Şehzade Halil (probably 1346–1362) was an Ottoman prince. His father was

Orhan Orhan Ghazi ( ota, اورخان غازی; tr, Orhan Gazi, also spelled Orkhan, 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the Ottoman Beylik from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of hi ...

, the second

bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

of the Ottoman beylik (later empire). His mother was

Theodora Kantakouzene Theodora Komnene Kantakouzene (c. 1340 – after 1390) was the Empress consort of Alexios III of Trebizond. Family Theodora is considered a daughter of Nikephoros Kantakouzenos, '' sebastokratōr''. According to the history of their kinsman Joh ...

, the daughter of Byzantine emperor

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under ...

and

Irene Asanina Irene Asanina ( el, ) (died after 1354), was the Empress consort of John VI Kantakouzenos of the Byzantine Empire. She is known to have participated in military issues in a degree uncommon for a Byzantine empress. She commanded the garrison of D ...

. His kidnapping was an important event in 14th century Ottoman-

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

relations. He was killed by his brother

Murad I Murad I ( ota, مراد اول; tr, I. Murad, Murad-ı Hüdavendigâr (nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'', from fa, خداوندگار, translit=Khodāvandgār, lit=the devotee of God – meaning "sovereign" in this context); 29 June 1326 – 15 Jun ...

Kidnapping

In the mid-14th century, piracy along the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

and the

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

coasts was widespread. The pirates usually kidnapped people for ransom. In 1357 they kidnapped Halil near

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the ...

(ancient Nikomedia) on the Marmara coast. It is not known whether they knew the identity of their prey beforehand, but upon learning it, they escaped to

Phocaea Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in ...

(modern Foça) on the Aegean coast. Phocaea was a Byzantine fort recently captured from

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

and commanded by Leo Kalothetos. Orhan appealed to the Byzantine emperor

Andronikos IV Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos or Andronicus IV Palaeologus ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Παλαιολόγος; 11 April 1348 – 25/28 June 1385) was the eldest son of Emperor John V Palaiologos. Appointed co-emperor since 1352, he had a troubled rel ...

to rescue his son. He offered to cancel Byzantine debts and promised not to support the

Kantakouzenos The House of Kantakouzenos ( Kantakouzenoi; el, Καντακουζηνός, pl. Καντακουζηνοί), Latinized as Cantacuzenus and anglicized as Cantacuzene, was one of the most prominent Greek noble families of the Byzantine Empire in t ...

family's claims on the Byzantine throne. Andronikos agreed and tried to rescue Halil, but Leo was reluctant and in 1358 Andronikos had to lay siege to Phocaea with a small fleet of three vessels (the expenses of which were paid by Orhan).Halil İnalcık: ''Kuruluş Dönemi Osmanlı Sultanları'', İsam, İstanbul, 2010, pp. 66-69 He also called Ilyas Bey, the ruler of Saruhan (a small Turkmen beylik in west

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

formed after the disintegration of the Sultanate of Rum), for a joint operation against Phocaea. However Ilyas was playing both sides and planning to kidnap Andronikos during a hunting party. Nevertheless Andronikos was able to forestall his plans by arresting him. Without Saruhan collaboration, he lifted the siege. After the failure of the 1358 operations, Orhan came to Scutari (modern Üsküdar) on the Asiatic shore of the

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

for talks and agreed to pay 30,000 ducats as a ransom. In 1359, Halil was released.

Aftermath

As a part of the agreement, Halil was engaged to his first cousin, Irene Palaiologina, the 10-year-old daughter of

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...

.Nicolae Jorga: ''Geschiste des Osmanichen Reiches'' vol I, (trans: Nilüfer Epçeli) Yeditepe Yayınları, 2009, , p. 196 The Ottoman prince and Byzantine princess later married and had two sons. Since Halil's elder brother

Şehzade Süleyman Şehzade Süleyman ( Ottoman Turkish: شهزاده سليمان; 1613 – 27 July 1635) was an Ottoman prince and the son of Sultan Ahmed I and his wife Kösem Sultan. He was the brother of Murad IV and Ibrahim, and half-brother of Osman II. Li ...

had already died, the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...

family hoped to see him as the new ruler of the Ottoman beylik. But to their dismay, after Orhan’s death, Halil's brother

was enthroned as the new bey. Although Halil tried to fight for the throne, he was executed in 1362 by his brother.

Issue

*Gündüz Bey (born in 1361) *Ömer Bey (born in 1362)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehzade Halil 1350s in the Ottoman Empire 1350s in the Byzantine Empire 1357 14th century in international relations Kidnappings Medieval crime People captured by pirates Sons of emperors