Mehmed IV was the nineteenth sultan of the Ottoman dynasty. He officially ruled for thirty-nine years. He is considered the last ruler under whom the state was a real threat in Europe. The chain of defeats of the Turkish army in the campaigns gave a reason to overthrow the unfortunate ruler.
Parents
Mehmed IV, whose history is connected with events in Europe, was the son of Ibrahim the First. The father became the sultan as a result of the fact that he was the last living representative of his family. Since childhood, he was considered crazy and kept in captivity. Saved from death and brought to power his Kesem Sultan, who was his mother.
The real power in the empire belonged to Kesem and the vizier. And Ibrahim was most concerned about his own harem. Mehmed became his first child, but his father did not have special feelings for the boy. This is confirmed by the case when the sultan, in a fit of rage, grabbed little Mehmed from his mother's hands and threw him into a pond. The boy was pulled out of the water in time, but when he fell, he cut his forehead. The scar on his forehead remained for the rest of his life. Sultan was deprived of power in 1648year, forcibly abdicated in favor of his son, and in the same year he was executed by strangulation.
The mother of the nineteenth sultan was Turhan Hatice. It is believed that she was from the Slavic lands (the territory of modern Ukraine). Before being captured by the Turks at the age of twelve, her name was Nadia. She became the concubine of the Sultan at the age of fifteen. For a long time she was a valid regent for her young son. For this title, she had to compete with Kesem Sultan.
Reign
Mehmed IV Ahmed-ogly was born on January 2, 1642. Six years later, he ascended the throne. The period of his infancy was replete with intrigues that were woven by his mother and grandmother. The nickname Avji, which is translated from Turkish as "hunter", was firmly entrenched in the Sultan. It was the ruler's favorite pastime.
During his almost forty years on the throne, Mehmed IV was involved in many events that took place in world politics.
Major events in history that were directly related to the Ottoman Empire:
- war with the Venetians;
- unsuccessful war with Austria;
- war with Poland (the Sultan personally commanded) and the conclusion of the Zhuravsky Peace of 1676;
- unprofitable war with Russia;
- siege of Vienna and defeat of the Ottoman troops.
After the defeat near Vienna in 1683, the Ottoman army was waiting for a number of no less significant disasters. The Ottomans lost the Ionian Islands, Morea, Moldavia, Wallachia, Hungary. Under controlChristians crossed even Belgrade. Thus, the Ottoman Empire significantly reduced its territories.
Attitude towards Ukrainian Cossacks
Mehmed IV was born in the same year when he began his uprising, which grew into a national liberation war, Bogdan Khmelnitsky. His mother was Ukrainian by birth. There is even a version that the mother tried to teach her son the native language, but stopped her attempts after Ibrahim the First found out about it.
Sultan Mehmed IV ruled in his empire when the period of Ruin was on Ukrainian lands. Both Bogdan Khmelnitsky and Yury Khmelnitsky entered into an alliance with him. His patronage was requested by such hetmans as Ivan Vyhovsky, Pavel Teterya, Ivan Bryukhovetsky.
According to one version, it was Mehmed the Fourth who wrote the famous letter to the Cossacks, led by Ivan Sirk. Although the ataman himself even managed to swear allegiance to the Turkish Sultan.
A representative of the Ottoman dynasty personally visited Ukrainian lands. He led a campaign to Podolia. Under his command, on August 27, 1672, the fortress in Kamenets fell. As a result of this campaign, Podolia and part of Galicia came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. But this was the Sultan's last successful conquest.
End of reign
Mehmed IV was not a strong ruler. For a long time valide and viziers ruled for him. Their activities led to a series of defeats on the world stage and the weakening of the Ottoman Empire. Like his father, the nineteenth Sultan was removed from the throne with the help ofJanissary uprisings. It happened in 1687. Mehmed died in prison five years after that, namely 1693-06-01.
After the removal from the throne, Suleiman II, who was the younger brother of his predecessor, became the sultan. He did not deal with the affairs of the empire, entrusting everything to his viziers.
