Selim III (1761-1808), the twenty-eighth Ottoman sultan, was a late-18th-century reformer who sought to end the stagnation and decay weakening the empire.
Born on Dec. 24, 1761, Selim was the son of Mustafa III and successor to his uncle Abdul Hamid I, who died April 7, 1789. As a youth, the new sultan had benefited from a moderately free existence in contrast to the century-old custom of caging Osmanli princes. He was better educated then most of his recent predecessors.

Selim initially devoted himself to prosecuting the 2-year-old Austro-Russian War, an outgrowth of the first detailed plan to divide the Ottoman Empire, drawn up by Austria and Russia in 1782. The Peace of Sistova, in August 1791, involved no territorial changes with Austria, but the Peace of Jassy (laşi), in January 1792, advanced the Russian border to the Dniester.

Internal Reforms

Selim III (Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثالث Selīm-i sālis) (24 December 1762 – 28 July 1808) was the reform-minded Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. The Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV. Selim was killed by a group of assassins subsequently after a Janissary revolt.

Biography and family

From his early youth, the Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim I "The Mad" (±1616-1648) had been locked up in the "Cage", a large building without windows. When he was finally proclaimed Sultan, he sought compensation for his lost years, indulging in debauchery with an endless supply of fresh virgins. One day, however, he had his entire harem of 280 women thrown into the Bosporus, tied up in weighted sacks. He became known as "The Crazy One".

Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha ("Ibrahim Pasha of Parga"; c. 1495 – 15 March 1536), also known as Frenk Ibrahim Pasha ("the Westerner"), Makbul Ibrahim Pasha ("the Favorite"), which later changed to Maktul Ibrahim Pasha ("the Executed") after his execution in the Topkapı Palace, was the first Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire appointed by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
Ibrahim, born a Christian, was enslaved during his youth. He and Suleiman became close friends as children. In 1523, Suleiman appointed Ibrahim as Grand Vizier to replace Piri Mehmed Pasha, who had been appointed in 1518 by Suleiman's father, the preceding sultan Selim I. Ibrahim remained in office for the next 13 years. He attained a level of authority and influence rivaled by only a handful of other grand viziers of the Empire, but in 1536, he was executed on Suleiman's orders and his property was confiscated by the state.

Origin

Ibrahim (Ottoman Turkish: ابراهيم‎, Turkish: İbrahim) (5 November 1615 – 18 August 1648) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Constantinople the son of Ahmed I by Valide Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia.[1][2][3] He was later called Ibrahim the Mad (Turkish: Deli İbrahim) by twentieth century historians due to his reputed mental condition.[4]

Early life
Ibrahim was born on 5 November 1615, the son of Sultan Ahmed I and his favorite concubine Kösem Sultan. When Ibrahim was 2, his father suddenly died, and Ibrahim's uncle Mustafa I became the new sultan. By that time, Kosem Sultan and her children, including young Ibrahim had been sent to the Old Palace. After the succession of his brother Murad IV, Ibrahim was confined in the Kafes, which affected his health. However, after his brother's death, Ibrahim became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Early years in power

Abdul Hamid II (Ottoman Turkish: عبد الحميد ثانی‎, `Abdü’l-Ḥamīd-i sânî;Turkish: İkinci Abdülhamit; 21 September 1842 – 10 February 1918) was the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the last Sultan to exert effective autocratic control over the fracturing state.[3] He oversaw aperiod of decline in the power and extent of the Ottoman Empire, including widespread pogroms and government-sanctioned massacres of Armenians and Bulgarians, as well as an assassination attempt, ruling from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed shortly after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, on 27 April 1909. In accordance with an agreement made with the republican Young Ottomans, he promulgated the first Ottoman constitution of 1876 on 23 December 1876,[4] which was a sign of progressive thinking that marked his early rule.

