“Lâ erhame beyne’l-mülûk.”
“There is no mercy among the sultans.”
Sultan Bayezid II
One can see the figure of Cem Sultan among the Renaissance Figures in the Vatican Museum Borgia Apartments where Cem Sultan lived with the Borgia Family
This is the story about the tragic fate of a 15th century Ottoman Sultan who was the younger son of Fatih Sultan Mehmet who conquered İstanbul in the 15th century. Cem Sultan had a gift of becoming a great ruler but had lost the race of the throne to his older brother Bayezid II in 1481 who said ‘“There is no mercy among the Sultans.” to Cem Sultan who proposed to become co-rulers after the death of their fathers.
One of many portraits of Cem Sultan made by European artists
Cem Sultan had to flee first to Egypt and then to Rhodes which was ruled by the Knights. I have had a chance to see his ‘tiny’ cell where he has had to stay for years when I was visiting Rhodes. Knights broke their promise to allow him to travel freely and made him a pawn in the power struggle between European powers and the Ottoman ruler Bayezid II. Cem Sultan has spent his later life as a prisoner first in France and later in Rome for the rest of his life where he was finally assassinated.
The castle where Cem Sultan was held captive in Rome for a while
We now know that Bayezid II had a secret agreement with Pope himself to keep Cem Sultan in Rome. He was kept captive by two popes and their sons. The figure in his turban in the Borgia Apartments in Vatican shows us the sharp contrast of this Ottoman Prince to the Renaissance figures. He was a foreign man in a foreign land. We know that he partially enjoyed a free life when he was in Rome to practise his religion, went hunting with the son of the Borgia Family, became a part of the Papal choir and spent time with the Renaissance composer Josquin Després who mentions him in his memoires. We know that Josquin Despré composed ‘laissez-faire a mi’ for Cem Sultan for a reception in Cem’s name in Vatican. You can listen to a part of the hymn here.
Cem Sultan was also a poet who wrote about his grief in exile. His poems tell us about a dignified Sultan who never lost hope.
Documents from the Vatican Secret Archives showing the agreement between Sultan Bayezid II and Vatican in order to keep Cem Sultan as hostage were recently released
We know that he was finally poisoned when France invaded Rome and French were given the custody of Cem Sultan who was at first treated with great honour but ‘suddenly died’ at the age 34. Four years later, he was taken back to the Ottoman Empire where he was buried not in İstanbul but where fallen Sultans are buried and that is in Bursa.
Cem Sultan’s Tomb in Bursa
If you are interested in the story of this tragic Sultan, consider reading a fabulous book written by John Freely.
There is a wonderful TV series about the scandalous papal family of Borgia who held Cem Sultan captive due to the secret agreement between Papacy and the Ottomans. You can also see the presence of Cem Sultan and his relationship with the papal family when you watch the series. I would highly recommend anyone who is fascinated with history to watch The Borgias.
A scene from The Borgias where Cem Sultan is dancing with Lucrezia Borgia
