Şehzade Korkut (; – 13 March 1513) was an Ottoman prince who was for a short time the

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for the Ottoman throne. He was the son of the Ottoman Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...

Early life

Although it is stated that he was born in

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol ...

in 1469, there is no clear record about the year of birth in the sources. He is the son of

and Nigar Hatun. In one of his works, he writes his name as Ebülhayr Mehmed Korkut. In official documents, he used only the name Korkut. In 1479 his grandfather

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

sent Korkut to Istanbul with his other brothers to be circumcised. After the death of his grandfather he was a short term regent before his father arrived at the capital. He was "the most beloved grandchild" of Sultan Mehmed, "who saw to it that Prince Korkut received the most rigorous education in his palace". He wrote six highly regarded works on religious subjects and a collection of poems, and also composed musical works.

As a governor

According to Ottoman tradition, all princes () were required to work as provincial (

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 ...

) governors (

sanjak-bey ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak'', in Arabic '' liwa’' ...

) as a part of their training. In 1491, Korkut was appointed as the governor of Saruhan sanjak (

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

in modern Turkey). In 1502, he was appointed as the governor of Teke (

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

in modern Turkey), a port on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast. Antalya was much farther from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

than Manisa, and Korkut interpreted this appointment as a sign of disfavor by his father, the sultan. He asked for his former seat; upon refusal in 1509, he escaped to

Mamluk Egypt The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

under the pretext of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

. Egypt was under

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

rule, and he was welcomed by the Mamluk sultans. His father considered this a sign of negligence on Korkut's part, but pardoned him, and Korkut returned to Ottoman lands.Joseph von Hammer: ''Osmanlı Tarihi'' cilt I (condensation: Mehmet Ata-Abdülkadir Karahan), Milliyet yayınları, Istanbul. p. 243 During his voyage back home, the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

based in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

attacked his ship and attempted to capture him, but Korkut managed to escape from the knights and return home safely.

Beginning of the interregnum

Beyazıt was now old and ailing. Korkut decided to move to Manisa to be closer to the capital. During this travel, a part of his treasury was raided by the rebels of

Şahkulu Şahkulu (; 1500–1511), also known as Şahkulu Baba, or Karabıyıkoğlu ( 'son of black moustache' in Turkish), was the leader of the pro-Shia and pro-Safavid uprising in Anatolia – the Şahkulu Rebellion – directed against the Ottoman ...

. Later, he secretly traveled to Istanbul to have a role in the coming interregnum between his brothers. However, he found almost no supporters in the capital. He met with his brother Selim, who convinced him to return to his sanjak. Korkut then gave up all of his claims to the throne and took no part in the civil war between his two brothers (

Şehzade Ahmet ''Şehzade'' () is the Ottoman form of the Persian title ''Shah#Shahzadeh, Shahzadeh'', and refers to the male Osmanoğlu family, descendants of an Ottoman sovereign in the male line. This title is equivalent to "prince du sang, prince of the bloo ...

and

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

Death

Selim I (known as ''Yavuz'') became the new sultan in 1512. Korkut readily accepted his brother's reign. Nevertheless, distrustful Selim decided to test his loyalty by sending him fake letters from various bureaucrats of the empire that attempted to encourage him to take part in a rebellion against Selim. Feeling that Korkut was preparing to revolt, Selim had Korkut executed in 1513 near

Emet EMET or emet may refer to: * Emet, a town in Turkey * Emet Indians, a historical indigenous people from Texas * Emet (geographic region), a territorial division within the Kalenjin society of pre-colonial Kenya * Emet (One Piece), Emet (''One Piece ...

(around

Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...

in Turkey). He was buried in

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

, in the

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 ...

of Sultan

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 ...

Issue

The names of Şehzade Korkut's concubines are not known, but he must have had at least two, since he had two sons (at the time there was a rule that stated that a concubine could only have one son before being estranged from a prince or Sultan's bed).

Sons

Şehzade Korkut had two sons, both of whom died infants. Their names and dates of birth and death are unknown.

Daughters

Şehzade Korkut had at least two daughters: * Fatma Sultan (?–?). She married Ali Bey. * Ferahşad Sultan (?–?). She first married Malkoçoğlu Ali Bey and then in second marriage Mehmed Bey Efendi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korkut, Sehzade 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 1460s births 1513 deaths Executed Ottoman royalty Ottoman princes People from Amasya 16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Pretenders to the Ottoman throne Sons of sultans