Selim III
Selim III | |||||
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Ottoman Caliph Amir al-Mu'minin Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Sultan of the two lands, Khagan of the two seas[1] | |||||
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Padishah) | |||||
Reign | 7 April 1789 – 29 May 1807 | ||||
Predecessor | Abdul Hamid I | ||||
Successor | Mustafa IV | ||||
Born | 24 December 1761 Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire | ||||
Died | 28 July 1808 Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire | (aged 46)||||
Burial | Laleli Mosque, Istanbul | ||||
Consorts |
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Mihrişah Sultan | |||||
Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Tughra |
Selim III (
Early life
Selim III was the son of Sultan
Sultan Mustafa was significantly influenced by mysticism. An oracle predicted his son Selim would be a world conqueror, so he organized a seven-day joyous feast. Selim was very well educated in the palace. Sultan Mustafa III named his son his successor; however, Selim's uncle Abdul Hamid I ascended the throne after Mustafa's death. Sultan Abdul Hamid I took care of Selim and emphasized his education.
After Abdul Hamid's death, Selim succeeded him on 7 April 1789, at the age of 27. Sultan Selim III was very fond of literature and
Reign
Plans of reforms
The talents and energy with which Selim III was endowed had endeared him to the people, and great hopes were founded on his accession. He had associated much with foreigners and was thoroughly persuaded of the necessity of
However,
Ottoman provinces from Egypt to Syria began implementing French policies and differed away from Istanbul after Napoleon's attack.
Selim III profited by the respite to abolish the military tenure of fiefs; he introduced salutary reforms into the administration, especially in the fiscal department, sought by well-considered plans to extend the spread of education, and engaged foreign officers as instructors, by whom a small corps of new troops called
These troops were able to hold their own against rebellious
Emboldened by this success, Selim III issued an order that in the future, picked men should be taken annually from the Janissaries to serve in the Nizam-I Cedid.[citation needed] Selim III was unable to integrate the Nizam-I Cedid with the rest of the army which overall limited its role in defense of the state.[5]
Foreign relations
Selim III ascended the throne only to find that the Ottoman Empire of old had been considerably reduced due to conflicts outside the realm. In the north, Russia had taken the Black Sea through the
On 1 July 1798, however, French forces landed in
French influence with the Sublime Porte (the European diplomatic designation of the Ottoman state) did not revive. Still, it led the Sultan to defy St. Petersburg and London, and Turkey joined Napoleon's Continental System. War was declared on Russia on 27 December and on Britain in March 1807.
Janissary revolt
The Sultan's most ambitious military project was the creation of an entirely new infantry corps fully trained and equipped according to the latest European standards. This unit called the
From the start of Selim's reign, the Janissaries had viewed this entire military reform program as a threat to their independence, and they refused to serve alongside the new army in the field. The powerful derebeys were alarmed by how the sultan financed his new forces—he confiscated timars and directed the other revenue toward the Nizam-I Cedid. Further opposition came from the ulama and other ruling elite members who objected to the European models on which Selim based his military reforms.
Led by the rebellious Janissaries, these forces came together in 1806, deposed Selim III, and selected a successor, Mustafa IV, who pledged not to interfere with their privileges. The decree of deposition accused Selim III of failing to respect Islam's religion and the Ottomans' tradition. Over the next year, the embassies in Europe were dismantled, the Nizam-I Cedid troops were dispersed, and the deposed sultan, whose cautious military reforms were intended to do no more than preserve the tradition of the Ottomans, was murdered.[9]
Austro-Turkish War (1788–91)
The Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) was an inconclusive struggle between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. It took place at the same time as the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792, during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III.
Russo-Turkish war
The first major
The Russians also secured amnesty and a promise of autonomy for the Serbs, who had rebelled against Turkish rule, but Turkish garrisons were given control of the Serbian fortresses. Several disputes forestalled the treaty's implementation, and Turkish troops invaded Serbia again the following year.
