Mehmed III (Ottoman Turkish:محمد ثالث,Meḥmed-isālis;Turkish:III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was thesultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in theLong Turkish War, during which the Ottoman army was victorious at theBattle of Keresztes. This victory was however undermined by some military losses such as inGyőr andNikopol. He also ordered the successful quelling of theJelali rebellions. The sultan also communicated with the court ofElizabeth I on the grounds of stronger commercial relations and in the hopes of England to ally with the Ottomans against theSpanish.
Prince Mehmet arriving from the Old Palace in 1581-83.Sehinsahname' 1592 (TSMK, B.200).[1]
Mehmed was born at the Manisa Palace on 26 May 1566, during the reign of his great-grandfather,Suleiman the Magnificent. He was the son ofMurad III, himself the son ofSelim II, who was the son of Sultan Suleiman andHurrem Sultan. His mother wasSafiye Sultan, anAlbanian from theDukagjin Highlands.[2] His great-grandfather Suleiman I died the year he was born, and his grandfather became the new sultan, Selim II. His grandfather Selim II died when Mehmed was eight, and Mehmed's father, Murad III, became sultan in 1574. Murad died in 1595, when Mehmed was 28 years old.
Mehmed spent most of his time in Manisa with his parents and his teacher, Ibrahim Efendi. His circumcision took place on 29 May 1582 when he was 16 years old.[3]
Upon ascending to the throne, Mehmed III ordered that all of his nineteen brothers beexecuted.[4][5] They were strangled by his royal executioners, many of whom were deaf, mute or 'half-witted' to ensure absolute loyalty.[6] Fratricidal successions were not unprecedented, as sultans would often have dozens of children with their concubines.
Mehmed III was an idle ruler, leaving government to his motherSafiye Sultan, thevalide sultan.[7][unreliable source] His first major problem was the rivalry between two of his viziers,Serdar Ferhad Pasha andKoca Sinan Pasha, and their supporters. His mother and her son-in-lawDamat Ibrahim Pasha supported Koca Sinan Pasha and prevented Mehmed III from taking control of the issue himself. The issue grew to cause major disturbances byjanissaries. On 7 July 1595, Mehmed III finally sacked Serdar Ferhad Pasha from the position of Grand Vizier due to his failure inWallachia and replaced him with Sinan.[8]
When Mehmed III ascended the throne, the real power behind the throne was the Mehmed's motherSafiye Sultan who ruled the Ottoman Empire with her son, exerting as much and sometimes even exceeding the influence and authority as Mehmed III. Safiye was so powerful during the reign of Mehmed III that she was even regarded by the ministers and dignitaries as a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
Idealized 18th century portrait ofSafiye Sultan, mother of Mehmed III andValide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
She headed the Imperial council in the absence of Mehmed, and controlled the appointments and dismissals of Ministers, Grand Viziers and even Sheikh-ul-Islam and she had complete control over the Ottoman Treasury and Finances.[9] She filled the entire Imperial court with her supporters, and therefore didn't experience any sort of protest against her power and influence in the empire, during most of her tenure. If any minister challenged her, they were very unlikely to remain in power for long. As Valide Sultan, her personal purse was three times that of the Sultan, the highest level of salary for a person in the empire. Since the public and officials knew of her active role in state affairs, they would turn to her in order to get their work done, and sometimes they would even block her carriage to make requests in person on such matters. During her son's reign, Mehmed consulted her on important matters and did not make a decision without her consent.[10]
Safiye was also known for her extravagant and lavish lifestyle, which made her many enemies but no one dared to openly challenge her. When Mehmed III went on the Eger campaign in Hungary in 1596, he gave his mother great power over the empire, leaving her in charge of the treasury. During her interim rule she persuaded her son to revoke a political appointment in the judgeship of Constantinople and to reassign the grand vizierate toDamat Ibrahim Pasha, her son-in-law so that no one could do anything in the capital, or even in the whole empire, without Safiye's permission. During the 9-year reign of her son, she was even accused of corruption in his government by selling important and lucrative positions at the highest price offered.[11]
Safiye was instrumental in the execution of her grandsonMahmud in 1603, having intercepted a message sent to his mother by a religious seer, who predicted that Mehmed III would die in six months and be succeeded by his son. According to the English ambassador, Mahmud was distressed at "how his father was altogether led by the old Sultana his Grandmother while the state went to ruin, she respecting nothing but her own desire to get money, and often lamented thereof to his mother," who was "not favored of the Queen mother." The prince was therefore a serious threat to her and her son's reign.[12] The sultan, provoked by her, suspecting a plot and jealous of his son's popularity, had him strangled.
