AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ertuğrul Çelebi — Prince

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 280 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasya vâlisi Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa bin Sultân Süleyman Hân-ı Kânûnî şehzâdesidir. Amasya’da doğdu. Henüz mürâhik iken 960 senesi şevvâlinde pederinin şehâdetinden az sonra birâderi Şehzâde Süleyman Çelebi ile boğuldu. Amasya’da Şehzâdegân Türbesi’nde medfûnlardır. Hemşîreleri Fâtıma, Râziye Sultânlar da İstanbul’a nakledildi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Prince Mustafa, the Prince Sultan, governor of Amasya, who was the son of Süleyman the Magnificent. He was born in Amasya. While still approaching adolescence, in the month of Şevval 960 [September-October 1553], shortly after his father was put to death, he was strangled together with his brother Prince Süleyman Çelebi. Both are buried in Amasya in the Tomb of the Princes. His sisters, Fâtıma and Râziye Sultan, were taken to Istanbul.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • mürâhik: approaching adolescence, still young
  • şehâdet: being put to death as a martyr, here an execution
  • medfûn: buried
  • hemşîre: sister
  • nakl: being taken away, transferred
  • şevvâl: tenth month of the Hijri calendar

Prince Mustafa and Amasya

The children's father, Prince Mustafa, was Süleyman's eldest surviving son. He served as sanjak governor in Manisa from 1533 to 1541 and in Amasya from 16 June 1541 until his death. In his years at Amasya he is said to have become known as a patron of poetry and learning, a protector of the people, a dispenser of justice and a pleasant companion of the military elite. His son Prince Mehmed was born here in 1546. In May 1548 he met Süleyman, who was marching against the Safavids, in Anatolia. He is recorded to have won a wide following as heir, and Venetian ambassadors regarded him as the most suitable successor.

September-October 1553

In 1553 Süleyman set out on a new campaign against the Safavids, and when he reached Konya Ereğli in Anatolia he summoned Mustafa to the camp. On 6 October 1553, around midday, Mustafa entered his father's tent and was strangled there by executioners. His body was displayed in front of the tent. After the funeral prayer at Konya Ereğli it was taken to Bursa and buried in the Muradiye Complex. In some sources the event is attributed to the intrigue of Hürrem Sultan and Grand Vizier Rüstem Paşa. There was great grief and anger among the people, and the elegy of Taşlıcalı Yahyâ Bey is a famous example of that reaction.

The Fate of the Children and a Difference between Sources

Hüsameddin writes that two sons of Mustafa were strangled shortly after their father's death and buried in Amasya. According to an English-language encyclopedia article Mustafa had at least three sons: Mehmed (born 1546 in Amasya, died May 1554 in Bursa), Ahmed and Orhan. All the sons who were alive were put to death by their grandfather Süleyman. His daughters are listed as Fatma, Nergisşah and Şah Sultan. In these lists the names of Ertuğrul Çelebi and Süleyman Çelebi, whom Hüsameddin mentions, and a daughter named Râziye do not appear. Hüsameddin's information on the Tomb of the Princes in Amasya could not be verified in another source in our searches.

The Daughters

Of the Fâtıma and Râziye Sultan whom Hüsameddin writes were taken to Istanbul, the source available to us names three daughters: Fatma, Nergisşah and Şah Sultan. It is written that Fatma Sultan married Boşnak Ahmed Paşa in 1552, that Nergisşah Sultan was married by her grandfather Süleyman to Cenâbî Ahmed Paşa in 1554, and that Şah Sultan was born in Amasya around 1547 and later married the Janissary Agha Abdülkerim Ağa. A daughter named Râziye is not named in this source.

The Elegy

The best-known of the poems written on Mustafa's execution is the elegy of Taşlıcalı Yahyâ Bey. This terkîb-i bend of seven stanzas of ten lines each criticises the political climate of the time and carries the public reaction into verse. The poet uses expressions that hold Grand Vizier Rüstem Paşa responsible, and indirectly Süleyman too. In the first stanza he cries "Meded meded bu cihânuñ yıkıldı bir yanı" ("Help, help, one side of this world has collapsed") and says that the prince, who committed no crime, was "drowned in the flood of calamity".

The Position of Amasya

After its incorporation into Ottoman rule Amasya gained importance through the governorship of Çelebi Mehmed, and after the Battle of Ankara in 1402 it became a base of operations for him. Until the end of the 16th century the city was regarded as a strategic centre on the eastern frontier of the Ottomans. Yavuz Sultan Selim wintered there after the victory of Çaldıran, Süleyman stayed some time in the city on his return from the Nakhchivan campaign, and the Peace of Amasya with Iran was signed in 1555. Mustafa's governorship falls in the last years of this period.

Bibliography

Volume 7 contents

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