Murat Bey Tardić or Murat-beg Tardić ( Croatian: Murat-beg Tardić or Murad-beg Tardić; also Amurat Vaivoda [1]) was an Ottoman general.
Tardić was born to a Croatian family in Šibenik, [2] where he had a brother called Zorzi or Juraj. [3] [4] As a young man he became a prisoner of war. After being released he converted to Islam [4] and entered the Ottoman military serving under Gazi Husrev Bey as his vojvoda, where he quickly rose through the ranks. [5] [6] As a close associate of Gazi Husrev Bey, he led numerous military conquests against the Croatian army in northern Bosnia and Croatia. [7] [8] In 1528, Murat Bey led the conquest of Jajce. [4]
In 1536, Murat Bey Tardić was charged by Suleiman the Magnificent with 8,000 men to lay siege to the Klis Fortress under Petar Kružić. [1] He was successful in the Siege of Klis, occupying it in 1537. [9] For his military services he was put in charge of the Klis Sanjak with the title Beg. As the first Sanjak-Bey of Klis, he built a notable mosque in the town. [5]
He was later made the beg of the Sanjak of Pojega in 1541 or in 1543. [9] He is believed to have died in May 1545. [9] He was buried in one of the two mausoleums ( türbe) next to the Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque in Sarajevo. [8] [10] Bosnian-American author Aleksandar Hemon and others infer a lover relationship between Tardić and Gazi Husrev Bey. [11] [12]