Sultan Murad II

He is Sultan Murad II, the ascetic sultan who put down the internal rebellion and defeated the Crusader coalition in the Battle of Varna. He is the only sultan who abdicated to his son twice in order to devote himself to the worship of God Almighty.

His upbringing
Sultan Murad II was born in 806 AH / 1404 AD and grew up in an Ottoman household, which instilled in its sons a love of knowledge and jihad in the cause of Allah. Sultan Murad II was raised with a sound Islamic upbringing, which qualified him to assume the sultanate at the age of eighteen. He was known to all his subjects for his piety, justice, and compassion. He was a lover of jihad in the cause of Allah and of calling people to Islam throughout Europe.

Taking over the Sultanate and eliminating internal rebellions
Sultan Murad II took over the rule of the state after the death of his father, Mehmed Çelebi, in 824 AH / 1421 AD. Sultan Murad was able to quell the internal rebellions launched by his uncle Mustafa, which were supported by the enemies of the Ottoman Empire. The Byzantine Emperor Manuel II was behind the intrigues, conspiracies and troubles that Sultan Murad was exposed to. He supported Sultan Murad's uncle with aid until Mustafa was able to besiege the city of Gallipoli, seeking to wrest it from the Sultan and make it his own base. However, Sultan Murad arrested his uncle and presented him to the gallows. Nevertheless, Emperor Manuel II continued to plot against the Sultan and embraced Murad II's brother, placing him in command of a force that captured the city of Nicea in Anatolia. Murad marched against him and was able to eliminate his forces, forcing his opponent to surrender and then being killed. Sultan Murad then decided to teach the Emperor a practical lesson, so he quickly occupied Salonika, attacked it and entered it by force in March 1431 AD / 833 AH, and it became an integral part of the Ottoman Empire.
Sultan Murad II was dealing severe blows to the rebel movements in the Balkans and was keen to strengthen the Ottoman rule in those lands. The Ottoman army headed north to subjugate the Wallachia region and imposed an annual tribute on it. The new Serbian king, Stefan Lazar, was forced to submit to the Ottomans and enter under their rule and renewed his loyalty to the Sultan. An Ottoman army headed south, where it consolidated the foundations of Ottoman rule in Greece. The Sultan soon continued his missionary jihad and eliminated obstacles in both Albania and Hungary.

His conquests
During the reign of Murad II, the Ottomans conquered Albania in 834 AH / 1431 AD, focusing their attack on the southern part of the country. The Ottomans fought a bitter struggle in northern Albania, where the northern Albanians defeated two Ottoman armies in the Albanian mountains. They also defeated two successive Ottoman campaigns led by Sultan Murad himself. The Ottomans suffered heavy losses during the withdrawal. The Christian states supported the Albanians against the Ottomans, especially the Venetian government, which was aware of the danger posed by the Ottoman conquest of this important region, with its beaches and seaports that connected Venice to the Mediterranean Basin and the outside world. The Ottomans were also aware that the Ottomans could hold back Venetian ships in the closed Adriatic Sea. Thus, Sultan Murad II did not witness a stable Ottoman rule in Albania.
Concerning the Hungarian front, Murad II succeeded in 842 AH / 1438 AD, defeating the Hungarians, capturing 70,000 of their soldiers, and seizing several positions. He then advanced to conquer Belgrade, the Serbian capital, but he failed in his attempt. A large Crusader alliance was soon formed, blessed by the Pope, whose goal was to completely expel the Ottomans from Europe. The alliance included the Papacy, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Wallachia, Genoa, Venice, the Byzantine Empire, and the Duchy of Burgundy. German and Czech troops also joined the alliance. Command of the Crusader forces was given to the capable Hungarian commander, John Hunyadi. Hunyadi led the Crusader land forces and marched south, crossing the Danube and inflicting two heavy defeats on the Ottomans in 846 AH / 1442 AD. The Ottomans were forced to seek peace. A ten-year peace treaty was concluded in Szczecin in July 848 AH / 1444 AD, in which he ceded Serbia and recognized George Branković as its prince. Sultan Murad also ceded Wallachia (Romania) to Hungary and ransomed his son-in-law, Mahmud Çelebi, who was commander-in-chief of the Ottoman armies, for 60,000 ducats. This treaty was written in Ottoman and Hungarian. Ladislas, King of Hungary, swore on the Bible and Sultan Murad swore on the Quran to honorably and faithfully fulfill the terms of the treaty.

Abdication of the Sultanate
When Murad finished concluding the truce with his European enemies, he returned to Anatolia. He was shocked by the death of his son, Prince Alaa, and his grief intensified. He renounced the world and the kingdom, and abdicated the sultanate to his son, Mehmed II, who was then fourteen years old. Because of his young age, his father surrounded him with some of the men of his state who were wise and thoughtful. Then he went to Magnesia in Asia Minor to spend the rest of his life in isolation and tranquility, devoting himself in this seclusion to the worship of God and contemplating His kingdom after he was reassured that security and peace had been established in the regions of his state. The Sultan did not enjoy this seclusion and worship for long, as Cardinal Cesarini and some of his aides called for breaking the treaties with the Ottomans and expelling them from Europe, especially since Sultan Murad had left the Ottoman throne to his young son who had no experience or danger from it. Pope Eugene IV was convinced by this satanic idea, and asked the Christians to break the treaty and attack the Muslims. He explained to the Christians that the treaty concluded with the Muslims was invalid because it It was held without the permission of the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth. Cardinal Cesarini was very active, always on the move, never tired of working, striving to eliminate the Ottomans. Therefore, he used to visit the Christian kings and their leaders and incite them to break the treaty with the Muslims. He would convince everyone who objected to him to break the treaty and say to him: “In the name of the Pope, he absolves them of their responsibility for breaking it and blesses their soldiers and weapons. They must follow his path, for it is the path of glory and salvation. Whoever, after that, has a conscience that conflicts with him and fears sin, will bear his burden and sin.”

