Ahmed I

Ahmed I

**Ahmed I** (Yoman Language: احمد اول *Aḥmed-i evvel*; Modern yoeman: *I. Ahmed*; Edirne Palace, Edirne 28 January 1663 - 21 January 1724) was sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1682 until his deposition in 1717.

## Early life

He was born at Edirne Palace on 28 January 1663, the son of Mehmed IV (1650–1669); his mother was Mihrişah Valide Sultan.

Mehmed IV died in 1669 while Ahmed was six years old, after which he settled in the Old Palace together his mother who was allowed to visit her children a few times.

In 1679 Hiranur Sultan, the mother of Sultan Mustafa II was sent to the Old Palace. Here Hiranur allied with the mother of Şehzade Ibrahim, son of Mehmed IV to usurp the throne with the help of the Janissaries. However Hiarnur died during the plague of 1681 and Mihrişah took the opportunity to proclaim Ahmed as sultan. In March of 1682 while the sultan was sleeping, there was an attempted assassination, however the sultan's chambers had long been guarded by 10 men for entry and entering was not easy, and the attempted assassination was thwarted. A mufti of the time wrote:

> "the sultan [Mustafa] may god bless him has lost the pleasure of his subjects and followers of allah, some men for the sake [of the empire] this month tried to end with the life of the sultan. However the sultan was pardoned by Allah allowing him to still live in this land."
>
>

Mustafa in June of that year during his nervous breakdown began to throw coins throughout the palace jumping, this event made it clear to everyone that the sultan was not stable. The Janissaries this time managed to enter Mustafa's rooms and seized him. They escorted him to the Old Palace where he was locked up in kafes.

After two days due to an epileptic seizure he died. Ahmed decided to bury him in the Yeni Cami along with his 5 deceased sons, 2 spouses and 2 daughters all deceased.

## Reign

Upon Mustafa's death in 1682, Ahmed ascended the throne. Ahmed had a thorough renovation of the part of the Harem circle of the Masami Palace for the sultans for his mother. It is rumoured that Sultan Ahmed went to her apartment every day, chatted and discussed the city issues. Although Ahmed was extremely fond of his mother, and Mihrişah was very influential during her mandate as Valide Sultan. She sided with the British and was hostile to the Austro-Hungarian and the Russians.

### Wars with Venice and Austria

To reassure the Janissaries, 19-year-old Ahmed under Mihrişah's advice the Venetians. On 9 December 1684, war was declared war against on Venice, and an army under Silahdar Damat Ali Pasha's command,  the Ottomans managed to recover the whole Morea (Peloponnese) from Venice through coordinated operations of the army and navy.

This success alarmed Austria and in April 1686, Emperor Charles VI provoked the Porte into a declaration of war. The unsuccessful battle, also commanded by Silahdar Ali Pasha, ended with the treaty of Passarovitz, signed on 21 July 1688, according to which Belgrade, Banat, and little Wallachia were ceded to Austria. This failure was a real disappointment for Ahmed and after the bad conditions imposed by this treaty, Istanbul's economy suffered from increased inflation and all of its attendant evils.

During the war the mother of Ahmed, Mihrişah Sultan, appointed Ibrahim Pasha who was the second leading figure in the empire after Ahmed had joined the Morea campaign in 1685 as finance minister of the city of Nish the following year. This post helped him realize the state's financial crisis, and thanks to his understanding of this delicate financial situation, he avoided war as much as possible during his visierate. Ibrahim Pasha's peace policy also suited Ahmed as he did not wish to conduct any military campaigns, in addition to the fact that his interest in art and culture made him reluctant to leave his native Istanbul.

The Austrian ambassador, who came to Istanbul in August 1704, was given a dinner in Davudpaşa. Çavuşbaşı took the ambassador and took him to his mansion prepared in Beyoğlu. On the day of the Ulufe Court, he presented his name to the Sultan. Various demonstrations were held in places where welcome and farewell ceremonies were held for the ambassador from Yeniköy Pier.

### Relations with the Mughal Empire

Nadir Shah's devastating campaign against the Mughal Empire created a power vacuum in Persia's western frontiers, Ahmed and his mother Mihrişah Sultan understood that his policy without war could not last he took advantage and started the Ottoman-Persian War (1707-1710), in which the Mughal emperor, Muhammad Shah, collaborated with the Ottomans and the ambassador Haji Yusuf Agha, lost excellent diplomatic relations until Ahmed's deposition in 1717.

