TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary

Term · Palace and dynasty

Şehzade

Also known as: prince

The male children of the Ottoman dynasty, the potential heirs to the throne.

Until the late 16th century the princes were sent with their tutors (lala) to sanjaks such as Manisa, Amasya and Kütahya to learn government there. When this practice was abandoned, the princes were confined to a closed life in the palace. Most of the sultans in the atlas served as a prince in a sanjak before coming to the throne.

Related terms

• Seniority succession
• Kafes
• Sanjak
• Valide sultan

Events where this term appears

• 1559 · Revolt of Prince Bayezid

Profiles that mention it

• Mehmed I
• Murad II
• Murad II
• Suleiman I
• Mehmed III
• Ahmed I
• Osman II
• Murad IV
• Ibrahim
• Ahmed II
• Mustafa II
• Ahmed III
• Mustafa III
• Abdulhamid I

Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “ŞEHZADE” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.