Mehmed IV (Ottoman Turkish:محمد رابع,romanized: Meḥmed-i rābi;Turkish:IV. Mehmed; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693), nicknamed asMehmed the Hunter (Turkish:Avcı Mehmed), was thesultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of six after his father was overthrown in a coup. Mehmed went on to become the second-longest-reigning sultan in Ottoman history afterSuleiman the Magnificent.[1] While the initial and final years of his reign were characterized by military defeat and political instability, during his middle years he oversaw the revival of the empire's fortunes associated with theKöprülü era. Mehmed IV was known by contemporaries as a particularly pious ruler, and was referred to asgazi, or "holy warrior" for his role in the many conquests carried out during his long reign.
Under Mehmed IV's reign, the empire reached the height of its territorial expansion in Europe. From a young age he developed a keen interest in hunting, for which he is known asavcı (translated as "the Hunter").[1] In 1687, Mehmed was overthrown by soldiers disenchanted by the course of the ongoingWar of the Holy League. He subsequently retired toEdirne, where he resided and died of natural causes in 1693.[1]
Born atTopkapı Palace,Constantinople, in 1642, Mehmed was the son of SultanIbrahim (r. 1640–48) byTurhan Sultan, a concubine of Russian origin,[2] and grandson of theGreek-bornKösem Sultan.[3] Soon after his birth, his father and mother quarrelled, andIbrahim was so enraged that he tore Mehmed from his mother's arms and flung the infant into acistern. Mehmed was rescued by the harem servants. However, this left Mehmed with a lifelong scar on his head.[4][better source needed]
Mehmed ascended to the throne in 1648 at the age of six,[nb 1] during a very volatile time for theOttoman dynasty. On 21 October 1649, Mehmed along with his brothers Suleiman and Ahmed were circumcised.[5]
Kösem Sultan, Mehmed's grandmother and regent, was suspected of supporting the rebels and plotting to poison the sultan and replace him with his younger half-brother,Suleiman. As a result, Mehmed agreed to sign his grandmother's death warrant in September 1651.[6]
The empire faced palace intrigues as well as uprisings in Anatolia, the defeat of the Ottoman navy by the Venetians outside the Dardanelles, and food shortages leading to riots in Constantinople. It was under these circumstances that Mehmed's mother grantedKöprülü Mehmed Pasha full executive powers as Grand Vizier. Köprülü took office on 14 September 1656.[7] Mehmed IV presided over theKöprülü era, an exceptionally stable period of Ottoman history. Mehmed is known asAvcı, "the Hunter", as this outdoor exercise took up much of his time.
In 1672 and 1673, the sultan, who embarked on two Polish-Lithuanian campaigns withserdar-ı ekrem and Grand Vizier Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, and the acquisition of the Kamaniçi Castle, returned to Edirne after the signing of the Bucaş Treaty.[11]
The fire of 4–5 July 1660 was the worst conflagration Constantinople had experienced to date. It started in Eminönü and spread to most of the historic peninsula, burning much of the city. Even the minarets of Suleiman I's mosque burned. Two-thirds of Istanbul was turned to ash in the conflagration, and as many as forty thousand people were killed. Thousands died in thefamine andplague which followed the fire.
On 12 September 1683, the Austrians and their Polish-Lithuanian allies under KingJohn III Sobieski won theBattle of Vienna with a devastating flank attack led by Sobieski's Polish cavalry. The Turks retreated intoHungary; however, this was only the beginning of theGreat Turkish War, as the armies of theHoly League began their successful campaign to push the Ottomans back to the Balkans.
