Mahmud II
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Muslim Caliph
Reign	1808–39
Period	Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire
Full Name	Mahmud II
Born	20 July 1789
Died	1 July 1839(1839-07-01) (aged 49)
Predecessor	Mustafa IV
Successor	Abdülmecid I
Royal House	House of Osman
Dynasty	Ottoman Dynasty

Mahmud II (Ottoman Turkish: محمود ثانى Mahmud-ı sānī) (20 July 1789 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Constantinople,^[1] the posthumously son of Sultan Abdulhamid I. His reign is notable mostly for the extensive administrative, military and fiscal reforms he instituted, which culminated into the Decree of Tanzimat (Reorganization) that was carried out by his sons Abdülmecid I and Abdülaziz I.

Accession[link]

His mother was Valide Sultan Naksh-i-Dil Haseki (she was a cousin of Napoleon's wife Josephine. ^[2] In 1808, Mahmud II's predecessor (and half-brother) Mustafa IV (1807–08) ordered his execution along with his cousin, the deposed Sultan Selim III (1789–1807), in order to defuse the rebellion. Selim III was killed, but Mahmud was safely kept hidden by his mother and was placed on the throne after the rebels deposed Mustafa IV. The leader of this rebellion, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, then became Mahmud II's vizier.

There are many stories surrounding the circumstances of his attempted murder. A version by the 19th century Ottoman historian Cevdet Pasha gives the following account: one of his slaves, a Georgian girl named Cevri, gathered ashes when she heard the commotion in the palace surrounding the murder of Selim III. When the assassins approached the Harem chambers where Mahmud was staying, she was able to keep them away for a while by throwing ashes into their faces, temporary blinding them. This allowed Mahmud to escape through a window and climb onto the roof of the Harem. He apparently ran to the roof of the Third Court where other pages saw him and helped him come down with pieces of clothes that were quickly tied together as a ladder. By this time one of the leaders of the rebellion, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha arrived with his armed men and upon seeing the dead body of Selim III proclaimed Mahmud as padishah. The slave girl Cevri Kalfa was awarded for her bravery and loyalty and appointed haznedar usta, the chief treasurer of the imperial Harem, which was the second most important position in the hierarchy. A plain stone staircase at the Altınyol (Golden Way) of the Harem is called Staircase of Cevri (Jevri) Kalfa, since the events apparently happened around there and are associated with her.^[3]

Reign overview[link]

The stylized signature of Mahmud II was written in an expressive calligraphy. It reads: "Mahmud Khan son of Abdülhamid is forever victorious".

The vizier took the initiative in resuming reforms that had been terminated by the conservative coup of 1807 that had brought Mustafa IV to power. However, soon the vizier was killed by Ibrahim's army, and Mahmud II temporarily abandoned the reforms. Mahmud II's later reformation efforts were more successful.

During the early years of Mahmud II's reign, his governor of Egypt Mehmet Ali Paşa successfully reconquered the holy cities of Medina (1812) and Mecca (1813) from the Nejdi rebels.

His reign also marked the first breakaway from the Ottoman Empire, with Greece gaining its independence following a rebellion that started in 1821. In 1827 the combined British, French and Russian navies defeated the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Navarino; in the aftermath, the Ottoman Empire was forced to recognize Greece with the Treaty of Constantinople in July 1832. This event, together with the occupation of the Ottoman province of Algeria by France in 1830, marked the beginning of the gradual break-up of the Ottoman Empire. Non-Turkish ethnic groups living in the empire's territories, especially in Europe, started their own independence movements.

Among Mahmud II's most notable acts during his reign was the abolition of the Janissary corps in 1826, permitting the establishment of a European-style conscript army, recruited largely from Turkish speakers of Rumelia and Asia Minor. Mahmud was also responsible for the subjugation of the Iraqi Mamluks by Ali Ridha Pasha in 1831. He ordered the execution of the renowned Ali Pasha of Tepelena. He sent his Grand Vizier to execute the Bosnian Muslim hero Husein Gradaščević and dissolute the Bosnia Eyalet.

He began preparations for the Tanzimat reforms in 1839. The Tanzimat marked the beginning of modernization in Turkey, and had immediate effects on social and legal aspects of life in the Empire, such as European style clothing, architecture, legislation, institutional organization and land reform.

