Murad was born in June 1404 toMehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to various accounts. According to 15th century historianŞükrullah, Murad's mother was a concubine. Hüseyin Hüsâmeddin Yasar, an early 20th century historian, wrote in his workAmasya Tarihi that his mother was Şahzade Hatun, daughter of Divitdar Ahmed Pasha.[1] According to historians İsmail Hami Danişmend, andHeath W. Lowry, his mother wasEmine Hatun, aDulkadirid princess.[7][8][9]
He spent his early childhood inAmasya. In 1410, Murad came along with his father to theOttoman capital,Edirne. After his father ascended to the Ottoman throne, he made Murad governor of the AmasyaSanjak. Murad remained at Amasya until the death ofMehmed I in 1421. He was solemnly recognized assultan of the Ottoman Sultanate at sixteen years of age, girded with theSword of Osman atBursa, and the troops and officers of the state willingly paid homage to him as their sovereign.
Sultan Murad II at archery practice (miniature painting from 1584)
Murad's reign was troubled by insurrection early on. TheByzantine Emperor,Manuel II, released the 'pretender'[10]Mustafa Çelebi (known as Düzmece Mustafa) from confinement and acknowledged him as the legitimate heir to the throne ofBayezid I (1389–1402). The Byzantine Emperor had first secured a stipulation that Mustafa should, if successful, repay him for his liberation by giving up a large number of important cities. The pretender was landed by theByzantine galleys in the European dominion of the sultan and for a time made rapid progress. Many Ottoman soldiers joined him, and he defeated and killed the veteran generalBayazid Pasha, whom Murad had sent to fight him. Mustafa defeated Murad's army and declared himself Sultan ofAdrianople (Edirne). He then crossed theDardanelles to Asia with a large army but Murad out-manoeuvered Mustafa. After which, Mustafa's force defected in large numbers to Murad II. Mustafa took refuge in the city ofGallipoli, but the sultan, who was greatly aided by aGenoese commander named Adorno, besieged him there and stormed the place. Mustafa was taken and put to death by the sultan, who then turned his arms against the Roman emperor and declared his resolution to punish thePalaiologos for their unprovoked enmity by the capture ofConstantinople.
Murad II then formed a new army calledAzeb in 1421 and marched through the Byzantine Empire andlaid siege to Constantinople. While Murad was besieging the city, the Byzantines, in league with some independentTurkishAnatolian states, sent the sultan's younger brotherKüçük Mustafa (who was only 13 years old) to rebel against the sultan and besiegeBursa. Murad had to abandon the siege of Constantinople in order to deal with his rebellious brother. He caught Prince Mustafa and executed him. The Anatolian states that had been constantly plotting against him —Aydinids,Germiyanids,Menteshe andTeke — were annexed and henceforth became part of theOttoman Sultanate.
Murad II relinquished his throne[11] in 1444 to his sonMehmed II, but aJanissary revolt[12] in the Empire forced him to return.
In 1448 he defeated the Christian coalition at theSecond Battle of Kosovo (thefirst one took place in 1389).[13] When theBalkan front was secured, Murad II turned east to defeatTimur's son,Shah Rukh, and the emirates ofKaramanid and Çorum-Amasya.[citation needed] In 1450 Murad II led his army intoAlbania and unsuccessfullybesieged theCastle of Krujë in an effort to defeat the resistance led bySkanderbeg. In the winter of 1450–1451, Murad II fell ill, and died inEdirne. He was succeeded by his son Mehmed II (1451–1481).
When Murad ascended the throne, he sought to regain lost Ottoman territories that had reverted to autonomy following his grandfatherBayezid I's defeat at theBattle of Ankara in 1402 at the hands ofTimur. He needed the support of both the public and the nobles "who would enable him to exercise his rule", and utilized the old and potent Islamic trope of theghazi king.[14]
In order to gain popular international support for his conquests, Murad II modeled himself after the legendaryGhazi kings of old. The Ottomans already presented themselves asghazis, painting their origins as rising from theghazas of Osman, the founder of the dynasty. For them,ghaza was the noble championing of Islam and justice against non-Muslims and Muslims alike, if they were cruel; for example, Bayezid I labeled Timur Lang, also a Muslim, an apostate prior to the Battle of Ankara because of the violence his troops had committed upon innocent civilians and because "all you do is to break promises and vows, shed blood, and violate the honor of women."[15] Murad II only had to capitalize on this dynastic inheritance of doingghaza, which he did by actively crafting the public image of Ghazi Sultan.
