The execution of Shehzade Mustafa is one of the most painful events in the history of the Ottoman Empire. To this day, historians are arguing about whether shehzadeh Mustafa was to blame in reality, or he was slandered. Well, today I bring to your attention some interesting historical facts about this shehzad — his personality and death. These facts are taken from Turkish sources.
Shehzadeh Mustafa managed three sanjaks
Mustafa first went to sanjak in 1533, at the age of 18. His father appointed him to govern the sanjak of Saruhan (with Manisa as its capital). This province has always been considered the most privileged among the shehzadeh, as it was closest to the capital. Sarukhan was usually sent to govern the shehzadeh, whom the sultans considered their primary heirs.
Mustafa lived in Sarukhan for 8 years. In 1541, Mustafa was transferred to manage the sanjak of Amasya. And Sarukhan was managed by Hurrem’s son, 20—year-old shehzade Mehmed.
It was officially announced that the sultan made this decision because Amasya was a rather problematic sanjak, the eastern lands needed to be guarded, and Mustafa was the most experienced shehzade in this regard. In fact, who knows… Perhaps the father and son already had some disagreements at that time, and redirection to a less «prestigious» sanjak could be regarded as a «demotion», a loss of trust.
In 1549, Mustafa was again redirected to another sanjak. This time, in Konya. He ruled this sanjak until his death (1553).
What was Mustafa like
There are no portraits of shehzade, but there are images of him on the so—called miniatures — drawings by Ottoman artists dedicated to various events. And these miniatures show that shehzade Mustafa had a beard… This is a very interesting point, since only the sultan had the right to wear a beard, his sons did not. Some sources say that Mustafa grew a beard precisely in order to prove something to his father, to show that he is confident in himself and does not have to follow all the rules and traditions. And allegedly he was persuaded to do this by some statesmen.
Shehzade Mustafa at a meeting with Sultan Suleiman
As for personality and character, we can definitely say that Mustafa was very educated and brave. The Italian diplomat Bernardo Navajero gave interesting information about Shehzad Mustafa. Further from his words.
Mustafa is the first son of Sultan Suleiman, born of a Circassian woman. He currently lives in Amasya, which is located on the border with Iran and 26 days from Istanbul. His annual income is 80 thousand ducats.
His mother also lives with him and takes all precautions to prevent poisoning of her son. She says that the most dangerous thing for him is poison, he should not be afraid of anything else. It is said that Mustafa loves and respects his mother very much.
The people of Shehzade love him very much and want him to take the throne. It is obvious that the Janissaries also want shehzade Mustafa, who is very honest, generous and brave, to become the ruler.
The janissaries can turn to him with any requests, and so far no one has complained to the Sultan about his rule. He often sends his father beautiful horses and golden ducats as gifts. Obviously, he does it with joy. So far, he has not taken any action against his father.
However, due to various events, luck may fall on the side of shehzade Selim. In accordance with this, the plans of Hurrem Sultan and Rustem Pasha, a very authoritative person, are being built.
The Pasha appoints people close to him who are at his disposal to the most important posts. So, he appointed his brother to the captaincy and does everything so that he does not lose it. But even if this happens, Rustem Pasha will replace him with another loyal person, since there is nothing more effective to prevent Mustafa from ascending the throne than to cut his path with a fleet.
Shehzade Selim is very close to Istanbul (at that time he was running the Sarukhan sanjak). If he manages to survive, and his mother and Rustem Pasha are alive, perhaps they will be able to put Selim on the throne.
This succession issue promises to be quite bloody. It is not easy to understand who the sultan would like to see after him on the throne because they are all his sons, but he always has a Russian wife with him, and this woman always highlights her sons and constantly insults Mustafa.
The sultan also understands that he is unlikely to be able to prevent Mustafa and said with his own lips that Mustafa would ascend to the throne.
The children of shehzade Mustafa
-Nergishah Sultan. She was born in Manisa in 1536. She was married to Chenabi Akhmet Pasha.
-Shehzade Mehmed. He was born in Amasya in 1547. Some time after the death of his father, shehzade Mustafa, was strangled on the orders of his grandfather, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The Sultan feared that the child would pose a danger to his throne. Mehmed was buried next to his father.
-Shehzade Orhan. He died in Konya in 1552.
-Shah Sultan. She was born in Konya in 1547. She died on October 2, 1577. She was married to Zevchi Abdulkerim-aga.
There is no exact information about the harem of shehzade Mustafa.
Death of Shehzade
It is believed that Grand Vizier Damat Rustem Pasha fabricated fake letters to prevent Shehzada Mustafa from participating in the race for the throne. These letters indicate that Shehzadeh Mustafa aspired to the throne while his father was alive, supported the rebel movements and collaborated with the Safavid enemies.
There was even more accurate information on this matter. Allegedly, it was planned to bloodlessly remove Sultan Suleiman from the throne and send him to live (in fact in exile) in Dimetoka. That’s what the Janissaries and the forces supporting Mustafa wanted. By the way, Sultan Suleiman’s father, Selim the Terrible, ascended the throne in a similar way. He simply sent his father into exile, where he died soon after. Suleiman feared that shehzadeh Mustafa had decided to act in a similar way.
Thus was born Suleiman’s decision to execute his eldest son… This happened on October 6, 1553. Mustafa was 38 years old. During the Iranian expedition. Unsuspecting (or perhaps just not believing that such a thing was possible), shehzade rode up to his father’s tent on a horse and dismounted. He wanted to greet the Sultan and kiss his hand. He entered the tent unarmed, where 7 mute executioners immediately rushed at him. Mustafa managed to fight them off. But then Zal Mahmud-agha, a famous wrestler of that time, and also a palace janitor, rushed at him from behind. It was he who managed to finish off the fiercely resisting Mustafa. By the way, this moment is shown quite accurately in the TV series «The Magnificent Century». And in the future, Deputy Mahmud agha will become pasha and marry the daughter of Selim, the son of Sultan Suleiman.
Some stories say that the Sultan was present in the tent during the execution, was behind the curtain and even talked to his son and gave instructions to the executioners.
After that, the body of shehzade Mustafa was taken out and placed near the tent on a Persian carpet. Shehzade’s personal treasures, tents and livestock in the army were confiscated by the State Treasury.
A miniature. Events immediately after the execution
The death of shehzade Mustafa caused a great resonance among the soldiers and the public. This egregious event was widely discussed in Europe as well. In order for the Janissaries not to rebel, Sultan Suleiman was forced on the same day to dismiss Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha, whom the soldiers considered the main culprit of the incident. But Rustem was deprived of his position for a short time. He became the chief vizier again 2 years later…