Sultan Mustafa I: biography, main dates, history

The Ottoman Empire existed for more than 6 centuries. Its history begins in 1299 and ends in the 23rd year of the 20th century. The Osmans were descended from the Central Asian tribe of kai. This people lived in the Balkh region. Part of the kai tribe, fleeing from the Mongol-Tatar horde, headed west. Their leader, Ertugrul, entered the service of Khorezmshah Jalal ud-Din. After a while, he led his people to Anatolia - in the possession of Sultan Kay-Kubad I, and he came to the head of Kei Uj Sogyut. This was the beginning of the Great Ottoman Empire. Sultan Mustafa the First, which will be discussed in this article, is her 15th ruler. He went down in history as the insane ruler of the Osmanians, although some of his subjects considered him not a madman, but a saint. Nevertheless, he twice, although for a short while, became the head of the Ottoman Empire. He was also called the caliph of Islam, the ruler of the faithful and the keeper of the two holy places.

Mustafa Sultan: biography, life story

He was born in 1591 in the city of Manis. His father was the 13th ruler of the Ottoman Empire Mahmud the Third, and his mother Halima, concubine of the Sultan. The first 14 years of his life he spent in a harem, in the so-called cage, where he was imprisoned by his brother Ahmed the First. Whether the future sultan Mustafa was mentally retarded from birth or who was affected by life in prison was not known to anyone. However, we heard stories that he liked to feed fish in the Bosphorus, not bread or any other food, but gold coins. Over the years his illness progressed. He was afraid of women, avoided them, resisted, if they wanted to bring a concubine to him in the harem.

About father

As already noted, Mustafa 1 is the son of concubine Halima and Sultan Mehmed the 3rd. So what does the story say about his father? Mehmed the 3rd entered the throne four years after the birth of Mustafa. Immediately after that, he executed all his brothers, and he had 19. He was afraid of conspiracy and was afraid for his life. He also introduced a harmful custom, according to which the princes were not allowed to take part in the government of the country during the life of their father. They were to be kept locked up in a harem, in the so-called "cage" pavilion. During the reign of Mehmed the Third, Russian Ambassador Danil Islenev was detained in Constantinople, and then he disappeared without a trace. The Ottoman Empire was then at war with the Austrians. The latter made great strides and had a great advantage over the Ottomans. This caused discontent among the people, in particular the Janissaries, which led to an uprising in Constantinople. In order to restore the people's confidence, Mehmed III decided to make a campaign to Hungary. In the Battle of Kerestec, he won a victory over the Hungarians, but he did not go further than this, because a comfortable palace life enticed him, and he hurried back to Constantinople. At the same time, unrest began in the territories captured by the Persians. It is said that it was from the beginning of Mehmed's rule that the magnificent empire of the Osmanians began to go to decline. In history, Mehmed the Third appears as an incredibly bloodthirsty and depraved ruler, although he is a worshiper of art, especially literature and poetry. And he was considered an ardent persecutor of Christians. Before Mehmed ascended the throne, he for 12 years was the governor in the city of Manisa. It was here that his son was born - the future sultan Mustafa 1 - and his three brothers Selim (in 1596 he was executed by his father's order), Mahmud (he and his mother were executed by the sultan-father in 1603) and Ahmet. Two more sons were born after he became a sultan, but they died in the very infancy. And he also had 7 daughters. After the death of Mehmed, Ahmet rose to the throne, but he did not execute his brother Mustafa, as was his custom, since he was an idiot. Nevertheless, he twice tried to strangle him personally, but something prevented him from carrying out this atrocity.

About mother

The story of Sultan Mustafa, of course, begins with the concubine Halime, a very wise woman, who gave birth to a third son from Mehmed. She was by birth an Abkhaz and a very young girl in the harem to Governor Manis Mehmed - the future 13th ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa was not her only child. The first son of the concubine Halima was Mahmud, as already noted, he was executed by his father. Besides two sons, she also had a daughter whose name is unknown. However, in history it is said that she later became the wife of the great vizier, who was implicated in the murder of Sultan Osman II. After Mehmed the Third ascended the Sultan's throne, Halima went with him to the Topkapi Palace. Here the sole owner was Walide Sultan, Ahmed's mother Safie, who was the chief instigator of the execution of her grandson, Mahmud. The story goes that Walid managed to intercept the letter from a certain seer, in which it was said that within half a year, Mehmed III would die, and Mahmud - his eldest son - would rise to the throne.

As Mustafa remained alive

When in 1603 the father of Shehzade died - Sultan Mahmed the Third, his thirteen-year-old son Ahmed ascended to the throne of the Ottoman Empire. And then, before the concubine Halima, the question arose about the life of her surviving son - Mustafa, who, as you remember, was an idiot. That's what helped him escape death, because, being blissful, he could not claim the throne, which means he would not have organized conspiracies against newly-minted Sultan Ahmed. That is why he wished to save his brother's life. It is said that this decision was also greatly influenced by his beloved concubine Kyosem. She was afraid that if Ahmed suddenly died, then his son Osman, born of her rival Makhfiruz, would rise to the throne, and her sons would be executed.

