The younger brother of Mahmud I (1730–54) and son of Mustafa II (1695–1703), Osman III was a generally insignificant prince. His brief reign is notable for a rising intolerance of non-Muslims (Christians and Jews being required to wear distinctive clothes or badges) and for a fire in Istanbul.
Osman III lived most of his life as a prisoner in the Palace, and so upon becoming Sultan he had some behavioral peculiarities. Unlike previous Sultans, he hated music, and sent all musicians out of the palace. Also living in the "kafes", the palace prison in the "harem" which was the part of the palace containing women's quarters, he grew a dislike for women's companionship. Therefore he would wear iron shoes in order to not cross paths with any women, and by wearing such shoes they could hear him approach and disperse.
References
|}
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday July 05, 2008 at 09:00:13 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.