He was concerned also for aspects of tradition. He made great efforts to revive the sport of archery. He ordered his archery student, Mustafa Kani, to write a book about the history, construction, and use of Turkish bows, from which comes most of what is now known of Turkish bowyery.^[4]

The mausoleum (türbe) of Sultan Mahmud II, located at Divan Yolu street.

Mahmud II died of tuberculosis - some say he was murdered - at the Esma Sultana Palace, Çamlıca, in 1839. His funeral was attended by crowds of people who came to bid the Sultan farewell. His son Abdülmecid succeeded him.

Marriages and issue[link]

He married HH Valide Sultan Bezmiâlem, originally named Suzi (1807–1852), a Georgian Jews, and had:

• Abdülmecid I

He married HH Valide Sultan Pertevniyal, originally named Bezime (1812–1883),^[5][6] and had:

• Abdülaziz I

Wives[link]

m. (first) Fatima Bash Kadin Effendi (d. February 1809).

m. (second) 'Ali-Janab Bash Kadin Effendi (d. 1839).

m. (third) Hajira Partav-Piyala Navifidan Bash Kadin Effendi (4 January 1793 - 25 December 1855).

m. (fourth) Misl-i-Nayab Kadin Effendi (d. 1825).

m. (fifth) Kamari Kadin Effendi (d. 1825).

m. (sixth) Abr-i-Raftar Kadin Effendi (d. 1825).

m. (seventh) Zarnigar Kadin Effendi (d. 1832), 4th Iqbal from 23 May 1826, later promoted to 7th Kadin Effendi, and 2nd Kadin Effendi.

m. (ninth) Ashub-i-Jahan Kadin Effendi (1793 - 10 June 1870).

m. (tenth) Vuzlat Kadin Effendi (d. 1830).

m. (eleventh) Nur-i-Tab Kadin Effendi (1810 - 2 January 1886).

m. (twelfth) 1811, Hajiya Khushair Kadin Effendi (d. at Mecca, 1859).

m. (thirteenth) Parviz Falak Kadin Effendi (d. 21 September 1863).

m. (fourteenth) Husn-i-Malika Khanum Effendi (1812 - October 1886), previously styled Bash Iqbal.

m. (fifteenth) Zayn-i-Falak Khanum Effendi (d. 20 December 1842), previously styled 2nd Iqbal.

m. (sixteenth) Labriz Falak Khanum Effendi (1810 - 9 February 1865), previously styled 4th Iqbal.

m. (seventeenth) 1826, Tiryal Khanum Effendi (1810 - 1883), previously styled 3rd Iqbal.

Sons[link]

1) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) 'Abdu'l-Hamid. (6 April 1811 - 1815), son of 'Ali-Janab.

2) H.I.H. Prince (Vali Ahad-Shahzada) Sultan Murad Khan (25 December 1811 - 14 July 1812).

3) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Bayezid (27 March 1812 - 25 June 1812).

4) H.I.H. Prince (Vali Ahad-Shahzada) Sultan 'Abdu'l-Hamid Khan (6 March 1813 - 20 April 1825) (s/o 'Aliyanab).

5) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Osman (12 June 1813 - 10 April 1814), son of Partav-Piyala.

6) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Ahmad (25 July 1814 - 16 July 1815).

7) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Muhammad (26 August 1814 - 28 October 1814).

8) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Muhammad. b. and died 4 August 1816.

9) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Sulaiman (29 August 1817 - 14 December 1819).

10) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Ahmad. b. 13 October 1819. He died before 24 December 1819.

11) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Ahmad. b. 25 December 1819. He died young.

12) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) 'Abdu'llah. b. and d. 4 April 1820.

13) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Mahmud (18 February 1822 - 23 October 1822), twin brother of Prince Muhammad.

14) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Muhammad (18 February 1822 - 23 September 1822), twin brother of Prince Mahmud).

15) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Ahmad (6 July 1822 - 9 April 1823).

16) H.M. Sultan (Shahzada) 'Abdu'l-Majid Khan I, Grand Sultan of Turkey (son of Bazm-i-Alam) - see below.

17) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Ahmad (5 December 1823 - 1824).

18) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) 'Abdu'l-Hamid. (18 February 1827 - 15 November 1828).

19) H.M. Sultan 'Abdu'l-Aziz Khan I, Grand Sultan of Turkey, son of Partav-Nihal - see below.

20) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Nizam ud-din (29 December 1835 - 24 February 1838).

21) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Hafiz (1836 - 24 January 1839).

22) H.I.H. Prince (Shahzada) Kamal ud-din. He d. 18xx.

Daughters[link]

1) H.I.H. Princess Fatima Sultana (4 February 1809 - 5 August 1809), daughter of Partav-Piyala. Said to have been the first child born to the dynasty for twenty years.

2) H.I.H. Princess Aisha Sultana (5 July 1809 - February 1810), daughter of Ashub-i-Jahan.

3) H.I.H. Princess Fatima Sultana (30 April 1810 - 7 May 1825), daughter of Partav-Piyala.

4) H.I.H. Princess Saliha Sultana (16 June 1811 - 5 February 1843), daughter of Ashub-i-Jahan. She married 24 May 1834 at the Nashatabad Palace, as second wife of Admiral H.H. Damad Gurcu Muhammad Halil Rifat Pasha (1795 - 4 March 1856), Ambassador to Russia 1829-1830, Naval C-in-C 1830-1832, 1843-1845, 1847-1848 and 1854-1855, Supreme C-in-C 1836-1838 and 1839-1840, Governor-General of Anatolia 1852. She died at the Nashatabad Palace, having had issue, one son and one daughter.

5) H.I.H. Princess Shah Sultana (22 May 1812 - September 1814).

6) H.I.H. Princess Mihr-i-Mah Sultana (10 June 1812 - 3 July 1838), daughter of Khushair. She married 28 April 1836, Field Marshal H.H. Damad Muhammad Said Pasha (b. at Bursa, 1798; d. at Constantinople, December 1868), Supreme C-in-C 1838-1839 and 1846-1848, Naval C-in-C 1840-1841, sometime Minister for Commerce, son of Bursali Alyanak 'Ali Effendi. She had issue, one son.

7) H.I.H. Princess Amina Sultana (12 June 1813 - 20 June 1814), daughter of Partav-Piyala.

8) H.I.H. Princess Amina Sultana. Born 30 July 1814. She died young.

9) H.I.H. Princess Shah Sultana (14 October 1814 - 13 April 1817).

10) H.I.H. Princess Amina Sultana (7 January 1815 - 29 September 1816), daughter of Partav-Piyala. She died in a fire at the Sarai.

11) H.I.H. Princess Zainab Sultana (18 April 1815 - 8 January 1816) (d/o Khushair).

12) H.I.H. Princess Hamida Sultana. b. 14 July 1817. She d. before 1818.

13) H.I.H. Princess Jamila Sultana. b. 1818. She d. young.

14) H.I.H. Princess Hamida Sultana (4 July 1818 - 15 February 1819).

15) H.I.H. Princess Atiya Sultana (2 January 1824 - 11 August 1850), daughter of Parviz Falak). She m. 7 May 1840, as his second wife, Field Marshal H.H. Damad Ahmad Fathi Pasha (b. at Eyub, 1801; d. at Constantinople, 14 February 1858), Ambassador to Austria 1835-1836, at the Court of St James's 1838, and to France 1838, Marshal of the Artillery 1845-1852, posthumous son of Radosi Haji Hafiz Ahmad Agha, by his wife, Salaha Khanum. She had two daughters.

16) H.I.H. Princess Munira Sultana (16 October 1824 - 23 May 1825).

17) H.I.H. Princess Khadija Sultana (6 September 1825 - 19 December 1842), daughter of Parviz Falak. She died at the Bashiktash Palace.

18) H.I.H. Princess Adila Sultana (23 May 1826 - 12 February 1899), daughter of Zarnigar. Adopted by Navifidan in 1832. m. at the Nashatabad Palace, 12 June 1845, Grand Admiral H.H. Damad Haji Muhammad 'Ali Pasha 'Alioglu (b. at Hamshin, 1813; d. at Constantinople, 30 June 1868), Marshal of the Artillery 1844, Naval C-in-C 1845-1847, 1848-1849, 1851-1852, 1855-1858, 1858-1863 and 1866-1867, Supreme C-in-C 1849-1851, 1853-1854 and 1861-1863, and Grand Vazier 1852-1853, son of Haji Omar Agha. She had one son and two daughters.