But even for a short period of several weeks in 1600, even the Sultan saw his mother's influence on him and her presence in the palace as disturbing and insisted that she leave the palace and no longer control his affairs. However, she had built extensive support network, and continued to exert a tacit influence over the state through one of the chief eunuchs, appointing her allies to powerful positions. After five weeks, the Sultan was forced to cancel his mother's exile due to the pressure from the Imperial court and she returned to the Palace with even more influence and authority. Safiye continued to co-rule the Empire with him until his death, whereupon she lost all her power and influence and was exiled toOld Palace by her grandson and the new sultanAhmed I.
The major event of his reign was theAustro-Ottoman War inHungary (1593–1606). Ottoman defeats in the war caused Mehmed III to take personal command of the army, the first sultan to do so since Suleiman I in 1566. Accompanied by the Sultan, the Ottomans conqueredEger in 1596. Upon hearing of the Habsburg army's approach, Mehmed wanted to dismiss the army and return to Istanbul.[13] However, the Ottomans eventually decided to face the enemy and defeated theHabsburg andTransylvanian forces at theBattle of Keresztes[14] (known inOttoman Turkish as the Battle of Haçova), during which the Sultan had to be dissuaded from fleeing the field halfway through the battle. Upon returning to Istanbul in victory, Mehmed told his viziers that he would campaign again.[15] The next year the Venetian Bailo in Istanbul noted, "the doctors declared that the Sultan cannot leave for a war on account of his bad health, produced by excesses of eating and drinking".[16][unreliable source?]
In reward for his services at the war,Cigalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha was made Grand Vizier in 1596. However, with pressure from the court and his mother, Mehmed reinstated Damat Ibrahim Pasha to this position shortly afterward.[8]
Mehmed III accepting the surrender atSiege of Eger (1596).Eğri Fetihnamesi, 1598 (TSMK, H.1609)
Another major event of his reign was theJelali revolts in Anatolia.Karayazıcı Abdülhalim, a former Ottoman official, captured the city ofUrfa and declared himself a sultan in 1600. The rumors of his claim to the throne spread to Constantinople and Mehmed ordered the rebels to be treated harshly to dispel the rumors, among these, was the execution ofHüseyin Pasha, whom Karayazıcı Abdülhalim styled as Grand Vizier. In 1601, Abdülhalim fled to the vicinity ofSamsun after being defeated by the forces underSokulluzade Hasan Pasha, the governor ofBaghdad. However, his brother,Deli Hasan, killed Sokulluzade Hasan Pasha and defeated troops under the command ofHadım Hüsrev Pasha. He then marched on toKütahya, captured and burned the city.[8][17]
In 1599, the fourth year of Mehmed III's reign,Queen Elizabeth I sent a convoy of gifts to the Ottoman court. These gifts were originally intended for the sultan's predecessor,Murad III, who had died before they had arrived. Included in these gifts was a large jewel-studded clockwork organ that was assembled on the slope of theRoyal Private Garden by a team of engineers includingThomas Dallam. The organ took many weeks to complete and featured dancing sculptures such as a flock of blackbirds that sung and shook their wings at the end of the music.[18][19] Also among the English gifts was a ceremonial coach, accompanied by a letter from the Queen to Mehmed's mother,Safiye Sultan. These gifts were intended to cement relations between the two countries, building on the trade agreement signed in 1581 that gave English merchants priority in the Ottoman region.[20] Under the looming threat of Spanish military presence, England was eager to secure an alliance with the Ottomans, the two nations together having the capability to divide the power.Elizabeth's gifts arrived in a large 27-gun merchantman ship that Mehmed personally inspected, a clear display of English maritime strength that would prompt him to build up his fleet over the following years of his reign. The Anglo-Ottoman alliance would never be consummated, however, as relations between the nations grew stagnant due to anti-European sentiments reaped from the worsening Austro-Ottoman War and the deaths of Safiye Sultan's interpreter and the pro-English chief Hasan Pasha.[20][21]
Mehmed died on 22 December 1603 at the age of 37. According to one source, the cause of his death was the distress caused by the death of his son,Şehzade Mahmud.[22] According to another source, he died either of a plague or a stroke.[23] He was buried in Hagia Sophia Mosque. He was succeeded by his 13-year-old sonAhmed I as the new sultan.
