Editing Selim II (section)

==Succession struggle==
In 1555 a rebellion erupted in northeastern Bulgaria, led by a man claiming to be Şehzade Mustafa. He organised his followers like the Ottoman administration, redistributing taxes and gaining support.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=250}} Bayezid, aware of the situation, prepared militarily and initiated negotiations.{{sfn|Şahin|2013|p=137}} Suleiman sent Sokullu Mehmed Pasha to suppress the uprising. Bayezid's envoy convinced the pretender's chief vizier to defect, leading to the leader's capture and execution in Constantinople{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=251}} on 31 July 1555.{{sfn|Şahin|2013|p=138}} Rumors suggested Bayezid orchestrated the revolt, but Suleiman's desire to punish him was hindered by his wife Hürrem.{{sfn|Şahin|2013|p=138}} Tensions over succession continued, with Bayezid and Selim in rivalry. Strategic maneuvers, including Bayezid's relocation to Germiyan, maintained equilibrium in their positions, both poised to return to the capital upon news of their father's fate.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=252}}<ref>{{cite book | last1=de Busbecq | first1=O.G. | last2=Forster | first2=C.T. | last3=Daniell | first3=F.H.B. | title=The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq | publisher=C.K. Paul | issue=v. 1 | year=1881 | pages=178–189}}</ref>

Suleiman's persistent health concerns prompted efforts to dispel rumors of imminent death. In June 1557, the French ambassador noted Suleiman's strategic display of vitality upon returning to Constantinople, countering speculations about succession plans. The dynamics shifted decisively after Hürrem's death in April 1558, known for mediating between her sons.{{sfn|Şahin|2013|p=146}} Suleiman aimed to secure the cooperation of his sons, Selim and Bayezid, in a plan to reassign them to new, distant governorates. The proposal involved moving Selim from Manisa to Konya and relocating Bayezid from Kütahya to the remote town of Amasya. Both brothers' sons were also granted governorships in smaller counties adjacent to their fathers' assignments.{{sfn|Murphy|2008|p=113–114}} In September, Suleiman reassigned his sons, sending Selim to Konya and Bayezid to Amasya.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=253}}{{sfn|Çiçekler|2011|p=212}}

In mid-April 1559, Bayezid and his army departed Amasya and advanced toward Ankara. Despite conveying to his father his desire to return to Kütahya, it became evident that his true intention was to attack and eliminate Selim, aiming to be the sole heir to the throne before Suleiman sided with Selim. Upon learning of Bayezid's expedition, Suleiman deemed military action necessary, instructing the third vizier Sokullu Mehmed to join Selim with janissaries, accompanied by Rumeli troops.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=255}} Before Constantinople's forces reached Konya, Bayezid altered course southward from Ankara, arriving near Konya by late May 1559. Selim, anticipating the attack, assumed a defensive stance with augmented forces, ultimately prevailing in the engagement on May 30 and 31.{{sfn|Çiçekler|2011|p=212}}{{sfn|Gülten|2012|p=199}}

