Who is this Ottoman Sultan who killed 19 of his brazers in one night?

 Who is this Ottoman Sultan who killed 19 of his brazers in one night?

Fatih is the later name of one of the provisions from Kanun-name Mehmed Fatih. It allowed the heirs of the Ottoman throne, who became the sultan, to kill the rest for the sake of the public good  the prevention of wars and unrest.

The existence of this law was not recognized by everyone; a common point of view is that Mehmed could not legalize the killing of innocents. The doubters believed that the Europeans invented this law and falsely attributed it to Fatih. Turkish scientists have proved that this is not so.

The assessment of the legitimacy of such a provision (compliance with Sharia norms ), as well as the impact of this law on the history of the Ottoman Empire, is ambiguous. It has been erroneously argued that sharia law cannot approve the killing of an innocent man.

.Scholars who praised the law's role noted that, to apply the rule, a fatwa from a high-ranking mufti was required (meaning that the legislation's applicability was debated each time) and that the country avoided several fratricidal fights over the inheritance. They emphasize how, unlike other Turkic states, which were fractured among all members of the ruling dynasty, this law allowed the empire to maintain its cohesion. Negatively evaluating the role of the legislation, scientists say that it sparked conflicts and rebellions among the sons of sultans throughout their fathers' lifetimes.

Law of fratricide

The "law of fratricide" is contained in the second chapter of Mehmed II's Eve. The wording of the law in different manuscripts has minor spelling and stylistic differences from each other. The following is a version of a text published by Mehmed Arif Bey in 1912:

"And which of my sons will get the sultanate, in the name of the common good, it is permissible to kill brothers. This is also supported by the majority of the ulema. Let them act on it."

Two identical lists of Kanun-name are in the Austrian National Library in Vienna

The Sultan did not appoint a successor; it was thought that the ruler did not have the authority to decide ahead of time which of all the applicants and heirs would be given power because power was given to the one "who [according to Dooka] was supported by fate" 

 "The Sultan is named by the Almighty, the appointment of an heir was viewed as an intervention in divine determinism. "The future had to be entrusted to the Lord because the kingdoms are ruled not by human wants, but by God's will," Suleiman wrote to his rebellious son Bayazid. If he decides to transfer the state to you after I die, no living soul will be able to stop him." In reality, the

Selim-name this system, all of the Sultan's sons were potentially equal heirs to the throne. It didn't matter whether was older or younger or if the son of a wife or a concubine was involved. The monarchs sent all male relatives in the male line to govern various districts from a very early time, following the customs of the Central Asian peoples. At the same time, under the supervision of a Lala, the governing sultan's sons received expertise in managing the state and army.


When the sultan died, the new sultan was the first to arrive in the capital after his father's death to take the oath of office from officials, ulema, and the army. This strategy aided in the election of experienced and competent politicians who were able to establish positive relationships with the state's elite and gain their support

Law of fratricide

The "law of fratricide" is contained in the second chapter of Mehmed II's Eve. The wording of the law in different manuscripts has minor spelling and stylistic differences from each other. The following is a version of a text published by Mehmed Arif Bey in 1912:

"And which of my sons will get the sultanate, in the name of the common good, it is permissible to kill brothers. This is also supported by the majority of the ulema. Let them act on it."

Two identical lists of Kanun-name are in the Austrian National Library in Vienna

The Sultan did not appoint a successor; it was thought that the ruler did not have the authority to decide ahead of time which of all the applicants and heirs would be given power because power was given to the one "who [according to Dooka] was supported by fate" 

 "The Sultan is named by the Almighty, the appointment of an heir was viewed as an intervention in divine determinism. "The future had to be entrusted to the Lord because the kingdoms are ruled not by human wants, but by God's will," Suleiman wrote to his rebellious son Bayazid. If he decides to transfer the state to you after I die, no living soul will be able to stop him." In reality, the

Selim-name this system, all of the Sultan's sons were potentially equal heirs to the throne. It didn't matter whether was older or younger or if the son of a wife or a concubine was involved. The monarchs sent all male relatives in the male line to govern various districts from a very early time, following the customs of the Central Asian peoples. At the same time, under the supervision of a Lala, the governing sultan's sons received expertise in managing the state and army.


When the sultan died, the new sultan was the first to arrive in the capital after his father's death to take the oath of office from officials, ulema, and the army. This strategy aided in the election of experienced and competent politicians who were able to establish positive relationships with the state's elite and gain their support

Black spot ottomans

If the reign of Mehmed III, the thirteenth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, could be described in one word, it would most likely be "tragedy." Either numerology, so-called "metal fatigue," the Sultan's bloody fate that plagued him for the last eight years of his life, the Lord's mysterious ways, or all of the above - there was a breakdown, and the system ceased working. Furthermore, during Mehmed III's reign, a smoldering process of disintegration of the Great Porte began, lasting over 320 years.

Even though his great-great-grandfather Suleiman the Magnificent named him Mehmed at birth in honor of another illustrious ancestor, Mehmed III's fate did not work out. After assuming the throne, he ordered the execution of 19 of his brothers, the majority of them were still children, at the start of his sultanship. And there's no need to mention how many concubines impregnated by his father drowned in the Sea of Marmara. As a result, Mehmed III earned the right to be referred to as a "black stain" in the Ottoman Empire's history. Because of the bloodshed, some sultans who came after him refused to visit the grave of their forefathers.

In 1876, the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire was adopted, establishing a de jure de facto seigneurial basis of succession to the throne (inheritance by family elders), which de facto existed for centuries.
     The senior son Sultana of the Ottoman dynasty, according to the rules established, has the Ottoman supreme power, which is concentrated in the person of the sovereign, the great caliph.