Repercussions of a Murder
Repercussions of a Murder

The Death of Sehzade Mustafa on the Early Modern English Stage

Author(s): Seda Erkoc
Subject(s): Middle Ages
Published by: Central European University Press
Keywords: Ottoman Empire;Sehzade Mustafa;Middle Ages;
Summary/Abstract: Owing to the economic boom of the sixteenth century, the Mediterranean, and the Ottoman Empire in particular, occupied a central place in the consciousness of the English, who encountered Mediterranean civilization primarily through commerce. The English were interested in all aspects of the lives of people living in that world, far away and of uncertain geography. They were particularly eager to learn about the Ottomans, as the “Turke” was not just an exotic Other but also a commercial partner, as well as a threat encroaching more by the day. In the sixteenth century alone, more than 3,000 works dealing with the Ottomans were published in Europe that included official reports and records; private letters of diplomats and ambassadors; travel accounts of pilgrims, adventurers, and tradesmen; and even accounts of Christian slaves. Therefore it is not unusual that the news of Sehzade Mustafa’s death reached Europe first by way of rumor.

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