Mahmud I called
the Hunchback (
Kambur)(August 2, 1696 December 13, 1754) was the
SultanSultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from 1730 to 1754.
Biography
He was born at the
EdirneEdirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
Palace, the son of
Mustafa IIMustafa II Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.-Life:...
(1695–1703); his mother was
Valide SultanValide Sultan was the title held by the mother of a ruling Sultan in the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish pronunciation of the word Valide is . The title is sometimes translated as Queen Mother, although the position of Valide Sultan was quite different.The position was perhaps the most important...
Saliha Sabkati. Mahmud I was the older brother of
Osman IIIOsman III or Othman IIIText not available was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757.-Biography:...
(1754–57).
On 28 September 1730,
Patrona HalilPatrona Halil , was the instigator of a mob uprising in 1730 which replaced Sultan Ahmed III with Mahmud I and ended the Tulip period....
with a small group of fellow
JanissariesThe Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
aroused some of the citizens of
ConstantinopleIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
who opposed the reforms of Ahmet III. Sweeping up more soldiers Halil led the riot to the
Topkapı PalaceThe Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
and demanded the death of the grand vizer,
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim PashaNevşehirli Damad Ibrahim Pasha served as Grand Vizier for Sultan Ahmed III of the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip period. He was also the head of a ruling family which had great influence in the court of Ahmed III...
and the abdication of Ahmet III. Ahmet III acceded to the demands, had İbrahim Pasha strangled, and agreed to his nephew, Mahmud, becoming sultan.
Mahmud I was recognized as sultan by the mutineers as well as by court officials but for some weeks after his accession the empire was in the hands of the insurgents. Halil rode with the new sultan to the Mosque of Eyub where the ceremony of girding Mahmud I with the
Sword of OsmanThe Sword of Osman was an important sword of state used during the coronation ceremony of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. The sword was named after Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Dynasty. The practice started when Osman I was girt with the sword of Islam by his mentor and father-in-law Sheik...
was performed; many of the chief officers were deposed and successors to them appointed at the dictation of the bold rebel who had served in the ranks of the Janissaries and who appeared before the sultan bare-legged and in his old uniform of a common soldier. A Greek butcher, named Yanaki, had formerly given credit to Halil and had lent him money during the three days of the insurrection. Halil showed his gratitude by compelling the Divan to make Yanaki
HospodarHospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or "master".The rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia were styled hospodars in Slavic writings from the 15th century to 1866. Hospodar was used in addition to the title voivod...
of Moldavia. However, Yanaki never took charge of this office.
The Khan of the Crimea assisted the
Grand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
, the
MuftiA mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
and the Aga of the Janissaries in putting down the rebellion. On 24 November 1731, Halil was strangled by the sultan's order and in his presence, after a Divan in which Halil had dictated that war be declared against Russia. His Greek friend, Yanaki, and 7,000 of those who had supported him were also put to death. The jealousy which the officers of the Janissaries felt towards Halil, and their readiness to aid in his destruction, facilitated the exertions of Mahmud I's supporters in putting an end to the rebellion after it had lasted over a year.
The rest of Mahmud I's reign was dominated by wars with Persia, Austria and
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Mahmud I entrusted government to his
vizierA vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
s and spent much of his time composing poetry.
He died at
Topkapı PalaceThe Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
,
ConstantinopleIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
He married Haja 'Ali-Janab, without issue.
Sources
- Incorporates text from History of Ottoman Turks (1878)
[aged 58]