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| Şehzade Ahmed | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sarcophagus of Ahmed (left),Muradiye Complex,Bursa | |||||
| Born | c. 1466 (1466) Amasya,Ottoman Empire | ||||
| Died | 24 April 1513(1513-04-24) (aged 46–47) Yenişehir, Bursa,Ottoman Empire | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Sittişah Hatun Gülçiçek Hatun Bülbül Hatun At least others four | ||||
| Issue | Şehzade Süleyman Şehzade Alaeddin Şehzade Osman Şehzade Murad Şehzade Ali Şehzade Mehmed Şehzade Kasim Kamerşah Sultan Fatma Sultan Fahrihan Sultan Hanzade Sultan | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Ottoman | ||||
| Father | Bayezid II | ||||
| Mother | Bülbül Hatun | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Şehzade Ahmed (Ottoman Turkish:احمد;c. 1466 – 24 April 1513) was aŞehzade (prince) of theOttoman Empire, the eldest surviving son ofSultanBayezid II. He fought against his younger brother,Selim, in theOttoman Civil War of 1509–1513 to succeed their father, and was a central figure in theŞahkulu rebellion. Ahmed ultimately lost the war against his brother, and was executed by Selim's order after the latter usurped the throne.
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Ahmed was the oldest living son ofBayezid II, the 8th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. His mother wasBülbül Hatun. In Ottoman tradition, all princes (Turkish:şehzade) were required to serve as provincial (sanjak) governors inAnatolia (Asiatic part of modern Turkey) as a part of their training. Ahmed was the governor ofAmasya, an important Anatolian city. Although the status was not official, he was usually considered as thecrown prince during the last years of his father's reign, in part because of the support of thegrand vizier,Hadim Ali Pasha.
He became known as a poet and scholar, as well as a patron of the arts: his circle included, among others, the poetMihri Hatun.
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Ahmed had two living half-brothers. Of the two,Korkut was governing inAntalya andSelim (future sultan Selim I, known asYavuz) inTrabzon. Custom dictated that whoever first reachedIstanbul 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 theOttoman 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, Ahmed was the most fortunate because his sanjak was the closest to Istanbul.
Although Selim's sonSüleyman (future Suleiman the Magnificent) had been assigned toBolu, a small sanjak closer to Istanbul, upon Ahmed's objection, he was relocated toKaffa inCrimea. Selim saw this as an unofficial display of support for his elder brother and asked for a sanjak inRumeli (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 vassalCrimean khanMeñli I Giray, he was able to receive the sanjak of Semendire (modernSmederevo inSerbia), 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.[1]
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WhileBeyazıt was fighting against Selim, Ahmed was tasked with suppressing theŞahkulu Rebellion in Anatolia. However, instead of fighting, Ahmed 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.
Hearing about Selim's defeat by their father, Ahmed declared himself as the sultan of Anatolia and began fighting against one of his nephews (whose father had already died). He capturedKonya, 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 Bayazit to abdicate the throne in favor of himself, and was crowned asSelim I.[2][3]
Ahmed continued to control a part of Anatolia in the first few months of Selim's reign. Finally, the forces of Selim and Ahmed fought a battle nearYenişehir,Bursa, on 24 April 1513. Ahmed's forces were defeated; he was arrested and executed shortly after.
Ahmed had at least seven consorts. Three of them are know:
Ahmed had at least seven sons:
Ahmed had at least four daughters:
A fictionalized version of Ahmed appears as the main antagonist in the video gameAssassin's Creed: Revelations, voiced byTamer Hassan. The game, which is set during theOttoman Civil War and theŞahkulu rebellion, portrays Ahmed as a calm and calculated strategist, unlike his more violent brother Selim, with whom he clashes because Ahmed was named theheir apparent to the Ottoman throne. He is also shown being close to his nephewSuleiman, Selim's son, who supports Ahmed in his efforts to become Sultan and disapproves of his father's methods. Near the end of the game, Ahmed is revealed to be theGrand Master of theByzantine rite of theTemplar Order, who sought to see the Ottoman Empire collapsed and replaced with the old Byzantine Empire, which is why he supportedManuel Palaiologos andŞahkulu in their respective plans. He also oversaw the excavation of an old library built by theAssassinAltaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad inMasyaf, which the Templars believed to contain the power to end all conflict and enslave humanity. In the final confrontation of the game, Ahmed is defeated by the protagonistEzio Auditore da Firenze, and then killed by Selim by being pushed off a cliff. In the game, Ahmed's death occurs in 1512 rather than 1513.
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| Ottoman princes fighting for the throne | ||
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| AgainstMurad I (1373) | | |
| Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413) | ||
| AgainstMehmed I (1419) | ||
| AgainstMurad II (1421–1423) | ||
| AgainstBayezid II (1481-1482) | ||
| AgainstBayezid II (1511–1512) | ||
| AgainstSelim I (1512–1513) | ||
| AgainstSuleiman I (1553–1561) | ||
| AgainstAhmed I (1603–1617) | ||
| AgainstMehmed IV (1668–1669) | ||