After his accession, there was a flurry of translating and compiling activity where old Persian, Arab, and Anatolian epics were translated into Turkish so Murad II could uncover theghazi king legends.[15] He drew from the noble behavior of the namelessCaliphs in theBattalname, an epic about a fictional Arab warrior who fought against the Byzantines, and modelled his actions on theirs.[15] He was careful to embody the simplicity, piety, and noble sense of justice that was part of theghazi king persona.
For example, the Caliph inBattalname saw the battle turning in his enemy's favor, and got down from his horse and prayed, after which the battle ended in a victory for him. In theBattle of Varna in 1444, Murad II saw the Hungarians gaining the upper hand, and he got down from his horse and prayed just like the Caliph. The tide soon turned in the Ottoman's favor andWładysław III of Poland,King of Hungary, was killed in a charge.[15][14] Similarly, the Caliph in the epic roused his warriors by saying "Those of you who die will be martyrs. Those of you who kill will be ghazis"; before the Battle of Varna, Murad II repeated these words to his army, saying "Those of us who kill will be ghazis; those of us who die will be martyrs."[15] In another instance, since theghazi king is meant to be just and fair, when Murad tookThessalonica in theBalkans, he took care to keep the troops in check and prevented widespread looting.[14] Finally, just as the fictional Caliph's ghazas were immortalized inBattalname, Murad II's battles and victories were also compiled and given the title "TheGhazas of Sultan Murad" (Ottoman Turkish:غزوات سلطان مراد,romanized: Gazavât-ı Sultan Murad).[15]
Murad II successfully painted himself as a simple soldier who did not partake in royal excesses, and as a noble ghazi sultan who sought to consolidate Muslim power against non-Muslims such as the Venetians and Hungarians. Through this self-presentation, he got the support of the Muslim population of not only the Ottoman territories, for both himself and his extensive, expensive campaigns, but also the greater Muslim populations in theDar-al-Islam – such as theMamluks and the MuslimDelhi Sultanates of India. Murad II was basically presenting himself not only as "aghazi king who fights caffres [non-muslims], but also serves as protector and master of lesserghazis."[15]
Murad II's reign saw a period of great economic development, with an increase in trade and a considerable expansion of Ottoman cities. In 1432, the travellerBertrandon de la Broquière noted that Ottoman annual revenue had increased to 2,500,000ducats.[16]
Bertrandon de la Broquière met with Murad II in Adrianople, and described him in the following terms:[17]
In the first place, as I have seen him frequently, I shall say that he is a little, short, thick man, with the physiognomy of aTurcoman. He has a broad and brown face, high cheek bones, a round beard, a great and crooked nose, with little eyes.
Hüma Hatun (? – September 1449). Mother of Mehmed II. There are several theories as to her origin, according to differing accounts, she was either of Italian and/or Jewish,[23] Slavic, most likelySerb,[24][25][26] orGreek origins.[27]
Yeni Hatun, daughter of Şadgeldi Paşahzade Mustafa Bey of theKutluşah ofAmasya.
Hundi Ümmügülsüm Hatun (? – 14 February 1486). According to some sources, she was two distinct consorts.
Hatice Hatun, daughter of Taceddin Ibrahim II Bey, son of İsfendiyar Bey (brother ofHatice Halime Hatun) and his first wife.[29] She married Murad following her aunt's death and was the mother of Şehzade Küçük Ahmed. After the death of Murad II her son was executed on the orders of Mehmed II. Mehmed subsequently forced her to marryIshak Pasha, with whom she had others eight children.
Murad II was the sultan who conferred on his sons and their male descendants the title ofŞehzade, meaning "descendant of the Şah", replacing the simple honorific ofÇelebi. The title of Şehzade remained in use until the abolition of the Ottoman Empire.
Murad II had at least eight sons:
Şehzade Ahmed (1419–1420), also known asBüyük Ahmed (Ahmed the Elder). Buried with his father.
