Mehmed IV

Lore & Background

Mehmed IV was born at Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, in 1642, the son of Sultan Ibrahim by Turhan Sultan, a concubine of Russian origin, and grandson of the Greek-born Kösem Sultan. Soon after his birth, his father and mother quarrelled, and Ibrahim tore Mehmed from his mother's arms and flung the infant into a cistern. Mehmed was rescued by the harem servants, but this left him with a lifelong scar on his head. He ascended to the throne in 1648 at the age of six. On 21 October 1649, Mehmed along with his brothers Suleiman and Ahmed were circumcised. Kösem Sultan, his grandmother and regent, was suspected of supporting 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. The empire faced palace intrigues, uprisings in Anatolia, defeat of the Ottoman navy by the Venetians outside the Dardanelles, and food shortages leading to riots in Constantinople. Under these circumstances, Mehmed's mother granted Köprülü Mehmed Pasha full executive powers as Grand Vizier on 14 September 1656, beginning the Köprülü era. Mehmed's reign is notable for a revival of Ottoman fortunes led by Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed and his son Fazıl Ahmed. They regained the Aegean islands from Venice, and Crete, during the Cretan War (1645–1669). They also fought successful campaigns against Transylvania (1660) and Poland (1670–1674). When Mehmed IV accepted the vassalage of Petro Doroshenko, Ottoman rule extended into Podolia and Right-bank Ukraine, leading to the Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681). His next vizier, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa, led campaigns against Russia, besieging Chyhyryn in 1678 with 70,000 men. He next supported the 1683 Hungarian uprising of Imre Thököly against Austrian rule, marching a vast army through Hungary and besieging Vienna. At the Battle of Vienna on the Kahlenberg Heights, the Ottomans suffered a catastrophic rout by Polish-Lithuanian forces famously led by King John III Sobieski and his allies. In 1672 and 1673, the sultan embarked on two Polish-Lithuanian campaigns with serdar-ı ekrem and Grand Vizier Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, and after the signing of the Bucaş Treaty, returned to Edirne. 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. Two-thirds of Constantinople was turned to ash, and as many as forty thousand people were killed. Thousands died in the famine and plague which followed. On 12 September 1683, the Austrians and their Polish-Lithuanian allies won the Battle of Vienna. The Turks retreated into Hungary, beginning the Great Turkish War as the armies of the Holy League pushed the Ottomans back to the Balkans. After the Second 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, fled from his command. On 8 November 1687, it was decided to depose Sultan Mehmed IV and enthrone his brother Suleiman II. Mehmed was deposed by the combined forces of Janissaries and Sekbans commanded by Osman Pasha. He was imprisoned in Topkapı Palace but permitted to leave from time to time, and died in Edirne Palace in 1693. He was buried in Turhan Sultan's tomb, near his mother's mosque in Constantinople. In 1691, a plot was discovered in which senior clerics planned to reinstate Mehmed in response to the ill health of his successor, Suleiman II.

Reader's Guide

Mehmed IV's significance lies in his long reign, which spanned a period of both crisis and revival for the Ottoman Empire. Ascending as a child during a time of palace intrigues, military defeats, and food riots, his reign stabilized under the Köprülü grand viziers, who restored Ottoman power in Europe and expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent on the continent. However, the disastrous defeat at Vienna in 1683 triggered a prolonged war that ultimately led to his deposition. His legacy is mixed: he is remembered as a pious ruler and a hunter, but his reign ended with the empire in retreat. The Köprülü era, which he presided over, is often seen as a last period of strong central authority before the empire's long decline. His deposition by mutinous troops set a precedent for military intervention in Ottoman politics.

Did You Know?

• Mehmed IV came to the throne at age six after his father was overthrown in a coup.
• As an infant, his father threw him into a cistern, leaving a lifelong scar on his head.
• He signed his grandmother Kösem Sultan's death warrant in September 1651.
• The fire of 4–5 July 1660 turned two-thirds of Constantinople to ash and killed as many as forty thousand people.
• He was deposed in 1687 after the Second Battle of Mohács and died of natural causes in Edirne Palace in 1693.