman, so the big question is whether the order was not carried out correctly - but that’s another story...

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Fatih Law

Fatih Law

Name of the law

Founder of the Law

Fatih Law- one of the sacred traditions of the Ottoman Empire, used by the sultans upon accession to the throne. The Fatih Law called upon the sultans who received the throne to kill all their brothers and their male descendants in order to prevent internecine wars in the future.

Cases of murder of close relatives during the struggle for power in the Ottoman dynasty occurred from the very first days. When a rival in the struggle for the throne was executed, all his sons were often executed, regardless of age. Before Murad II, in all cases, only guilty princes were executed: rebels and conspirators, opponents in the armed struggle. Murad II was the first to impose punishment on the innocent minor brothers, ordering them to be blinded absolutely without their guilt. His son, Mehmed II, immediately after ascending the throne executed his newly born brother. Later, the Sultan issued a collection of laws, one of the provisions of which recognized the killing of innocent shehzade for the sake of maintaining order as legal.

The Ottomans inherited the idea that shedding the blood of members of the dynasty was unacceptable, so the relatives of the sultans were executed by strangling them with a bowstring. The sons of the Sultan killed in this way were buried with honor, usually next to their deceased father. Bayezid II and Selim I did not apply the Fatih law during their accession, since relations with their brothers were sorted out with arms in hand. Suleiman I was survived by only one son, therefore, in its pure form, the Fatih law was applied from the accession of Murad III in 1574 until the death of Murad IV in 1640:

Murad III, the eldest son of Selim II, upon his accession in 1574, exercised his right to execute innocent young brothers under the Fatih law. The number of those executed is estimated at five or nine. Mehmed III, the eldest son of Murad III, also ordered the execution of his young brothers upon his accession to the throne. He had 19 of them. Fearing a conspiracy on the part of his own sons, Mehmed introduced the harmful custom of not sending sehzade to sanjaks, but keeping them with him on the territory of the Sultan’s palace. Ahmed I, the eldest son of Mehmed III who survived him, twice ordered the execution of Mustafa, but both times troubles occurred, forcing the superstitious Sultan to cancel the order. Ahmed's son, Osman, ordered the execution of his brother, Mehmed. Osman himself was soon overthrown and killed. Murad IV ordered the execution of at least two of his minor brothers. Despite never having any sons who survived infancy, Murad ordered the execution of his last brother and only heir, Ibrahim, but he was saved by his mother and Ibrahim succeeded Murad on the throne. Ibrahim was killed later, after the revolt of the Janissaries and overthrow.

Subsequently, the Fatih law was no longer applied. It is estimated that 60 sehzade were executed throughout the history of the Ottoman Empire. Of these, 16 were executed for rebellion and 7 for attempted rebellion. All others - 37 - for reasons of general benefit.

Magnificent century

Mustafa swears that he will never execute Mehmed

The law ordering the death of one's brothers upon accession to the throne is first mentioned in the third season. While hunting, Suleiman tells his son Mehmed about this, and he, meeting Mustafa, asks him if his brother can execute his brother. Shehzade swear to each other that no matter which of them ascends the throne, he will never execute the other.

Execution of Bayezid and his sons

In the fourth season, the Fatih law is mentioned in almost every episode. There are three contenders for the throne - Shehzade Mustafa, Selim and Bayezid. The mother of Selim and Bayezid Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska is ready to do anything to ensure that the throne goes to one of her children, and for this purpose she begins to weave intrigues around Mustafa. Bayezid and Mustafa swear to each other that if one of them ascends the throne, he will not kill the other, but the mothers of Shehzade actively oppose this. After the execution of Mustafa, only two rivals remain - Selim and Bayezid, and each of them knows that either the throne or death awaits him. Behind Selim is his father, behind Bayezid is his mother. More than one battle takes place between the Shehzade, and as a result, their youngest Shehzade ends up in Persian captivity, from where Selim ransoms him and executes him along with all his sons in order to ensure a quiet reign for himself.

