Prince Mustafa (Episode 1): whose death is still mourned by the Turks
In the summer of 1553, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the best ruler of the Ottoman Empire, left the capital, Istanbul, for a third campaign against the Safavids. Which is known as the ‘Nahchivan’ expedition.
Before leaving the capital, the Sultan sent an envoy to Prince Mustafa, the governor of Amasya. Send the news to Mustafa through an envoy to prepare his troops to join the operation.
Arriving at Aregley, Suleiman sent another envoy to Mustafa. This time, he said, Mustafa would come to the place where his troops would pitch their tents instead of joining the operation directly.
Mahidevran Sultan was able to anticipate the imminent danger of his only son. All of Prince Mustafa's followers were forbidden to meet the Sultan.
But it was impossible for Prince Mustafa, loyal to his father, to disobey the order. Because disobeying the order of the Sultan will be tantamount to declaring rebellion. So one of the best and most popular princes of the Ottoman Empire left, relying on his own destiny.
On October 7, 1953, Mustafa appeared in front of the tent in the army camp where Sultan Suleiman lived. He was wearing a white royal dress. He wore a white turban on his head.
The prince was prevented from getting down from his horse and entering the Sultan's tent. He was told to deposit his weapon and enter. Prince Mustafa entered the tent, handing over his sword and dagger to the Sultan's security guards.
Sultan Suleiman then sat on his throne with an arrow in his hand. Mustafa went to kiss the Sultan's hand according to the rules. But removing his hand, the Sultan roared and said,
Hey dog, how dare you still greet me?
Before Prince Mustafa realized anything, he was surrounded by three deaf executioners. Everything was fixed in advance. They grabbed the prince from behind and tried to kill him by suffocating him.
Prince Mustafa was almost running away from them. But the end was not saved. He was again suffocated to death by a group of others at the behest of his father, Sultan Suleiman. A cavalryman and a leader who accompanied Mustafa were also killed.
The death of Prince Mustafa was like a thunderbolt to the geniuses. It's not just that they loved Mustafa.At that time Mustafa was loved by almost every influential family and common man in the Ottoman Empire, from soldiers to bureaucrats, religious scholars, poets and the empire.
Almost everyone in the Ottoman Empire at the time believed that Prince Mustafa had been assassinated by Hurram Sultan, the beloved wife of Sultan Suleiman, and Azam Rustam Pasha, his son-in-law and vizier.The only reason for this was to remove the beloved prince of the people and pave the way for the children of Hurram to ascend the throne.Those who have researched and written literature on the history of the Ottoman Empire have unanimously agreed that Hurram and Rustam were responsible for the assassination of Mustafa. They present the two princes as rebels in the eyes of the Sultan, which resulted in a prudent sultan like Sultan Suleiman executing his innocent child.