Murad III

Murad III
Ottoman Caliph
Amir al-Mu'minin
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Life-size portrait, attributed to a Spanish artist, 17th century
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Padishah)
Reign27 December 1574 – 16 January 1595
PredecessorSelim II
SuccessorMehmed III
Born4 July 1546
Manisa, Ottoman Empire
Died16 January 1595(1595-01-16) (aged 48)
Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Burial
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Consorts
Issue
Among others
Hümaşah Sultan
Ayşe Sultan
Mehmed III
Şehzade Mahmud
Şehzade Selim
Fatma Sultan
Mihrimah Sultan
Fahriye Sultan
Names
Murad bin Selim
DynastyOttoman
FatherSelim II
MotherNurbanu Sultan
ReligionSunni Islam
TughraMurad III's signature

Murad III (Ottoman Turkish: مراد ثالث, romanizedMurād-i sālis; Turkish: III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavids. The long-independent Morocco was for a time made a vassal of the empire but regained independence in 1582. His reign also saw the empire's expanding influence on the eastern coast of Africa. However, the empire was beset by increasing corruption and inflation from the New World which led to unrest among the Janissary and commoners. Relations with Elizabethan England were cemented during his reign, as both had a common enemy in the Spanish. He was also a great patron of the arts, commissioning the Siyer-i-Nebi and other illustrated manuscripts.