Crusaders break the covenant
The Crusaders broke their covenants, mobilized armies to fight the Muslims, and besieged the Bulgarian city of Varna, located on the Black Sea coast, which had been liberated by the Muslims. Breaking covenants is a common characteristic of the enemies of this religion, and therefore Allah Almighty obligated Muslims to fight them. He says: {But if they break their oaths after their covenant and attack your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief. Indeed, there are no oaths to them. Perhaps they will desist.} [At-Tawbah: 12]. They do not respect covenants or agreements, as has always been their character. They do not hesitate to attack any nation, any person in whom they perceive weakness, killing and slaughtering.

Return to Jihad
When the Christians began to advance towards the Ottoman Empire and the Muslims in Edirne heard of the Crusader movement and advance, they were seized with fear and terror. The statesmen sent word to Sultan Murad, urging him to come and confront this threat. The mujahid sultan emerged from his seclusion to lead the Ottoman armies against the Crusader threat. Murad was able to negotiate with the Genoese fleet to transport forty thousand of the Ottoman army from Asia to Europe, under the sight and ear of the Crusader fleet, in exchange for one dinar per soldier.
Sultan Murad hastened his march, arriving in Varna on the same day as the Crusaders. The next day, a fierce battle broke out between the Christian and Muslim armies. Sultan Murad placed the treaty his enemies had broken on the tip of a spear to make them and all heaven and earth witness to their treachery and aggression, and to boost the enthusiasm of his soldiers. The two sides fought, and a terrible battle took place between them, in which victory was almost for the Christians due to their religious zeal and excessive enthusiasm. However, this protection and excessive enthusiasm clashed with the jihadist spirit of the Ottomans. King Ladislas, the covenant-breaker, met Sultan Murad, the covenant-keeper, face to face, and they fought. A terrible battle took place between them on the 28th of Rajab 848 AH / November 10, 1444 AD. The Muslim Sultan was able to kill the Christian Hungarian king. He surprised him with a strong blow from his spear that caused him to fall from his horse. Some of the mujahideen rushed and cut off his head and raised it on a spear, glorifying and rejoicing. One of the mujahideen shouted to the enemy: “O infidels, this is the head of your king.” This scene had a strong effect on the Christian crowds, and they were seized with fear and panic. The Muslims launched a strong attack against them, scattering them and defeating them in a terrible defeat. The Christians turned their backs, pushing each other away. Sultan Murad did not pursue his enemy and was satisfied with… This is the extent of victory and it is a great victory.
This battle removed Hungary from the list of countries capable of launching offensive military operations against the Ottomans for at least ten years.

Return to isolation and devotion
Sultan Murad did not abandon his asceticism in this world and in the kingdom, so he relinquished the throne to his son Muhammad and returned to his seclusion in Magnesia, like a victorious lion returning to his den.
History has mentioned to us a group of kings and rulers who abdicated their thrones and cut themselves off from the people and the splendor of the kingdom to seclusion, and that some of these kings returned to the throne, but we have not mentioned any of them who abdicated the throne twice except for Sultan Murad. He had hardly gone to his isolation in Asia Minor when the Janissaries in Edirne revolted and rioted and raged and rebelled and rebelled and corrupted. Sultan Mehmed II was a young man of recent years, and some of the state’s men feared that the matter would escalate and the danger would increase and the evil would worsen and the consequences would be bad, so they sent to Sultan Murad asking him to take charge of the matter himself. Sultan Murad came and seized the reins of power and the Janissaries submitted to him. He sent his son Muhammad to Magnesia as its governor in Anatolia. Sultan Murad II remained on the Ottoman throne until the last day of his life, which he spent in conquest and conquest.

Murad II and his love for poets, scholars and charity
Muhammad Harb says: “Although Murad II was a man of few poems and we have only a little of his poetry, he had a great influence on literature and poetry that cannot be denied, because the blessing he bestowed upon the poets whom he would invite to his council two days a week to say what they had to say, and to take up the details of the conversations and gossip between them and the Sultan, who would approve or disapprove, choose or reject. He often filled the need of the needy among them by bestowing blessings or by finding them a profession that would provide them with a livelihood until they were free from the worries of life and devoted to writing poetry. His era produced many poets.”
Murad II transformed the royal palace into a kind of scientific academy, and even had poets accompany him in his struggles. One of his poems was, "Come, let us remember God, for we are not permanent in this world."
He was a knowledgeable, wise, just and brave Sultan. He used to send three thousand five hundred dinars from his own money to the people of the Two Holy Mosques and Jerusalem every year. He cared about knowledge, scholars, sheikhs and the righteous. He paved the way for kingdoms, secured the roads, established the law and religion and humiliated the infidels and atheists. Youssef Asaaf said about him: “He was pious and righteous, a strong hero, a lover of goodness, inclined towards compassion and benevolence.”
Sultan Murad built mosques, schools, palaces and bridges, including the Edirne Mosque with its three balconies. Next to this mosque, he built a school and a hospice where the poor and needy were fed.

His death and will
The Sultan died in Edirne Palace on Muharram 16, 855 AH (February 18, 1451 AD) at the age of 47. In accordance with his will, may God have mercy on him, he was buried next to the Muradiye Mosque in Bursa. He requested that nothing be built over his grave, that spaces be built on its sides for memorizers to sit and recite the Holy Quran, and that he be buried on a Friday. His will was carried out.

When we were great
From the book Unforgettable Leaders by Tamer Badr