Ahmed II

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Ahmed II
Ottoman Caliph
Amir al-Mu'minin
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Padishah)
Reign22 June 1691 – 6 February 1695
PredecessorSuleiman II
SuccessorMustafa II
Born25 February 1643 or 1 August 1642
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Died6 February 1695(1695-02-06) (aged 51)
Edirne, Ottoman Empire
Burial
Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
ConsortRabia Sultan
Şayeste Hatun
IssueŞehzade Ibrahim
Şehzade Selim
Asiye Sultan
Atike Sultan (disputed)
Hatice Sultan
Names
Ahmed bin Ibrahim
DynastyOttoman
FatherIbrahim
MotherMuazzez Sultan
ReligionSunni Islam
TughraAhmed II's signature

Ahmed II (

sultan of the Ottoman Empire
from 1691 to 1695.

Early life

Ahmed II was born on 25 February 1643 or 1 August 1642, the son of Sultan

circumcised.[citation needed
] During the reigns of his older brothers, Ahmed was imprisoned in Kafes, and he stayed there almost 43 years.[citation needed]

The mausoleum of Ahmed II is located inside the türbe of Suleiman the Magnificent. (In the above picture, his tomb is seen side by side with Suleiman II and Suleiman the Magnificent).

Reign

During his reign, Ahmed II devoted most of his attention to the wars against the

Habsburgs and related foreign policy, governmental and economic issues. Of these, the most important were the tax reforms and the introduction of the lifelong tax farm system (malikâne). Following the recovery of Belgrade under his predecessor, Suleiman II
, the military frontier reached a rough stalemate on the Danube, with the Habsburgs no longer able to advance south of it, and the Ottomans attempting, ultimately unsuccessfully, to regain the initiative north of it.

Among the most important features of Ahmed's reign was his reliance on

Köprülüzade Fazıl Mustafa Pasha. Following his accession to the throne, Ahmed II confirmed Fazıl Mustafa Pasha in his office as grand vizier. In office from 1689, Fazıl Mustafa Pasha was from the Köprülü family of grand viziers, and like most of his Köprülü predecessors in the same office, was an able administrator and military commander. Like his father Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (grand vizier, 1656–61) before him, Fazıl Mustafa Pasha ordered the removal and execution of dozens of corrupt state officials of the previous regime and replaced them with men loyal to himself. He overhauled the tax system by adjusting it to the capabilities of the taxpayers affected by the latest wars. He also reformed troop mobilization and increased the pool of conscripts available for the army by drafting tribesmen in the Balkans and Anatolia. In October 1690, Fazıl Mustafa Pasha recaptured Belgrade, a key fortress that commanded the confluence of the rivers Danube and Sava
; in Ottoman hands since 1521, the fortress had been conquered by the Habsburgs in 1688.

Fazıl Mustafa Pasha's victory at Belgrade was a major military achievement that gave the Ottomans hope that the military debacles of the 1680s—which had led to the loss of Hungary and Transylvania, an Ottoman vassal principality ruled by pro-Istanbul Hungarian princes—could be reversed. However, the Ottoman success proved ephemeral. On 19 August 1691, Fazıl Mustafa Pasha suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Slankamen at the hands of Louis William, the Habsburg commander in chief in Hungary, nicknamed “Türkenlouis” (Louis the Turk) for his victories against the Ottomans. In the confrontation, recognized by contemporaries as “the bloodiest battle of the century,” the Ottomans suffered heavy losses: 20,000 men, including the grand vizier. With him, the sultan lost his most capable military commander and the last member of the Köprülü family, who for the previous half century had been instrumental in strengthening the Ottoman military.

Under Fazıl Mustafa Pasha's successors, the Ottomans suffered further defeats. In June 1692 the Habsburgs conquered

Timișoara. Three weeks later, on 6 February 1695, Ahmed II died in Edirne Palace
.

Family

Consorts

Ahmed II had two known consorts:

Sons

Ahmed II had two sons:

  • Şehzade Ibrahim (Edirne Palace, Edirne, 6 October 1692[4]Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, 4 May 1714, buried in Mustafa I Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia), with Rabia Sultan, Selim's twin, became crown prince on 22 August 1703 until his death;
  • Şehzade Selim (Edirne Palace, Edirne, 6 October 1692 – Edirne Palace, Edirne, 15 May 1693, buried in Sultan Mustafa Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia), with Rabia Sultan, Ibrahim's twin.[4]

Daughters

Ahmed II had two or three daughters:

  • Asiye Sultan[5] (Edirne Palace, Edirne, 23 October 1694[4] – Eski Palace, Bayezid, Istanbul, 9 December 1695, buried in Suleiman I Mausoleum, Süleymaniye Mosque), with Rabia Sultan;
  • Atike Sultan (born 24 October 1694).[6] Her existence is controversial: due to the similar name and almost identical date of birth some historians believe she may be Asiye herself, whose birth was recorded incorrectly by some or that Atike was Asiye's second name. If she really was a different princess, she was probably the daughter of Şayeste Hatun.
  • Hatice Sultan,[6] probably with Şayeste Hatun. Died in infancy.

In addition to his daughters, Ahmed II was deeply attached to his niece

Ümmügülsüm Sultan, daughter of his half-brother Mehmed IV, so much so that he treated her as if she were his own daughter.[7][8]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Mantran 2012, first date according to Naima, second date to Raşid.
  2. ^ Uluçay 1980, p. 114.
  3. ^ Sakaoğlu 2015, p. 390.
  4. ^ a b c Mehmed Agha 2012, pp. 1466–67, 1483–84, 1580.
  5. ^ Uluçay 1980, p. 115.
  6. ^ a b Uluçay 1980, pp. 114–115.
  7. ^ Uluçay 2011, p. 111.
  8. ^ Uluçay 1992, p. 111.

Sources

  • Mantran, R. (24 April 2012). Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). "Aḥmad II". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. .
  • Mehmed Agha, Silahdar Findiklili (2012). ZEYL-İ FEZLEKE (1065-22 Ca.1106 / 1654-7 Şubat 1695). pp. 1466–67, 1483–84, 1580.
  • Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2015). Bu mülkün kadın sultanları : valide sultanlar, hatunlar, hasekiler, kadinefendiler, sultanefendiler [The Female Sultans of This Property : Valide Sultans, Hatuns, Hasekis, Ladies and Gentlemen]. İstanbul: Alfa publications. .
  • Uluçay, M. Çağatay (1980). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları (in Turkish). Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  • Uluçay, M. Çağatay (1992). Padişahların Kadınları ve Kızları. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevı. .
  • Uluçay, Mustafa Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ankara: Ötüken.

Further reading

External links

Media related to Ahmed II at Wikimedia Commons

Wikisource logo Works by or about Ahmed II at Wikisource

Ahmed II
House of Osman
Born: 25 February 1643 Died: 6 February 1695
Regnal titles
Preceded by Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
22 June 1691 – 6 February 1695
Succeeded by
Sunni Islam titles
Preceded by Caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate
22 June 1691 – 6 February 1695
Succeeded by