Remember high school history class. Some sultans are described in pages while others are covered in a few lines. Even if there is nothing to write about for pages, let’s not be fair, III. Murad was not a ruler for a few lines. III. Things were already going well as Murad ascended the throne in one of the powerful times of the Ottoman Empire. When things went wrong, the problems were easily solved because there were powerful statesmen with him.
However, when these statesmen died, everything was left to the Valide Sultan and things got mixed up again. Known as a libertine because of having too many children, III. Even his mother was the reason why Murad had so many concubines. Because he wanted to separate the sultan from his love and not lose his power in the harem. Come the best III. Let’s take a closer look at who Murad is and see the details about both his private life and his managerial life.
Grandson of Suleiman the Magnificent, III. Who is Murad?
Murad was born on July 4, 1546 in Manisa, the sanjak of his father, Prince Selim, and his mother is Nurbanu Sultan. Having received a good education like all princes, Murad became interested in literature when he learned Arabic and Persian. When his grandfather Suleiman the Magnificent appointed Selim to Karaman in 1558, Murad was also appointed to Alaşehir.
While he gained state experience in accordance with the traditions in Alaşehir Sancakbey, his father Selim II. He ascended the throne on September 24, 1566 under the name of Selim. Murad, who continued to receive education and gain experience during the reign of his father, soon ascended to the Ottoman throne.
III. After Murad came to the throne, his first act was quite bloody:
II. After Selim’s death, Murad III. He ascended the throne on 22 December 1574 under the name of Murad. II. Selim had many children, which means that III. It means Murad could fall from the throne at any moment. Therefore, III. As soon as Murad came to the throne, he had his five brothers strangled with the fatwa he received.
From the time of Kanuni, the relations between the French and the Ottomans were good. When there was a power vacuum in Poland, III. Murad made Erdel Bey king and secured the northern border. In 1578, Ramazan Pasha made a campaign against Morocco and broke the Portuguese power. Expedition III. Murad did not participate, he did not participate in any expeditions during his reign.
The murder of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha during the Safavid war shook the state structure:
The problems that started with the Safavid State during the Kanuni period were resolved with a peace treaty, but it was not complied with. Shah II. When İsmail also died, Van Beylerbeyi launched an attack. With the attacks on different dates, the Ottoman – Safavid War lasted for 22 years. Finally, on March 21, 1590, the Ferhat Pasha Treaty was signed and III. During the reign of Murad, the Ottoman Empire reached its widest borders.
Of course, the role of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha, who has been the grand vizier since the Kanuni period, has a great role in this process. Sokullu, whose name is written in golden letters in history, was assassinated by an attacker disguised as a dervish on October 11, 1579. The murderer of Sokullu, who was killed at the age of 74, was killed without being told. It is an unsolved mystery even today.
After the death of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha, III. Murad’s mother, Nurbanu Sultan, became powerful enough to even interfere with the state administration. After Sokullu, 11 grand vizier and 7 sheikh al-Islam were replaced. According to some historians, III. Since Murad devoted himself to pleasure and pleasure, Sokullu was running the business, and when he died, things got out of hand.
- Sokullu Mehmed Pasha
III. With the letter of Murad to Elizabeth I, new relations were established between the two countries:
The Ottoman Empire, the greatest power of the period; He gave certain rights to the Genoese, Venetians and French, allowing them to trade. Queen of England at the time, Elizabeth I, III. He sent an envoy to Murad and requested that these rights be given to the British.
The Ottomans, who were already thoroughly disgusted with the Catholics, decided to keep on good terms with the English, who were Protestants. So much so that III. There were frequent correspondence between Murad and Elizabeth I and even III. Murad even told the queen to become a Muslim. The events that took place in this period ignited the British-French rivalry that would last for many years.
- Elizabeth I
With Europe and Crimea, the threads came to a breaking point:
Crimean Khan II. After Mehmed Giray was dismissed, a military operation was organized in 1584 to punish him for rebelling. When the navy led by Kılıç Ali Pasha suppressed the Crimean forces, it was decided that the Ottoman sultans would appoint the Crimean Khan and the name of the Ottoman sultan should be read first in the sermons. Thus, the Ottoman Empire established complete dominance over the Crimea.
Problems with Venice for a while soon spread to Austria. When the peace treaty was broken, II. Rudolf did not pay taxes and the rulers of Wallachia, Erdel and Moldavia also rebelled. When things got messed up, this war turned into a war against the Holy Roman Empire and lasted more than a decade.
III. Murad died quietly at this time:
While the wars on the one hand and the problems within the state were going on on the other, the III. Murad; He died on January 16, 1595, after suffering a stroke. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, which was close to 20 million kilometers, III. Murad was buried in the courtyard of the Hagia Sophia Mosque.
III. It would be correct to say that Murad is neither a good nor a bad sultan. Because he came to the throne during the most powerful period of the Ottoman Empire and there was not much he could do anyway. However, it is not a very good period because it was during this period that powerful statesmen died one by one and the state deteriorated by falling into the hands of the women’s reign.
III. How many children does Murad have, are the rumors true?
III. Murad’s mother, Nurbanu Sultan, strangled her son with concubines to separate her from her love Safiye Sultan. III, who has six known married wives. It is known that Murad also had more than forty concubines who came to the office of Haseki.
According to some sources, he had 130 children from all these wives. Even when he died, many concubines were still pregnant. The names of 25 boys and 19 girls are known. Others died in infancy and childhood. So much so that III. III, who came to the throne after Murad. Mehmed had to have his 19 brothers strangled.
III, who came to the throne during the most powerful period of the Ottoman Empire and is said to have more than a hundred children. We answered questions such as who is Murad, how many children does he have. III. You can share your thoughts about Murad in the comments.