Şehzade Mustafa

This article is about the son of Suleiman the Magnificent. For the son of Bayezid I, see Mustafa Çelebi. For the son of Mehmed I, see Küçük Mustafa. For the son of Medmed the Conqueror, see Gülşah Hatun.

In this Ottoman Turkish style name, Mustafa is the given name, the title is Şehzade, and there is no family name.

Şehzade Mustafa
An Ottoman miniature of Şehzade Mustafa
Born	c. 1515 Manisa Palace, Manisa, Ottoman Empire
Died	6 October 1553(1553-10-06) (aged 37–38) Konya, Ottoman Empire
Burial	Muradiye Complex, Bursa
Spouse	Fatma Handan Hatun Begüm Nurcihan Hatun
Issue	Şehzade Süleyman Şehzade Ahmed Şehzade Mehmed Fatma Sultan Raziye Sultan
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Suleiman the Magnificent
Mother	Mahidevran Sultan
Religion	Islam

Şehzade Mustafa (Ottoman Turkish: شهزاده مصطفى‎; 1515 – 6 October 1553) was an Ottoman prince as the eldest son of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his chief consort Mahidevran Sultan. He was the prince-governor of Manisa from 1533 to 1541, of Amasya from 1541 to 1549, and of Konya from 1549 to 1553. Şehzade Mustafa was the heir apparent to the Ottoman throne and an immensely popular prince among the army and the populace prior to his execution, by the order of his father Suleiman, which he later regretted.

Life

The murder of Mustafa in 1553 was the subject of the 1561 French tragedy La Soltane by Gabriel Bounin.

Şehzade Mustafa was born in 1515 in Manisa to Şehzade Suleiman (the future sultan) and Mahidevran.

Mustafa experienced some problems in his relationship with his father since very early in his life. Through he was the first-born son and the most potential heir, his father, according to some historians, was more interested in Mustafa's younger half-brother, Şehzade Mehmed, the eldest son of Hürrem Sultan, the most prominent of Suleiman's consorts and later his legal wife.

Mustafa is believed to have been very close to his half-brothers Mehmed (born 1521), Selim (born 1524), Bayezid (born 1525), and Cihangir (born 1531), exemplified by the fact that Selim treated Mahidevran like his own mother by giving her back her wealth and helping to build Mustafa’s türbe in Bursa.

Then, in 1541, he faced a second shock after being sent to Amasya from the more prominent Manisa; the rule of Manisa was given to Mehmed, while Şehzade Selim and Şehzade Bayezid were sent to Konya and Kütahya for their sanjak assignments. However, after he was sent to Amasya, Mustafa got the news of an edict written by Suleiman: he had sent him to Amasya not because he did not want him to be his heir, but to defend the eastern part of Anatolia and learn how to manage a large empire. This relieved the Ottoman army and the people of Anatolia, as Şehzade Mustafa was the popular successor to the throne.

In Amasya, he got the news of the death of his brother Mehmed on 6 November 1543. It seemed like all barriers between the throne and Mustafa were gone, but he still faced another challenge. Selim was sent from Konya to Manisa in 1544, while Şehzade Bayezid remained in Kütahya. It was a critical decision, as they were Hürrem's sons, the mother of the late Mehmed. Hürrem's support of her own sons made Mustafa's political career difficult, but he successfully ruled Amasya for 8 years.

In 1547, during Suleiman's Elkas Campaign, the sultan met with his sons Selim, Bayezid, and Mustafa in different locations to discuss the political situation. It was well after the death of Mehmed, but the competition between the three princes was still going on.

In 1549, as a reward for his excellent participation in the Ottoman-Safavid War, Mustafa moved to Konya for his sanjak assignment. The rumours and speculations say that Mustafa's life was now in danger, as Hürrem and Rüstem Pasha had made a court alliance against him in favor of Hürrem's sons, Selim and Bayezid.

Execution

Strangling of Şehzade Mustafa; engraving by Cl. Duflos, 18th century

During Suleiman's Persian campaign, his army halted in Ereğli for a while. While Suleiman's army was in Ereğli, Rüstem Pasha made an offer to Mustafa to join his father's army. At the same time he warned Suleiman and persuaded him that Mustafa was coming to kill him. He was accused by his father because of Hürrem sultan and Rüstem Pasha.

Mustafa accepted Rüstem Pasha's offer and assembled his army to join his father's. Suleiman saw this as a threat and ordered the execution of his son. When Mustafa entered his father's tent to meet with him, Suleiman's guards attacked Mustafa, and after a long struggle they killed him using a bow-string. The name of the man who strangled Şehzade Mustafa was Mahmut Ağa. He was Rüstem Pasha's right hand.

Family

Consorts

Mustafa had two consorts:

• Fatma Handan Hatun (buried in Üçhanım Kızlar Mausoleum, Bursa);
• Begüm Nurcihan Hatun (buried in Üçhanım Kızlar Mausoleum, Bursa);

Sons

Mustafa had three sons:

• Şehzade Süleyman Çelebi (buried in Şehzadeler Mausoleum, Amasya);
• Şehzade Ahmed (buried in Turgutoğlu Mausoleum, Konya);
• Şehzade Mehmed (killed 1553, buried in Muradiye Complex, Bursa);

Daughters

Mustafa had three daughters:

• Fatma Sultan (died in Istanbul), married to Maktul Ahmed Pasha, governor of Rumelia Eyalet;
• Raziye Sultan (died in Istanbul);

Depictions in literature and popular culture

In 1561, eight years after Mustafa's death, the French author Gabriel Bounin wrote a tragedy titled La Soltane about the role of Hürrem Sultan in Mustafa's death. This tragedy marks the first time the Ottomans were introduced on stage in France.

In the television series Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Mustafa is played by Turkish actor Mehmet Günsür.