Synopsis, page 5
During prince Djem’s peregrinations, first in France and later in Italy, Mourad, his odest son, is instructed in Rhodes, at the demanding school of pages of the great master. The Knights mainly teach him weapons, language and medicine; he converts to Christianity and takes the name of the greatest apostle, Peter.
In November 1489, a delegation from Monk Island reaches the Vatican. Besides numerous knights, it includes an officer of Bayezid, who carries a letter for the prince, but above all his son, who is fourteen years old, and has not seen his father for twelve years.
Djem, lit up by this reunion, feels reborn.
The reason will discover in « Djem, a tormented Prince » how, much later, Peter, because he was Djem’s son and on account of his apostasy, was strangled to death with two of his sons by Soliman the Magnificent, grand-nephew of Djem.
However, most fortunately for posterity, Peter had begotten two more boys: the princes Peter Oshin Sayd, born in Rome in 1500, and his brother Nicola Sayd, also born in Rome in 1505.
The first one, Peter Oshin Sayd, is the ancestor of the present Said family. The present carrier of the title is Prince Guiseppe Said:
Prince Guiseppe Said, 17th of the lineage
13th Prince of Bibino Magno
13th Viscount of Said
Count of the Byzantine Empire
Heir to the Royal House of the Lusignan of Cyprius
His son, born in Sydney in 1971, is
Count Charles Vassallo,
Future 18th Prince of Sayd & of Bibino Mago
Several thousands of Djem’s known of descendants can be counted since the end of the fifteenth century. Scattered around the globe, more or less direct cousins of his can be found in Australia, in the United States, in Malta, in Scotland and in Russia among other countries…note that all noble families in Malta, as numerous as they are, are in fact descendants of Djem’s.
To learn more about Prince Djem’s descendants or the present family of the Princes of Sayd, please follow the links to Count Charles Vassallo’s page, as he is in charge of the genealogy of the noble Maltese families.
www.maltagenealogy.com/titles/LP-saydprincipe.htm
http://user.orbit.net.mt/fournier/said.htm
Excerpt from “Djem, a tormented Prince”
17th of October 1492
Tonight, pope Alexander the Sixth organizes a special reception in the Vatican. Numerous cardinals and other prelates are invited, but also many princes and ambassadors, representatives of many European countries in regular relation with the Holy See.
The guests of honour are Djem and his eldest son Mourad, who has been given the name Peter by the Hospitallers, and who has lived in Italy for two years. Indeed, this ceremony has been planned to bring to the Prince’s children, and particularly Peter, the legitimation of their father’s titles of nobility.
As he gave to the prince the manilla paper, which confirmed his new dignity, Alexander the Sixth Borgia stated the following:
Highness Djem Sayd, son of the Greatest and feared Sultan Mehmet the Second, by the authority of God the Almighty and ours, by the powers we have been endowed with:
« As the very venerable Order of Saint-John of Jerusalem has acknowledged you, in 1482, by the voice of its very eminent magistrate Pierre d’Aubusson, as prince of blood pretender to the throne of Constantinople ;
« Has recognized you as being Imperial Highness and « Sultan Djem Sayd of the Ottoman Empire »;
« That on this occasion he may you « Knight of Order of Saint-John of Jerusalem «;
« As Her Highness the most Christian king Charles the Eighth of France has recognized you in 1484 as a prince of royal blood and a member of the Imperial Family of the Ottoman Empire ;
« That said recognition is also conferred to your heirs, for the future and forever, we, Alexander the Sixth, have the honour and the privilege to recognize and acknowledge this day your noble descent of the Oghouz dynasty, of royal and imperial blood, and to create a new title of nobility.
« This title will be strictly bestowed to all your descendants raised in Christian faith, given perpetually and by order of primogeniture to all male heirs of your blood, as long as your lineage will last.
« Strength of the following, your first son, here by our son on this day, born on Turkish land, in Konya in 1475, instructed in Roman catholic faith, legitimate « prince of blood », is appointed by us:
« Prince Peter Mehmet Sayd of the Ottoman Empire »
« 1st Prince of Sayd »
The title given by us allows the prince Peter Mehmet Sayd, and well as to his oldest son and his future descendants, to sit on the throne of your father and of your father’s father.