Relations with Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan was an independent ruler of the
The British then appealed to Selim III to send a letter to Tipu Sultan requesting the
Alcohol prohibition
Many Ottoman sultans imposed alcohol bans (often with limited success). Despite Selim III's hardline stance on alcohol consumption and threats to execute Christians and Jews caught selling wine or rakı to Muslims, it proved extremely difficult to curtail alcohol consumption in Istanbul, where wines were locally produced, and the city had many established wine-houses serving its non-Muslim residents.[12]
1806 Edirne Incident
The
Downfall and assassination
Selim III was, however, thoroughly under the influence of
The ayan of
Another version about his murder states that at the time of his deposition, Selim was staying at the Harem. The night of Thursday, 28 July 1808, he was with two of his consorts, Refet Kadın and Pakize Hanım. Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, a loyalist of Selim, was approaching the city with his army to reinstate Selim. Therefore, Mustafa IV gave orders to murder him and his brother Prince Mahmud.
The assassins were a group of men, including the Master of the Wardrobe, Fettah the Georgian, the Treasury steward Ebe Selim, and a black eunuch named Nezir Ağa. Selim knew his end was coming when he saw their swords drawn. Pakize Hanım threw herself between them and her lord; she was cut in her hand. Refet Kadın started screaming in terror, and another slave girl who rushed in fainted when she saw what was about to happen. A struggle ensued, and the former sultan was cut down and murdered, his last words being "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").
Refet Kadın threw herself on the body but was dragged away. The body was quickly wrapped in a quilt. The assassins moved on to find Prince Mahmud and attempted to murder him. He was more fortunate and later ordered the assassins to be executed. Selim III would be the only Ottoman sultan killed by a sword.[15] He was buried in Laleli Mosque near his father's tomb.
Interest in poetry and arts
A great music lover, Sultan Selim III was a composer and performer of significant talent. He created fourteen
Selim III's interest in music started in his days as a prince (shahzade) when he studied under Kırımlı Ahmet Kamil Efendi and Tanburi İzak Efendi. He was exceptionally respectful of Tanburi İzak Efendi, and it is recounted that the Sultan rose in respect when Tanburi İzak Efendi entered the court.
As a patron of the arts, Selim III encouraged musicians of his day, including
Writing under the nom de plume ″İlhami″, Selim's poetry is collected in a divan. Among regular attendees of his court was Şeyh Galib, considered one of the four greatest Ottoman poets. Galib is now believed to have been not only an intimate friend of the Sultan, as they were both relatively close in age, but through Galib's poetry, there is overwhelming support for his new military reforms.[17][page needed]
Selim III was a member of the
He extended his patronage to Antoine Ignace Melling, appointed court architect in 1795. Melling constructed several palaces and other buildings for the Sultan and created engravings of contemporary Constantinople.
Family
Selim III had numerous consorts, but no children.[18][19][20][21][22][23]
Consorts
Selim III had at least thirteen consorts:
- Nefizar Kadın. BaşKadin (first consort). Also called Nafizar, Safizar or Sefizar. She died on 30 May 1792 and was buried in the Laleli Mosque.
- Afitab Kadın. She became BaşKadin after Nefizar's death. She died in 1807.
- Zibifer Kadın. Also called Ziybülfer. After Selim's assassination, she lived in a palace on the Bosphorus. She died on 10 March 1817 and was buried in the Büyük Selimiye in Üsküdar.
- Tabisefa Kadın. After the assassination of Selim III, he lived in the Fındıklı Palace. She died on 14 March 1855 and was buried in the Laleli mosque.
- Refet Kadın. She was born in 1777. She was one of two concubines who tried to prevent Selim's murder. Refet threw herself on the sultan to protect him but was thrown away and had to watch the killers finish the job while she screamed, cried, and tore her hair. She died on 22 October 1867 and was buried in the Eyüp.
- Nüruşems Kadın. She died in May 1826 and was buried in the Laleli mosque.
- Hüsnümah Kadın. She received the income of Tire. She died in 1814 and was buried in the Laleli mosque.
- Demhoş Kadın. She became one of the consorts in 1799. She probably died around 1806.
- Goncenigar Kadın. She died after 1806.
