The Man Who Killed His 19 Brothers

When Ottoman prince Mehmed-III ascended the throne in 1595 he killed 19 of his brothers — all young princes — to avoid any claimants to the throne. That was not all. He also killed several pregnant concubines of his father for the same reason. The number of princes executed is well documented but there is no mention of the number of concubines killed by the new king. Some historians estimate it to be as many as 10. That takes the total number of siblings executed to 29!

The living princes were killed by strangulation which was considered the proper method of killing a member of the royal family. How nice!

The concubines were howe

ver packed into sacks and thrown into the sea. There is no limit to what hunger for power can make a person do!

What is even more surprising is that Mehmed-III was not an exception. Fratricide was legally practiced by the Ottoman emperors. Whenever a prince ascended the throne he had all his brothers executed to prevent the possibility of a civil war. By Ottoman logic order was more important than royal blood — if the execution of a few princes ensured greater peace, then be it.

What I find even more indigestible is the fact that the Sultans procreated without hesitation and brought so many sons in the world knowing that sooner or later all but one of them will be executed. Did they keep them as reserve to be used or disposed of as per the requirement? Whatever it was, it's totally beyond comprehension.

Envoys have described a thing called the 'prince pallor' meaning the scared and anxious expression on the faces of the Ottoman princes. How psychologically taxing it must be live each day with the executioners axe (string in this case) hanging over their heads?

To think of it the slave girls of the empire had more secure lives than the princes. Isn't it ironic that being an Ottoman slave was better than being an Ottoman prince?

As a layman (woman) it isn't possible for me to appreciate the logic behind the law of fratricide. I am also unable to comprehend how the rest of the family members continued living normally after their sons/ brothers/ grandsons/ nephews were killed in cold blood by one of their own. How did mothers and sisters in particular survive the tragedy? What even was the point of the silk and jewels and all the luxuries at their disposal when their hearts were so mercilessly crushed.

Let me know what you think of this.

P.S: The Ottomans claimed Islamic rulership but many of their practices like the fratricide were in direct conflict with the Islamic principles.