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Sultan Murad III. Photo by: Belli DeÄŸil-

Top 10 Facts about Murad III

On July 4, 1546, in Manisa, ehzade Murad was born, the oldest son of ehzade Selim and his powerful wife Nurbanu Sultan. He achieved a proper education and studied Arabic and Persian. Murad’s grandfather, Sultan Suleiman I, appointed him sancakbeyi (governor) of AkÅŸehir in 1558, following his ceremonial circumcision in 1557.

He was selected as sancakbeyi of Saruhan at the age of 18. When Suleiman died in 1566, Murad was 20 years old, and his father became the new Sultan, Selim II. Selim II defied convention by sending only his eldest son, Murad, out of the palace to govern a province.

1. When Murad III’s ascended the throne

Sultan Murad III was the 77th caliph of Islam and the 12th Ottoman sovereign. He was born in Manisa during his father’s governorship, the son of Sultan Selim II and Nurbanu Sultan.

When his father was appointed governor of Karaman, Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, appointed him governor of AkÅŸehir. When his grandfather died and his father ascended to the throne, he was appointed governor of Manisa. Sadeddin Efendi, a famous scholar and historian, educated and raised him.

Murad III was a talented, well-educated, religiously devoted ÅŸehzade (prince), beloved by his father and other notables, according to the 1571 report of Jacopo Ragazzoni, then-Venetian ambassador in Istanbul. At the age of 29, he assumed power.

2. What Murad III did for Ottoman state during his reign

Murad III- Wikimedia.

Sultan Murad III dedicated himself to the defense and development of Ottoman institutions and administration in order to strengthen the Ottoman State. During his reign, the treasury was advanced, but so were the army, government offices, and academic facilities.

Sokollu Mehmet Pasha, his Grand Vizier at the time, guided and supported him in this task. In 1578, the Ottoman army seized Morocco and then Georgia, as well as fighting against Iran in the east and Austria in the west.

Murad III’s monarchy saw the Ottoman Empire’s largest territorial expansion: over 19,900,000 square kilometers (approximately 7,683,000 square miles). During this time, good relations with Protestant England were defined as a strategic move against Catholic Europe.

3. How Murad III whipped out Portugal

Sultan Murad III initially delegated administration to his brother-in-law, Grand Vizier Sokollu (Sokullu) Mehmed Pasha. The Battle of Alcacer Quibir, also known as the Battle of Three Kings or the Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin, was the most significant event in world politics during this time period.

In the Indian Ocean, the Ottomans had always competed with the Portuguese. Sultan Murad III took advantage of the Portuguese intervention in Morocco and the Moroccan sultan’s request for assistance.

In 1578, Ramazan Pasha, the governor of Algeria, destroyed the Portuguese army of 80,000 with his army of 20,000. 20,000 Portuguese soldiers died in this battle, amongst the most dangerous in history, and the rest of the Portuguese army was seized or escaped severely injured.

4. Did Murad III get control over Morocco too?

Murad III-

Morocco became an Ottoman political client. Nevertheless, because Morocco was a Muslim country, this was not a colonization. The Moroccan sultan initiated major reforms in his country, citing the Ottoman system as an example.

The Ottomans moved into Chad and established political protection for the Sultanate of Bornu. Following this defeat, the Spaniards took over Portugal. The Portuguese nation vanished from the historical stage.

This paved the way for trade to England. The Ottoman state decided to back Portuguese nationalists against their archenemy Spain. After 60 years of Spanish occupation, Portugal reemerged on the historical stage.

5. How Murad III won over Morocco and Portugal

Morocco became a political client of the Ottoman Empire. Nonetheless, this was not a colonization because Morocco was a Muslim country. The Moroccan sultan instituted significant reforms in his country, citing the Ottoman system as an example. The Ottomans established political protection for the Sultanate of Bornu in Chad.

Following this battle, the Spaniards seized control of Portugal. The Portuguese people disappeared from the historical record. This opened the door for trade with England.

The Ottoman state chose to support Portuguese nationalists against their archenemy, Spain. Portugal reemerged on the historical stage after 60 years of Spanish colonization.

6. Murad III got control of Poland and Lithuania states

Poland and Lithuania, which were even more powerful than Russia at the time, fell under Ottoman control in 1577. As a result, Ottoman dominance extended all the way to the Baltic Sea. Vassal states paid taxes to Istanbul, the rulers in these nations were confirmed by Istanbul, and these rulers followed Istanbul’s international relations commands.

The fact that Morocco and Poland, two of the great states of their time, were subject to Ottoman sovereign control for half a century demonstrates the Ottomans’ majesty.

The Ottoman army marched on Georgia, which was oppressed by Iran, the same year. In 1583, zdemirolu Osman Pasha defeated the Safavid army between Shirvan and Dagestan.

The Battle of Torches was named after the fact that it took place at night by the light of torches. Georgia, the Caucasus, and Dagestan were all ruled by the Ottomans. In the Caspian Sea, a shipyard was founded. Sultan Murad III welcomed Osman Pasha into the palace and lavished him with praise.

7. Murad III had conflict with the Safavids

Portrait of Murad III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1574-1595). The portrait has been printed using the Giclée process. Photo by: John Young (1755-1825)-

Murad III led the Ottoman Empire to its greatest extent in the Middle East.
The Ottomans had been at peace with the neighboring outpacing Safavid Empire since 1555, thanks to the Treaty of Amasya, which had settled border disputes for some time. But, in 1577, Murad started a war, launching the Ottoman-Safavid War (1578-90), hoping to exploit the chaos in the Safavid court following the death of Shah Tahmasp I.

Murad was swayed by viziers Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha and Sinan Pasha and ignored Grand Vizier Sokollu’s advice. Murad also battled the Safavids for 12 years, culminating in the Treaty of Constantinople (1590), which contributed in temporary important territorial ambitions for the Ottomans.

8. Ottoman presence in the Horn of Africa

During his reign, an Ottoman Admiral named Mir Ali Beg was successful in achieving Ottoman dominance in a number of cities along the Swahili coast between Mogadishu and Kilwa.

In 1585, Mogadishu recognized Ottoman suzerainty, and Ottoman supremacy was established in other cities such as Barawa, Mombasa, Kilifi, Pate, Lamu, and Faza.

9. England’s pact with Ottoman state

Elizabeth I and Sultan Murad III replaced various diplomats and letters. Murad considered the notion that Islam and Protestantism had “much more in common than either did with Roman Catholicism, as both refused the worship of idols,” and disputed for an alliance between England and the Ottoman Empire in one interaction.

To the chagrin of Catholic Europe, England exported tin and lead (for cannon casting) and ammunition to the Ottoman Empire, and Elizabeth seriously considered joint military operations with Murad III during the outbreak of war with Spain in 1585, as Francis Walsingham lobbied for direct Ottoman military intervention against the common Spanish enemy.

This diplomacy would be carried on by both the Sultan and Safiye Sultan under Murad’s successor, Mehmed III.

10. How did Murad III’s die?

Murad died of natural causes in the Topkap Palace and was laid to rest in a tomb next to the Hagia Sophia. The mausoleum contains 54 sarcophagi of the Sultan, his wives, and children, all of whom are also buried there.

He is also in charge of modifying the burial practices of the sultans’ mothers. Murad had his mother Nurbanu buried alongside her husband Selim II, making her the first consort to be buried alongside a sultan.