Biography of Sultan Selim III / Extra History of Sultan Selim III

Biography of Sultan Selim III. Welcome to Biography category. Today we will discuss life and achievements of Sultan Selim III. In this article i will share Extra History of Sultan Selim III.

• Title: Sultan

• Date of birth: December 24, 1761

• Date of death: 28 July 1808

• City: Istanbul

• Country: Turkey

• Zodiac sign: Goat

Sultan Selim III was born on December 24, 1761 in Istanbul . His father is Sultan Mustafa III and his mother is Mihrişah Sultan.His mother is Georgian. His father, Sultan Mustafa III, who believed in the oracles, was overjoyed when they said that his newborn son Selim would be a unique world, and ordered a feast for seven days and seven nights. Sultan Selim III grew up in this atmosphere on his birthday. He was brought up very nicely in the palace. Sultan Mustafa III wanted his son, Sultan Selim III, to become sultan after him. However, his uncle, Sultan Abdulhamid I, was brought to the sultanate after his father . Sultan Abdulhamid I considered Sultan Selim III in the palace, but he still gave importance to his education. Upon the death of his uncle, Sultan Abdülhamid I, he ascended to the Ottoman throne on April 7, 1789 at the age of 28.

 Sultan Selim III was very interested in literature and writing. Some of the calligraphy and plates he wrote were hung on mosques and tombs. He spoke Arabic and Persian languages ​​very well. Sultan Selim III, who was a very compassionate person, was very fond of his religion, homeland and nation. He was brought up with a serious education. He was a good poet, tamburi neyzen and hanende. Sultan Selim III, who was also a composer, was fond of fine arts and was open-minded, but he was soft enough to be weak and wanted westernism to settle in the Ottoman Empire. When Sultan Selim III came to the throne, the people placed great hopes on him. The people thought that the young ruler would return the Ottoman empire to its former powerful and glorious times. After Sultan Selim III left the Ottoman sultanate to Prince Mustafa on May 29, 1807, he lived for 1 more year and 2 months. He was killed on 28 July 1808 by the men of the new sultan during the Alemdar Mustafa Pasha Incident. His body was buried next to his father, Sultan Mustafa III, in the courtyard of Laleli Mosque.

Ottoman-Russian Wars :

When Sultan Selim III came to the throne, the Ottoman Empire was at war with Russia and Austria. Sultan Selim III continued the struggle against these two states. The main reasons for this war were to save the Crimea and to prevent Austria and Russia, who were planning to divide the Ottoman lands among themselves. The geopolitical position of Crimea was very important for the security of Istanbul. Although some successes such as the Ismail Victory against Austria were achieved during these wars, the same success was not achieved against the Russians. The Ottoman forces suffered great losses in the Fokşan (August 1, 1789) and Boze Wars (September 22, 1789) with the Russians. Akkerman fortress passed to the Russians and the Basrabia region was occupied by the Russians. The Austrians, who occupied Sebeş, Muhadiye, Lazarethane and Pançova, first captured Belgrade (October 8, 1789) and then Semendire.

Peace Of Zistovi :

While the war continued, political activities continued. A friendship treaty was signed between the Ottoman Empire and Sweden on July 11, 1789. Sultan Selim III made an alliance agreement with the King of Prussia, who thought that Russia and Austria would also be a danger to them (January 31, 1790). However, these treaties did not enter into force. The turmoil in internal affairs forced Austria to sign the Sistovi Peace Treaty with the Ottomans (August 4, 1791). With the Sistovi Peace Treaty, Austria returned the lands it had taken during the war to the Ottoman Empire. A small piece of land on the Orsova and Unna waters was left to Austria. Austria had given a guarantee that it would not give any assistance to Russia, either openly or covertly.

Age Contract :

Russia, left alone as a result of Austria's withdrawal from this war, requested peace a year later. The war ended with the Treaty of Yas (1792), signed between the two states. With this treaty, the transition of Crimea to Russian domination was approved. The region between the Buğ and Dniester rivers and the Özi fortress were left to Russia. The Dniester river was considered the border between the two states. The regression process that started after the Karlowitz Treaty was replaced by a period of disintegration and disintegration.

Nizam-I Cedid :

Sultan Selim III considered the janissary corps to be responsible for the defeat in the Ottoman-Russian war. During his princedom, he followed the progress of the European armies and saw the importance given to education in the Prussian army. He thought that soldiers should receive regular training. He tried to put some janissary units in order. Apart from the Janissaries, he recruited new soldiers and included them in the army. Thus, he founded the military organization "Nizam-ı Cedid", which means "new method soldier" (24 February 1793). Sultan Selim III, who also established a new treasury called İrad-ı Cedid to cover the expenses of the Nizam-ı Cedid quarry, gave the education and training of this new military organization to foreign officers he had brought from Europe.