Kösem Empire

Little Mustafa I before his execution in prison

The Law of Fatih is mentioned in the first episode. Ahmed talks about his childhood, marred by the death of his brothers and the cruelty of his father, who died due to illness and thereby allowed Ahmed to ascend to the throne. In front of Sehzade, his elder brother, Mahmud, was killed, and Dervish Pasha later recalls that if he had not poisoned Mehmed III, Ahmed himself would have been executed. Following the law, the new Sultan must take the life of his younger brother Mustafa, but cannot do this despite pressure from both his mother and Safiye Sultan. He makes several attempts to kill the boy, but each time something stops him. As a result, Ahmed never commits a crime, which deserves universal recognition. However, because of his mercy, Mustafa has to sit in a cafe all his life, which is why the latter goes crazy.

Execution of Shehzade by order of Halime Sultan

After Ahmed’s death, Fatih’s law becomes perhaps the main character of the series: in order to protect both his children and all the sehzade who will still be born in the Empire, Kösem Sultan cancels the fratricide. On behalf of her husband, she passes a new law on “the eldest and wisest,” according to which the eldest of the Ottoman family becomes the sultan. But this does not help to stop the bloodshed: on the orders of Valide Halima Sultan, who does not take into account the new order, all the nephews of the new padishah are almost executed, twice. Osman II, having finally ascended the throne, repeals the law adopted by his stepmother and returns fratricide. This makes it possible to execute his brother, Sehzade Mehmed. Also, during Ahmed’s life, Iskender, the “lost shehzade,” is executed, but later he turns out to be alive, and Kösem, in order to ensure a calm reign for his son in the future and deprive Safiye Sultan of an heir, does everything to deal with him. During the second reign of the insane Mustafa, in order to preserve order, the children of Kösem are again almost executed, and Osman is killed by the Janissaries. His son, Mustafa, is also executed.

Execution of Shehzade Bayezid

In the second season, the Law of Fatih reigns from the first episode to the last: as soon as Sultan Murad takes power into his own hands, his brothers begin to fear for their freedom, and then for their lives. Gulbahar Sultan, as soon as he arrived at the palace, immediately begins to tell his son that one day the Sultan will execute him anyway, and therefore it is necessary to overthrow the current padishah before this happens. As soon as Shehzade Kasym commits an offense, he is imprisoned in a cafe, and a few years later, due to the intrigues of his mother, he is completely executed. Despite all the attempts of Valide Kösem Sultan to save the lives of all the shehzade, Bayezid is the first to die at the hands of the executioners, having gotten involved in his mother’s game, Kasim is killed second, and Ibrahim, who also spent several years in the cafe, is literally protected by Kösem with his body. Later, the padishah executes the elderly Mustafa I, still sitting in the cafe.

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Süleyman ve Roksolana / Suleiman and Roksolana

Fatih Law
Why is it needed?! And who invented it?!

Well, first of all, let me remind you, for those who forgot or simply did not know what this law is called. The Fatih Law is the same law that allows you to kill all your brothers and completely interrupt their line (that is, kill all their descendants in the male line), if (you are lucky) you took the throne, that is, became the Sultan.

To begin with, not much about the creator of this very law. Sultan Mehmed II, popularly known as Fatih, which means Conqueror, was Ottoman Sultan from 1444 to 1446 and from 1451 to 1481. (Great-grandfather of Sultan Suleiman Kanuni).

Mehmed II was born on March 29, 1432 in Edirne. He was the fourth son of Murad II by his concubine Huma Khatun (presumed to be of Greek descent).

When Mehmet was six years old, he was sent to the sanjak-saruhan of Manisa, where he remained until August 1444 (until he was 12 years old), that is, until he took the throne.

