The Ottoman Empire pulled itself together and stood on its feet once again, in the reign of "Mehmed IV".. but in truth "Mehmed IV" had no hand at all in this story...

What happened was that his mother "Khadija Turhan".. was sultana by proxy.. and she was about 25 years old.. and the time was a time of revolts and an era of instability.. the Janissaries were revolting.. the people were revolting.. problems with the governors.. so she searched for a strong man.. to lead the sultanate.. and take charge of affairs.

She automatically ignored everyone who applied for the post or drew close to her for its sake.. and she found what she sought in an elderly man.. of Albanian origin.. one of the palace viziers.. named "Mehmed Pasha Köprülü".. he had originally been a cook in the palace.. then he was promoted.. then he became the commander of a battalion.. then he kept being promoted until he became a vizier.

She summoned him and asked him to be grand vizier and run the Ottoman Empire.. but he refused except on a single condition.. and he was the first grand vizier in Ottoman history to set conditions for the post.

And his condition was that he be absolutely empowered.. with absolute authority.. not to be questioned for what he did by anyone or any body.. nor by herself.

"Khadija Turhan" agreed.. and "Köprülü" took over the government.. the first thing he did.. he announced that her son "Mehmed IV".. had grown up and become a groom.. and had the right to administer the country.. and then he sent him to Edirne.. and made him obsessed with the hobby of hunting.. and then he told him "you play here now, my dear.. until we see what lies ahead of us".. and he returned to Istanbul.

The first thing "Köprülü" did in Istanbul was to gather the army commanders.. and order the slaughter of every rebel against the state and every insurgent.. whether from the people or from the Janissary forces.. slaughter swept through all of them.. until everyone was afraid and fell silent.. and matters settled and calmed by force.

At the beginning of the reign of "Mehmed IV".. the Italians had seized the island of "Lemnos" and several other islands.. and imposed a blockade on the Dardanelles Strait, and came to control the ships passing through it.. and this created an economic blockade on Istanbul.. and the prices of goods rose to a frightening degree.

And here, "Köprülü" set off.. and led the fleet.. and headed to "Lemnos" and the part around it.. and engaged the Venetian fleet.. and defeated it crushingly through a clever move.. which was that he ordered the Ottoman ships to bombard the locations of the ammunition stores in the Italian ships.. so he turned the Venetian fleet into a flame in less than two hours.. and he took control of the islands and opened the strait.

After that the prince of Transylvania rebelled against the Ottoman Empire. So the Ottoman army moved against him from Crimea.. but the prince of Transylvania prevailed and defeated the Ottomans.. so "Köprülü" himself moved against him from Istanbul.

And he met the army of Transylvania and inflicted on it a terrible crushing defeat.. and the prince of Transylvania fled.. and "Mehmed Köprülü" moved the capital of this principality from Târgoviște to Bucharest.. and Bucharest became the capital of Romania.

And "Mehmed Köprülü" was honest and honourable.. and this of course did not please the Ottoman viziers or the governors in the lands they had occupied.. so they began to conspire against him.. but he marched with the army and put down these revolts one after another.. but he was very old.. so fate did not give him respite.

And he died in a natural way.. on 26 October, in the year 1661 AD.

"Mehmed IV" all this time was still stuck in hunting and living in luxury.. so he wanted to bring a strong man like "Köprülü" to relieve him of the state's problems.. so he chose his son.. "Ahmed Pasha Köprülü".. and he was 26 years old.. and he was the youngest grand vizier in the history of the Ottoman Empire ever.. and he was strong and seasoned like his father.. and he decided to restore the prestige of the Ottoman Empire in Europe.. so he strengthened the Ottoman army and raised its readiness and equipment to the maximum degree.. and this cost him two years of continuous work.

Then he waited.. and seized the opportunity of turmoil and a dispute over the throne of Austria and internal problems.. and went and allied with the French.. so they supplied him with weapons and experts and equipment.. and after that, without prior warning.. he declared war on Austria.. in the year 1663 AD.

This golden age of the Ottoman Empire, history has preserved it for us under the name of the "era of the Köprülü family".. and the strange thing is that they were not Ottomans by origin.

Anyway, with the declaration of war on Austria.. "Ahmed Köprülü" marched with an army of 200,000 soldiers to the Austrian fortress of "Nové Zámky" and occupied it after fierce fighting and a siege of more than 40 days.. and it was one of the strongest fortresses in Europe. And after that.. although he was defeated several times.. he would come back and win.. the Austrian fortresses fell before "Köprülü" like dominoes.. until he took 31 fortresses.. and was about to begin the march on Vienna itself.. had it not been that.. for the first time in history.. Austria raised the white flag.. and asked for peace.. and "Köprülü" agreed.. and concluded a peace under which Austria paid a tribute of 200,000 gold coins.. and the Ottoman Empire was confirmed in the fortresses it had occupied.

And "Köprülü" returned victorious on 17 March 1665 AD.

