Sultan Ahmed I. Photo by Levni on Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts Ahmed I


 

Ahmed I was born on April 18, 1590, in Manisa, Turkey, to Mehmed III and Handan Sultan. He ascended the throne as emperor of the Ottoman when he was 13.

During his reign, he achieved remarkable success. He constructed the blue mosque, one of the most famous mosques in Turkey.

Ahmed I was married to two wives, Mahfiruz Hatan and Kosem Sultan. He had nine sons and six daughters.

During his reign, he brought back several mandates in action which ensured the ban of alcohol in his empire.

Here are the top 10 facts about Ahmed I.

1. Ahmed I was born at a palace

Ahmed was born in 1590 at the Manisa palace when his father, Sehzade Mehmed, was still a prince and governor of the Sanjak of Manisa.

After his grandfather Murad III died in 1595, his father came to Constantinople and ascended the throne as Sultan Mehmed III.

His father executed Ahmed’s elder brother Sehzade Mahmud on 7 June 1605 before he died on 22 December 1603.

His father was buried along with his mother in a separate mausoleum built by Ahmed in Sehzade mosque Constantinople

2. Ahmed I ascended to the throne at 13 

Ahmed ascended the throne after his father, Mahmud III, died in December 1603 since Ahmed was his eldest living son and the next in line for the throne.

He was only thirteen when he took over the throne. A far uncle resented his ascension and spent his life scheming to become a sultan.

After ascending to the throne, Ahmed spared his brother, Mustafa, breaking the traditional fratricide from the previous enthronement.

Instead, Mustafa was sent to live at the old place at Bayezit along with their grandmother, Safiye sultana.

Many people believe that he did not kill his brother because he had not yet demonstrated his ability to sire children and Mustafa was the only other candidate for the Ottoman throne.

3. Ahmed I constructed the Blue Mosque

Exterior of Sultan Ahmed I Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Moonik on Wikimedia

The mosque is one of the masterpieces of Islamic architecture. He attended the groundbreaking of the mosque complex with a golden pickaxe.

The mosque has five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes. The blue mosque design is a combination of two centuries of Ottoman development. It incorporates many byzantine elements with traditional Islamic architecture.

Blue mosque is considered the last great mosque of the classical period. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site listed in 1985 under “ Historic Areas” of Istanbul.

Ahmed was involved in the eleventh comprehensive renovation of the mosque Kabba which floods had just damaged.

He sent craftsmen from Constantinople and a golden rain gutter that kept rain from collecting on the roof of the Kabba. The square on which sultan Ahmed Mosque is situated is known as Sultanahmet.

4. Ahmed I was an Ottoman Emperor

Ahmed was the sultan of the Ottoman empire. He ruled from 1603 up to 1617, when he died.

His reign was flawed by internal conflicts and multiple wars and rebellions, putting him under unrivaled responsibility and pressure.

Throughout his reign, he was very religious and helped religious institutions through donations, and he later built a mosque.

Ahmed ended the infamous traditional practices of fratricide in the kingdom, bringing an end to the practice of killing brothers after ascending to the throne.

5. Ahmed I led the Safavid war

When Ahmed became an emperor, the Ottoman empire was at war with Safavid Persia.

Under the leadership of Cigalazade Yusuf Sina Pasha, the Ahmed army tried to stop the Safavid army from marching toward Yerevan.

The Ottoman army didn’t make it on time and lost the capital of Armenia, entered the Kars Elalet and could only be stopped in Akhaltsikhe.

In 1605 Cigalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha led an independent army to capture Tabriz, but in The Beylerbey of Erzurum, Sefer Pasha led an independent army captured by the Safavid.

Ciglazade Yusuf Sinan pasha executed the beylerbey of Aleppo for arriving late in a bid to help the Ottoman army, which started the rebellion,

Eventually, the Ottoman army lost the majority of Azerbaijan, including the cities of Shamakhi and Ganja.

6. Ahmed I peace treaty with Safavid

The war between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid became an issue for both empires. The Safavid offered a peace treaty agreeing to pay about 200 loads of silk to the Ottoman empire yearly. After the agreement, both parties were willing to end the war.

The Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persian signed the peace treaty in November 1612. The treaty of Nasush Pasha.

Persian returned all territories captured by the Ottoman Empire during the war of 1578 to 1590. In return, Persia agreed to pay 59,000 kilograms of silk to the ottoman empire.

7. Ahmed I strengthened the ottoman empire’s trade

Portrait of Ahmed I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Photo by John Young on Wikimedia

In July 1612, Ahmed signed a trade treaty with the Dutch republic. He also improved trade by renewing trade treaties with England, France and Venice.

The capitulations given to France were expanded, specifying that merchants from Spain, Ragusa, Geno, Florence and Ancona could trade under the French flag.

8. The war with the Habsburg Monarchy

Before Ahmed I came to the throne, the Turkish war between the ottoman empire and the Habsburg monarchy had started in 1593.

The emperor appointed Lala Mehmed Pasha, the Grand Vizier, to lead the western army in 1604. The Ottoman army marched, recapturing the cities of Vac and Pest. Due to hostile weather, the army couldn’t march to capture Esztergom.

The ottoman army joined forces with Stephen Bocskay, the prince of Transylvania, making the siege of Esztergom successful and the city was recaptured by the Ottoman army.

The Jelali revolt grew stronger and Mehmed pasha was called to Constantinople. Upon reaching Constantinople, Mehmed pasha died, leaving the Ottoman empire in a difficult situation and unable to control the war.

Jelali’s revolt grew stronger, leaving the ottoman empire no choice but to compromise and sign a peace treaty that offered the peace of zsitvatorok.

The treaty ended the tribute of 30,000 duets paid by Austria to the ottoman empire. This brought the end of ottoman growth in Europe.

9. Ahmed was multiskilled

Ahmed was well known for his numerous fencing, poetry, riding, horseback skills, and fluency in several languages.

Ahmed looked down on scholars, pious men and calligraphers. He commissioned calligraphers to work on a book entitled Quintessence of histories.

He was a poet who wrote many political and lyrical works under the name Bahti. Ahmed tried to impose harmonization to Islamic laws and traditions, restoring the old regulation and prohibited alcohol.

Additionally, he attempted to impose attendance at Friday prayers and pay alms to the poor properly.

10. Ahmed I death

Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed I. Photo by User:Vmenker on Wikimedia

Ahmed died on 22 November 1617 at the Topkapi palace in Istanbul. Typhus and gastric bleeding caused his death.

He was buried in Ahmed I mausoleum, Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue mosque). After his death, he was succeeded by his younger brother Sehzade Mustafa as Sultana Mustafa I.

 

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