Sultan Mustafa I, often overshadowed by his more prominent predecessors and successors, ruled the Ottoman Empire during two tumultuous periods from 1617 to 1618 and again from 1622 to 1623. This article explores the extra history of Sultan Mustafa I, delving into the complexities of his reign and the challenges he faced. Known as Mustafa the Saint and Mustafa the Mad, his rule was marked by political instability and the influence of powerful court factions. Despite his short and troubled reigns, Mustafa I’s story is a fascinating chapter in Ottoman history that reveals the intricate dynamics of palace politics and the empire’s struggle for stability.
Mustafa I’s ascension to the throne was unprecedented, as he was the first Ottoman sultan to succeed his brother instead of his father. His reigns were characterized by the significant influence of his mother, Halime Sultan, and the Janissaries, who played crucial roles in his rise and fall. This exploration of the extra history of Sultan Mustafa I sheds light on his mental health struggles, his attempts to govern amidst internal strife, and the lasting impact of his reign on the Ottoman Empire’s political landscape.
The 15th ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa I was born in Manisa in 1592, when his father Mehmet III was the governor of Manisa. After his grandfather passed away and his father ascended to the throne in 1595, he went to Topkapı Palace with his brothers. His older brother Ahmet’s accession to the throne at the age of 14 was a guarantee for his survival. Because he ascended to the throne at a young age, Ahmet I had no male heir. Therefore, no attempt was made on Mustafa’s life as the male heir of the dynasty. Of course, the hatred that the people had caused when Mehmet III ascended to the throne and his 19 brothers were massacred also had an effect. Although Mustafa I’s life was in danger when his older brother Ahmet’s sons were born, no attempt was made on his life due to the young age of the princes and his mental weakness that emerged in those years. Some foreign ambassadors, in the reports they sent to their countries, recorded that Ahmet I had intended to kill his brother several times, but that he postponed the killing because he suddenly fell ill the first time he intended to do so, and because a big storm broke out the second time. However, although Mustafa I was not killed, he was kept under close surveillance in the palace and was forced to live under the constant stress of being killed. As a result, his mental health deteriorated.
His Brother’s Death Opened His Path to the Throne
The death of Ahmet I at the age of 27 unexpectedly paved the way for Sultan Mustafa I to ascend to the throne. Mustafa I’s assuming the throne instead of his older brother was interpreted as a radical change in the Ottoman sultanate system. Because until then, the throne, which had been passed from father to son, was passed from brother to brother for the first time. While Osman, the 13-year-old son of Ahmet I, was still in power, Mustafa I’s accession to the throne was influenced by the fact that Şeyhülislam Hocazade Esat Efendi convinced the Kaymakam Sofu Mehmet Pasha and other state dignitaries. It has also been suggested that the palace bureaucracy’s plan to use Mustafa I’s mental weakness for their own benefit lay behind his accession to the throne. Mustafa I, who ascended to the throne on November 22, 1617, the day his older brother passed away, served for three months during his first reign. During this period, he frequently went hunting. Due to his interest in military equipment, he frequently went to Tophane and examined the cannons that were being produced, and made it a habit to go to the Haliç Shipyard and closely follow the status of the ships being produced for the navy.
Why Was He Dethroned?
There are different claims explaining why those who had enthroned Sultan Mustafa I for their own interests dethroned him. Hasan Beyzade Ahmet, one of the historians of the period, narrated that the Kızağası Mustafa Ağa had a significant impact on the dethroning of Mustafa I, as he had during his ascension. He noted that the Kızağası Mustafa Ağa had hopes that Mustafa I would recover when he was enthroned, but that he lost hope because Mustafa’s mental health was getting worse. Historians such as Katip Çelebi, on the other hand, talk about Mustafa’s inconsistent behavior and mention his strange behaviors such as going to watch the sea for no reason, throwing the gold he had with him as bait for the fish, distributing money to people, and some of his strange behaviors such as pulling up his headscarf and uncovering his head when the viziers came to visit. Since this situation caused serious weakness in the state administration, the District Governor Sofu Mehmet Pasha and the Sheikh-ul-Islam Esat Efendi, in agreement with his mother, dethroned Mustafa I on 26 February 1618 and imprisoned him by closing the doors of the room where he was sitting.
