Şehzade Mustafa - After The Execution

After The Execution

After the death of the prince, janissaries and Anatolian soldiers of Mustafa protested the decision of Suleiman. Mustafa's army found the execution unfair because they were thinking that the reason of the execution was the political maneuvers of Hurrem and Rüstem Pasha, neither of whom were Anatolian or Turkish. Janissaries were supporting Mustafa, both because of the Ottoman traditions about the succession and the success of Mustafa as a warrior. After the protest of the army, Suleiman took Rüstem Pasha from his position and sent him back to İstanbul.

Mustafa's execution caused unrest in Anatolia, especially in Amasya, because people were seeing him as the next sultan. People were angry at Rüstem Pasha and others who were accused of taking part in this conspiracy. In some regions of Anatolia, people remembered Mustafa as the Sultan Mustafa. His life and fate became a part of the Anatolian Turkish literature. The important Anatolian poet Taşlıcalı Yahya composed an elegy for the dead prince. His story was similar to the story of Cem Sultan.