"Köprülü" rested and let the army rest.. then he marched to recover Crete in March 1667 AD.. and indeed he succeeded.. and it pleased him and he decided to live in it.. so he stayed there 3 years.. during which he turned it into an impregnable military fortress.. and then he left it and returned to Istanbul.. on 5 May of the year 1670...

"Ahmed Pasha Köprülü" also died a natural death on 30 October 1676.. and he was succeeded by "Mustafa Pasha" as grand vizier.. and he then.. advised "Mehmed" that he must invade Russia himself.. especially since people had begun to notice that he was an idiot busy with hunting all the time and of no real use.

Accordingly, they moved together at the head of an army.. actually led by "Mustafa Pasha".. and he met the Russian army at the Ukrainian fortress of "Chyhyryn".. and they defeated the Russian army, which numbered 200,000 soldiers.. and they occupied the fortress.. the Russians tried to fight for a very long time.. but the Ottomans ultimately prevailed.. and Russia was forced to send its ambassador to sign with the Ottomans the "Treaty of Edirne".. on 11 February 1681.. under which they divided the Ukrainian lands between themselves.. and the Russians paid an annual tribute to the ruler of Crimea, who was subject to the Ottoman Empire.. and paid a similar tribute as a lump sum once.. for the years of the war.

After this victory.. "Mehmed IV" wanted to show off.. and he was an idiot to begin with.. so he ordered the march on Austria to occupy it and "open" Vienna...!

But this time the eras of internal problems in Austria had come to an end.. and it had returned a cohesive state.. so it had taken good account of matters.. so it let the Ottomans besiege it for two months.. and then the Austrian forces launched against the Ottoman army, which had relaxed and rested, in a violent surprise attack.. and of course the Ottomans were defeated.. and they lifted the siege of Vienna and withdrew.. and on their withdrawal route they lost the Austrian fortresses that "Köprülü" had taken.

The Ottoman street met the defeat in Austria with anger and denunciation.. especially since these wars were costing them dearly in their sons and their provisions and their livelihoods.. so in order for "Mehmed IV" to calm the street.. he ordered the execution of "Mustafa Pasha" the grand vizier.. on the grounds that it had been his idea and his mistake.....!

"Mehmed" tried to find a new victory.. so he went and fought the Hungarians.. but the Hungarians, Italians and Austrians formed against him an alliance they called the "Holy Alliance".. and the Ottoman army that "Mehmed Köprülü" had built, under the leadership of "Mehmed", met once again with the forces of the Holy Alliance at the "plain of Mohács".. and there the Ottomans suffered a harsh defeat.

And worst of all.. the Italians, Hungarians and Austrians grew bold against the Ottoman Empire after that.. so they marched on it and recovered their lands anew.. and took pieces of the Ottoman Empire's lands.. and Russia marched on the whole of Ukraine...

And these successive defeats.. were too big for him to pin on the grand vizier this time.. so the eyes of the Ottoman army commanders turned to "Mehmed IV" in anger.. and they deposed him on 8 November of the year 1687.. after a reign that lasted 40 years.. most of which His Excellency spent hunting!

After his deposition they appointed his brother "Suleiman II".. and he too was mad and his mind was addled.. because he had spent most of his life in a cage from "Safiye's cages".

And in his reign the Austrians almost occupied Edirne itself.. and matters remained so until they decided to poison him.. and after him "Ahmed II" came to power on 22 June 1691.. and he appointed as grand vizier "Ali Pasha al-Arabji".. and it seems he was the last one to actually be an "arabji".. because he was defeated in every battle he entered.. and the territory of the Ottoman Empire shrank further.. until they decided to get rid of "Ahmed II" too.. so they poisoned him as well on 6 February 1695.

After "Ahmed II".. came "Mustafa II".. and he did a very nice thing.

"Ahmed II" gathered his retinue and said to them "where is the human being who understands, the one who opened the fortresses of Austria??".. they told him "that is the Albanian Mehmed Köprülü and his son.. but both of them are dead".. so he told them "fine, bring me anyone from the Köprülü family"...!

So they brought him one from the same family named "Hussein Pasha Köprülü".. the cousin of "Ahmed Köprülü".. and the amazing thing is that he was like his uncle and his cousin.. and he organized the army and restored security.. and recovered Ukraine and Bosnia and Crimea.. and defeated the Holy Alliance.. and prevailed over the Austrians and forced them to retreat.

But "Mustafa II" wanted to show off as usual.. and attribute the victory to himself.. so he removed "Hussein Köprülü" from the leadership of the army.. and led the army himself.

It seems history wanted to tell us that the talk of "the army is one thing and its commanders are another" is mere nonsense.. you can hum it along with a falafel sandwich and a glass of black tea after that meal has struck you with temporary stupidity.. or with a bottle of iced beer over a lousy coffee downtown.

