Şehzade Murad

Şehzade Murad (c. 1495, Amasya – 1519, Kashan or Isfahan) was an Ottoman prince (şehzade), the son of Şehzade Ahmet. He was involved in the chaotic upheaval surrounding the succession to Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481-1512). Murad's father, the legal heir to the Ottoman throne, fought against Selim I and received support from king Ismail I (1501-1524) of the neighboring Safavid Empire.^[1] When Ahmet however was put to death by Selim following his unsuccessful attempt, prince Murad was subsequently given support by Ismail I as claimant to the throne.^[1] Ismail I wanted to use prince Murad in order to mobilize opposition against Selim I.^[1] In 1512, during Nur-Ali Khalifa's large-scale campaign in Anatolia, Murad joined his campaign, and even "girded the Qizilbash crown".^[2][3] According to information Selim I received from his spies (December 1512/January 1513), Ismail I allegedly wanted to conquer Anatolia, give the Rum beylerbeylik to Murad, while the rest of the territory would be ruled by the Qizilbash.^[2] Anyhow, when the Safavid support meant for Murad failed to materialize, the scheme was abandonded, and Murad migrated to the Safavid Empire where he was given asylum. He died at Kashan,^[1] or Isfahan.^[4]

Ismail I's support to these rivals of Selim I formed one of the main casus belli that lead to the decisive Battle of Chaldiran (1514).^[1]

See also

• Şehzade Bayezid

Sources

Sources

• McCaffrey, Michael J. (1990). "ČĀLDERĀN". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 6. pp. 656–658. 
• Savory, Roger; Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (1998). "ESMĀʿĪL I ṢAFAWĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6. pp. 628–636. 
• Savory, Roger (2007). Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521042512. 
• Faroqhi, Suraiya; Fleet, Kate, eds. (2012). The Cambridge History of Turkey (Vol. 2): The Ottoman Empire as World Power, 1453-1603. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–723. ISBN 978-1316175545.