In July 1559, Bayezid embarked on an eastern march from Amasya, accompanied by ten thousand men and four of his sons.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=256}} By the autumn of the same year, he reached Yerevan, a Safavid town, receiving great respect from its governor.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clot|first1=André|title=Suleiman the Magnificent|date=2012|publisher=Saqi|isbn=978-0863568039|pages=1–399|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zz0hBQAAQBAJ&q=bayezid+received+tahmasp|quote="(...) In the autumn of 1559, the prince reached Yerevan, where the governor received him with the greatest respect. A little later, Shah Tahmasp, delighted to have such a hostage in his hands, went to Tabriz to welcome him. The shah held magnificent parties in his honour. Thirty heaped plates of gold, of silver, of pearls and precious stones, "were poured on the prince's head".}}</ref> Subsequently, in October, he arrived in Qazvin,{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=257}} where Shah Tahmasp I welcomed him initially with enthusiasm, hosting elaborate parties in his honor.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Faroqhi|first1=Suraiya N.|last2=Fleet|first2=Kate|title=The Cambridge History of Turkey: Volume 2, The Ottoman Empire as a World Power, 1453–1603|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-1316175545|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXdhBAAAQBAJ&q=bayezid+received+tahmasp|quote="Tahmasp, thus presented with the opportunity to take revenge for the reverse flight of his own brother some years before, received Bayezid with great honour, as Suleyman had Alkas Mirza"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Clot|first1=André|title=Suleiman the Magnificent|date=2012|publisher=Saqi|isbn=978-0863568039|pages=1–399|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zz0hBQAAQBAJ&q=bayezid+received+tahmasp|quote="(...) In the autumn of 1559, the prince reached Yerevan, where the governor received him with the greatest respect. A little later, Shah Tahmasp, delighted to have such a hostage in his hands, went to Tabriz to welcome him. The shah held magnificent parties in his honour. Thirty heaped plates of gold, of silver, of pearls and precious stones, "were poured on the prince's head".}}</ref> However, in April 1560, on Sultan Suleiman's request, Tahmasp imprisoned Bayezid.{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=257}} Both Suleiman and Selim dispatched envoys to Persia to persuade Shah Tahmasp to execute Bayezid. Over the next one and a half years, embassies shuttled between Istanbul and Qazvin. The last Ottoman embassy, arriving on 16 July 1561, had the formal task of attempting to return Bayezid to Istanbul.{{sfn|Mitchell|2009|page=126}} This delegation included figures like Hüsrev Pasha, Sinan Pasha, Ali Aqa Chavush Bashi, and two hundred officials.{{sfn|Mitchell|2009|page=126}}

Suleiman's letter accompanying the embassy expressed his willingness to reconfirm the Treaty of Amasya (1555) and foster a new era of Ottoman–Safavid relations.{{sfn|Mitchell|2009|page=126}} Throughout these diplomatic efforts, Suleiman bestowed numerous gifts on Tahmasp and agreed to pay him for handing over Bayezid—400,000 gold coins were given to Tahmasp.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Van Donzel|first1=E.J.|title=Islamic Desk Reference|url=https://archive.org/details/islamicdeskrefer00donz_0|url-access=registration|date=1994|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004097384|page=[https://archive.org/details/islamicdeskrefer00donz_0/page/438 438]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lamb|first1=Harold|title=Suleiman the Magnificent - Sultan of the East|date=2013|publisher=Read Books Ltd|isbn=978-1447488088|pages=1–384|quote=Four hundred thousand gold coins were sent to Tahmasp by the hand of an executioner}}</ref> Finally, on 25 September 1561,{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=258}}{{sfn|Turan|1961|p=154}} Tahmasp handed over Bayezid and his four sons, who were subsequently executed near Qazvin by the Ottoman executioner, Ali Aqa Chavush Bashi, using the garroting method.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clot|first1=André|title=Suleiman the Magnificent|date=2012|publisher=Saqi|isbn=978-0863568039|pages=1–399|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zz0hBQAAQBAJ&q=Bayezid+tahmasp|quote=Then, since he had promised never to hand him over to Suleiman, he delivered Bayezid to Selim's envoy. The unlucky man was strangled with his four sons. A little later, his fifth son, 3 years old was also put to death in Bursa by a eunuch that Suleiman had sent with a janissary.}}</ref><ref>Joseph von Hammer: ''Osmanlı Tarihi'' Vol II (condensation: Abdülkadir Karahan), Milliyet yayınları, İstanbul. p 36-37</ref>{{sfn|Mitchell|2009|page=126}} In early 1562, Selim had been appointed as the governor of Kütahya,{{sfn|Şahin|2023|p=265}} and following Bayezid's death, his last years as a prince were spent peacefully in his court in Kütahya.<ref name="Fetvacı">{{cite book | last=Fetvacı | first=E. | title=Picturing History at the Ottoman Court | publisher=Indiana University Press | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-253-00678-3 | page=41}}</ref>