Ibrahim I

Ibrahim I

**Ibrahim I** (/ˌɪbrəˈhiːm/; Ottoman Turkish: ابراهيم; Turkish: *İbrahim*; 3 June 1580 – 29 March 1614) was the Sultan of the Yoman Empire from 1609 until 1614. Was son of Sultan Mustafa I by Hirihmene Sultan. He was the first sultan to ascend the throne without children.

## Early life

Ibrahim was born on 3 June 1580, the son of Mustafa and Hirihmene Sultan at the Manisa Palace, Manisa, when his father was still a prince as Şehzade Mustafa. After his grandfather Kasim's death in 1587, his father came to Constantinople and ascended the throne as Sultan Mustafa I.

Mustafa never had a good relationship with his sons, when Şehzade Orhan was executed by his father, their mother, Hirihmene Sultan tried to protect her other sons especially Mahmud who had a really critical relationship with Mustafa. Mustafa took no interest in entrusting his sons with a province, except to Iskender (future Iskender I) and Ibrahim, who was probably able to ruin the relationship with his father thanks to the help of his grandmother Handan Sultan, who had a strong influence in the sultan and his mother, Hirihmene.

## In Trabzon province

Ibrahim was sent to Trabzon as governor of the Sanjak. Ibrahim, however he had an extraordinary harem Ibrahim was unable to conceive any children until the end of his term as governor.

As governor of Trabzon Ibrahim not only took care of public works but unlike his brother (Iskender) he took care of the politics of Trabzon allied with numerous pashas of the area. Although Iskender did not bother much to govern his province he had many sons who ensured the succession of the dynasty and the pashas of the empire trusted that Hirihmene as Valide would rule in his son's place. This is why the idea of ​​Ibrahim as Mustafa's successor was not very popular.

## Iskender's reign

When Iskender ascended the throne as Sultan, ibrahim stayed in Trabzon most likely at Hirihmene's behest. When Hirihmene was exiled to the Old Palace Ibrahim had his mandate in Trabzon revoked and he was sent to the kafes of Old Palace, possibly to prevent Ibrahim from usurping the throne. Iskender locked up Ibrahim under the guard of his loyal aghas. However Ibrahim was able to communicate with his mother Hirihmene and Damat Derviş Pasha.

Hirihmene with the help of Derviş Pasha established a government with Ibrahim and they attempted to depose Ibrahim's brother, Iskender I. Hirihmene's intent was to confine Iskender in the kafes and at the beginning Patrona Halil and the Janissaries agreed to Hirihemne's terms.

On 22 December 1609, a rebel revolt of seventeen janissaries, led by the Albanian Patrona Halil, aided by the citizens as well as by the military, resulted in an insurrection before which the Sultan was forced to renounce the throne. Iskender was captured by two of the Janissaries while Kemankeş Pasha was brought into Hirihmene's presence and had his head cut off. Iskender however was brought in the presence of Maryol Hüseyin Agha of Janissaries executed.

## Reign

### Accession

Ibrahim was taken to Topkapi by the Janissaries and in a grand ceremony was crowned Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Hirihmene proclaimed Derviş Mehmed Pasha as grand vizier.

During his ten years as governor of Trabzon, Ibrahim failed to impregnate any of his concubine. Ibrahim's present sexual impotence started to be a problem once he became sultan, he was psychologically evaluated and his mother summoned a number of hodjas to cure him, but all to no avail. In a desperate attempt, Hirihmene then invited the supposed sorcerer Cinci Hoca (Jinji Hojā) to the palace, after informing her that he had inherited some "magic formulas". After supposedly curing Ibrahim's impotence by offering him a cocktail of aphrodisiacs, pornography and seductive women, he wanted to reward the hoca with a position of chief justice, the second highest position of the ulema, but her mother intervened by stating that it was not appropriate and pointing out that the hoca was not mentally stable.