At the time of his accession to the throne, Mehmed II ordered the drowning of his half-brother Akhmed-Kuchuk. After this, in fact, Mehmed II legitimized this custom with his decree, which read: “Whichever of my sons who ascends the throne has the RIGHT to kill his brothers so that there is order on earth.” Most experts in judicial affairs approved of this law. THIS IS HOW THE FATIHA LAW APPEARED.

In fact, this sultan became famous not only for his famous laws, he led numerous conquests during the Balkan Wars and conquered Serbia, Herzegovina, and Albania. In 1467, Mehmed II approached the possessions of the Mamluk rulers of the Karamanids - Ak-Koyunlu - Memluk. In 1479, the Sultan launched a campaign against the Venetians, who controlled the vast territory of Albania. Mehmed II besieged the fortresses of Shkodra (Ishkodra) and Kruja (Akcahisar). His most important conquest, for which he actually received the nickname “Fatih,” was the conquest of Constantinople in May 1453 (at that time he was 21 years old).

Wives and concubines:

Since the beginning of the reign of Sultan Mehmet II (from 1444), the main element of Ottoman family policy was living with concubines without officially marrying them, as well as the main principle (which I think many people have heard of) “one concubine one son ( shehzade)", as well as the policy of limiting childbearing for wives from noble families, was carried out through sexual abstinence. Inside the Sultan's harem, a kind of policy was probably used to prevent those concubines who had already given birth to sons from entering the Sultan's bed. One of the reasons for applying the policy of “one concubine, one son” was that the mothers of the Sultan’s children, when sending their sons to govern the sanjaks, accompanied them and headed their house in the provinces.

1. Emine Gülbahar Hatun: mother of Cevher Hatun and adoptive mother of Bayezid II (As the adoptive mother of Bayezid and the widow of Mehmed, she received a title equal to the title Valide Sultan that appeared later. She died in 1492 in Istanbul. She was buried in the Fatih Mosque. In memory of her adoptive mother After her death, Bayezid II built the Khatuniye Mosque in Tokat).

2. Sitti Mükrime Hatun: was the LEGAL wife of Mehmet, daughter of the sixth ruler of Dulkadirida Suleiman Bey and biological mother of Bayezid II. (Her son ascended the throne 14 years later, after the death of Mükrime. Mehmed's other wife Emine Gülbahar Hatun received the then equivalent title of Valide Sultan, like his adoptive mother).

3. Gulshah Khatun: mother of the beloved son of Sultan Mehmed II - Shehzade Mustafa (1450-1474). (Shehzade died of illness in June 1474, at the age of 24. His death was blamed on the Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha, who had a bad relationship with Mustafa. He was strangled, but buried in his mausoleum, which he built and bears his name. And most importantly, on the day of his funeral, the Sultan declared mourning, which was a sign of his changeable character).

4. Chichek Khatun: mother of Shehzade Cem
5.Helena Khatun
6.Anna Khatun
7.Alexis Khatun

Sons: Sultan Bayezid II, Shehzade Mustafa, Shehzade Cem and Shehzade Korkut.

Daughters: Cevger Khatun, Seljuk Khatun, Hatice Khatun, Iladi Khatun, Ayse Khatun, Hindi Khatun, Aynishah Khatun, Fatma Khatun, Shah Khatun, Huma Sultan and Ikmar Sultan. (I think many people are interested in why the first daughters were called Khatun, and the last 2 Sultans, I explain, before the reign of Bazid II, the daughters of the Sultan were called Khatun, and after his ascension to the throne, the daughters of the Sultans began to be called Sultanas).

Mehmed II died when he moved from Istanbul to Gebze for the final formation of the army (for the next campaign). While in the military camp, Mehmed II fell ill and died suddenly, as was supposed from food poisoning or due to his chronic illness. There was also a version of poisoning. The body of the ruler was brought by Karamani Ahmet Pasha to Istanbul and was laid out for farewell for twenty days. On the second day after Bayezid II ascended the throne, the body was interred in the mausoleum of the Fatih Mosque. The funeral took place on May 21, 1481.

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