The Ottoman Empire under Mehmed IV. Light green areas are vassal states.The siege of united Christian forces inBuda, 1686, byFrans Geffels
In May 1675, Mehmed IV's sonsMustafa II andAhmed III were circumcised and his daughter Hatice Sultan was married. The empire celebrated it with Famous Edirne Festival to mark the occasion.[11] Silahdar Findikli Mehmed Aga described Mehmed as a medium-sized, stocky, white-skinned, sun-burnt face, with a sparse beard, leaning forward from the waist up because he rides a lot.[12]
1680 witnessed the only knownstoning to death of a woman convicted of adultery in Ottoman Istanbul. The unnamed woman was stoned to death on Istanbul'sHippodrome after allegedly being caught alone with a Jewish man, violating Ottoman law which forbade sexual relations between Christian or Jewish men and Muslim women. Mehmed IV witnessed the double execution: he offered the man conversion to Islam so as to avoid being stoned to death (he wasbeheaded instead).[citation needed]
After theSecond Battle of Mohács in 1687, the Ottoman Empire fell into deep crisis. There was a mutiny among the Ottoman troops. The commander and Grand Vizier,Sarı Süleyman Pasha, became frightened that he would be killed by his own troops and fled from his command, first toBelgrade and then to Istanbul. When the news of the defeat and the mutiny arrived in Istanbul in early September,Abaza Siyavuş Pasha was appointed as the commander and soon afterward as the Grand Vizier. However, before he could take over his command, the whole Ottoman Army had disintegrated and the Ottoman household troops (Janissaries andsipahis) started to return to their base in Istanbul under their own lower-rank officers. Sarı Suleiman Pasha was executed, and Sultan Mehmed IV appointed the commander of Istanbul Straits,Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha, as the Grand Vizier's regent in Istanbul. Fazıl Mustafa made consultations with the leaders of the army that existed and the other leading Ottoman statesmen.
After these, on 8 November 1687, it was decided to depose Sultan Mehmed IV and to enthrone his brotherSuleiman II as the new Sultan. Mehmed was deposed by the combined forces of Janissaries andSekbans commanded byOsman Pasha. Mehmed was then imprisoned inTopkapı Palace. However, he was permitted to leave the Palace from time to time, as he died inEdirne Palace in 1693. He was buried inTurhan Sultan's tomb, near his mother's mosque inConstantinople. In 1691, a couple of years before his death, 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 and imminent death of his successor, Suleiman II.
Mehmed IV had anHaseki Sultan and several secondary concubines. However, the lack of information about them (except for his Haseki) and the relatively low number of children has created controversy over the actual existence of some of them.
Emetullah Rabia Gülnuş Sultan. Of Greek origin, her real name was Evmania Voria. She was the first concubine of Mehmed IV and the most beloved, hisHaseki andmother of two sultans. She became particularly famous for her many travels, first accompanying the sultan and then her two sons wherever they went. TheYeni Valide mosque was built in her honor by their son Ahmed III.
Afife Hatun. Also called Afife Kadın, she was Mehmed's second favorite and a poet. During the period of confinement in theEski Saray after the deposition of Mehmed IV, she wrote verses dedicated to his pain and to that of Gülnuş, who "screamed until she hurt her lungs", while Mehmed, in his room, wept for not being able to console her. Mehmed dedicated some poems to her, also.[14]
Gülnar Hatun. Also called Gülnar Kadın. Her existence is controversial, with some historians speculating that she may be Gülnuş herself, whose name was misspelled by some.
Nevruz Hatun. Also known as Nevruz Kadın, she founded a school in the Süleymaniye neighborhood.
Güneş Hatun. Her existence is controversial, with some historians speculating that she may be Gülnuş herself, whose name was misspelled by some.
Gülbeyaz Hatun. Mother of a daughter, according to the chronicles she was killed out of jealousy by Gülnuş, who threw her off a cliff, or had her killed by strangulation. Her existence is controversial.
Hatice Hatun. She was killed by "Güneş Hatun" (Gülnuş herself according to some historians). Her existence is controversial.
Cihanşah Hatun
Dürriye Hatun
Kaniye Hatun
Rukiye Hatun
Siyavuş Hatun
Rabia Hatun. Also called Rabia Kadin. Uncertain existence, she was a poet. Could be a pseudonym of Afife Hatun.
Ahmed III (31 December 1673 – 1 July 1736) – with Gülnuş Sultan. He was born inBulgaria, first sultan to be born out of Turkey since the time ofSuleiman I. 23rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Şehzade Bayezid (15 December 1678 – 18 January 1679, buried in SultanMustafa I Mausoleum,Hagia Sophia)[14]
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