Abdülhamid I, Abdul Hamid I or Abd Al-Hamid I (Ottoman Turkish: عبد الحميد اول‎, `Abdü’l-Ḥamīd-i evvel; Turkish: Birinci Abdülhamit; 20 March 1725 – 7 April 1789)[1] was the 27th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning over the Ottoman Empire from 1774 to 1789.

Birth and early life
He was born in Constantinople, a younger son of Sultan Ahmed III(reigned 1703–1730) by his consort Rabia Şermi Sultan. Ahmed III abdicated in favor of his nephew Mahmud I, who was succeeded by his brother Osman III, and Osman by Ahmed's elder son Mustafa III.

As a potential heir to the throne, Abdül Hamid was imprisoned in comfort by his cousins and older brother, as was customary. This lasted until 1767. During this period, he received his early education from his mother Rabia Şermi, who taught him history and calligraphy.
When his brother Mustafa III died, Abdül Hamid succeeded him on 21 January 1774.
Reign

Mustafa III (Ottoman Turkish: مصطفى ثالث‎, lit. 'Muṣṭafā-yi sālis') (18/28 January 1717 – 21 January 1774) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empirefrom 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30) and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I (1774–89). He was born in Edirne Palace. His mother was Âminā Mihr-î-Shâh Sultan.
Reign
An energetic and perceptive ruler, Mustafa III sought to modernize the army and the internal state machinery to bring his empire in line with the Powers of Europe.
Mustafa III did secure the services of foreign generals to initiate a reform of the infantry and artillery. The Sultan also ordered the founding of Academies for Mathematics, Navigation and the Sciences.
He died at Topkapi Palace, Constantinople.
Consorts
• Ayn ul-Hayat Bash Kadin Effendi (1726 – 21 July 1764), styled Bash Kadin Effendi from 30 October 1757.
• Fahima Kadin Effendi (d. 1761).

Osman III (Ottoman Turkish: عثمان ثالث‎ ‘Osmān-i sālis;‎ 2/3 January 1699 – 30 October 1757) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757.[1]
Biography
The younger brother of Mahmud I (1730–54) and son of Mustafa II (1695–1703) and Valide Şehsuvar Sultan, he was born at Edirne Palace.
His brief reign saw rising intolerance of non-Muslims (Christians and Jewsbeing required to wear distinctive clothes or badges)[citation needed] and is also notable for a fire in Constantinople.[2][3] His mother was Şehsuvar Sultan, a Serbian valide sultan.

Audience of French ambassadorCharles de Vergennes with Sultan Osman III in 1755.
Osman III lived most of his life as a prisoner in the palace, and as a consequence on becoming Sultan he had some behavioural peculiarities. Unlike previous Sultans, he hated music, and banished all musicians from the palace. He died at the Topkapı Palace, Constantinople.

Mahmud II (Ottoman Turkish: محمود ثانى Mahmud-u sānī, محمود عدلىMahmud-u Âdlî) (Turkish: II. Mahmud) (20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapı Palace, Constantinople,[1] the posthumous son of Sultan Abdul Hamid I.
His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms he instituted, which culminated into the Decree of Tanzimat("Reorganization") that was carried out by his sons Abdülmecid I andAbdülaziz I. Often described as "Peter the Great of Turkey",[2] Mahmud's reforms included the 1826 abolition of the conservative Janissary corps, which removed a major obstacle to his and his successors' reforms in the Empire.

Accession

Ahmed III (Ottoman Turkish: احمد ثالث, Aḥmed-i sālis) (30/31 December 1673 – 1 July 1736) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV (1648–87). His mother was Emetullah Rabia Gülnûş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek.[1][2][3][4][5][6][excessive citations] He was born at Hajioglupazari, inDobruja. He succeeded to the throne in 1703 on the abdication of his brother Mustafa II (1695–1703).[7] Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha and his daughter, Hatice Sultan (wife of the former) directed the government from 1718 to 1730, a period referred to as the Tulip Era.

Biography