19) H.I.H. Princess Fatima Sultana (20 July 1828 - 2 October 1830), daughter of Parviz Falak.

20) H.I.H. Princess Hayria Sultana (22 March 1831 - 1832).

21) H.I.H. Princess Hayria Sultana (12 January 1832 - 15 February 1833).

22) H.I.H. Princess Rafia Sultana (January 1836 - 24 January 1839).

Reforms[link]

Legal reforms[link]

Mahmud II before his clothing reform in 1826

Mahmud II after his clothing reform in 1826

Among his reforms are the edicts (or firmans), by which he closed the Court of Confiscations, and took away much of the power of the Pashas.

Previous to the first of the Firmans the property of all persons banished or condemned to death was forfeited to the crown; and a sordid motive for acts of cruelty was thus kept in perpetual operation, besides the encouragement of a host of vile Delators.

The second firman removed the ancient rights of Turkish governors to doom men to instant death by their will; the Paşas, the Ağas, and other officers, were enjoined that "they should not presume to inflict, themselves, the punishment of death on any man, whether Raya or Turk, unless authorized by a legal sentence pronounced by the Kadi, and regularly signed by the judge." Mahmud also created an appeal system by a criminal to one of the Kazasker (chief military judge) of Asia or Europe, and finally to the Sultan himself, if the criminal chose to persist in his appeal.

About the same time that Mahmud II ordained these changes, he personally set an example of reform by regularly attending the Divan, or state council, instead of secluding himself from the labors of state. The practice of the Sultan avoiding the Divan had been introduced as long ago as the reign of Suleiman I, and was considered as one of the causes of the decline of the Empire by a Turkish historian nearly two centuries before Mahmud II's time.

Mahmud II also addressed some of the worst abuses connected with the Vakifs, by placing their revenues under state administration. However, he did not venture to apply this vast mass of property to the general purposes of the government.

In his time the financial situation of the Empire was troubling, and certain social classes had long been under oppression under difficult taxes. In dealing with the complicated questions that therefore arose, Mahmud II is considered to have demonstrated the best spirit of the best of the Köprülüs. A Firman of February 22, 1834 abolished the vexatious charges which public functionaries, when traversing the provinces, had long been accustomed to take from the inhabitants. By the same edict all collection of money, except for the two regular half-yearly periods, was denounced as abuses. "No one is ignorant," said Sultan Mahmud II in this document, "that I am bound to afford support to all my subjects against vexatious proceedings; to endeavour unceasingly to lighten, instead of increasing their burdens, and to ensure peace and tranquility. Therefore, those acts of oppression are at once contrary to the will of God, and to my imperial orders."

The haraç, or capitation-tax, though moderate and exempting those who paid it from military service, had long been made an engine of gross tyranny through the insolence and misconduct of the government collectors. The Firman of 1834 abolished the old mode of levying it, and ordained that it should be raised by a commission composed of the Kadı, the Muslim governors, and the Ayans, or municipal chiefs of Rayas in each district. Many other financial improvements were effected. By another important series of measures, the administrative government was simplified and strengthened, and a large number of sinecure offices were abolished. Sultan Mahmud II provided a valuable personal example of good sense, and economy, organising the imperial household, suppressing all titles without duties, and all salaried officials without functions.

Military reforms[link]

Mahmudiye (1829), built by the Imperial Naval Arsenal on the Golden Horn in Constantinople, was for many years the largest warship in the world. The 201 x 56 kadem (1 kadem = 37.887 cm) or 76.15 × 21.22 m (249.8 × 69.6 ft) ship of the line was armed with 128 cannons on 3 decks and carried 1,280 sailors on board (kadem, which translates as "foot", is often misinterpreted as equivalent in length to one imperial foot, hence the wrongly converted dimensions of "201 x 56 ft, or 62 x 17 m" in some sources.) She participated in numerous important naval battles, including the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) during the Crimean War.

