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The Law of Fratricide was a practice of legalized fratricide in the House of Osman which ruled the Ottoman Empire. It was put in effect by Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, who decreed:

''The learned in the law have in general declared, that whosoever among my illustrious children and grandchildren shall hereafter wield a sceptre, may cause his brothers to be put to death, in order to provide for the peace of mankind. Let them hereafter act accordingly".

In Christian Europe, the law was frequently decried as barbarian and inhumane, but it was also effective in preventing civil wars and dynastic struggles that plagued other polities of contemporary Europe. While bringing about a measure of political stability, the law also fomented tensions and intrigues within the imperial family as the monarch approached his death, for "each knew that he must either seize the throne or follow his father to the grave". The royal mausoleum in Istanbul is full of little coffins, a gruesome testimony to the widespread use of the law.

Incidents of fratricide in the House of Osman

 * It was Osman I who had set the example of ridding himself of troublesome kindred, by the assassination of his uncle.
 * Bayezid I set the example of fratricide in the House of Osman, by murdering his brother upon his accession to the throne.
 * Mehmed II determined that fratricide should thenceforward be perpetrated according to the letter of law.
 * Bayezid II's brother Cem was killed while in Europe, but Bayezid's part in his assassination should not be taken for granted.
 * Selim I energetically enforced the law by ordering the murder of his numerous brothers, nephews, and uncles (the youngest was five years old). It is told that the five little nephews were strangled by the deaf and mute eunuchs "within earshot of Selim who heard their cries for mercy and their gasps from an adjoining room".
 * Suleiman the Magnificent had no brothers to murder but, at the instigation of his wife Roxelana, he arranged the execution, in his presence, of the eldest son and heir presumptive, Mustafa.
 * Murad III put his five brothers to death in his presence, and compelled their mothers to be present; "one of whom, becoming frantic at the sight, struck herself to the heart with a poniard".
 * Mehmed III started his reign by having his nineteen brothers strangled and, in addition, "drowned in the Bosphorus every odalisque only suspected of pregnancy".
 * Mustafa I put his nephew Osman II to death, only to be deposed by his own brother, Murad IV.
 * Osman III succeeded in procuring the murder of two brothers and attempted the life of a third.