Hirihmene tried to remedy the situation by encouraging Ibrahim to distract himself with concubines supplied from the slave market by a confidant named Pezevenk, or the pimp. However, Ibrahim tried to propose to his mother one of the seductive women provided by hoca, Hirihemene was initially annoyed by Ibrahim's offer, since those women were initially prostitutes of a brothel. However Ibrahim got one of these pregnant in secret, when Ibrahim communicated it to his mother (by means of a letter probably because he feared her reaction) she went to the sultan and ordered him to kill her but Ibrahim was irrevocable and did not kill her. This was the first instance where Ibrahim demonstrated his non-total submission to his mother. The child's name was Şehzade Murad son of Rahime Sultan.

During the early years of Ibrahim's reign, he withdrew from politics and increasingly turned to his harem for comfort and pleasure. During his sultanate, the harem reached new levels of luxury in perfume, textiles and jewellery. Hirihemene Sultan kept his son in check by supplying him with virgins which he personally bought from the slave market.

His mother and the Grand Vizier began a strong rivalry, Hirihmene asked Ibrahim numerous times to order the execution of the pasha but Ibrahim refused since there were no faults against the pasha in the political arena. However, Hirihmene on February 1614 intercepted a letter between Derviş Pasha and Şekerpare Sultan, one of Ibrahim's concubines where he implied that the two were in a relationship. Hirihemene did not miss the opportunity and showed the letter to Ibrahim. Ibrahim decided to wait until the next meeting of the Divan where he came dressed in red and pierced the pasha with a blade.

#### Cretan War

Hirihemene concentrated his efforts on raising the pay of the Janissaries. However, the treasury had run out of money by 1612 when it came time to pay it off. Hirihemene tried to get financial assistance from Cinci Hoca, proclaimed chief treasurer of the sultan by Ibrahim, but he refused. He later explained this situation to the Janissaries, writing to them, "I want to distribute your service pay but Cinci Hoca won't let me", causing the Janissaries to regard Cinci Hoca as an enemy, causing the Janissaries to kill him. The Janissaries they attacked his carriage and killed the hoca.

Due to shortages of imperial funds, Hirihmene and her allies, Salih Pasha and Şeyülislam Abdürrahim Efendi urged Ibrahim to launch a naval assault on the Venetian-controlled island of Crete, Venice's largest and richest overseas possession. The campaign beginning in late 1612 and was largely unsuccessful and the enterprise further drained the treasury.

#### Ibrahim's death

Ibrahim ordered to take 3 women during his campaign in Crete to make them concubines. It is believed that it was one of these that infected the sultan with syphilis. Ibrahim was treated by the best doctors but in February 1614 his condition worsened and he died at the age of 34 in 1614.

Rumors had circulated that on his deathbed Ibrahim had ordered the execution of his brother, Selim as he wanted his son Osman to take the throne. However, the order was opposed by Hirihemene and was not carried out.

In 1612, Maltese privateers seized a ship carrying high-ranking pilgrims to Mecca. As the pirates had docked in Crete, Kapudan Yusuf Pasha encouraged Ibrahim to invade the island. This started a long war with Venice that lasted 24 years: Crete would not fall completely until later. Despite the decline of the Serenissima, Venetian ships achieved victories throughout the Aegean, capturing Tenedos (1614) and blockading the Dardanelles. Kapudan Yusuf had temporary success in conquering Canea, starting a jealous rivalry with Öküz Mehmed Pasha, the new Grand Vizier. The rivalry led to Yusuf's execution (January 1614).

## Death

Ibrahim ordered to take 3 women during his campaign in Crete to make them concubines. It is believed that it was one of these that infected the sultan with syphilis. Ibrahim was treated by the best doctors but in February 1614 his condition worsened and he died at the age of 34 in 1614.

Rumors had circulated that on his deathbed Ibrahim had ordered the execution of his brother, Selim as he wanted his son Osman to take the throne. However, the order was opposed by Hirihemene and was not carried out.

## Family

### Consorts

Ibrahim I had an Haseki Sultan and several secondary concubines.