Four Years of Surveillance
Sultan Mustafa I was kept under surveillance after his nephew ascended to the throne, just as he had been during his brother’s reign. Even though his nephew Osman II killed his brother Mehmet, whom he considered dangerous to his reign, while setting out on the Khotyn campaign, he did not touch his uncle due to his mental state. After Mustafa was kept under surveillance for four years, he was reinstated on the throne after Osman II was dethroned on May 19, 1622. However, Mustafa’s mental health had deteriorated significantly during the four-year surveillance period. For this reason, despite the objections of Sheikh-ul-Islam Esat Efendi, the rebels could not find anyone else to ascend to the throne other than him. In this period when feet were heads and heads were feet in the Ottoman Empire, the rebels who wanted to ascend to the throne instead of Osman brought him from the Old Palace to Topkapı Palace at noon on Friday, May 20, 1622, and held an oath of allegiance ceremony.
Lynching of Young Osman Caused Public Outrage
Sultan Mustafa I was greatly affected by the murder of his nephew, Genç Osman, during his second reign. Some Western sources record that Mustafa I ran back and forth through the palace corridors, knocking on doors, shouting Osman’s name and begging him to relieve him of the burden of the throne. However, his condition and actions, which were medically considered insanity, were interpreted as sainthood by the people and the dervish sheikhs, and were given a spiritual air. Meanwhile, the murder of Genç Osman, which brought to the agenda the need for radical changes in the Ottoman army and palace system, aroused hatred towards the Janissaries and Sipahis both in Istanbul and other parts of the empire. This situation led to a series of rebellions in Istanbul.
During the second reign of Mustafa I, who was mentally unstable, a great void occurred in the state administration. Grand Vizier Kara Davut Pasha and Vizier Mere Hüseyin Pasha wanted to take advantage of this void. Therefore, the conflicts in the army and civil bureaucracy were reflected in the public. Kara Davut Pasha’s plan was to have Murat, the son of Genç Osman, killed and leave Mustafa without a rival on the throne. Since he had no heir to the throne in the event of Mustafa’s death, he planned to ascend to the Ottoman throne himself. However, Kara Davut Pasha’s rivals in the palace foiled his plan. Grand Vizier Kara Davut Pasha’s rivals, who wanted to thwart his plans, launched a campaign to find Genç Osman’s murderers. This campaign, which led to demonstrations in front of the palace, yielded results in a short time and Kara Davut Pasha was dismissed from the Grand Viziership on June 13, 1622. The appointment of Mere Hüseyin Pasha in his place did not calm the political environment.
When the demonstrations did not end, Mere Hüseyin Pasha was also dismissed and Lefkeli Mustafa Pasha was appointed in his place on July 8, 1622. When the demonstrators, who had besieged the palace, were not satisfied with the changes that were made, they began to voice that they did not want Mustafa I. Sermons were given in mosques to calm the demonstrations. In fact, on the last Friday of Ramadan, the preacher of the Cerrah Mehmet Pasha Mosque, Ibrahim Efendi, said in his sermon that the demonstrations made the sultan very upset and that he retired to a corner and cried, did not say anything to anyone, and that he saw Osman in a high position in his dream and asked for prayers for him. This sermon by Ibrahim Efendi had an effect on the people and everyone believed that the sultan was a saint. In fact, during the celebration of the holiday on August 9, 1622, Mustafa I stood up instead of sitting on his throne, and was praised for reviving the tradition of the Rashidun Caliphs. In fact, the palace bureaucracy tried to calm the reactions by frequently bringing Mustafa I together with the people. In the meantime, Lefkeli Mustafa was also dismissed from his post and Gürcü Mehmet Pasha was appointed in his place on September 21, 1622.
