Şehzade Korkut


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

Early life

Although it is stated that he was born in Amasya in 1467 or 1469, there is no clear record about the year of birth in the sources. II. He is the son of Bayezid. In one of his works, he writes his name as Ebülhayr Mehmed Korkut. In official documents, he used only the name Korkut. In 1479 his grandfather Mehmed II sent Korkut to Istanbul with his other brothers to be circumcised. After the death of his grandfather he was a short term regent before his father arrived at the capital.

As a governor

According to Ottoman tradition, all princes were required to work as provincial governors as a part of their training. In 1491, Korkut was appointed as the governor of Saruhan sanjak. In 1502, he was appointed as the governor of Teke, a port on Mediterranean coast. Antalya was much farther from Istanbul than Manisa, and Korkut interpreted this appointment as a sign of disfavor by his father, the sultan. He asked for his former seat; upon refusal in 1509, he escaped to Egypt under the pretext of pilgrimage. Egypt was under Mamluk rule, and he was welcomed by the Mamluk sultans. His father considered this a sign of negligence on Korkut's part, but pardoned him, and Korkut returned to Ottoman lands. During his voyage back home, the Knights Hospitalier attacked his ship and attempted to capture him, but Korkut managed to escape from the knights and return home safely.

Beginning of the interregnum

Beyazıt was now old and ailing. Korkut decided to move to Manisa to be closer to the capital. During this travel, a part of his treasury was raided by the rebels of Şahkulu. Later, he secretly traveled to Istanbul to have a role in the coming interregnum between his siblings. However, he found almost no supporters in the capital. He met with his brother Selim, who convinced him to return to his sanjak. Korkut then gave up all of his claims to the throne and took no part in the civil war between his two brothers.

Death

Selim I became the new sultan in 1512. Korkut readily accepted his brother's reign. Nevertheless, distrustful Selim decided to test his loyalty by sending him fake letters from various bureaucrats of the empire that attempted to encourage him to take part in a rebellion against Selim. Feeling that Korkut was preparing to revolt, Selim had Korkut executed in 1513 near Emet. He was buried in Bursa.