Murad I (; ), nicknamed Hüdavendigâr, (from – meaning "sovereign" in this context; 29 June 1326 – 15 June 1389) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1362 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan Gazi and Nilüfer Hatun. Murad I came to the throne after his elder half-brother Süleyman Pasha's death.
Murad I conquered Adrianople in 1360s and made it the new capital of the Ottoman Sultanate. Then he further expanded the Ottoman realm in Southern Europe by bringing most of the Balkans under Ottoman rule, and forced the princes of Serbia, the emperor of Bulgaria as well as the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos to pay him tribute.
Wars
thumb|left|Map of the conquests of Murad I
thumb|left|16th century miniature depicting Murad I
Murad fought against the powerful beylik of Karaman in Anatolia and against the Serbs, Albanians, Bulgarians and Hungarians in Europe. In particular, a Serb expedition to expel the Turks from Adrianople led by the Serbian brothers King Vukašin and Despot Uglješa, was defeated on September 26, 1371, by Murad's capable second lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa, the first governor (beylerbey) of Rumeli. In 1385, the important Bulgarian city Sofia fell to the Ottomans. In 1386, Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović defeated an Ottoman force at the Battle of Pločnik. The Ottoman army suffered heavy casualties, and was unable to capture Niš on the way back.
Battle of Kosovo
thumb|[[Tomb of Sultan Murad on Kosovo field]]
thumb|Tomb of Sultan Murad
In 1389, Murad's army fought the Serbian Army and its allies under the leadership of Lazar at the Battle of Kosovo.
There are different accounts from different sources about when and how Murad I was assassinated. The contemporary sources mainly noted that the battle took place and that both Prince Lazar and the Sultan lost their lives in the battle. The existing evidence of the additional stories and speculations as to how Murad I died were disseminated and recorded in the 15th century and later, decades after the actual event. One Western source states that during the first hours of the battle, Murad I was assassinated by Serbian nobleman and knight Miloš Obilić, who wanted to meet him in person by knife. Some sources state the assassin pretended to defect to the Ottomans, while most Ottoman chroniclers (including Dimitrie Cantemir) state that he was assassinated while he was inspecting the battlefield after the battle had finished. His older son Bayezid, who was in charge of the left wing of the Ottoman forces, took charge after that. His other son, Yakub Bey, who was in charge of the other wing, was called to the Sultan's command center tent by Bayezid, but when Yakub Bey arrived he was strangled, leaving Bayezid as the sole claimant to the throne.
In a letter from the Florentine senate (written by Coluccio Salutati) to the King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, dated 20 October 1389, Murad I's (and Yakub Bey's) killing was described. A party of twelve Serbian lords slashed their way through the Ottoman lines defending Murad I. One of them, allegedly Miloš Obilić, had managed to get through to the Sultan's tent and kill him with sword stabs to the throat and belly.
Murad's internal organs were buried in Kosovo field and remain to this day on a corner of the battlefield in a location called Meshed-i Hudavendigar which has gained a religious significance for the local Muslims. It was vandalized between 1999 and 2006 and was renovated. His other remains were carried to Bursa, his Anatolian capital city, and were buried in a tomb at the complex built in his name.
Appearance and character
Murad I is described in Ottoman sources as a medium-height, round-faced, aquiline-nosed, charitable, just ruler who devoted his life to the holy war. In Byzantine sources, he is remembered as a sultan who spoke little but spoke eloquently, was fond of hunting, tireless, merciful to Christians, but did not tolerate mistakes and could resort to harshness, and was always successful against his enemies.
Consorts
Murad I had at least seven consorts:
- Gülçiçek Hatun. Slave concubine, mother of Bayezid I.
- Fülane Hatun. Daughter of Ahî Seyyid Sultân, married Murad in 1366.
- Paşa Melek Hatun. Daughter of Kızıl Murad Bey.
- Maria Hatun. Born Maria Paleologa, she was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor John V and his wife Helena Kantakouzene. She married Murad in 1389.
- Bayezid I (1360 - 1403) - with Gülçiçek Hatun. Ottoman Sultan.
Further reading
thumb|Rendition of Murad I by [[Paolo Veronese (active 1550-88)]]
- Harris, Jonathan, The End of Byzantium. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2010.