19. “Any of My Sons Who Ascends the Throne, it is Acceptable for Him to Kill His Brothers“
The early Ottoman state had no clear-cut rules of succession. When princes reached puberty, their father the Sultan usually sent them out to govern a province. There, they often built up a power base of ambitious followers, eager to prosper by urging their royal governor to make a bid for the throne upon his father’s death.
Thus, the death of a sultan was often followed by a bout of civil war between his sons, and the early reign of a new sultan was often marred by the revolts of envious brothers seeking to take his place. Eventually, Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror enacted a Law of Governance, stating in relevant part: “Any of my sons who ascends the throne, it is acceptable for him to kill his brothers for the common benefit of the people. The majority of the ulema [Muslim scholars] approve this; let action be taken accordingly“.