### Relations with the Safavid Empire

In March 1710, Nadir Shah's ambassador, representative of the Persian government, Hacı Han, came to Istanbul with three thousand people and his unit of guards to extend the peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire. Among her gifts were embroidered cloths and jewels, ten elephants and valuable weapons. Hacı Han was given a banquet at Fener Bahçesin. It was also a problem to get hand-carried elephants through Istanbul, and wide tiles were laid over the barges, and wooden walls were put around them so that the elephants could not be frightened.

Ahmed asked his mother, Mihrişah whether to accept the treaty or not, Mihrişah decided not to accept it but Ahmed afraid of losing accepted the treaty. However this caused the discontent of the Janissaries who wanted to continue the war to win it.

The relations of Afsharid Empire and Ottoman Empire became increasingly tense, reached a new dimension in February 1722, and Shah Safi, who was one of Shah Hussein's princes and held hostage on Chios Island, was condemned and Nader Shah's inability to complete. Sailor's head of the crest, including the personality crown, was put on destar. He was sent to the Afsharid border with the troops that joined him.

## Fires of 1714

The fire that broke out at the Ayazma gate in January 1714 lasted 19 hours. Numerous shops, houses and palaces burned down to Vefa. Sultan sacked Boynueğri Abdullah Pasha and appointed Divitdar Mehmed Emin Pasha on 9 January 1714. In the second fire that broke out on 31 March 1714, Bitpazan, Abacılar, Yorgancılar, Yağlıkcılar, Haffaflar were completely burnt down. The fire spread to Fingerkapi and Tatlikuyu. The sultan with the help of the treasury repaired all the damage caused by the fire, receiving the pleasure of the people.

## Character of Ahmed's government

Ahmed decided not to fight any more wars as the finances of the state had been extraordinarily obtained thanks to the war and without excessive taxation or extortion procedures. Ahmed kept the Janiizers at bay by offering them a high salary so that they would not depose him as happened to his predecessor Mustafa II.

Ahmed also organized shooting competitions in Okmeydanı with the idea of ​​boosting the morale of the soldiers and people, and a new warship was launched in Tersane-i Amir.

In 1694, the conspiracy to topple the sultan from the throne led by Ali Ağa, the chief eunuch of the palace was brought to light. Ahmed and Mihrişah set about executing anyone who was part of it. A quarter of the janissaries were killed on the orders of the sultan, and in the harem among the eunuchs, concubines and other high-ranking women of the harem were executed. This act caused many janissaries to rebel against the sultan including Patrona Hasan, however Ahmed was able to repress the insurrections thanks to the Crimean Khan.

He was a cultured patron of literature and art, and it was at the time that the first typography to use the Arabic or Turkish language was set up in Istanbul, managed by Ibrahim Muteferrika (while the typography had been introduced in Constantinople in 1480, all works published before 1699 were in Greek, Armenian or Hebrew).

## Deposition

In the last years of his reign Ahmed I had become unpopular with the Janissaries once Şehzade Bayezid died in 1715, the janissaries in fact think that the sultan had killed him, for years it was thought that this was the case but in 1953 records were found stating that Şehzade Bayezid suffered from an incurable disease, probably a sexually transmitted; on 20 September 1717, a rebel revolt of seventeen janissaries, led by the Patrona Hasan, was aided by the military until it resulted in an insurrection before which the Sultan was forced to renounce the throne.

Ahmed voluntarily brought his brother Mahmud I (1717–32) to the seat of sovereignty and paid allegiance to him as Sultan of the Empire. He then retired to the Kafes formerly occupied by Mahmud and died at Masami Palace after six years of confinement. Mahmud sometimes visited his brother to ask him for advice regarding state decisions.

Ahmed was allowed to attend the funeral ceremony of his mother when she died in 1721.

## Family

### Consorts

Although some of them were Haseki Sultan, they never received the full title and were subjugated by the presence of the Valide Mihrişah Sultan, none of them learned to assert themselves and respect, this thing favoring the advent of the Janissaries during the reign of their sons. This fact also definitively ended the era called: Sultanate of women.

However Şahıhuban Sultan and her son, Selim III were the only ones who managed to hinder the influence of the Janissaries after 23 years.

