Mehmed III is best remembered for ordering the execution of nineteen of his brothers upon his accession in 1595 — the largest single fratricide in Ottoman succession history. The practice of killing male siblings to secure the throne was codified under Mehmed II, but Mehmed III carried it out on a scale that shocked even contemporary Ottoman observers. He was also the last sultan to personally command troops in the field, leading the Ottoman army at the Battle of Mezőkeresztes in 1596.
Mehmed III is best remembered for ordering the execution of nineteen of his brothers upon his accession in 1595 — the largest single fratricide in Ottoman succession history. The practice of killing male siblings to secure the throne was codified under Mehmed II, but Mehmed III carried it out on a scale that shocked even contemporary Ottoman observers. He was also the last sultan to personally command troops in the field, leading the Ottoman army at the Battle of Mezőkeresztes in 1596.