Şehzade Korkut
Encyclopedia
Şehzade Korkut was an Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 prince who was a short time regent for the Ottoman throne.

Early years

He was born in Amasya
Amasya
- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...

 (in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

) in 1467. His father was Beyazıt II. There is no consensus on the name of his mother. She was either a certain Nigar Khatun or Gülbahar Sultan
Gülbahar Sultan
Kül-Bahār Sultan , was the wife of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II and the mother of Selim I. Little is known of her family background, apart from the fact that an Ottoman inscription describes her as Khātun binti Abd-us-Samed , which implied that her father had possibly converted to Islam Kül-Bahār...

. If the later is true, he was the full brother of Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...

 (the inflexible). When his grandfather Mehmet II (the conqueror) died in 1481, he was the oldest Ottoman prince residing in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

. So he was the regent for 18 days before his father Beyazıt II arrived in İstanbul.

As a governor

In Ottoman tradition all princes were required to work as provencial (sanjak) governors (sanjak-bey
Sanjak-bey
Sanjak-bey, Sanjaq-bey or -beg was the Turkish title of the Bey in military and administrative command of a sanjak , answerable to a Wāli or other provincial governor. In a few cases the Sanjak-Bey was himself a governor directly answering to Istanbul....

) as a part of their training. In 1491 Korkut was appointed as the governor of Saruhan sanjak (Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...

 in modern Turkey). In 1502 he was appointed as the governor of Teke ( Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...

 in modern Turkey) a port on Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 coast. Antalya was much further from İstanbul than Manisa and Korkut interpreted this appointment as a relegation. He asked for his former seat; but upon refusal in 1509, he escaped to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 under the pretext of pilgrim. Egypt was under Mamluk
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...

 rule, and he was welcomed by the Mamluk sultans. But this was considered as indicipline by his father. After being excused for his behavior he returned to Ottoman lands
During his voyage to back home, Knights Hospitalier tried to capture his ship. But he managed to escape from the knights.

Beginning of the interregnum

Beyazit II was old and ailing. Korkut decided to move to Manisa to be closer to capital. During this travel, a part of his treasury was raided by the rebels of Şahkulu
Şahkulu Rebellion
The Şahkulu rebellion was a widespread pro-Shia and pro-Safavid uprising in Anatolia, directed against the Ottoman Empire, in 1511. It is named after the leader of the rebels, Şahkulu. His death in battle also meant the end of the uprising.- Background :Persia was consolidated by Ismail I of the...

. Later he secretly travelled to İstanbul to have a voice on the coming interregnum. But he found almost no supporters in the capital. Besides he met with Selim and Selim convinced him to return to his sanjak. So he gave up hopes to be a sultan and took no part in the civil war between his two brothers (Şehzade Ahmet
Şehzade Ahmet
Şehzade Ahmet was an Ottoman prince who fought for throne in 1512-3.-Background:Ahmet was the oldest living son of Beyazit II. His mother was Bülbül Hatun. In Ottoman tradition all princes were required to work as provencial governors in Anatolia as a part of their training...

 and Selim I)

Death

Selim I became the new sultan in 1512. Korkut readily accepted his brother's reign. Nevertheless, mistrustful Selim decided to test his loyalty by fake letters from various bureaucrats of the empire. Feeling that Korkut was preparing to revolt he had Korkut executed in 1513 near Emet
Emet
Emet is a town and a district of Kütahya Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.It is also a Hebrew word meaning "truth", often used in the legend of the Golem. This word was written across the forehead of the mythical beast by the operator...

 (around Kütahya
Kütahya
Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...

 in Turkey.) He was buried in Bursa (in Turkey), the former capital of the empire.
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