Mehmed III
This replica from the 16th century exhibited in your room is of
one of the 87 talismanic shirts from the Collection of Sultan’s Clothing at
Topkapi Palace and it is considered to have belonged to Mehmed III according
to the prayers, motives and meanings of the talisman on the shirt and
therefore was adorned with one of his
poems…
May this talisman keep you away
from the evil… Save you from any trouble, any disease… make you bulletproof
and invincible…
Mehmed III was the son
of Sultan Safiye and Selim II. He was smart and agile; kind and merciful; had
his sword and bow by his side at all times.
When he was
sent to Manisa as the governor of Sanjak, "My son, do not believe
that your father is dead even if you hear it from me unless you see his
grave, do not leave Manisa and be vigilant all the time." his mother
told him so that he would be cautious against any conspiracy. She also wanted
a shirt to be tailored for him to protect him from any sort of evil, trouble
and diseases.
The Head Augur calculated the propitious
moment when the prayers become effective according to his birth day and
horoscope. Cotton cloths were weaved and thinned according to the rituals and
became ready to be written on. Black, red, gold and of course blue, the power
of magic, inks were used. Prayers started to be calligraphed on the shirt as
well as the patterns added meaning to the good wishes. Cypress tree meant a
long life for the Sultan and the rest of the shirt was adorned with flower
motives.
It took a few years to complete and send the
talismanic shirt to Mehmed. Mehmed was well educated in Manisa and lived
there as a successful and valued leader by all nations for 12
years.
When he least expected, they brought him the news of
the unfortunate death of his father. It was now the time to leave
Manisa.
He succeeded to the throne after the death of his
father and reigned for 8 years. He willingly commanded his army during the
campaigns. During all these years at all hard times Mehmed had the shirt his
mother had tailored for him. Maybe the power of the talisman, of the prayers
protected him…
He visited the shrine on October 27th, 1603.
It was partly sunny; a soft wind was blowing on this gloomy day. Yellow
leaves fell on the neck of his kaftan and one fell on his hand. He held the
leaf, stared at it for a while… He was burning in thoughts; he was
desperately thinking about his country… They needed a victory… Deep in
thoughts, he was walking back to his palace accompanied by his officers when
a dervish approached him and said that a big incident would befall in fifty
six days and that he should not be blindsided. "Count the days, the
death is very soon." he said to him. The unfortunate times, then,
started quickly…
He was still very young; an intellectual
sultan adoring poetry and arts…
Even though there are
various rumours and the real reason is still unknown, separation day arrived
on December 21st, 1603 just like the dervish foresaw… He was buried next to
his father at Hagia Sophia after his death…
One of his
poems … is written on the shirt presented in your room…
