Haghia Sophia - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 56

The other imperial türbes are located in the garden beside the
Baptistry; all of these are open to the public. The earliest in date is
that of Sultan Selim II, which was completed in 1577. This türbe is
important because it is a work of the great Ottoman architect Sinan,
and also because both the exterior entrance façade and the whole of the
interior are covered with superb Iznik tiles. The building is square, with
an outer dome resting directly on the exterior walls; within, a circlet
of columns supports an inner dome. The largest of the catafalques
which we see there covers the grave of Selim II, who became sultan
in 1566, after the death of his father, Süleyman the Magnificent. As
Evliya Çelebi wrote of him: “He was an amiable monarch, took much
delight in the conversations of poets and learned men, and indulged
in wine and gaiety. He was a sweet-natured sovereign but much given
to women and wine.” Selim II died in 1574 at the age of 54, after
having fallen in his bath while in a drunken stupor. Beside Selim's
catafalque we see that of his favourite wife, Nurbanu. Arrayed around
them are the tiny catafalques covering the graves of five of Selim's
sons, three of his daughters, and 32 children of his son and successor,
Murat III. Selim's sons were murdered on the night of 21 December
1574, assassinated according to Ottoman law, to ensure the peaceful
accession of Murat, the eldest son.
Murat's own türbe stands just beside that of his father; it was
completed in 1599 by Davut Ağa, the successor to Sinan as Chief of the
Imperial Architects. It is hexagonal in plan, also with a double dome,
and is adorned with Iznik tiles comparable in quality to those in Selim's
türbe. The türbe contains the remains of Murat III as well as those of
his favourite wife, Safiye, four of his lesser concubines, 23 of his sons
and 25 of his daughters. The Sultan himself died on 16 January 1595,
when he was only in his 49th year. Murat's türbe was not finished at the
time of his death and so his coffin was placed under a tent in the garden
of Haghia Sophia. The following morning 19 more coffins were placed
there around him, for that night all but one of his surviving sons were
executed to ensure the succession of the heir, Mehmet III. This was the
last application of what Evliya called the bloody code of the Ottomans;
thenceforth the younger brothers of a succeeding sultan were confined
in the Saray rather than murdered.