Mahmud II dealt effectively with the military fiefs, the "Tımar"s and the "Ziamet"s. These had been instituted to furnish the old effective military force, but had long ceased to serve this purpose. By attaching them to the public domains, Mahmud II materially strengthened the resources of the state, and put an end to a host of corruptions. One of the most resolute acts of his ruling was the suppression of the Dere Beys, the hereditary local chiefs (with power to nominate their successors in default of male heirs), which, in one of the worst abuses of the Ottoman feudal system, had made themselves petty princes in almost every province of the empire.

The reduction of these insubordinate feudatories was not effected at once, or without severe struggles and frequent insurrections. Mahmud II steadily persevered in this great measure and ultimately the island of Cyprus became the only part of empire in which power not emanating from the Sultan was allowed to be retained by Dere Beys.

One of his most notable achievement was the abolition (through use of military force, execution and exile, and banning of the Bektashi order) of the Janissary Corps, event known as The Auspicious Incident, in 1826 and the establishment of a modern Ottoman Army, named the Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye (meaning 'Victorious Soldiers of Muhammad' in Ottoman Turkish).

Following the loss of Greece after the Battle of Navarino against the combined British-French-Russian fleets in 1827, Mahmud II gave top priority to rebuilding a strong Ottoman naval force. The first steam ships of the Ottoman Navy were acquired in 1828. In 1829 the world's largest warship for many years, the 201 x 56 kadem (1 kadem = 37.887 cm) or 76.15 × 21.22 m (249.8 × 69.6 ft) ship of the line Mahmudiye, which had 128 cannons on 3 decks and carried 1,280 sailors on board, was built for the Ottoman Navy at the Imperial Naval Arsenal (Tersane-i Amire) on the Golden Horn in Constantinople (kadem, which translates as "foot", is often misinterpreted as equivalent in length to one imperial foot, hence the wrongly converted dimensions of "201 x 56 ft, or 62 x 17 m" in some sources.)

In fiction[link]

The 2006 historical detective novel The Janissary Tree, by Jason Goodwin, is set in 1836 Constantinople, with Mahmud II's modernising reforms (and conservative opposition to them) forming the background of the plot. The Sultan himself and his mother appear in several scenes.

The 1989 film Intimate Power, also known as The Favorite, is adapted from an historical fiction novel by Prince Michael of Greece. It portrays a legend about Aimée du Buc de Rivéry as a young captured French girl who, after spending years in an Ottoman harem, outlives two Sultans and protects Mahmud as his surrogate mother. Mahmud is a minor role in the film but is portrayed as both an adult and a child. The film concludes with a variation of his dramatic succession.

See also[link]

• Peter the Great
• Atçalı Kel Mehmet Efe
• Sened-i İttifak
• Muhammad Ali
• Husein Gradaščević
• Ali Pasha
• Auspicious Incident

References[link]

• Incorporates text from Edward Shepherd Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks; From the beginning of their empire to the present time (1878).

External links[link]

Media related to Mahmud II at Wikimedia Commons

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia. (November 2011) Don't speak Spanish? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|es|Lucy Tejada}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Lucy Tejada Saenz (born Pereira, October 9, 1920 - died Cali, November 2, 2011) was a Colombian contemporary painter.

References[link]

• Obituary (in Spanish)

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Selim III
Ottoman Sultan
Caliph of Muslims
Reign	1789–1807
Period	Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire
Full Name	Ghazi Sultan Selim III Khan, سليم ثالث
Born	December 24, 1761
Died	July 28, 1808(1808-07-28) (aged 46)
Predecessor	Abdülhamid I
Successor	Mustafa IV
Royal House	House of Osman
Dynasty	Ottoman Dynasty

Selim III (Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثالث Selīm-i sālis) (December 24, 1761 – July 28/29, 1808) was the reform-minded Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. The Janissaries (Janissaries) eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV. Selim was killed by a group of Assassins subsequently after a Janissary revolt.

Reign[link]

Reforms[link]

Selim III receiving dignitaries at an audience at the Gate of Felicity, Topkapı Palace.