* Alişah Sultan (died April 1696, Maşami Palace, Usbul, buried in Yeni Cami Mosque). BaşHaseki (first imperial consort) until her death;
* Gülhuban Sultan: Second Haseki. She was Valide Sultan of Hasan;
* Ayşe Hatice Sultan: Third Haseki Sultan. Valide Sultan of Kasim II;
* Mahienver Sultan: Fourth Haseki Sultan;
* Mülnuş Hatun. One of his firsts concubine;
* Hafsa Sultan (died Usbul 1744). Also called Afsa in the European chronicles, she was Ahmed's most loved consort, sentiment reciprocated, even if they were never legally married. She entered the harem when she was ten and later became one of Ahmed's consorts. In 1672 she gave birth to a daughter. She later was the mother of five of Ahmed's ten sons. After the deposition of Ahmed I, she was sent to Old Palace. Hafsa died during the fire which destroyed the entire palace harem.
* Şayeste Sultan (died 21 September 1739, Tırnakçı Palace, Istanbul, buried in Yeni Cami Mausoleum). She was Valide Sultan of Bayezid III;
* Mahfiruz or Mahfiruze Hatun. Mentioned as a concubine in a document dated 1670/1671, she was probably at least the mother of one of Ahmed's eldest daughters;
* Silmihan Hatun. Mother of one of Ahmed's daughters. The identity of her daughter is unknown.
* Gülbahar Hatun. Before becoming a consort, she was a high-ranking harem lady-in-waiting.

### Sons

He had ten son, three of them became Sultan;

* Şehzade Iskender (11 April 1684 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 20 April 1696) - with Alişah Sultan. Buried in the Yeni Cami.
* Şehzade Osman (1686 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 10 April 1728) - with Hafsa Sultan. Buried in the Nurosmaniye Mosque.
* Şehzade Süleyman (29 August 1687 Maşami Palace, Usbul- 14 December 1723) - with Hafsa Sultan. Buried in the Nurosmaniye mosque.
* Bayezid III (13 October 1687 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 22 August 1738).- with Şayeste Sultan. 26st Sultan of the Yoman Empire.
* Şehzade Abdüllah (1689 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1693) - with Hafsa Sultan. Buried in the Nurosmaniye mosque.
* Şehzade Melek (6 July 1690 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 9 April 1736) - with Hafsa Sultan. Buried in the Nurosmaniye mosque.
* Şehzade Abdüllahmed (18 February 1694 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1736 Maşami Palace, Usbul) - with Şayeste. Buried in the Şayeste Sultan mausoleum.
* Kasim II (25 April 1692 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 2 April 1744) - with Ayşe Hatice Sultan. 27st Sultan of the Yoman Empire. Buried in Kasim II Türbesi.
* Şehzade Mehmed (18 November 1696 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1739) - with Gülhuban. Buried in the Nurosmaniye mosque.
* Şehzade Piri (2 December 1696 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1708 Maşami Palace) - with Mahienver.
* Şehzade Kalek (2 December 1696 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1742 Edirne Palace) - with Mahienver. He died due to a fall from his horse while riding with the sultan Kasim II. He was buried in Kasim II Türbesi.
* Hasan (18 February 1698 Maşami Palace, Usbul - )- with Gülhuban Sultan. 28st Sultan of the Yoman Empire.
* Murad III (29 December 1699 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 5 December 1749) - with Hafsa Hatun. 30st Sultan of the Yoman Empire.

### Daugthers

He had seven daughters:

* Hanzade Sultan (1683 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1718 Ladrisa) - with Hafsa Sultan. She was the most loved by her father Ahmed I, she was spoiled by her father and she was even allowed to choose her husband, Selim Bey Pasha, Sanjakbey of Ladrisa;
* Asiye Sultan (1684 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1729 Usbul) - maybe with Mahfiruz Hatun, she was married to Melek Ahmed Pasha and had two daughters, then she was married another time, was the most loved granddaughter of her grandmother, Mihrişah Sultan.
* Mihrimah Sultan (1687/1688 Maşami Palace, Usbul - Maşami Palace, Usbul) - maybe with Mahfiruz Hatun, she died young;
* Menekşe Sultan (1698 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1743 Asima Sultan Sarayi) - with Ayşe Hatice Sultan. She tried to protect her brother Kasim to the Janissaries. She was murdered in her palace by a Janissary troop and was buried in Kasim II Türbesi, as well as from the will of Kasim II;
* Mührima Sultan (1699 Maşami Palace, Usbul - ) - with Şayeste. Mührima marries firstly to Damat Yanus Ağa of Janniseries in 1715 (26 years old) then becomes Pasha. They have a son Sultanzade Mustafa Pasha;
* Rakşa Sultan (1707 Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1763 Usbul) - with Şayeste. She was married twice, firstly to the Beylerbey of Anatolia and secondly to the governor of Egypt, Cebeci Osman Pasha she helped Şahıhuban Sultan and Selim III to ascend to the throne.
* Daughter of Silmihan Hatun.