The Ottoman Sultan’s Brother Locked in the Kafes Before Taking the Throne

[00:00:00]To stop princes killing each other, the Ottomans built a royal [music] prison.

[00:00:05]It was called the kafes, the cage, secluded rooms inside Istanbul's Topkapi Palace.

[00:00:12]Instead of openly executing [music] every rival prince, sultans increasingly confined them there after the early 1600s, hoping to prevent succession wars.

[00:00:22]One prisoner was Ibrahim, born in 1615, younger brother of Sultan Murad [music] the fourth.

[00:00:29]Murad had several brothers executed, including Bayezid, Suleiman, and Kasım.

[00:00:35]Ibrahim survived, but years behind palace [music] walls left him terrified.

[00:00:40]When Murad died in 1640, Ibrahim reportedly feared it was a trap and would not emerge until shown Murad's body.

[00:00:48]Then, >> [music] >> the locked-away prince became Sultan Ibrahim.

[00:00:53]Ottoman chroniclers [music] describe erratic rule, factional influence, and deep suspicion.

[00:00:58]In 1648, he was deposed [music] and strangled.

[00:01:02]The kafes saved a dynasty from civil war, but it also taught its heirs to rule [music] like prisoners.

[00:01:10]History's cages rarely stay closed.