He was a son of Mustafa III (1757–74) and succeeded his uncle Abdülhamid I (1774–89). He was born in Constantinople.^[1][2] His mother was Valide Sultan Mihr-i shah.

The talents and energy with which Selim III was endowed had endeared him to the people, and great hopes were founded on his accession. He had associated much with foreigners, and was thoroughly persuaded of the necessity of reforming his state.

However, Austria and Russia gave him no time for anything but defense, and it was not until the Peace of Iaşi (1792) that a breathing space was allowed him in Europe, while Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria soon called for Turkey's strongest efforts.

Selim III profited by the respite to abolish the military tenure of fiefs; he introduced salutary reforms into the administration, especially in the fiscal department, sought by well-considered plans to extend the spread of education, and engaged foreign officers as instructors, by whom a small corps of new troops called nizam-i-jedid were collected and drilled.

So well were these troops organized that they were able to hold their own against rebellious Janissaries in the Balkan provinces such as the Sanjak of Smederevo against its appointed Vizier Hadži Mustafa Pasha, where disaffected governors made no scruple of attempting to make use of them against the reforming sultan.

Emboldened by this success, Selim III issued an order that in future picked men should be taken annually from the Janissaries to serve in their ranks.

Janissary revolt[link]

The Janissaries and others who opposed reforms rebelled at Edirne, and due to their number, exceeding 10,000, and the violence of their opposition, it was decided that the reforms must be given up for now. Serbia, Egypt and the principalities were successively the scene of hostilities in which the Ottomans gained no successes, and in 1807 a British fleet appeared at Constantinople, strangely, to insist on Turkey's yielding to Russia's demands and that the Ottomans dismiss the ambassador of Napoleon, Horace Sebastiani (see Dardanelles Operation).

[edit] Austro-Turkish War (1787–1791)

Ottoman troops desperately attempt to halt advancing Russians during the Siege of Ochakov (1788).

The Austro-Turkish War of 1787 was an inconclusive struggle between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. It took place concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792 during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III.

Relations with Tipu Sultan[link]

Fall of the Sultanate of Mysore.

Tipu Sultan was an independent ruler of the Sultanate of Mysore, with high regards of loyalty to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. He had urgently requested requested Ottoman assistance during the Third Anglo-Mysore War, in which he had suffered an irreversible defeat. Tipu Sultan then began to consolidate his relations with France. In an attempt to junction with Tipu Sultan,^[3] Napoleon invaded Ottoman Egypt in the year 1798, causing a furor in Istanbul.

The British then appealed to Selim III to send a letter to Tipu Sultan requesting the Sultanate of Mysore to halt its state of war against the British East India Company. Selim III then wrote a letter to Tipu Sultan criticizing the French, and also informed Tipu Sultan that the Ottomans would act as intermediary between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British. Tipu Sultan wrote twice to Selim III, rejecting the advise of the Ottomans, unfortunately before most of his letters could arrive in Istanbul, the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out and Tipu Sultan was killed during the Siege of Seringapatam (1799).^[4]

Downfall and assassination[link]

An official Ottoman, Firman by Sultan Selim III appointing François Pouqueville as the representative of France in the court of Ali Pacha of Janina.

The Caliph of Islam, Ghazi Sultan Selīm-i sālis III Khan, سليم ثالث

Selim III was, however, thoroughly under the influence of Sebastiani, and the fleet was compelled to retire without effecting its purpose. But the anarchy, manifest or latent, existing throughout the provinces proved too great for Selim III to cope with. The Janissaries rose once more in revolt, induced the Sheikh-ul-Islam to grant a fetva against the reforms, dethroned and imprisoned Selim III, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne, as Mustafa IV (1807–08).

The pasha of Rustchuk, Mustafa Bayrakdar, a strong partisan of the reforms, collected an army of 40,000 men and marched on Constantinople with the purpose of reinstating Selim III, but he came too late. The ill-fated reforming Sultan had been stabbed in the seraglio by the Chief Black Eunuch and his men.^[5] Upon his arrival in the capital, Bairakdar's only resource was to wreak his vengeance on Mustafa IV and to place on the throne Mahmud II (1808–1839), the sole surviving member of the house of Osman.

