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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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 his mother's, Turhan Hadice Sultan's tomb, near her 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.

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 Imperial army (under Charles V, Duke of Lorraine) and the vengeful Poles led by their King, John III Sobieski (1674–96).

See also

• Great Turkish War

Notes

External links

|}