Şehzade Ömer
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Şehzade Ömer (; 20 October 1621 – 5 February 1622) was an Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan
Osman II Osman II ( ''‘Osmān-i sānī''; ; 3 November 1604 – 20 May 1622), also known as Osman the Young (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 26 February 1618 until his regicide on 20 May 1622. Early life Osman II was born at Topkapı Pa ...
and his favorite Meylişah Hatun (called also Meleksima Hatun, Mehlikaya Hatun or Mehlika Hatun).


Birth

Şehzade Ömer was born on 20 October 1621 in the
Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...
, while Osman was waging war against Poland. His mother was the favorite Meylişah Hatun (also known as Meleksima, Mehlikaya or Mehlika Hatun), a Russian concubine. On Osman's way back he had received the news that he had a son born. Now as a father, he had a successor and posed a threat against his brothers. He called her to
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
where the two met and Osman had the chance to see his son, Ömer. To celebrate the auspicious moment and possibly to impress her, he ordered a three day festivity to be held, to celebrate his return from the campaign as well as the recent birth of his son.


Death

In the celebrations, imitation of the battle scenes was a part of the show. Yet the unimaginable happened and the baby suddenly died on 5 February 1622, under most unexpected circumstances. According to the Venetian bailo, when Osman and Meleksima, together with their son and other female members of the dynasty, were watching a re-enactment of the sultan’s Polish campaign organized as a big show at the palace, one of the acemioğlans playing the role of a Polish soldier discharged his gun and caused a ricochet. His stray bullet found and killed Prince Ömer instantly. Later, rumors also spread that the prince was deliberately killed. This was a great trauma for Osman. He was not only devastated, but started to display a more brutal character. It is reported that, during first three days after he lost his son, the sultan did not speak a word and remained aloof from the public while contemplating in deep grief. He also blamed the death of Ömer, on the child's mother, who fell into disgrace. Not wanting to see her again, Osman drove Meylişah out of the Palace and exiled her. Meylişah's life after that is unknown. Some history writers explain this event by the shock the infant had due to noises of the fired cannons. Hammer gives a more striking reason for the baby's death: "To increase her joy festivities were held and some scenes of the Polish war were staged. The prince was present in these games and by the sudden shot from a rifle y coincidencehe was wounded and died." Upon this tragic loss, Osman frequently travelled incognito in the streets of the capital and punished many wrongdoers, including several Janissary officers and common people.


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omer, Sehzade 17th-century Ottoman royalty 1621 births 1622 deaths Sons of sultans Sons of caliphs