Because the same army and the same soldiers, after the leadership of "Köprülü".. advanced under the leadership of "Mustafa".. and clashed with the Austrians in the battle of Zenta in southern Serbia.. and there they suffered a terrible loss.. and "Mustafa II" was surrounded and nearly taken prisoner.. so he raised the white flag.. and resorted to negotiations.. which lasted two months.. after which they signed the "Treaty of Karlowitz"...

And this was one of the most humiliating treaties in the history of the Ottoman Empire.. under which the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary, Transylvania and Slavonia to Austria, while Podolia went to Poland.. and most of Dalmatia went to Venice along with the Morea.

After the death of "Mustafa".. came "Ahmed III", who resembles the flowerpot in this picture.. and he decided to fight Russia anew.. and appointed "Baltaji Mehmed Pasha" grand vizier.. so he declared war on Russia.. and the Russian army was led by the Russian emperor Peter the Great himself.

But "Baltaji Mehmed Pasha" prevailed.. and besieged the Russians.. and for the first time in history, he almost captured the Russian tsar himself.. had it not been that "Catherine", the tsar's mistress, and his wife afterwards.. wrote to him and summoned him to negotiate.. so he went to her.. and she gave him a bribe that made his mouth water.. so he lifted the siege from the tsar and the Russian forces and sent them home!

"Ahmed III" learned of the matter and dismissed him and appointed "Yusuf Pasha" in his place.. and he resolved the matter diplomatically.. so he went to the Russians and concluded with them the Treaty of Edirne, in which Russia gave up all its lands on the Black Sea, in return for the cancellation of the annual tribute it used to pay to the Ottoman governor of Crimea.

After that "Ahmed" tried to recover the Morea.. but Austria stood in his way.. and inflicted a harsh defeat on him.. so he pulled back and withdrew crestfallen.. and discovered that diplomacy was better.. so he began concluding treaties.. and this provoked the fury of the Ottoman army.. because with the invasion of any country they would steal and plunder and enjoy themselves.. and thus the source of gain was cut off.. so they revolted against him and deposed him in the year 1730.

After him came "Mahmud I".. and he was strong to a degree.. so he defeated the Safavids.. and recovered Tabriz, Hamadan, and the province of Lorestan, and eventually forced them into peace.. and then he fought Russia and defeated it.. but he prevailed over the Austrians and the Serbs.. and recovered Belgrade.. and for the second time in the history of the Ottoman Empire.. he recovered Wallachia.. and Russia pledged not to build ships in the Black Sea.. and he made a military alliance with Sweden against the Russians.

And after this alliance "Mahmud" devoted himself to the army.. so he strengthened his army in a way that had not happened before.. and supplied it with the latest machines and equipment and systems and rifles and artillery.. and he came to have soldiers that terrified Europe.. although he did not attack it again.. but the Pope issued a warning.. in the year 1749 AD.. that the Ottoman army, in its current composition and formations.. if it attacked Austria, Italy, Hungary, Spain and Russia together.. it was capable of defeating them.. and he began calling for the formation of a defensive alliance.. in anticipation of any attack by the Ottomans.

But the Ottoman army did not attack Europe.. because in that same year.. there emerged on the scene in Egypt one of the Mamluks.. and he rose to the rank of "amir".. this Mamluk's origin is completely unknown.. so it was said he was from Damietta.. and it was said he was the son of an Orthodox priest from Alexandria.. whom the Ottomans kidnapped and sold to a prince among the princes of the Bahri Mamluks named "Ibrahim Katkhuda".. and it was said he was the son of a Greek Orthodox priest from Armenia.. but everyone agreed that he was raised at the hands of "Ibrahim Katkhuda".. and spent his whole life in Cairo since he was an infant.

And this Mamluk who was promoted and became an amir was named "Ali Bey al-Ballat".. whom we know by his distinctive name, after he was the first one to clash with the huge Ottoman army that alarmed Europe in that era.. in a direct confrontation.

"Ali Bey al-Kabir".

And as if there were a kind of fateful harmony.. in that exact same year.. one of the Egyptian men reached his prime, and turned forty years old.. and he too emerged on the scene.. from Farshut, in the governorate of Qena.. to enter into a struggle unique of its kind, with the Ottoman Empire.

And this man's great-grandfather was named "Abu Subeih Seiba ibn Omar".. do you remember him? This grandfather had fought alongside the martyred al-Ashraf "Tuman Bay".. and was martyred during the fighting against the Ottomans.. and they mutilated his body.. and his children and grandchildren inherited this scene generation after generation.

And this forty-year-old Upper Egyptian man was named "Hammam".

"Sheikh al-Arab Hammam".. whom we will talk about, he and "Ali Bey al-Kabir", later...

And there remains more to be said.

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- Previous posts in the first comment.

- The picture attached to the post is of the Commander of the Faithful, Sultan "Ahmed III".. who was distinguished by being the first sultan and Commander of the Faithful who resembled a pot of fava beans.

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#Ottoman_Caliphate 29