Murad I

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Murad I
Ottoman Sultan
Reigned: Ottoman Period
Full name Murad I
Predecessor Orhan I
Successor Bayezid I
Reign 1359–1389

Murad I (nick-named Hüdavendigâr - from Persian: خداوندگار Khodāvandgār - "the God-like One") (Turkish: I. Murat Hüdavendigâr) (1326 – June 28, 1389, Battle of Kosovo) (Ottoman Turkish: مراد الأول) was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1359 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan I and the Byzantine princess Helen (Nilüfer), who was of ethnic Greek descent[1][2][3] and became the ruler following his father's death in 1359.

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[edit] Establishment of Empire

He established the Empire by building up a society and government in the newly conquered city of Adrianople (Edirne in Turkish) and by expanding the realm in Europe, bringing most of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and forcing the Byzantine emperor to pay him tribute. It was Murad who established the former Osmanli tribe into an empire. He established the title of sultan in 1383 and the corps of the janissaries and the devşirme recruiting system. He also organised the government of the Divan, the system of timars and timar-holders (timariots) and the military judge, the kazasker. He also established the two provinces of Anadolu (Anatolia) and Rumeli (Europe).

[edit] Wars

Murad fought against the powerful emirate of Karaman in Anatolia and against the Serbs, Bulgarians and Hungarians in Europe. His moves in the Balkans brought together a Christian coalition under the king of Hungary, but they were defeated at the Battle of Maritsa on September 26, 1371, by Murad's capable second lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa, the first governor (beylerbey) of Rumeli. In 1366 the Serbian king was forced to pay tribute to the Sultan and in 1385 Sofia fell to the Ottomans. In 1386 Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović defeated an Ottoman force at the Battle of Pločnik. The Ottoman army didn't suffer heavy casualties, and was unable to capture Niš on the way back. In 1389 Murad's army indecisively defeated the Serbian Army with its allies under the leadership of Lazar at the Battle of Kosovo. After the battle, Murad I was assassinated by Serbian nobleman and knight Miloš Obilić by poisoned knife. His son Bayezid took charge after the battle. Though Murad had made him swear to hold his brother Yakub dear, Bayezid executed him immediately as a pretender. Bayezid informed him that their father had some new orders for them, but when Yakub arrived he was strangled, leaving Bayezid as the sole claimant to the throne.

However, according to the earliest preserved record, a letter of Florentine senate to the King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, dated 20 October 1389, Murad was killed during the battle. The killer is not named but it was one of 12 Serbian noblemen managed to break through the Ottoman ranks:

Fortunate, most fortunate are those hands of the twelve loyal lords who, having opened their way with the sword and having penetrated the enemy lines and the circle of chained camels, heroically reached the tent of Amurat himself. Fortunate above all is that one who so forcefully killed such a strong vojvoda by stabbing him with a sword in the throat and belly. And blessed are all those who gave their lives and blood through the glorious manner of martyrdom as victims of the dead leader over his ugly corpse.

Sultan Murad's tomb remains to this day (2006), on a corner of the battlefield. It is not in good condition, but nor has it been vandalised or destroyed, despite the centuries of hostility between the Turk and Serb peoples.

[edit] Marriages and Progeny

Murad I, oil on canvas by Haydar Hatemi
Murad I, oil on canvas by Haydar Hatemi

Marriages of Murad I:

  • Gulcicek Hatun - of Greek origin
  • Maria Thamara Hatun
  • Pasha Melek Hatun - daughter of Kizil Murad Bey
  • Fulane Hatun - daughter of Candaroglu

Progeny of Murad I:

  • Yakub Celebi - (d. 1389)
  • Sultan Bayezid I (1354-1402)- son of Gulcicek Hatun
  • Savci Bey - son
  • Ibrahim Bey - son
  • Yahshi Bey - son of Gulcicek Hatun
  • Halil Bey - son
  • Nefise - daughter
  • Sultan - daughter

[edit] Sultan Murad in literature

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Prince Harry refers to Murad as "Amurath" in Act V Scene 2 when he succeeds his father, King Henry IV, in 1412:

Chief Justice. Good morrow, and God save your majesty!
King Henry V. This new and gorgeous garment, majesty,
Sits not so easy on me as you think.
Brothers, you mix your sadness with some fear:
This is the English, not the Turkish court;
Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds,
But Harry Harry!
  • Murad (as "Amurath the First") is the subject of Thomas Goffe's play The Courageous Turk, published in 1632.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Fall of Constantinople, Steven Runciman, Cambridge University Press, p.36
  2. ^ The Nature of the Early Ottoman State, Heath W. Lowry, 2003 SUNY Press, p.153
  3. ^ History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Stanford Jay Shaw, Cambridge University Press, p.24


Murad I
Born: 1319 Died: 1389
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Orhan I		 Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
1359 – 1389		 Succeeded by
Bayezid I
v • d • e
Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
Rise (1299–1453)
Growth (1453–1683)
Stagnation (1683–1827)
Decline (1828–1908)
Dissolution (1908–1923)
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