When Sultan Mehmed III ascended the Ottoman throne in 1595, he shocked the empire by carrying out the largest recorded fratricide in its history. In a single night, he ordered the execution of his 19 brothers and half-brothers, a brutal act aimed at consolidating his power and eliminating potential rivals.

The practice of fratricide had been sanctioned by Mehmed II to secure the sultan’s rule and prevent internal conflict. However, Mehmed III took this tradition to a new extreme by employing deaf-mute executioners to strangle the princes with bowstrings. This method, chosen to avoid shedding royal blood, saw the bodies of the slain princes laid to rest beside their father, the late Sultan Murad III.

While fratricide was viewed as a necessary evil in maintaining order within the Ottoman dynasty, Mehmed III’s mass execution of all potential heirs, regardless of their loyalty or threats, was perceived as excessive and disturbing by many. This event marked a turning point in Ottoman history, as subsequent sultans opted for alternate methods of securing power, such as placing brothers under palace arrest rather than resorting to mass killings.

The succession process itself also underwent a transformation, with future sultans being chosen based on seniority within the dynasty rather than solely on direct lineage. Mehmed III’s ruthless act of wiping out his siblings would be the final large-scale fratricide in Ottoman history, signaling the end of an era defined by the violent elimination of royal relatives for the throne.

In hindsight, Mehmed III’s extreme measures to consolidate power through fratricide served as a grim milestone in Ottoman history. It marked the peak of a long-standing tradition that eventually gave way to more nuanced approaches to succession and power consolidation within the empire. The tragic fate of the sons of Sultan Murad III under Mehmed III’s reign stands as a somber reminder of the high stakes and brutal realities of imperial power struggles in the Ottoman Empire’s past.