Top 10 Interesting Facts about Mehmed III

Episode from the circumcision ceremonies of the future Mehmed III, in 1582. The departure of the prince’s party from the Eski Saray (old palace), to the Hippodrome. Photo by: Seyyid Lokman, Nakkas Osman- Wikimedia.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Mehmed III

Mehmed III, Ottoman sultan (1595-1603) who reigned during a long and arduous conflict with Austria and serious revolts in Anatolia. Sultan Mehmed III was the son of Sultan Murad III and the 13th Ottoman sultan and the 72nd Islamic caliph.

When Sultan Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, found out he had a grandson shortly before his death in the Szigetvar campaign, he named him Sultan Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conqueror.

1. Mehmed III’s brief family background

During the reign of his great-grandfather, Suleiman the Magnificent, Mehmed was born at the Manisa Palace in 1566. He was Murad III’s son, who was the son of Selim II, who was the son of Sultan Suleiman and Hurrem Sultan. Safiye Sultan, an Albanian from the Dukagjin highlands, was his mother.

Suleiman I, his great-grandfather, died the year he was born, and his grandfather, Selim II, became the new Sultan. Mehmed’s grandfather, Selim II, died when he was eight years old, and his father, Murad III, became Sultan in 1574. Murad died when Mehmed was 28 years old, in 1595.

2. How Mehmed III’s ended up ruling the nation

Portrait of 13th Ottoman Sultan Mehmed. Photo by: Sutori- Wikimedia.

Sehzade (Prince) Mehmed III was circumcised in a majestic celebration and sent to Manisa as a governor after receiving a good education from the best intellectuals of the time. He was the last şehzade appointed as governor of a sanjak. Future princes stayed in the palace after him.

After his father’s death in 1595, he ascended to the throne at the age of 29. Following the succession, he was thrust into the Ottoman-Austrian wars, which had been raging since 1593.

The war was prolonged due to bureaucratic conflicts and Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha’s carelessness. Erdel (Transylvania), Eflak (Wallachia), and Bodan (Moldavia) repelled, on the other hand.

3.The Emperor is imprisoned

On August 7, 1595, Esztergom and Visegrad fell to the Austrians due to the cowardice of Commander Mehmed Pasha. As it retreated while fighting, the Ottoman army was spared destruction. Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha, on the other hand, occupied Wallachia, and Bucharest fell.

Nevertheless, after Sinan Pasha left Wallachia without establishing security, Michael I, Voivode of Wallachia, began to follow the Ottoman forces. As Sinan Pasha lingered unnecessarily, the Wallachian troops arrived while the army was crossing the Danube.

On October 27, 1595, the voivode had the bridge demolished with cannon fire and destroyed the akinji (raider) troops who had not yet passed it. As a result, the Turkish akinji troops suffered a crushing defeat.

4. Who were the most notorious people?

Portrait of Mehmed III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1595-1603). The portrait has been printed using the Giclée process. Photo by: John Young (1755-1825)- Wikimedia.

Sinan Pasha and his son Mehmed Pasha, who were responsible for these catastrophes, are among the most heinous figures in Ottoman historical past. Sinan Pasha, who was dismissed and banished, had declared war on Austria two years earlier, despite protests of almost all statesmen, and boasted that he would bring the Holy Roman Emperor to Istanbul in chains.

Sultan Mehmed III decided to go on a personal campaign on the advice of his teacher, Sadeddin Efendi. By informing everyone that he was going on an expedition, he focused the nation’s hearts and minds on the battlefield. On October 12, 1596, an army marching toward Eri (Eger, Erlau) conquered the castle.

5. Why Mehmed III executed his brothers

Sultan Mehmet III of the Ottoman Empire. Photo by: Cristofano dell’Altissimo- Wikimedia.

Upon rising to the line of succession, Mehmed III ordered the execution of all nineteen of his brothers. They were strangled by his royal assassins, many of whom were deaf, mute, or ‘half-witted’ to ensure absolute loyalty. Fratricidal dynasties were not uncommon, as sultans frequently had dozens of children with their concubines.

6. Mehmed III’ struggled with power

Mehmed III was a slacker ruler who delegated power to his mother, Safiye Sultan, the valide sultan. The feud among two of his dignitaries, Serdar Ferhad Pasha and Koca Sinan Pasha, and their supporters was his first critical challenge.

His mother and her son-in-law Damat Ibrahim Pasha backed Koca Sinan Pasha and stopped Mehmed III from seizing control of the situation. The problem grew to the point where janitors were causing major disruptions.

Mehmed III finally fired Serdar Ferhad Pasha as Grand Vizier on July 7, 1595, due to his failure in Wallachia, and replaced him with Sinan.

7. Jelali takes a stand during Mehmed III’s reign

The Anatolian Jelali rebellions were another significant event during his ruling. In 1600, Karayazc Abdülhalim, a former Ottoman official, captured Urfa and decreed himself Sultan.

The rumors of his claim to the throne spread to Constantinople, and Mehmed instructed brutal punishment of the rebels to disprove the rumors, including the execution of Hüseyin Pasha, whom Karayazc Abdülhalim arranged as Grand Vizier.

After being overthrown by the forces of Baghdad’s governor, Sokulluzade Hasan Pasha, in 1601, Abdülhalim fled to the vicinity of Samsun. However, his brother, Deli Hasan, assassinated Sokulluzade Hasan Pasha and defeated troops led by Hadm Hüsrev Pasha. He then marched on to Kütahya, which he seized and burnt down.

8. What did fratricide mean to the Sultan?

This highlights an essential fact: On the surface, fratricide was a display of ultimate authority dominated with impunity, but it really mirrored the sultan’s weakness. As any prince could be a rightful heir, any living brother posed a danger to the sultan—as well as a source of potential leverage for the janissaries.

9. How did fratricide affect the Sultan?

Surprisingly, by reducing each generation to a single heir, the Ottomans avoided the advancement of a hereditary monarchy similar to those that ruled the rest of Europe.

Furthermore, because the Ottomans pruned the family tree regularly, feuding factions could not sprout: there was no Ottoman equivalent of the House of York or the House of Lancaster.

The dynastic battles waged by those European houses had a different flavor—they erupted when the king died with no heirs, rather than too many—but they were no less bloody as a result.

10. When did Mehmed III die?

Mehmed died at the age of 37 on December 22, 1603. Refer to one source, the frustration caused by the death of his son, ehzade Mahmud, was the cause of his death.  

Another source claims that he died of plague or a stroke.  He was laid to rest in the Hagia Sophia Mosque. He was succeeded as Sultan by his son Ahmed I.