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Template:Ottoman Succession box Murad I (nick-named Hüdavendigâr - from Template:PerB Khodāvandgār - "the God-like One") (Template:Lang-tr) (1319 or 1326 – around June 20 1389) (Template:Lang-ota) was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1359 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan I and the Byzantine princess Helen (Nilüfer), who was of ethnic Greek descent, and became the ruler following his father's death in 1359.

Establishment of Empire

He established the Empire by building up a society and government in the newly conquered city of Adrianople (Edirne in Turkish) and by expanding the realm in Europe, bringing most of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and forcing the Byzantine emperor to pay him tribute. It was Murad who established the former Osmanli tribe into an empire. He established the title of sultan in 1383 and the corps of the janissaries and the devşirme recruiting system. He also organised the government of the Divan, the system of timars and timar-holders (timariots) and the military judge, the kazasker. He also established the two provinces of Anadolu (Anatolia) and Rumeli (Europe).

Wars

Murad fought against the powerful emirate of Karaman in Anatolia and against the Serbs, Bulgarians and Hungarians in Europe. His moves in the Balkans brought together a Christian coalition under the king of Hungary, but they were defeated at the Battle of Maritsa on September 26, 1371 by Murad's capable second lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa, the first governor (beylerbey) of Rumeli. In 1366 the Serbian king was forced to pay tribute to the Sultan and in 1385 Sofia fell to the Ottomans. In 1386 Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović defeated an Ottoman force at the Battle of Pločnik. The Ottoman army didn't suffer heavy casualties, and was unable to capture Niš on the way back. In 1389 Murad's army indecisively defeated the Serbian Arm with its allies under the leadership of Lazar at the Battle of Kosovo. After the battle, Murad I was assassinated by Miloš Obilić, a Serbian nobleman who was taken as a prisoner to the tent of the sultan. His son Bayezid took charge after the battle. Though Murad had made him swear to hold his brother Yakub dear, Bayezid executed him immediately as a pretender. Bayezid informed him that their father had some new orders for them, but when Yakub arrived he was strangled, leaving Bayezid as the sole pretender to the throne.

Sultan Murad's tomb remains to this day (2006), on a corner of the battlefield. It is not in good condition, but nor has it been vandalised or destroyed, despite the centuries of hostility between the Turk and Serb peoples.

Marriages and Progeny

Marriages of Murad I:

• Gulcicek Hatun - of Greek origin
• Maria Thamara Hatun
• Pasha Melek Hatun - daughter of Kizil Murad Bey
• Fulane Hatun - daughter of Candaroglu

Progeny of Murad I:

• Yakub Celebi - (d. 1389)
• Sultan Bayezid I (1354-1402)- son of Gulcicek Hatun
• Savci Bey - son
• Ibrahim Bey - son
• Yahshi Bey - son of Gulcicek Hatun
• Halil Bey - son
• Nefise - daughter
• Sultan - daughter

Notes

1. The Fall of Constantinople, Steven Runciman, Cambridge University Press, p.36
2. The Nature of the Early Ottoman State, Heath W. Lowry, 2003 SUNY Press, p.153
3. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Stanford Jay Shaw, Cambridge University Press, p.24

Sultan Murad in Literature

• In William Shakespeare's History play Henry V,

Prince Harry refers to Murad as "Amurath" in Act V Scene 2 when he succeeds his father, King Henry IV, in 1412:

Chief Justice. Good morrow, and God save your majesty!

King Henry V. This new and gorgeous garment, majesty,

Sits not so easy on me as you think.

Brothers, you mix your sadness with some fear:

This is the English, not the Turkish court;

Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds,

But Harry Harry!

• Murad (as "Amurath the First") is the subject of Thomas Goffe's play The Courageous Turk, published in 1632.

References

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External links

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• Articles lacking sources from October 2006
• Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
• Turkic rulers
• Greek Turkish people
• Assassinated monarchs
• 14th century births
• 1389 deaths
• Ottoman dynasty