Murad III

Murad III (Ottoman Turkish: مراد ثالث; Turkish: III. Murat; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was 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 at a time made a vassal of the empire but they would regain independence in 1582. His reign also saw the empire's expanding influence on the eastern coast of Africa. However, the empire would be 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 a great patron in the arts where he commissioned the Siyer-i-Peygamber depicting the life of the prophet Muhammad and other illustrated manuscripts. He fought many battles with against the Holy Roman Empire trying to capture more fortresses in Hungary and leading raids into Croatia.

Murad III
Kayser-i Rûm Ottoman Caliph Amir al-Mu'minin Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Kalifa-i-Islam
Life-size portrait, attributed to Paolo Veronese, 17th century
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Padishah)
27 December 1574 – 16 January 1595
Predecessor	Selim II
Successor	Mehmed III
Born	4 July 1546 Manisa, Ottoman Empire
Died	16 January 1595(1595-01-16) (aged 48) Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Burial	Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Consorts	Safiye Sultan Şemsiruhsar Hatun Mihriban Hatun Şahihuban Hatun Nazperver Hatun Fakriye Hatun Others
Issue	Mehmed III Others
Full name Murad Şah bin Selim Khan
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Selim II
Mother	Nurbanu Sultan
Religion	Sunni Islam
Tughra