Şehzade Mustafa

Şehzade Mustafa
An Ottoman miniature of Şehzade Mustafa
Born	1515 Manisa, Ottoman Empire
Died	6 October 1553 (aged 37–38) Konya, Ottoman Empire
Burial	Muradiye Complex, Bursa
Spouse	Unnamed Crimean wife
Issue	Nergisşah Sultan Şehzade Orhan Şehzade Mehmed Şah Sultan
House	House of Osman
Father	Suleiman the Magnificent
Mother	Mahidevran Sultan

Şehzade Mustafa Muhlisi (Turkish pronunciation: [ʃehzaːˈde mustaˈfa muhliˈsi]; 1515 – 6 October 1553) was the eldest son of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his chief consort Mahidevran Sultan. He was the prince-governor of Manisa from 1533 to 1541, of Amasya from 1541 to 1549 and of Konya from 1549 to 1553. Şehzade Mustafa was the heir apparent to the Ottoman throne and a very popular prince among the army prior to his execution, by order of his father, which he later regretted.

Mustafa was born in 1515 in Manisa to Şehzade Suleiman (the future sultan) and Mahidevran.

Mustafa experienced some problems in his relationship with his father since very early in his life. He was the first-born son and therefore the heir apparent to the throne, but his father, according to some historians, was more interested in Mustafa's younger half-brother Şehzade Mehmed, the eldest son of Hürrem Sultan, the most prominent one of Suleiman's consorts and his legal wife. Suleiman created more opportunities to the younger one and appeared to be preparing him for the throne. His father's treatment further displeased Mustafa and the whole people and even Suleiman's sisters who supported Mustafa.

Mustafa was reported to be very close to his brother Mehmed and to Selim II, exemplified by the fact that Selim II treated Mahidevran like his own mother during her last years and build Mustafa's tomb at Bursa.

Then, he faced a second shock after being sent to Amasya from the more prominent Manisa. The rule of Manisa was given to Mehmed. However, after he was sent to Amasya, Mustafa got the news of an edict written by Suleiman: he had sent him to Amasya not because he did not want him to be his heir, but in order to defend the east coast of the Ottoman Empire and learn how to manage a large empire. This edict also relieved the Ottoman army and people, as Şehzade Mustafa was the popular successor to the throne.