Mehmed IV
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 Mehmed IV |
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| Ottoman Sultan | |
| Caliph | |
| Reigned: | Ottoman Period |
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| Full name | Mehmed IV |
| Predecessor | Ibrahim I |
| Successor | Suleiman II |
| Reign | 1648–87 |
Mehmed IV (Ottoman Turkish: محمد رابع Meḥmed-i rābi‘; also known as Avcı, "hunter") (January 2, 1642–January 6, 1693) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. Taking the throne at age seven, his reign was significant as he changed the nature of the Sultan's position forever by giving up most of his executive power to his Grand Vizier.
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[edit] Early life
Born in 1642, he was the son of Sultan Ibrahim (1640–48) by a Russian concubine, Turhan Hadice Sultan, and the grandson of Kösem Sultan of Greek origin.[1][2][3][4] Soon after his birth, his father and mother quarreled, and Ibrahim was so enraged that he tore Mehmed from his mother's arms and flung the infant into a cistern. Fortunately, Mehmed was rescued by the harem servants. His father's actions resulted in Mehmed cutting his head, which left him with a lifelong scar.[5]
[edit] Reign
Mehmed ascended to the throne in 1648 at the age of only seven. His ascension marked the end of a very volatile time for the Ottoman Dynasty; there had been a Mustafa I deposed twice and two Sultans killed, including Mehmed’s father and predecessor, Ibrahim I.
[edit] Confrontation with Cossacks
An incident during Mehmed IV's reign is remembered mainly in Ukraine and Russia. The Zaporozhian Cossacks defeated Ottoman forces in the field and refused the Sultan's demand to submit, answering him with a letter full of insults and profanities. This response is commemorated in the famous late 19th century painting Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks by the Russian painter Ilya Repin.
[edit] The Quaker Mary Fisher
In 1658 Mehmed IV received and patiently listened to the English Quaker preacher Mary Fisher, who believed she was sent by God to speak to him. The meeting is known mainly from Fisher's own very favorable account (see Mary Fisher#Mission to Turkey) rather than from Ottoman sources, so that it is not known precisely what the Sultan made of her message (which was relayed to him in translation). In any case, his tolerance to her stands in strong contrast to the cruel persecution Fisher herself and her co-religionists received in their native England.
[edit] Later life and death
After his deposition by the combined forces of Yeğen Osman and the janissaries in 1687, Mehmed was imprisoned in Topkapı Palace. However, he was permitted to leave the Palace from time to time, as he died in Edirne in 1692. He was buried in Turhan Hadice Sultan's tomb, near his mother's mosque in Istanbul. Just before he died in 1691, a plot was discovered in which the senior clerics of the empire planned to reinstate Mehmed on the throne in response to the ill health of his successor, Suleiman II.
[edit] Accomplishments
Sultan Mehmed IV was known as Avcı, "the hunter", as this outdoor exercise took up much of his time.
His reign is notable for a brief revival of Ottoman fortunes led by the infamous Grand Vizier, Mehmed Köprülü. Köprülü regained the Aegean islands from Venice and fought successful campaigns against Transylvania (1664) and Poland (1670–1674). At one point, when Mehmed IV allied himself with Petro Doroshenko, Ottoman rule was close to extending into Podolia and Ukraine. See Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks for his correspondence with the Cossacks.
A later vizier, Kara Mustafa was less able. Supporting the 1683 Hungarian uprising of Imre Thököly against Austrian rule, Kara Mustafa marched a vast army through Hungary and besieged Vienna at the Battle of Vienna. On the Kahlenberg Heights, the Ottomans were utterly routed by the vengeful Poles led by their King, John III Sobieski and the Imperial army. (1674–96).
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ E. van Donzel, Islamic Desk Reference: Compiled from the Encyclopaedia of Islam, Brill Academic Publishers, p 219
- ^ Robert Bator, Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Istanbul, Runestone Press, p 42
- ^ Douglas Arthur Howard, The History of Turkey, Greenwood Press, p 195
- ^ Kosem Sultan - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
- ^ John Freely - Inside the Seraglio published 1999, Chapter 9: Three Mad Sultans
[edit] External links
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Mehmed IV
Born: January 2, 1642 Died: January 6, 1693 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Ibrahim I |
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Aug 12, 1648 - Nov 8, 1687 |
Succeeded by Suleiman II |
| Sunni Islam titles | ||
| Preceded by Ibrahim I |
Caliph of Islam Aug 12, 1648 - Nov 8, 1687 |
Succeeded by Suleiman II |
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