Another version about his murder states that at the time of his deposition, Selim was staying at the Harem. The night of Thursday, July 28, 1808, he was with his favourite lady, Refet Kadın, and a slave girl or perhaps another favourite Pakize Kadın in attendance. Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, a loyalist of Selim, was approaching the city with his army to reinstate Selim. Therefore Mustafa IV gave orders to murder him and his brother Prince Mahmud.

The assassins were apparently a group of men, including the Master of the Wardrobe called Fettah the Georgian, the Treasury steward Ebe Selim, and black eunuch named Nezir Ağa. Selim apparently knew his end was coming when he saw their swords drawn. Pakize Kadın threw herself between them and her lord, she was cut in her hand. Refet Kadın started screaming in terror, another slave girl who rushed in fainted when she saw what was about to happen. A struggle ensued and the former sultan was cut down and murdered, his last words apparently being "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").

Refet Kadın threw herself on the body but was dragged away. The body was quickly wrapped in a quilt. The assassins moved on to find Prince Mahmud and attempt to murder him too, he was more fortunate though and later ordered the assassins to be executed. Selim III would be the only Ottoman sultan to be killed by the sword.^[6] He died in Constantinople.

Interest in poetry and arts[link]

Selim III's tughra, or official seal

A great lover of music, Sultan Selim III was a composer and performer of significant talent. He created fourteen makam-s (melodic types), three of which are in current use today. Sixty-four compositions by Selim III are known today, some of which are part of the regular repertory of Turkish classical music performerance. Aside from composing music, Selim III also performed on the ney (reed flute) and tanbur (long-necked, fretted lute).

Selim III's interest in music started in his days as a prince (shahzade) when he studied under Kırımlı Ahmet Kamil Efendi and Tanburi İzak Efendi. He was especially respectful of Tanburi İzak Efendi, and it is recounted that the Sultan rose in respect when Tanburi İzak Efendi entered the court.

As a patron of the arts, Selim III encouraged musicians of his day, including Dede Efendi and Baba Hamparsum. The Hamparsum notation system that Selim commissioned became the dominant notation for Turkish and Armenian music. His name is associated with a school in Classical Turkish Music due to the revival and re-birth of music at his court. Selim III was also interested in western music and in 1797 invited an opera troupe for the first opera performance in the Ottoman Empire.

Writing under the nom de plume ″İlhami,″ Selim's poetry is collected in a divan. Among regular attendees of his court were Şeyh Galip, one of the greatest Ottoman poets.

Selim III was a member of the Mevlevi Order of Sufi Whirling Dervishes, and entered into the order at the Galata Mevlevihanesi under the name ″Selim Dede.″ He was a renowned composer, creating many musical compositions, including a Mevlevi ayin, a long and complex liturgical form performed during the semâ (religious ceremonies) of the Mevlana (Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi) Tariqah of Sufi Whirling Mystics, in makam Suzidilara.

He extended his patronage to Antoine Ignace Melling, whom he appointed as the court architect in 1795. Melling constructed a number of palaces and other buildings for the Sultan and created engravings of contemporary Constantinople.

See also[link]

• Ottoman Empire

Further reading[link]

• Shaw, Stanford. Between Old and New: The Ottoman Empire under Selim III, 1789-1807.

Notes[link]

1. ^  "Constantinople". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 
2. ^ Britannica, Istanbul:When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.
3. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Napoleon&action=edit
4. ^ http://books.google.com.pk/books?ei=nfgCT9OKHtGKhQf93c3jAw&id=s04pus5jBNwC&dq=tipu+sultan+and+ottoman&q=selim+iii#v=snippet&q=selim%20iii&f=false
5. ^ Goodwin, Jason: "Lords of the Horizons", Chapter 24: The Auspicious Event, 1998
6. ^ Davis, Claire (1970). The Palace of Topkapi in Istanbul. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 213–217. ASIN B000NP64Z2. 

Bibliography[link]

• Tuncay Zorlu, Sultan Selim III and the Modernisation of the Ottoman Navy (London, I.B. Tauris, 2011).

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Selim". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

See also[link]

• Ottoman military reform efforts
• Nizam-i Jedid
• Kabakçı Mustafa

External links[link]

Media related to Selim III at Wikimedia Commons