Halil Bey (1347 – 1362; ) was an Ottoman prince, son of

Orhan Orhan Ghazi (; , also spelled Orkhan; died 1362) was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering mos ...

, the second

bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

of the Ottoman beylik, and Theodora Kantakouzene, the daughter of Byzantine emperor

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene (; ; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under Andronikos III Palaiologos and regent for John V Palaiologos before reigning as Byza ...

and Irene Asanina. His kidnapping was an important event in 14th century Ottoman-

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

relations. He was executed by his half-brother

Murad I Murad I (; ), nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'' (from – meaning "Head of state, sovereign" in this context; 29 June 1326 – 15 June 1389) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1362 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan Gazi and Nilüfer Hatun. Mura ...

Kidnapping

In the mid-14th century, piracy along the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

and the

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

coasts was widespread. The pirates usually kidnapped people for ransom. In 1357, they kidnapped Halil near

İzmit İzmit () is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 480 km2, and its population is 376,056 (2022). The capital of Kocaeli Province, it is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea ...

(ancient Nikomedia) on the Marmara coast. It is not known whether they knew the identity of their prey beforehand, but upon learning it, they escaped to

Phocaea Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Ancient Greece, Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Colonies in antiquity, Greek colonists from Phoc ...

(modern Foça) on the Aegean coast. Phocaea was a Byzantine fort recently captured from

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

and commanded by Leo Kalothetos. Orhan appealed to the Byzantine emperor

Andronikos IV Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos or Andronicus IV Palaeologus (; 11 April 1348 – 25/28 June 1385) was the eldest son of Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos. Appointed co-emperor from 1352, he had a troubled relationship with his father: he launched a ...

to rescue his son. He offered to cancel Byzantine debts and promised not to support the

Kantakouzenos The House of Kantakouzenos ( Kantakouzenoi; , pl. Καντακουζηνοί; feminine form Kantakouzene; ), also found in English-language literature as Cantacuzenus or Cantacuzene, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family t ...

family's claims on the Byzantine throne. Andronikos agreed and tried to rescue Halil, but Leo was reluctant and in 1358 Andronikos had to lay siege to Phocaea with a small fleet of three vessels (the expenses of which were paid by Orhan).Halil İnalcık: ''Kuruluş Dönemi Osmanlı Sultanları'', İsam, İstanbul, 2010, pp. 66–69 He also called Ilyas Bey, the ruler of Saruhan (a small Turkmen beylik in west

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

formed after the disintegration of the

Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. ...

), for a joint operation against Phocaea. However Ilyas was playing both sides and planning to kidnap Andronikos during a hunting party. Nevertheless Andronikos was able to forestall his plans by arresting him. Without Saruhan collaboration, he lifted the siege. After the failure of the 1358 operations, Orhan came to Scutari (modern Üsküdar) on the Asiatic shore of the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

for talks and agreed to pay 30,000

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s as a ransom. In 1359, Halil was released.

Aftermath

As a part of the agreement, Halil was engaged to his first cousin, Irene Palaiologina, the 10-year-old daughter of

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. His long reign was marked by constant civil war, the spread of the Black Death and several military defea ...

.Several of

John V John V may refer to: * Patriarch John V of Alexandria or John the Merciful (died by 620), Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 to 616 * John V of Constantinople, Patriarch from 669 to 675 * Pope John V (685–686), Pope from 685 to his death in 686 ...

's daughters and granddaughters married Ottoman princes: his daughter Maria married

, two more his sons

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

and

Yakub Yakub, Yaqub, Yaqoob, Yaqoub, Yacoub, Yakoub or Yaâkub (, also transliterated in other ways; ''Yakob,'' as commonly westernized) is a male given name. It is the Arabic version of Jacob and James. The Arabic form ''Ya'qūb/Ya'kūb'' may be direct ...

, while a fourth, Irene, married Halil, Murad's half-brother. Two granddaughters, daughters of Theodore and Zampia, married a son and grandson of Bayezid I, Süleyman and Mustafa. The Ottoman prince and Byzantine princess later married and had two sons. Since Halil's elder brother Süleyman Pasha had already died, the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family that rose to power and produced th ...

family hoped to see him as the new ruler of the Ottoman beylik. But to their dismay, after Orhan’s death, Halil's brother

was enthroned as the new bey. Although Halil tried to fight for the throne, he was executed in 1362 by his brother.

Issue

By his wife, he had two sons: *Gündüz Bey (1361–1362), executed by Murad I; *Ömer Bey (1362–1362), executed by Murad I.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehzade Halil Kidnappings in Turkey People captured by pirates Ottoman princes 1347 births 1362 deaths

Kidnapping

Aftermath

Issue

See also

References