 He established the Selimiye barracks and renovated the existing Land and Naval Engineers. Sultan Selim III, who turned to reforms especially after the Yas Treaty, was not content with forming the Nizam-ı Cedid, but he opened embassies in cities such as Paris, London, Vienna and Berlin. French was accepted as the first official foreign language of the Ottoman State. Importance was given to foreign language education and cultural movements, some technical works were translated into Turkish.

Egypt And France :

Ottoman-French Relations started in the 16th century and developed during the Tulip Era. He supported the Ottoman Empire in the wars with France, Venice and Austria. The capitulations, which started during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent and were expanded during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I, reinforced the Ottoman-French friendship. These relations began to deteriorate towards the end of the 18th century.As a result of the revolution in 1789, the monarchy was overthrown in France and a republic was declared. Seeing this situation as a danger for themselves, the European states united against France, but they could not be successful against France in their wars.

 At the head of the armies of France was the famous commander Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte, who made the whole of Europe accept his superiority, could not only defeat England. France's aim was to keep England out of the Mediterranean and to control the trade routes to India. For this purpose, Napoleon Bonaparte, who went on the Egypt Campaign, occupied Alexandria (July 2, 1798). Upon the capture of Cairo by Napoleon Bonaparte (July 22, 1798), the Ottoman Empire declared war against France on September 2, 1798. Napoleon Bonaparte, who was defeated by the Ottoman forces under the command of Cezzar Ahmed Pasha in front of Akka (March 18, 1799), fled to France secretly and barely saved his life (August 22, 1799). Upon the withdrawal of France from Egypt on 27 June 1801, the Treaty of El-Ariş was signed between the Ottoman Empire and France (25 June 1802). With this treaty, Egypt was given back to the Ottoman state.

Last Terms:

Ottoman-Russian relations began to improve with the agreements signed in 1789 and 1805. However, the Russians did not give up their expansion policies. The Ottomans, who wanted to get rid of Russian pressure in the Balkans, closed the straits to Russian ships. The pro-Russian Wallachian and Moldavian Beys were replaced. However, these decisions could not be put into effect as a result of the pressures of the British and Russians.Kabakci Mustafa Revolt Sultan Selim III, one of the most reformist sultans of the Ottoman Empire, established the Nizam-ı Cedid army by making an arrangement that could not be realized in the Ottoman Empire until today. Some statesmen, who were not satisfied with these radical innovations and held important positions, were making plans to eliminate the Janissary Aghas and Nizam-ı Cedid in Istanbul during the years of the Ottoman-Russian War.The Janissaries, who killed Raif Mahmud Efendi, who was tasked with dressing them in Nizam-ı Cedid clothes, revolted under the leadership of Kabakçı Mustafa.

 The Ottoman government wanted to take decisions about the uprising by meeting immediately upon these developments. However, the Governor of the Grand Viziership Köse Musa Pasha stated that the uprising was not a serious incident and that it would be inappropriate for the Nizam-ı Cedid troops to intervene in the event. In this way, the rebels, who found the square empty, gathered more supporters. Sultan Selim III, who delayed a long time in intervening against the rebels demanding the abolition of the Nizam-ı Cedid, had to close the Nizam-ı Cedid. Despite this, the rebels, whose wishes were granted, did not put an end to the uprising. The rebels demanded that 11 statesmen, known for their closeness to Sultan Selim III, be handed over to them.In the face of this request, Sultan Selim III announced that he was leaving the sultanate by saying, "It is better not to be the ruler and caliph of such rebellious subjects" (29 May 1807). 

 After Sultan Mustafa III abdicated, he lived in the palace for another year. He was killed by Sultan Mustafa the Fourth, when Alemdar Mustafa Pasha rose to reclaim him on the throne. Although he was unsuccessful in the progress movements he started, he saw important works that can be considered as the first foundations of the orientation to Europe in the Ottoman Empire. Bringing the European military organization and its knowledge into the country, opening technical schools giving importance to exact sciences are among his successful works.

Zoning Studies (Architecture) :

Sultan Selim III, who also gave importance to reconstruction activities, had large and important buildings built, such as the Istanbul Selimiye Mosque, Tophane Barracks, Haliç Humbaracı and Lağımcı Barracks, as well as the Isakçı and Üsküdar Grain Warehouses. He repaired Eyüp Sultan Mosque and had the doors of the tomb made of silver. He also had some parts of the Mevlana Tomb in Konya repaired.Other works of the reign of Sultan Selim III are as follows; Soma Hızır Bey Mosque, Yozgat Cevahir Ali Efendi Mosque, Eyüp Mihrişah Valide Sultan Complex, Safranbolu İzzet Mehmed Pasha Mosque, Bursa Emir Sultan Mosque and Tomb, İzmit Hisar Bey Mosque.