- Mahbube Kadın. She died after 1806.
- Aynısefa Kadın. She died after 1794.
- Pakize Hanım. BaşIkbal, she was one of the major favorites. She was one of the two consorts who tried to prevent Selim's murder. Pakize threw herself between the assassins and the sultan and was wounded in the hand in the struggle.
- Meryem Hanim. She died on 22 August 1807.
See also
Ancestry
Ancestors of Selim III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes
- ^ "Yüzlük - Selīm III Islambol mint".
- ^ also Nafizar, Safizar o Sefizar
- doi:10.7916/D80Z79P1. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Stanford J. Shaw, Between old and new: the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim III, 1789-1807 (Harvard University Press, 1971)
- ^ ISBN 9780813348339.
- S2CID 145786017.
- ^ Thomas Naff, "Reform and the Conduct of Ottoman Diplomacy in the Reign of Selim III, 1789-1807." Journal of the American Oriental Society 83.3 (1963): 295-315 online[dead link].
- ^ Selim, III Biography. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ISBN 978-0813340487.
- ^ "Russo-Turkish Wars". Universalium.academic.ru. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ISBN 9004106324. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- ^ Boyar, Ebru; Fleet, Kate (2010). A Social History of Ottoman Istanbul. Cambridge University Press. p. 196.
- ISBN 978-0-691-13452-9.
- ^ Goodwin, Jason: "Lords of the Horizons", Chapter 24: The Auspicious Event, 1998
- ^ Davis, Claire (1970). The Palace of Topkapi in Istanbul. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 213–217. ASIN B000NP64Z2.
- JSTOR 833790.
- ^ Holbrook, Victoria. "THE INTELLECTUAL AND THE STATE: POETRY IN ISTANBUL IN THE 1790s". Oriente Moderno. 18.
- ^ Bayrak, M. Orhan (1998). İstanbul'da gömülü meşhur adamlar: VIII. yüzyıl-1998. Mezarlıklar Vakfı. pp. 44, 183.
- ^ Arıkan, Sema (1988). III. Selim sırkatibi Ahmet Efendi tarafından tutulan Ruzname (PDF) (PhD Thesis). Istanbul University Institute of Social Sciences. p. 104.
- ^ Şehsuvaroğlu, Hâluk Y. (1953). Asırlar Boyunca Istanbul. Cumhuriyet Gazetesi. p. 168.
- ISBN 978-9-759-76060-1.
- ^ Özlü, Zeynel (2011). Osmanlı saray şekerleme ve şekerlemecileri ile ilgili notlar. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi, issue – 58. p. 178.
- ISBN 978-9-759-76063-2.
Bibliography
- Basaran, Betul. Selim III, Social Control and Policing in Istanbul at the End of the Eighteenth Century: Between Crisis and Order (Leiden: Brill, 2014)
- Sakul, Kahraman. "Innovation and Empire in Turkey: Sultan Selim III and the Modernisation of the Ottoman Navy." International Journal of Turkish Studies 19.1/2 (2013): 158.
- Stanford, Shaw (1965). "The Origins of Ottoman Military Reform: The Nizam-I Cedid Army of Sultan Selim III". The Journal of Modern History. 37 (3): 291–306. S2CID 145786017.
- Shaw, Stanford J. Between old and new: the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim III, 1789-1807 (Harvard University Press, 1971) online review
- Shaw, Stanford J. "The origins of Ottoman military reform: the Nizam-i Cedid army of Sultan Selim III." Journal of Modern History 37.3 (1965): 291-306. online
- Tuncay Zorlu, Sultan Selim III and the Modernisation of the Ottoman Navy (London, I.B. Tauris, 2011).
- Yassin, Qasim, and Hamid Hajianpour. "The New Order of Sultan Selim III: The Turning Point of the Ottoman Empire's Tendency towards Modern Reforms (1789-1807)." The History of Islamic Culture and Civilization A Quarterly Research Journal 10.37 (2020): 87-98.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Selim". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
Media related to Selim III at Wikimedia Commons