Murad Iconquered Adrianople in 1360s and made it the new capital of the Ottoman Sultanate. Then he further expanded the Ottoman realm inSouthern Europe by bringing most of theBalkans under Ottoman rule, and forced the princes ofSerbia, the emperor ofBulgaria as well as theByzantine emperorJohn V Palaiologos to pay him tribute.[2] Murad I administratively divided his sultanate into the two provinces ofAnatolia (Asia Minor) andRumelia (the Balkans).
According to the Ottoman sources, Murad I's titles includedBey,Emîr-i a’zam (GreatEmir),Ghazi,Hüdavendigâr,Khan,Padishah,Sultânü’s-selâtîn (Sultan of sultans),Melikü’l-mülûk (Malik of maliks), while in Bulgarian and Serbian sources he was referred to asTsar. In aGenoese document, he was referred to asdominus armiratorum Turchie (Master lord of Turks).[3]
In 1389, Murad's army fought the Serbian Army and its allies under the leadership of Lazar at theBattle of Kosovo.
There are different accounts from different sources about when and how Murad I was assassinated. The contemporary sources mainly noted that the battle took place and that both Prince Lazar and the Sultan lost their lives in the battle. The existing evidence of the additional stories and speculations as to how Murad I died were disseminated and recorded in the 15th century and later, decades after the actual event. One Western source states that during the first hours of the battle, Murad I was assassinated by Serbian nobleman andknightMiloš Obilić by knife.[4][5] Most Ottoman chroniclers (includingDimitrie Cantemir)[6] state that he was assassinated while he was inspecting the battlefield after the battle had finished. His older sonBayezid, who was in charge of the left wing of the Ottoman forces, took charge after that. His other son,Yakub Bey, who was in charge of the other wing, was called to the Sultan's command center tent by Bayezid, but when Yakub Bey arrived he was strangled, leaving Bayezid as the sole claimant to the throne.
In a letter from the Florentine senate (written byColuccio Salutati) to the KingTvrtko I of Bosnia, dated 20 October 1389, Murad I's (and Yakub Bey's) killing was described. A party of twelve Serbian lords slashed their way through the Ottoman lines defending Murad I. One of them, allegedlyMiloš Obilić, had managed to get through to the Sultan's tent and kill him with sword stabs to the throat and belly.[7][page needed]
Murad's internal organs were buried in Kosovo field and remain to this day on a corner of the battlefield in a location calledMeshed-i Hudavendigar which has gained a religious significance for the local Muslims. It was vandalized between 1999 and 2006 and was renovated recently.[when?] His other remains were carried toBursa, hisAnatolian capital city, and were buried in a tomb at the complex built in his name.[8]
Murad I is described in Ottoman sources as a medium-height, round-faced, aquiline-nosed, charitable, just ruler who devoted his life to the holy war. In Byzantine sources, he is remembered as a sultan who spoke little but spoke eloquently, was fond of hunting, tireless, merciful to Christians, but did not tolerate mistakes and could resort to harshness, and was always successful against his enemies.[3]
Fülane Hatun. Daughter of Ahî Seyyid Sultân, married Murad in 1366.
Paşa Melek Hatun. Daughter of Kızıl Murad Bey.[16]
Fülane Hatun. Daughter ofKonstantin of Kostendil, she married Murad in 1372. Two of her sisters married two of Murad's sons, Bayezid I and Yakub Çelebi.
Savci Bey (died in 1374). Executed by his father after he rebelled against him. He had a son, Davud Murad Bey, who fled to Hungary when his father died.
Bayezid I (1360 - 1403) - with Gulçiçek Hatun. Ottoman Sultan.
^Peirce, Leslie P. (1994).Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Studies in Middle Eastern History. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 33–35.ISBN978-0-19-508677-5.
^Lowry, Heath (2003).The Nature of the Early Ottoman State. Albany: SUNY Press. p. 153.ISBN0-7914-5636-6.
^Several ofJohn V's daughters and granddaughters married Ottoman princes: his daughter Maria married Murad I, two more his sonsBayezid I andYakub, while a fourth, Irene, married Halil, Murad's half-brother. Two granddaughters, daughters ofTheodore andZampia, married a son and grandson of Bayezid I,Süleyman andMustafa.
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