Şehzade Alaeddin Ali (1425 – June 1443) – with Hundi Ümmügülsüm Hatun.[30] Murad's favorite son, he wasgovernor ofManisa andAmasya. In 1443 he took part in the expedition ofKaraman and died on his way back from a fall from his horse. Buried with his father inMuradiye Complex ofBursa. He had a known consort, Yeni Hatun, and two sons: Şehzade Giyaşüddin (1441–1445) and Şehzade Taceddin (1442–1443).
Şehzade Isfendiyâr (1425–1425) – with Halime Hatun
Şehzade Ahmed (May 1450 – 18 February 1451) – with Hatice Hatun. Also known asKüçükAhmed (Ahmed the Younger). Killed on the orders of Mehmed II while his mother congratulated Mehmed on his accession to the throne. Mehmed was to subsequently legalize this act with the promulgation of the "Law of Fratricide".
Hundi Hatun (1423 – ?) – with Hundi Ümmügülsüm Hatun.[31] Also known as Erhundi Hatun. She first married Mirahur İlyas Bey and later Yaqub Bey, royal tutor ofŞehzade Cem, son of Mehmed II.
Hatice Hatun (1425 – after 1470) – with Hüma Hatun.[32] She married Candaroğlu İsmail Kemaleddin Bey and had three sons: Hasan Bey (who married his cousin Kamerhan Hatun, daughter ofMehmed II, and had a daughter, Hanzade Hatun), Yahya Bey and Mahmud Bey. Her descendants were still alive during the reign ofAbdulmejid I in the 19th century. In August 1470, she remarried with Isa Bey. When she died, she was buried with her father.
Hafsa Hatun (1426 – ?). She married her cousin Karamanoğlu Kaya Bey, son of her aunt Ilaldi Sultan Hatun, daughter ofMehmed I, by her husbandIbrahim II of Karaman. They had a son, Karamanoğlu Kasim Bey.
Fatma Hatun (1430 – after 1464) – with Hüma Hatun.[32] She marriedZaganos Pasha and had two sons: Hamza Bey and Ahmed Çelebi, who would become an important adviser to his cousinBayezid II. After divorced in 1462, she married Mahmud Çelebi.
Şahzade Selçuk Hatun (1430 – 21 October 1480). She was married twice, first to Güveyi Karaça Paşah (d. 1456) and then to Yusuf Sinaneddin Paşah (d. 1486). She was buried with her father, next to Şehzade Alaeddin Ali.
^"SEMENDİRE".TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved4 May 2025.
^Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2015).Bu Mülkün Sultanları. Alfa Yayıncılık. p. 72.ISBN978-6-051-71080-8.
^M. Çağatay Uluçay (1992).Padişahların Kadınları ve Kızları. Ankara : Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevı. pp. 27 n. 2.ISBN978-9-751-60461-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
^Heath W. Lowry (2003).The Nature of the Early Ottoman State. Albany: SUNY Press. p. 153.ISBN978-0-7914-8726-6.
^Finkel, C.,Osman's Dream:The History of the Ottoman Empire, Osman 2005, p. 43, Basic Books
^Murat Iyigun,War, Peace, and Prosperity in the Name of God, (University of Chicago Press, 2015), 119.
^Peter F. Sugar,A History of East Central Europe: Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354–1804, Vol. 5, (University of Washington Press, 1996), 16.
^Sakaoğlu, Necdet.Bu mülkün kadın sultanları (in Turkish). Alfa yayınları.
^Franz Babinger (1992).Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Princeton University Press. pp. 11–12.ISBN978-0-691-01078-6.
^Lowry, Heath W. (2003).The nature of the early Ottoman state. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 153.ISBN1-4175-2407-3.OCLC55896257.
^Hollmann, Joshua (2017).The religious concordance : Nicholas of Cusa and Christian-Muslim dialogue. Leiden. p. 116.ISBN978-90-04-32677-4.OCLC965535039.Mehmed's maternal ancestry is shrouded in mystery. Franz Babinger notes that his mother was a 'slave', which ensures that she was not of Turkish origin, and that she probably was of Greek descent (Franz Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and his Time, edited by William C. Hickman and translated by Ralph Manheim, Bollingen Series xcvi (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978), 12).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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