Mehmed III

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1595-1603)

• Born: May 26, 1566
• Birthplace: Manisa, Ottoman Empire (now in Turkey
• Died: December 22, 1603
• Place of death: Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now in Istanbul, Turkey)

Mehmed III was a weak ruler whose reign was marked by political corruption, rebellion in Anatolia, and war with Austria, which continued the slow decline of the Ottoman Empire. He was successful, however, in developing initial defenses against Austrian encroachment into Ottoman territory in the Balkans.

Early Life

Mehmed (meh-MEHT) III, who became ruler of the Ottoman Empire , was the son of the Ottoman sultan Murad III . As was the custom among Ottoman rulers, the caring and raising of the heir-apparent was controlled by the sultan’s advisers, so Mehmed was separated from his father and his mother, Safiye Sultan, possibly an Albanian.

As the eldest of Murad’s twenty sons and presumptive heir to the Ottoman throne, Mehmed lived in luxury and was educated by tutors. He spent much of his youth, however, in fear for his own life. Because the eldest son was considered a threat by each sultan, those sons would have been watchful of assassination attempts. Constantinople was a dangerous place for him. The political intrigue in the capital and his close proximity to the Murad clan heightened fears that political power would be lost if he were killed. Mehmed was saved because he spent much of his early adult life in exile. Mehmed had been sent to the provinces by his father because of his uncontrollable temper and proneness to violence, keeping him out of Constantinople for more than a dozen years; he returned to preside over his father’s funeral.

Life’s Work

Mehmed III’s mother and chief adviser was the daughter of Venetian nobility. According to legend, Safiye Sultan was either forced by the Ottomans to become part of Sultan Murad’s harem or was planted there as a high-level spy. Safiye dominated the thirteen-year-old Murad, was mother to his first son, Mehmed, and clashed with Murad’s equally dominating mother, Nur Banu. When Murad’s mother died, Safiye became highly influential, making many of the political and military decisions for the empire. When Murad died, Safiye sought to expand her influence over her son Mehmed.

After Murad’s body was interred, Mehmed saw his mother for the first time in twelve years. Safiye was able to convince him to abide by Ottoman law, which allowed him to eliminate Murad’s other children, the males of which might have a claim to the throne. The law, enacted under Sultan Mehmed II, allowed any sultan to kill family members who might challenge his rule. Mehmed exhibited the weakness that he would show throughout his rule by following his mother’s suggestion to conduct mass murder.

The murder of Mehmed’s nineteen brothers proceeded in the fashion typical of the Ottomans. Mehmed gathered his brothers in his throne room and ordered them to be ritually circumcised. After this procedure, all nineteen were murdered by strangulation by persons unable to speak or hear, which prevented the appointed assassins from spreading gossip about the brothers’ deaths. The brothers were given a lavish funeral with full honors, then were interred with their father, possibly a sign that Mehmed was upset and embarrassed by the slaughter. Most of Mehmed’s brothers were under the age of ten, making his actions even more horrifying. He was the last sultan to dispose of family members in such a manner. After Mehmed’s reign, male members of a sultan’s family who might have claim to the throne would be exiled and isolated from the world.

Mehmed’s twenty-seven sisters fared better than his brothers. They were exiled to a convent. At the same time, Murad’s concubines and personal servants were also exiled from Constantinople. Seven of Murad’s wives were pregnant with his children, so they were murdered by being sewn into bags and drowned to ensure that no one would challenge the sultan.

Mehmed III followed in the footsteps of his father, gathering a large harem that kept his focus away from ruling. Safiye, free of challenges from the sultan’s relatives, became the main political force in the empire. She was responsible for many of the political appointments, including those of governors of provinces and of lower officials. Bribery was the main strategy for getting Safiye to approve an appointment to and for keeping a high government position. Once in office, the official would have to maintain payments to Safiye to prevent other “bidders” from taking the office away. This corruption weakened the Ottoman political system, as the most competent were prevented from rising to important positions.

Safiye also seized control over foreign policy from her son. While Mehmed was enjoying the good life of Constantinople, his mother negotiated with the Ottomans’ allies and enemies. Her close relationship with Catherine de Médicis prevented a war with the Venetians. She was less successful when handling the Austrians, who had attacked the empire in 1593. It was the military crisis in the Balkans that raised Mehmed from his comfort to join his troops along the Danube River.

In 1596, Mehmed III took personal control of the Ottoman army in Europe. The Ottomans had suffered a series of setbacks against the Austrians and were facing revolts in some of their eastern European territories. Mehmed believed that his presence would bolster troop morale and drive them to push the Austrians from Ottoman territory.

Mehmed’s troops were successful, though his own military abilities were limited. During a three-day battle on the Hungarian plain, the sultan watched his army from a distance. When the Austrians swarmed forward and appeared ready to rout the Ottomans, the sultan counseled retreat. Only a late cavalry charge on the third day of the battle drove the Austrians back and killed some thirty thousand men as they struggled to cross a nearby river.

Mehmed’s personal leadership did instill, at least initially, a sense of victory in the Ottoman army. His departure in 1597 to return to Constantinople, however, saw the Turkish forces descend into chaos and once again lose battles to the Austrians. The Austrian war continued through the remainder of Mehmed’s reign, but he never became directly involved. Instead, his attention was drawn to a gathering rebellion in the main region of the empire known as Anatolia.

The Ottoman Empire was made up of a mix of ethnicities and religions, and the army was drawn from this population, creating many armed, clashing groups. During Mehmed’s reign, the Jelalis, a peasant army that received less pay and fewer perks than thse regular army, challenged Ottoman rule because of a series of economic and social crises. Led by Deli Hassan, the Jelalis rampaged across Anatolia. The regular army was able to quell the revolt, but not until thousands were killed or forced to flee their homes.

Mehmed lived long enough to see the end of the revolt. In October, 1603, it was prophesied that disaster would befall him soon, and before the end of the year, he was dead. His passing was followed by the murder of Safiye and the rise of the inept Ahmed I, Mehmed’s son, as sultan.

Significance

Mehmed III’s reign suffered from political corruption and a series of wars and rebellions. Raised separate from his family and father, Mehmed III had little experience in directing government or the military. He delegated much of that power to his mother, who directed the domestic policies of the empire.

Mehmed followed in the footsteps of his father but was lost in the pleasures and privileges of being a sultan. When he died in 1603, he left an empire struggling with outside enemies and a political system that was so corrupt it was unable to solve many of the problems it faced.

Bibliography

Barber, Noel. The Sultans. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973. This work focuses on the Ottoman sultans and their role in the rise and decline of the empire. It examines the major trends and leaders in Ottoman politics and explains how the declining quality of the empire’s leadership led to its collapse.

Goffman, David. The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. This works examines the relationship between the Muslim Ottomans and the Christians in eastern and western Europe. It discusses political and military conflicts and how they affected both regions.

Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizon: A History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Henry Holt, 1999. A broad-based work that examines the Ottomans from their capture of Constantinople in 1453 to their decline and fall at the end of World War I. The book discusses the political, social, and military aspects of the empire.

Hathaway, June. Mutiny and Rebellion in the Ottoman Empire. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003. Hathaway’s work examines how the Ottomans dealt with the various ethnic and religious groups within their borders, the military rebellions by these groups, and military organizations such as the Janissaries.