Murat Bey Tardić or Murat-beg Tardić ( or ''Murad-beg Tardić''; also Amurat Vaivoda) was an Ottoman general.

Biography

Tardić was born to a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n family in

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

, where he had a brother called Zorzi or Juraj. As a young man he became a prisoner of war. After being released he converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and entered the Ottoman military serving under

Gazi Husrev Bey Gazi Husrev Bey (, ''Gāzī Ḫusrev Beğ''; Modern Turkish: ''Gazi Hüsrev Bey''; ; 1484–1541) was an Ottoman Bosnian sanjak-bey (governor) of the Sanjak of Bosnia in 1521–1525, 1526–1534, and 1536–1541. He was known for his successfu ...

as his vojvoda, where he quickly rose through the ranks. As a close associate of Gazi Husrev Bey, he led numerous military conquests against the Croatian army in northern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

. In 1528, Murat Bey led the conquest of

Jajce Jajce ( sr-Cyrl, Јајце) is a town and municipality in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, wi ...

. In 1536, Murat Bey Tardić was charged by

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

with 8,000 men to lay siege to the

Klis Fortress The Klis Fortress (; ) is a medieval fortress situated above the village of Klis, near Split, Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, to a role as royal castle and seat of many Croatian k ...

under

Petar Kružić Petar Kružić (16 October 1491 – 12 March 1537) was a Croatian knez (title), knez, captain (land), captain, soldier and defender of Klis, and the captain of Senj. In the early 16th century Petar Kružić ''(knez of Klis)'' defended the F ...

. He was successful in the Siege of Klis, occupying it in 1537. For his military services he was put in charge of the Klis

Sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

with the title Beg. As the first Sanjak-Bey of Klis, he built a notable

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in the town which still stands today. He was later made the beg of the

Sanjak of Pojega The Sanjak of Pojega (; ) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire formed around 1538. It existed until the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), when the region was transferred to the Habsburg monarchy. It was located in present-da ...

in 1541 or in 1543. He is believed to have died in May 1545. He was buried in one of the two mausoleums (''

türbe ''Türbe'' refers to a Muslim mausoleum, tomb or grave often in the Turkish-speaking areas and for the mausolea of Ottoman sultans, nobles and notables. A typical türbe is located in the grounds of a mosque or complex, often endowed by the ...

'') next to the Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. Bosnian-American author

Aleksandar Hemon Aleksandar Hemon ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Xeмoн; born September 9, 1964) is a Bosnian- American author, essayist, critic, television writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels '' Nowhere Man'' (2002) and '' The Lazarus P ...

and others infer a lover relationship between Tardić and Gazi Husrev Bey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murat-Beg Tardic Year of birth missing 1545 deaths Croatian Muslims People from Šibenik Converts to Sunni Islam from Roman Catholicism People from the Ottoman Empire of Croatian descent 16th-century Ottoman military personnel Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina