Editing Suleiman the Magnificent (section)

==Succession==
Sultan Suleiman's two known consorts (Hurrem and Mahidevran) had borne him six sons, four of whom survived past the 1550s. They were [[Şehzade Mustafa|Mustafa]], [[Selim II|Selim]], [[Şehzade Bayezid|Bayezid]], and [[Şehzade Cihangir|Cihangir]]. The eldest was [[Mahidevran]]'s son, while Selim, Bayezid, and Cihangir were born to Hurrem. Hurrem is usually held at least partly responsible for the intrigues in nominating a successor, though there is no evidence to support this.{{sfn|Peirce|1993|p=60}} Although she was Suleiman's wife, she exercised no official public role. This did not, however, prevent Hurrem from wielding powerful political influence. Until the reign of [[Ahmed I]] (1603–1617), the Empire had no formal means of nominating a successor, so successions usually involved the death of competing princes in order to avert civil unrest and rebellions.

By 1552, when the campaign against Persia had begun with Rüstem appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition, intrigues against Mustafa began. Rüstem sent one of Suleiman's most trusted men to report that since Suleiman was not at the head of the army, the soldiers thought the time had come to put a younger prince on the throne; at the same time, he spread rumours that Mustafa had proved receptive to the idea. Angered by what he came to believe were Mustafa's plans to claim the throne, the following summer upon return from his campaign in Persia, Suleiman summoned him to his tent in the [[Ereğli, Konya|Ereğli valley]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Tahsin|last=Ünal|publisher=Anıt|issue=28|title=The Execution of Prince Mustafa in Eregli|year=1961|pages=9–22}}</ref> When Mustafa entered his father's tent to meet with him, Suleiman's [[eunuch]]s attacked Mustafa, and after a long struggle the mutes killed him using a bow-string.

[[File:Sultani of Suleiman I, 1520.jpg|thumb|left|Ottoman ''[[sultani]]'' minted during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent]]
Cihangir is said to have died of grief a few months after the news of his half-brother's murder.<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|89}}{{anchor|Civil war}} The two surviving brothers, [[Selim II|Selim]] and [[Şehzade Bayezid|Bayezid]], were given command in different parts of the empire. Within a few years, however, civil war broke out between the brothers, each supported by his loyal forces. With the aid of his father's army, Selim defeated Bayezid in [[Konya]] in 1559, leading the latter to seek refuge with the [[Safavids]] along with his four sons. Following diplomatic exchanges, the Sultan demanded from the [[Tahmasp I|Safavid Shah]] that Bayezid be either extradited or executed. In return for large amounts of gold, the Shah allowed a Turkish executioner to strangle Bayezid and his four sons in 1561,<ref name= Mansel />{{rp|89}} clearing the path for Selim's succession to the throne five years later.