Savcı Bey (died in 1374) was a prince who, with

Andronikos Andronicus or Andronikos () is a classical Greek name. The name has the sense of "male victor, warrior". Its female counterpart is Andronikè (Ἀνδρονίκη). Notable bearers of the name include: People *Andronicus of Olynthus, Greek general ...

, rebelled against both of their fathers, the Ottoman Sultan

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 ...

and the Byzantine Emperor

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 ...

, respectively, in the 1370s. Savcı was the youngest of Murad's three sons. The name of his mother and birth year are unknown. In Ottoman tradition, all princes () were required to serve 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 as a part of their training. Savcı's sanjak was

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 ...

, the co-capital of the empire (along with

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 ...

Rebellion

When Ottoman Turks captured

(Adrianopolis), Byzantine emperor

appealed to the West for help. Instead, he was detained as a debtor in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Andronikos (later

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 ...

), his son and regent in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(modern

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 ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

), refused to pay the ransom for his father, and John had to give up the island Tenedos (modern

Bozcaada Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of , it is the third-l ...

, Turkey) to buy his freedom. After that event, John assigned his younger son Manuel (later

Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 27 June 1350 – 21 July 1425) was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the name Matthaios (). Manuel was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which ...

) as his crown prince and accepted the suzerainty of Ottomans in 1373. Thus, when the Ottoman sultan asked for his services against some rebellions in Ottoman lands, he had to leave his capital. This absence gave Andronikos a chance to rebel. On the Ottoman side, Savcı Bey, who was the youngest of three brothers, saw that under the shadow of his older brothers, he had almost no chance to be enthroned in the future and faced a probable death under the traditional policy of fratricide in Ottoman succession. (This fear was not unreasonable; later when Murad I died older brother

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 ...

immediately killed the other brother Prince Yakup). He prepared to rebel to gain the post. While his father was occupied with suppressing the rebellions, Savcı saw his chance to revolt. Using the royal treasury under his disposal, he formed an army. The two rebellious princes, well aware of one another's interests, decided to collaborate and combined their forces.

End of the rebellion

After learning about their sons' joint rebellion, Murat and John returned from Anatolia. The armies of the fathers and the sons met in ''Apikridion'' (an ambiguous location probably southwest of Constantinople), where Murat persuaded Savcı's soldiers to switch sides. Although the princes escaped to

Didymoteicho Didymoteicho ( ) is a town located on the eastern edge of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in northeastern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town (pop. 8,681 in 2021 ...

(in modern

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

), they soon surrendered. After a short exchange, enraged Murat blinded Savcı. However, he changed his mind and had him executed. Although he asked John V to also blind his son, John was more merciful towards Andronikos and only blinded him in one eye. Andronikos went on to become the Byzantine emperor as

.Lord Kinross: ''The Ottoman Centuries'', (Trans. by Nilifer Epçeli) Altın Kitaplar, Istanbul, 2008, p. 49

Aftermath

Savcı's son, Davud Murad, was fled to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. His name was mentioned in 1411 (during the

Ottoman Interregnum The Ottoman Interregnum, or Ottoman Civil War, (, ) was a civil war in the Ottoman realm between the sons of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I following their father's defeat and capture by Timur in the Battle of Ankara on 28 July 1402. Although Ti ...

) as an unsuccessful candidate to Ottoman throne and much later as an ally of

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

in his struggles against the Ottoman Empire.

References

External links

Purported coin minted with the title "Savcı bin Murad" (Savcı son of Murad)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savci Bey 14th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman princes 14th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Executed Ottoman royalty Pretenders to the Ottoman throne Sons of sultans Rebel princes