Ibrahim I's known consorts are:

* Şakrasad Sultan. Only Haseki and mother, Valide Sultan and regent of Osman II. She was of Ukrainians origin. After her son's accession to the throne, she protected Ibrahim's remaining children from execution, resulting in the definitive abandonment of the Law of Fraticide;
* Rahime Sultan. She was one of the prostitutes given by Cinci Hoca to Ibrahim. Ibrahim subsequently took her as a concubine.
* Eumenia Gülnuş Sultan. Also called Gülnar. She was confinated in the Eski Saray after the death of Ibrahim. She killed out two women of jealousy. Was the mother and Valide of Mehmed IV.
* Şekerpare Sultan. Was the mother of one of Ibrahim's son. She had a supposed relationship with Boşnak Derviş Mehmed Pasha.
* Afife Hatun. Also called Afife Kadın, she was Ibrahim's second favorite and a poetess. During the period in the Eski Saray after the death of Ibrahim, she wrote verses dedicated to Eumenia 's pain, referring to the grief she felt over the death of her husband. Ibrahim dedicated some poems to her, also.
* Nevruz Hatun. Mother of a daughter, according to the chronicles she was killed out of jealousy by Gülnuş, who threw her off a cliff, or had her killed by strangulation. Her name is controversial.
* Rukiye Hatun. She was killed by Gülnuş Hatun.
* Cihanşah Hatun.
* Dürriye Hatun.
* Kaniye Hatun.
* Siyavuş Hatun.

### Sons

Ibrahim had four sons:

* Osman II (February 2, 1611, Topkapi Palace, Constantinople - January 6, 1645, Edirne Palace, Edirne). Son with Şakrasad. He became sultan after Selim II, his uncle.
* Şehzade Murad (5 February 1611 – 18 January 1624, buried in Sultan Ibrahim I Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia).
* Mehmed IV (31 December 1613 – 1 July 1669) – son with Eumenia Sultan. He was born in Romania, first sultan to be born out by Turkey since the time of Bayezid I. Was sultan after the death of his uncle Selim.
* Şehzade Mustafa (died after the February of 1614). son with Şekerpare. He was killed by Ibrahim as his paternity was questioned as his mother was accused of having an affair with the grand vizier.
* Şehzade Bayezid (13 February 1614 - before 1617). He died in infancy.

### Daughters

Ibrahim had seven daughters:

* Hatice Sultan (1612 – 5 July 1642). She married Işa Bey of Eskisanjak and she had five sons and a daughter, in 1639 she married Esmülum Efendi.
* Fahriye Sultan (1612/1614, Maşami Palace, Usbul - 1671) she married Ahmed Pasha and had one son and a daughter.
* Zeynep Sultan (September 1613, Topkapi Palace, Constantinople - 1677, Constantinople) daughter with Şakrasad. Twin of Mihrima. Was married to Grand Vizier Mere Hüseyin Pasha on 20 May 1624, secondly to Grand Vizier Kara Kemankeş Ali Pasha.
* Mihrimah Sultan (September 1614, Topkapi Palace, Constantinople - September 15, 1669) daughter with Şakrasad and twin of Zeynep. Was married to Musahıp Cafer Pasha (m. 1624; died 1647), secondly to Koca Kenan Pasha (m. 1648; died 1652), thirdly to Silahdar Yusuf Pasha (m. 1654; her death 1669).
* Fatma Emetullah Sultan (1614 – 13 December 1667) - daughter with Eumenia Sultan. She married firstly to Damat Nasuh Pasha during the reign of Selim II and secondly to Damat Ibrahim Efendi during the reign of Osman II and they had two daughters.
* Ayşe Ümmügülsüm Sultan (1614 - around 1665) - daughter with Eumenia Sultan. Also called Ümmi Sultan. She married firstly to Damat Mustafa Mehmed Pasha during the reign of Osman II. Secondly she was married to Sarı Süleyman Pasha, with whom she had one daughter and a one son, thirdly she married Arabacı Ali Pasha .She died during the reign of Mehmed IV and was buried in the Yeni Cami Mosque.
* Atike Sultan (?, Topkapi Palace, Constantinople - 1665?, Constantinople). maybe with Şakrasad. Ibrahim have named her in honor of Atike Sultan, Ibrahim's twin who was a faithful friend of Şakrasad.
* Fatma Sultan (? - ?). She married Kasım Mustafa Paşah, governor of Edirne, in 1650.
* Hanzade Sultan (? - ?) - daughter with Nevruz Hatun.
* Gevherhan Mişa Sultan (? - ?). Called also Gevher Sultan, possibly with Rukiye Hatun.