He Was Held Responsible for the Murder of Genç Osman
The reactions in Istanbul eventually found an echo in Erzurum. Abaza Mehmet Pasha rebelled by suing the blood of Osman II. During the rebellion, Mustafa I was accused with the slogans “The dead are the king, the killer is the sultan!” In fact, Şeyhülislam Zekeriyazade Yahya Efendi claimed that the execution order was given by Mustafa I in order to calm the rebellious sipahis. The palace denied this claim and it was announced that Kara Davut Pasha was not given permission to kill Genç Osman either. Thus, the blame for the killing of Genç Osman was put on Kara Davut Pasha. Thereupon, the rebels captured Kara Davut Pasha and his assistants and wanted to execute them. Davut Pasha claimed that he killed Genç Osman on the orders of his uncle Mustafa and took out the orders from his chest and showed them. This situation caused astonishment in the square. Taking advantage of this astonishment, Kara Davut Pasha managed to escape from the hands of the rebels. However, he was followed and caught and executed in Yedikule on January 8, 1623. Despite this, the power struggle in the palace did not end. The Mere Hüseyin Pasha-Gürcü Mehmet Pasha conflict and Mere Hüseyin Pasha’s second appointment as Grand Vizier on February 5, 1623 did not ease the reaction in society.
Fatih Mosque Raided and Students Murdered
The process that led to Mustafa I’s abdication was accelerated by the scholars who gathered in the Fatih Mosque. The scholars, who discussed that the sultan’s will and mental health were not sound, said that Mustafa I’s imamate was not permissible and that he should be terminated. They informed Fuldane Valide Sultan of their decision. 235 Upon the news sent by the scholars, Grand Vizier Mere Hüseyin Pasha ordered a raid on the Fatih Mosque. However, the scholars who organized the meeting had dispersed. The soldiers who raided the mosque massacred 19 people, including three seyyids and nine students, who were staying in the mosque to pray and study, and threw their bodies into wells. This brutality caused great indignation. The rebelling janissaries and sipahis deposed Grand Vizier Mere Hüseyin Pasha. No one had any expectations from Mustafa I anymore. Finally, Kemankeş Ali Pasha, who was appointed as the Grand Vizier, agreed with Şeyhülislam Yahya Efendi and the kazaskers to dethrone the sultan. The military also agreed to dethrone Mustafa I on condition that they would not ask for a gratuity upon enthronement.
Then, a message was sent to the sultan’s mother and the situation was reported. In the face of this situation, the valide sultan had no choice but to accept the decision to dethrone him. When this decision was made, Mustafa, who was at the Davut Pasha Farm with his mother, was brought to Topkapı Palace on the grounds that the council would convene and on September 10, 1623, he was locked in the room where he was previously kept under guard and his nephew Murat IV was enthroned in his place. Mustafa I, who wore the imperial shirt he wore at the age of 25 for 96 days for the first time and 1 year, 3 months and 20 days for the second time, lived in the room where he was kept under guard for another 15 years before passing away on January 20, 1639. Mustafa I, whose body remained unburied for a while, was later buried in a building in front of Hagia Sophia, with soil brought from the Hasbahçe.
Final Words
In conclusion, the extra history of Sultan Mustafa I offers a unique perspective on a ruler whose reigns were brief yet impactful. His time on the throne was marked by significant challenges, including political intrigue and mental health issues, which shaped his legacy. Despite these difficulties, Mustafa I’s reigns highlight the complexities of Ottoman succession and the powerful influence of court factions. His story is a testament to the turbulent nature of Ottoman politics and the resilience required to navigate such a challenging period.
Reflecting on the extra history of Sultan Mustafa I, it becomes clear that his reigns, though short-lived, were pivotal in understanding the broader context of Ottoman history. His struggles and the political machinations of his time provide valuable insights into the empire’s governance and the delicate balance of power within the palace. Mustafa I’s legacy, marked by both his vulnerabilities and his resilience, continues to intrigue historians and readers alike.
Source: The Most Powerful Dynasty of History, from Ertuğrul Bey to Sultan Vahdettin, The Ottomans, Masters of Three Continents, Hasan Yılmaz, Elips Kitap, 1st Edition May 2015, Ankara.