Sharpening

During the reign of Ahmed, the prince Mustafa, the son of Halime-sultan, was imprisoned in a harem, in a small pavilion "keshke", which is located on the territory of the Sultan's palace. He led a closed life, was under constant supervision. Sometimes the eunuchs wanted to bring him into the chambers of the concubines, but he raised hysteria, and soon this question was closed. As already noted, he liked to be on a terrace hanging over the Bosphorus and feed the fish with gold coins. In this "rhythm" Shehzadeh Mustafa I lived until 1617. It was at that time that his brother, Sultan Ahmed, died of typhus. He was then 28 years old.

The reign of Sultan Mustafa

The death of Ahmed I caused a dilemma: who of the Shekhzadeh to inherit the throne? In view of this, the yard was divided into two factions. The first - led by Soph Pasha, replacing the great vizier, and Sheikh-ul-Islam Hodzhasadetinom, wanted to put crazy Mustafa on the throne. Another faction, under the leadership of the head of the black eunuchs, saw on the throne the son of Ahmet the First - Osman. The first said that Osman was too young to rule the empire, and the latter insisted that the madman could not be a sultan. Nevertheless, the sultan Mustafa was elevated to the throne. Since that day a new law on inheritance appeared in the country, according to which, after the death of the Sultan, the elder in the family Shekhzade replaced him as emperor of the empire. By the way, Mustafa in the history of the empire was the first who ascended the throne after his brother, not his father.

The tricks of a mad sultan

The court physicians believed that after Mustava left prison in a "cage", he could be cured, since the cause of the illness is his isolation from society. However, even after 2-3 months no improvement in the patient's condition was observed. He behaved eccentrically and allowed himself such acts, which no one has so far committed. For example, he could scream with a squeal at the viziers in the couch, tear off the turban from them and pull at his beards, or shout with a cock while solving important questions. Becoming a sultan, he continued to pursue his favorite business, namely, he fed birds and fish with gold coins. If his other actions were not always noticed by the people and courtiers, or were considered them for the "holiness" of their lord, this feature of the sultan evoked indignation in people, and he appointed two of his favorite young concubines as governors of Damascus and Cairo, and one of the most important posts in The country was presented to some farmer who treated him with delicious wine during the hunt.

The removal of Mustafa from the throne

Despite all these antics, the court of the first camp was favored by the rule of the feeble-minded sultan. After all, he was nothing but a pawn in their able hands. By the way, his mother Halima after his accession to the throne became a valid Sultan. All of his short-lived reign of Mustafa I was only a pawn in the hands of the courtiers. And the empire was actually ruled by Khalil Pasha, the great vizier. However, Mustafa's rule was short-lived. A few months later, in 1618, he was overthrown, and Osman II was elevated to the throne. Poor Mustafa was once again imprisoned in a "cage".

The Second Board

Sultan Mustafa again ascended the throne in 1622. And this was the first time in the history of the empire. The Janissaries revolted and overthrew Osman II from the throne. After that he was strangled in his chambers. According to rumors, after that, he had his nose and one ear severed and taken to Halime Sultan. Once on the throne, Mustafa began to behave even worse: his illness progressed. Sometimes he showed glimpses of consciousness, and then he complained plaintively that he did not want to be the ruler of the empire and that he was left alone. The mad sultan thought that Osman was alive, he wandered around the palace in search of his nephew, knocked on the locked doors and asked to save him from a heavy burden. But since his accession was in the hands of his brother-in-law, Davud Pasha (by the way, he is suspected of the death of Osman the Second), he was not yet going to be removed from power.

Insurrection

After the death of Osman, the Janissaries raised a rebellion and demanded vengeance for the death of Sultan Osman II. To suppress the insurrection, Halime-sultan issued an order for the execution of his son-in-law, Davud Pasha. However, after this, the Janissaries did not calm down and besieged Ankara. After each other, various courtiers appeared at the post of Grand Vizier, and finally Kemankesh Kara Ali Pasha came to power. Together with the clergy, he persuaded Halime-sultan to remove Mustafa from the throne. She had to agree, but only on the condition that her son be saved. Soon 11-year-old Shekhzadeh Murad IV, the son of the concubine Kyosem and Sultan Ahmed I, was placed on the throne, and Mustafa was again sent to Cafes to his "cage", where he lived until his death. The death of Sultan Mustafa did not change anything in the country. Before him, nobody was concerned. He died in 1639. He was buried in the former baptistery of Hagia Sophia.