Is fratricide specific to the Ottomans or are there other dynasties where this was present?

by purplejarofwaves

I'm currently reading about the Ottomans and I've noticed this is something of a theme. Are there other dynasties where killing family members was a viable way of getting to the top?

Would really like to find some books or texts that discuss it in more detail. If someone could point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

MaharajadhirajaSawai

The answer is yes and I'll begin with a description of the Mughal dynasty's problem of succession. The Mughal dynasty did not have an established system of succession such as primogeniture. Instead, various Mughal prince's competed against one another, intriguing at the court, gathering the favour of their father through military conquests or administrative competence and if all else failed, fighting civil wars or assassinating one another to take the Throne.

Babur, the founder of the nascent Mughal Empire, had left the territories he had conquered in the hands of his sons. The eldest of them was Humayun, and his brothers, Kamran Mirza, Askari and Hindal would become his rivals in the years to come.

In 1530, Humayun assumed the throne from his father at age 22, and for the next 10 years his reign was filled with mixed military successes and an overall inability to contest with the remnants of the Afghan power present in the subcontinent. Finally in 1540, at the Battle of Kannauj, Humayun was defeated by the leader of the resurgent Afghan power, Sher Khan, later titled, Sher Shah Suri. Sher Khan's victory left Humayun a Prince with no kingdom. His own brothers Kamran Mirza and Askari, turned against him and he was left to wander but with his close family, and loyal followers. Being chased out from the regions of the Upper Ganga Valley, Humayun could not seek shelter in the court of his brother Kamran who ruled over Kandahar and Kabul, since he had taken that part of the Empire following its division upon the death of their father. His brothers even attempted to have him killed.

Humayun would eventually return, after seeking help from the Safavid Shah, and take back Kabul and then the territories upto Delhi.

His son Akbar, succeeded him 1556. After taking over the charge of his Empire from his guardian Bairam Khan, Kabar began his conquests of the Northern part of the Indian subcontinent. He too was forced to contend for supremacy against his brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim, whom he had made the governor of Kabul. Mirza Hakim began operating as a semi-independent governor and in later years positioned himself as a strong adherent of Islam in contrast to his tolerant and open minded brother. He tried to rebel and attempted invasions and intrigue. Eventually, after successive failures, he mended ways with Akbar.

Akbar's son Jahangir, succeeded his father in 1605 with relative ease, owing to the fact that his brothers had died and he was the only eligible heir to the Throne. Yet, Akbar, was disappointed in Jahangir and had not wished for him to take the Throne. It was under such circumstances, that Jahangir, soon after in 1606, had to fend off his own son, Prince Khusrau Mirza, when the latter attempted to claim the throne based on Akbar's will to become his next heir.

Khusrau left Agra, the Imperial capital on April 6, 1606, with 350 horsemen on the pretext of visiting the tomb of Akbar at nearby Sikandra. In Mathura, he was joined by Hussain Beg, with about 3000 horsemen. In Panipat, he was joined by Abdur Rahim, the provincial dewan (administrator) of Lahore. Khusrau laid siege to Lahore after receiving blessings and support from the Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev at Taran Taran. Lahore was defended by Dilawar Khan. Soon, Jehangir arrived at the head of a large army, and defeated and captured Khusrau, who was partially blinded, then imprisoned for 14 years, until he was in the custody of Prince Khurram, his own younger brother, later known in history as Shah Jahan, who in 1622, had him killed.

Prince Khurram, in the meantime had earned military fame in the Empire, by forcing a treaty with the Maharana of Mewar in 1615, whose dynasty had resisted Mughal occupation since 1560s. This treaty itself was a result of Khurram's relentless war of attrition against the Maharana whose country was ravaged and plundered and burned while he could only wait and ambush Mughal armies, lacking the strength to face them with their massive armies in open battle, after decades of war.

Next Prince Khurram was also assigned to the Deccan in 1617, to deal with the Lodis and to secure the Empire's southern borders and to restore imperial control over the region. His successes in these campaigns led to Jahangir granting him the title of Shah Jahan ("King of the World") and raised his military rank and allowed him a special throne in his Durbar, an unprecedented honor for a prince.

Yet, all this while, the Mughal court and the power behind the Throne had been Jahangir's favourite wife, Nur Jahan, the widowed daughter of a Persian noble, whome he had married in 1611, By intrigue and influence over Jahangir, Nur Jahan and her brother, Asaf Khan, wielded considerable influence. Arjumand was Asaf Khan's daughter and her marriage to Khurram consolidated Nur Jahan and Asaf Khan's positions at court. Nur Jahan did not favour Shah Jahan for the Throne. Instead she had her daughter from her first marriage, married off to Shah Jahan's youngest brother, Shazada (Prince) Shahyrar.

Shah Jahan, rebelled in 1622. Heraised an army with the support of Mahabat Khan and marched against his father and Nur Jahan. He was defeated at Bilochpur in March 1623. Later he took refuge in Udaipur Mewar with Maharaja Karan Singh II. Although the prince was forgiven for his errors in 1626, the tensions between Shah Jahan and Nur Jahan had not subsided. Upon his father's death, with the invaluable aid of Asaf Khan who became a partisan of Shah Jahan, The Prince ascended to the Throne. His first act as ruler was to execute his chief rivals and imprison his stepmother Nur Jahan. Upon Shah Jahan's orders, several executions took place on 23 January 1628. Those put to death included his own brother Shahryar; his nephews Dawar and Garshasp, sons of Shah Jahan's previously executed brother Prince Khusrau; and his cousins Tahmuras and Hoshang, sons of the late Prince Daniyal Mirza. This allowed Shah Jahan to rule his empire without contention.

Similarly, Shah Jahan's four sons, fought a bitter civil war, after their father became incapable of ruling. In the end, it was Aurangzeb who had defeated his brothers who took the Mughal Throne. This phenomenon, of Mughal princes competing for power, relying on their connection with powerful nobles and military leaders, rebelling against their father and fighting wars or using intrigue to get rid of their brothers was a recurring theme in Mughal politics and history for the period from 1530-1707. It was after this point that Mughal Princes siezed to be the focal point or centre around whom nobles would flock to express loyalty and help them ascend the Throne. Instead, powerful nobles began using princes as the pawns for their own attempts to take over the court and become the de facto rulers of the state.

Ofcourse there are many more examples, but the Mughal dynasty stands out, since fratricide and rebellions due to a lack of a fixed system of succession is a recurring theme for Mughal history.

Sources :

"A History of Medieval India" by Satish Chandra

"A History of Aurangzeb Vol I" by Sir Jadunath Sarkar

"History And Culture of the Indian People - The Mughal Empire" by RC Majumdar