The Accession of Sultan Mahmud II
The Character of Sultan Mahmud
Sultan Mahmud II is one of the controversial figures in Ottoman history. Sultan Mahmud II was loved by half of the Ottoman people and hated by the other half. Those who loved him described him as the 'Müceddid' (Renewer) expected to come every century and remembered him with great titles. Those who did not love him and were against him nicknamed him the 'Infidel Sultan.' The reason for this was that Sultan Mahmud had a very reformist character and took Europeans as a model in his innovation efforts. Beyond his reign, even the accession of Sultan Mahmud II to the throne was eventful.
The Eventful Accession of Mahmud II
Sultan Mahmud's uncle, Selim III, carried out many works in the 18th century for the renewal of the Ottoman Empire and to keep pace with the times. The innovations of Selim III were generally focused on the army. In fact, Sultans who ascended the throne until the 19th century generally made innovations in the army. Sultan Selim, after ascending the throne, recognized the inadequacy of the army and established a new army called Nizam-ı Cedid. Sultan Selim's efforts made a great impact and ensured the survival of the Ottoman Empire for a while longer. Sultan Selim III was very attached to his nephews, Prince Mahmud and Prince Mustafa, because he had no sons of his own. Sultan Selim made great efforts for the princes to gain experience and mature. He personally paid attention to their education and arranged for them to receive lessons from private tutors in the palace. Despite the good intentions shown by Sultan Selim, he was greatly betrayed. Prince Mustafa, in agreement with some state officials, ascended the throne and imprisoned Sultan Selim. This betrayal by Prince Mustafa deeply saddened Sultan Selim. After Prince Mustafa ascended the throne, his first act was to issue an order for the execution of his brother, Mahmud II, and his uncle, Selim III. In accordance with this order, Selim III was brutally murdered. However, Prince Mahmud managed to escape. After seeing the dead body of his uncle, whom he loved like his father, Prince Mahmud was met by 15,000 soldiers who pledged allegiance to him. Seeing that he had soldiers supporting him for the throne, Prince Mahmud uttered the words that would go down in history: 'Either the state to the head or the raven to the carcass.' After this event, Prince Mahmud began preparations for the throne. The biggest factor that facilitated Prince Mahmud's accession to the throne was that the new Sultan, Mustafa IV, was not a successful Sultan. Mustafa IV is one of the Sultans who reigned for the shortest period in Ottoman history. The reason for this was his ignorant character. Although Mustafa IV had great opportunities for education, he told his mother in his childhood that he did not want to be educated and rejected all the opportunities offered by Selim III. Consequently, he ascended the throne without any state experience and could not remain on the throne for more than 14 months. Prince Mahmud, knowing that the people and state officials were dissatisfied with Sultan Mustafa, accelerated his efforts and ascended the throne on July 28, 1808.
