Mustafa I

Mustafa I was the son of Sultan Mehmed III and Halime Sultan, an Abkhazian concubine. He was born around 1600 in the Topkapi Palace in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. He was spared from the customary execution of his brothers by his half-brother Ahmed I, who ascended the throne in 1603. He lived in seclusion until Ahmed's death in 1617, when he was chosen as the new sultan by a court faction. However, he was mentally unstable and incompetent, and was soon deposed by his nephew Osman II in 1618. He was kept in the Kafes, a section of the palace where the potential heirs were confined. In 1622, he was restored to the throne by the Janissaries, who rebelled and killed Osman II. He reigned for another year, but was again deposed by his brother-in-law Murad IV in 1623. He died in the Kafes in 1639, reportedly of epilepsy. He was buried in the Hagia Sophia Mosque, where his mausoleum can still be seen. He was known as Mustafa the Saint or Veli Mustafa during his second reign, and as Mustafa the Mad or Deli Mustafa by historians. He was the first sultan to be deposed twice, and the only one to be the son and the uncle of two other sultans (Ahmed I and Osman II). He had no known spouse or children. He was the last sultan to have a full brother as a predecessor or successor.