Mehmed III had three known consorts, none of whom, according to the harem records, held the title ofHaseki Sultan:[24]
Handan Hatun (Bosniac. 1570[25] – 9 November 1605, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople; buried in Mehmed III Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque[26] ). She was the mother andValide Sultan of Ahmed I.
Şehzade Selim (1585, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 20 April 1597, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople; buried in Hagia Sophia Mosque) – with Handan.[30] He died of scarlet fever.
Şehzade Mahmud[32] (1587, Manisa Palace, Manisa – executed by Mehmed III, 7 June 1603, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople; buried in Şehzade Mahmud Mausoleum, Şehzade Mosque) – with Halime.
Ahmed I (18 April 1590, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 22 November 1617, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople; buried in Ahmed I Mausoleum, Sultan Ahmed Mosque) – with Handan. 14th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Şehzade Cihangir[31] (?, Constantinople – 1602[30]). Possibly with Halime or Handan or any other concubine.[33]
Mustafa I (c. 1600/1602,[34][35][36] Topkapi Palace, Constantinople – 20 January 1639, Eski Palace, Constantinople, buried in Mustafa I Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque) – with Halime. 15th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Beyhan Sultan[citation needed] (before 1590, Manisa –after 1629); married in 1612 toDamat Halil Pasha. They had two sons, Sultanzade Mahmud Bey and Sultanzade Ebubekir Bey.
Hatice Sultan (1590, Manisa –after December 1617, Constantinople) – with Halime. She was married to janissary commander Mustafa Aga.[41][non-primary source needed] She was buried in her owntürbe inŞehzade Mosque.
Fülane Sultan (1592, Manisa –after 1623, Constantinople?) – with Halime.[42][43] She was married in 1604 (consummated in March 1606) to DamatKara Davud Pasha,Grand Vizier.[44][45] She had a son, Sultanzade Süleyman Bey, and a daughter. Her name is unknown.
Hümaşah Sultan (? – ?); she was married in October 1613 to Cağaloğlu Mahmud Pasha, after her half-sister Hatice's death.
Esra Sultan? (? – ?); she was married to Ali Pasha, being widowed in 1617.
Ümmügülsüm Sultan? (? –after 1622); she was among the unmarried princesses in 1622 and possibly a daughter of Mehmed's.[46]
Halime Sultan? (1598? –after 1622); she was among the unmarried princesses in 1622 and possibly a daughter of Mehmed's.[46]
Akile Sultan? (? –after 1622); she was among the unmarried princesses in 1622 and possibly a daughter of Mehmed's.[46]
Hanzade Sultan? (? –after 1622); she was among the unmarried princesses in 1622 and possibly a daughter of Mehmed's.[46]
^Karateke, Hakan T. "On the Tranquility and Repose of the Sultan." The Ottoman World. Ed. Christine Woodhead. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge, 2011. p. 120.
^Finkel, Caroline.Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, p.175. Basic Books, 2005.ISBN0-465-02396-7
^Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu mülkün kadın sultanları: valide sultanlar, hatunlar, hasekiler, kadınefendiler, sultanefendiler. p.222
^Michał Paradowski (2023).The Khotyn Campaign of 1621. p. 81.ISBN978-1804513507.
^Sarınay, Y.; Yıldırım, O., eds. (2000).82 numaralı Mühimme Defteri, 1026-1027/1617-1618: özet, transkripsiyon, indeks ve tıpkıbasım. Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn sicilleri dizisi. T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü.ISBN978-975-19-2649-4., p.77 entry 116
^Viaggi di Pietro della Valle, il pellegrino, descritti da lui medesimo in lettere familiari all'erudito suo amico Mario Schipano divisi in tre parti cioè : la Turchia, la Persia e l'India p.118
^abcdBaki Tezcan, Searching for Osman: A Reassessment of the Deposition of the Ottoman Sultan Osman II (1618-1622), PhD thesis, Princeton University, 2001,ISBN978-0-493-33076-1: "A privy purse register from 1622 gives the names of five unmarried princesses, who some may be daughters of Mehmed III: Umm-i Külsum, Hanzade, Halime, Fatma, and Akile.”
Börekçi, Günhan (2010).Factions And Favorites At The Courts Of Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603-17) And His Immediate Predexessors (Thesis). Ohio State University.
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