13. A More Humane Alternative? Imprisoning Siblings, Instead of Murdering Them
The system of Ottoman Fratricide reduced civil wars and internal strife, but the consciences of many were troubled by the murder of innocent royal siblings at the start of each reign. Those misgivings reached a peak in 1595 when Sultan Mehmed III inaugurated his reign by ordering his nineteen brothers, some of them mere infants, strangled to death. It was said that “the Empire wept” as a long line of child-sized coffins exited the palace in a grand procession the next day. A reaction against such extreme measures became clear.
As a result, a new tradition emerged: instead of new sultans outright murdering their siblings upon ascending the throne, they simply locked them up. Thus was born the system of the Ottoman Kafes, or “Cage”, whereby sultans set up a secluded part of their royal Harem as a detention center for their brothers. There, potential rivals were kept under house arrest, under surveillance by palace guards and isolated from the outside world to prevent intrigues and plots. It was a harsh existence that drove some of the imprisoned princes to madness. However, it was a more humane alternative to death.
