Şehzade Ahmet

ota, شہزادہ احمد
, house = Ottoman
, house-type = Dynasty
, father = Bayezid II
, mother = Bülbül Hatun
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Amasya, Ottoman Empire
, death_date =
, death_place = Yenişehir, Bursa, Ottoman Empire
, burial_place = Muradiye Complex, Bursa
, religion = Islam

Şehzade Ahmet ( ota, شہزادہ احمد; 1465 – 24 April 1513) was an Ottoman prince who fought to gain the throne of the Ottoman Empire in 1512–1513. (Şehzade means Prince)

Background

Ahmet was the oldest living son of Bayezid II, the 8th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. His mother was Bülbül Hatun. In Ottoman tradition, all princes ( tr, şehzade) were required to serve as provincial (sanjak) governors in Anatolia (Asiatic part of modern Turkey) as a part of their training. Ahmet was the governor of Amasya, an important Anatolian city. Although the status was not official, he was usually considered as the crown prince during the last years of his father's reign, in part because of the support of the grand vizier, Hadim Ali Pasha.

Siblings

Ahmet had two living brothers. Of the two, Korkut was governing in Antalya and Selim (future sultan Selim I, known as ''Yavuz'') in Trabzon. Custom dictated that whoever first reached Istanbul after the death of the previous sultan had the right to ascend to throne (although disagreements over who had arrived first very often led to civil wars between the brothers, most prominently displayed in the Ottoman Interregnum), so the distances from the sanjaks to Istanbul more or less determined the succession and usually whoever the previous sultan favored the most as his successor. In this respect, Ahmet was the most fortunate because his sanjak was the closest to Istanbul.

Although Selim's son Süleyman (future Suleiman the Magnificent) had been assigned to Bolu, a small sanjak closer to Istanbul, upon Ahmet's objection, he was relocated to Kaffa in Crimea. Selim saw this as an unofficial display of support for his elder brother and asked for a sanjak in Rumeli (the European portion of the empire). Although he was initially refused on the ground that Rumeli sanjaks were not offered to princes, with the support of the vassal Crimean khan Meñli I Giray (who was his father-in-law), he was able to receive the sanjak of Semendire (modern Smederevo in Serbia), which, although it was technically in Rumeli, was quite far from Istanbul. Consequently, Selim chose to stay close to Istanbul instead of going to his new sanjak. His father Beyazıt thought this disobedience insurrectionist; he defeated Selim's forces in battle in August 1511, and Selim escaped to Crimea.

Şahkulu Rebellion

While Beyazıt was fighting against Selim, Ahmet was tasked with suppressing the Şahkulu Rebellion in Anatolia. However, instead of fighting, Ahmet tried to win over the soldiers to his cause for winning the Ottoman throne and left the battlefield. His attitude caused unease among the soldiers; more importantly, his main supporter, Hadim Ali Pasha, lost his life during the rebellion.

Capturing Konya

Hearing about Selim's defeat by their father, Ahmet declared himself as the sultan of Anatolia and began fighting against one of his nephews (whose father had already been dead). He captured Konya, and although his father Beyazıt asked him to return to his sanjak, he insisted on ruling in Konya. He also attempted to capture the capital; but he failed because the soldiers blocked his way, declaring their preference for a more able sultan. Selim then returned from Crimea, forced Bayezit to abdicate the throne in favor of himself, and was crowned as Selim I.

Battle against Selim

Ahmet continued to control a part of Anatolia in the first few months of Selim's reign. Finally, the forces of Selim and Ahmet fought a battle near Yenişehir, Bursa on April 24, 1513. Ahmet's forces were defeated; he was arrested and executed shortly after.

Popular culture

A fictionalized version of Şehzade Ahmet is the main antagonist in the video game '' Assassin's Creed Revelations'', voiced by Tamer Hassan. He is fighting with his brother Selim to inherit the Sultanate, while secretly being a member of the ancient Templar Order and attempting to open a library built by the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad in Masyaf, which is said to contain a powerful weapon. At the end of the game, he is defeated by the protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze after a long chase outside Constantinople, and then killed by Selim by being pushed off a cliff. In the game, Ahmet's death occurs in 1512 rather than 1513.

Family

;Consorts
Ahmed had two known consorts:
*Sittişah Hatun, mother of Şehzade Osman;
*Gülçiçek Hatun (buried in Amasya);

;Sons
Ahmet had five sons;
* Şehzade Murad (died of natural causes, 1519, Ardabil, buried near Shaykh Safi al-Din Ardabili), governor of Bolu, married and had two sons, and one daughter;
**Şehzade Mustafa (killed by Selim I, 14 May 1513, Amasya);
**Şehzade Mehmed (killed by Selim I, September–October 1512, Amasya);
**Asitanşah Sultan;
*Şehzade Süleyman (died of Plague, 24 April 1513, Cairo, buried in Havşi Sultan Mosque), governor of Koca, and Çorum 1509 – 1513, married and had two daughters;
*Şehzade Alaeddin Ali (died of Plague, 14 May 1513, Cairo, buried in Havşi Sultan Mosque), governor of Bolu 1509 – 1513, married the daughter of his aunt Aynışah Hatun, and Ahmed Mirza, and had one daughter;
**Hvandi Sultan, married to Sunullah Bey, governor of Kastamonu;
*Şehzade Osman (killed by Selim I, 14 April 1513, Amasya, buried in Sultan Bayezid Mosque, Amasya), governor of Osmancık 1509 – 1513;
*Şehzade Kasım ( 1501 – killed by Selim I, 30 January 1518, Cairo, buried in Havşi Sultan Mosque);

;Daughters
Ahmet had four daughters:
*Kamerşah Sultan, married, in 1508 to Damad Mustafa Bey, governor of Midilli, and son of Iskender Pasha;
*Fatma Sultan, married, in 1508 to Damad Mehmed Bey, ''Ser-ulufeciyan'' (head of the Janissary Cavalry Corps), and son of Damad Koca Davud Pasha;
*An unnamed daughter, married, in 1508 to Damad Suleiman Bey, ''Silahdar'' (keeper of the sword);
*An unnamed daughter, married to Damad Ahmed Bey;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmet, Sehzade
16th-century Ottoman royalty
1513 deaths
1465 births
Ottoman princes
Executed people of the Ottoman Empire
16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire
People from Istanbul
Executed royalty
Pretenders to the Ottoman throne