Djem takes the precious document from the hands of the pope, whom he embraces, the way he is now used to do it, in spite the etiquette and every standard of behaviour, but no one in the assistance, and Alexander even less, seems to mind. Very moved, Djem stammers a few words of gratitude.
When Peter’s turn comes to pay homage to the Pope, he kneels down in front of the Holy Father and, being a good Christian, after having kissed his foot and his hand according to the customs of non-believers, he thanks him, with a slight lump in his throat due to the importance of the event.
Famous quote
Once the time comes when I must leave the earth and goBright as a day, I will walk into the bright golden glow
« I want the Sultan nearby. » it is those words God shall say
Dawn, riding its star, will come take me away.
With dread on his face man still worships me
Glory is my servant, and Prior is my lackeyShe will stand still when Zizimi sits.Victor Hugo, Legend of the centuries
Ancestors of Prince Djem
| Tenth century | As they meet the persian dynasty of Samanides, the Ouigour Turks convert to Islam.
|
|
| Around 1040 | The Seldjoukide tribe reaches Asia Minor.
|
|
| 1055 | The caliph of Bagdad calls for the head of the Seljoukides, Toghrul Beg, to protect his city. Toghrul becomes the caliph’s protector, who awards him the title of Sultan, and whose daughter he marries.
|
|
| Twelfth century | The Seljoukides found a strong state, with Konya as its center, on the plateau of Anatolia. | |
| Middle of the
thirteenth century |
|
The invasion of the Ilkhân Mongols, heirs to Gengis Khân, leads to the decline of the seljoukide turkish sultanate. The turcomane tribes found independent emirates. |
Birth of the Ottomans
| Around 1260 | Reign of Ertoghrul | According to the legend, Ertoghrul receives the region of Söghüt with the mission to defend it against the Byzantines.
|
| Around 1280 | Reign of Osmân | Osmân succeeds his father (Northeast of Anatolia)
|
|
|
|
Conquest of northern Phrygia and eastern Bithynia.
|
| 1324-1362 | Reign of Orkhân | 1326: Storming of Bursa (Brousse), which becomes capital of the Ottoman Empire.
|
|
|
|
Storming of Nicea (Iznik) during march 1331.
|
| 1362-1389 | Reign of Murad the First | First great Ottoman conqueror on the European continent, he benefits from rivalries between Constantinople and Rome, and between Venice and Genoa.
1365: Erdine becomes the new capital of the Ottoman State. Storming of Sofia (1385) and of Saloniki (1387) 1389, 15th of June: during a battle in Kosovo, Murâd the First is killed. Bulgaria falls under Ottoman control. |
| 1389-1402 | Reign of Bayezid the First, nicknamed « The lightning » | The Empire, firmly established in the Balkans, owns suzerainty over Serbia, Bosnia and Valachia. |
|
|
|
1395-1397 : Siege of Constantinople. |
|
|
|
1402, 20th of July: Near Ankara, victory of Tamerlan over Bayezid. Taken prisoner, Bayezid dies on the 8th of March 1403.
|
| 1413-1421 | Reign of Mehmed the First Tchelebi | Restoration of the borders of the Empire as they were before 1402.
|
| 1421-1444 & 1446-51 | Reign of Murâd the Second | 1430: Conquest of Thessaloniki/Saloniki.
1446: Conquest of the Peloponnese.
|
| 1459 |
|
22nd of december: birth of Djem, 3rd of the 4 sons of Mehmed the Second. Djem’s mother is most likely the Serbian princess Cicek Hâtun.
|
| 1451-1481 | Reign of Mehmed the Second | Djem’s father nicknamed Fâtih, (The Conqueror) after the storming of Constantinople on the 29th of may 1453.
1458: Settling of Mehmet the Second in Istanbul, Which becomes the capital city of the Empire. 1458-1459: Conquest of Serbia, except for Belgrade. 1460: Conquest of Morea. 1461: Conquest of the ports of the Black Sea (Trébisonda). 1462: Annexing of Valachia. 1463: Conquest of Bosnia. 1470: Conquest of Eubea. 1478: Albany becomes an Ottoman province. 1480: Siege of Rhodes and expedition to Italy (Otrante). |