Mehmed III (Turkish: III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566–22 December 1603) ruled the Ottoman Empire as its sultan from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was well-known for directing the army in the Long Turkish War, which saw the Ottoman army win the Battle of Keresztes, and for ordering the killing of his brothers. However, several military setbacks, such those at Gyěr and Nikopol, cast doubt on this success. Additionally, he gave the order for the Jelali uprisings to be successfully put down. Additionally, the sultan kept in touch with Elizabeth I's court in the hopes that England would join the Ottomans in their fight against the Spanish, as well as to foster closer commercial ties.
Early life
On May 26, 1566, Mehmed was born at the Manisa Palace under the rule of his great-grandfather, Suleiman the Magnificent. He was the son of Selim II, the son of Sultan Suleiman and Hurrem Sultan, and Murad III, his own father. His mother was Safiye Sultan, a Dukagjin Highlands-born Albanian. His grandpa, Selim II, succeeded his great-grandfather, Suleiman I, who passed away the year he was born. Mehmed's father, Murad III, ascended to the throne in 1574 after his grandpa, Selim II, passed away when he was eight years old. In 1595, at the age of 28, Murad passed away.
Mehmed lived in Manisa with his parents and instructor, Ibrahim Efendi, during the most of his childhood. On May 29, 1582, he was circumcised at the age of sixteen.
Reign
Fratricide
Mehmed III ordered the execution of all nineteen of his brothers as soon as he came to power. His royal executioners, many of whom were deaf, mute, or "half-witted" to guarantee complete allegiance, strangled them. Given that sultans frequently had dozens of children with their concubines, fratricidal successions were not unusual.
Power struggle in Constantinople
Safiye Sultan, the legitimate sultan, took over the throne from Mehmed III, who was an indolent monarch. The rivalry between two of his viziers, Koca Sinan Pasha and Serdar Ferhad Pasha, and their supporters was his first significant issue. Mehmed III was blocked from taking charge of the matter by his mother and her son-in-law, Damat Ibrahim Pasha, who backed Koca Sinan Pasha. The problem eventually led to significant disruptions by janissaries. Due to Serdar Ferhad Pasha's failure in Wallachia, Mehmed III finally dismissed him as Grand Vizier on July 7, 1595, and Sinan took his place.
Safiye as Valide Sultan
Mehmed's mother Safiye Sultan, who ruled the Ottoman Empire alongside her son and occasionally even surpassed Mehmed III in power and influence, was the true force behind the throne when Mehmed III came to power. During Mehmed III's administration, Safiye was so strong that ministers and other officials considered her to be a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
In Mehmed's absence, she presided over the Imperial council, had total authority over the Ottoman Treasury and Finances, and was able to appoint and remove Ministers, Grand Viziers, and even Sheikh-ul-Islam. For the most of her reign, there was no opposition to her authority and influence in the empire because she had so many friends in the Imperial court. It was quite improbable that any minister who opposed her would stay in office for very long. Her personal purse, as Valide Sultan, was three times the Sultan's, the highest wage in the kingdom. The public and officials would resort to her to complete their tasks since they were aware of her active involvement in state affairs; occasionally, they would even block her carriage so that they could make requests in person. Mehmed contacted her on significant issues and never made a choice without her approval during her son's rule.
Safiye's luxurious and opulent lifestyle garnered her many enemies, but no one dared to publicly criticize her. Mehmed III gave his mother significant authority over the empire when he left for the Eger campaign in Hungary in 1596, leaving her in charge of the finances. In order to prevent anyone from acting in the capital or even throughout the entire empire without Safiye's consent, she convinced her son to withdraw a political appointment in the judgeship of Constantinople and to reassign the grand vizierate to her son-in-law, Damat Ibrahim Pasha. She was even charged with corruption in her son's nine-year rule by selling lucrative and significant posts for the highest price.
After intercepting a message conveyed to Mahmud's mother by a religious seer who foretold that Mehmed III would pass away in six months and be succeeded by his son, Safiye played a crucial role in the death of her grandson in 1603. The English ambassador claimed that Mahmud was troubled by "how his father was altogether led by the old Sultana his Grandmother while the state went to ruin, she respecting nothing but her own desire to get money, and often lamented thereof to his mother," who was "not favored of the Queen mother." Thus, the prince posed a severe danger to her and her son's rule. She infuriated the sultan, who had him strangled because he suspected a plan and was envious of his son's reputation.
However, even for a few weeks in 1600, the Sultan found his mother's influence on him and her presence in the palace unsettling and demanded that she vacate the palace and cease to be in charge of his affairs. Nonetheless, she had established a wide network of supporters and persisted in using one of the chief eunuchs to subtly influence the state by elevating her cronies to positions of authority. The Imperial court put pressure on the Sultan to lift his mother's banishment after five weeks, and she returned to the Palace with much greater power and influence. Safiye co-ruled the Empire with him until his death, at which point she lost all authority and influence and was sent to Old Palace by Ahmed I, the new sultan, and her grandson.
Austro-Hungarian War
The Austro-Ottoman War in Hungary (1593–1606) was the most significant event of his rule. Mehmed III became the first sultan to personally lead the army since Suleiman I in 1566 as a result of the Ottoman defeat in the war. In 1596, the Ottomans took control of Eger with the Sultan's help. Mehmed wished to dismiss the Habsburg army and go back to Istanbul after learning of its approach. But in the end, the Ottomans chose to confront the enemy, and at the Battle of Keresztes (also called the Battle of Haçova in Ottoman Turkish), they beat the Habsburg and Transylvanian forces. The Sultan had to be talked out of leaving the battlefield halfway through. Mehmed informed his viziers that he would run for office once more after triumphantly returning to Istanbul. The following year, "the doctors declared that the Sultan cannot leave for a war on account of his bad health, produced by excesses of eating and drinking," according to the Venetian Bailo in Istanbul.
Cigalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha was appointed Grand Vizier in 1596 as compensation for his wartime efforts. But soon after, Mehmed restored Damat Ibrahim Pasha to this role under persuasion from the court and his mother.
The Ottoman forces under Hafız Ahmet Pasha were defeated by the Wallachian forces under Michael the Brave in Nikopol in 1599, and Gyěr (Turkish: Yanıkkale) was lost to the Austrians, both of which were significant setbacks to the victory at the Battle of Keresztes. After a 40-day siege, Ottoman forces led by Tiryaki Hasan Pasha took control of Nagykanizsa in 1600. In the Siege of Nagykanizsa, they were able to repel a far larger invading force.
Jelali revolts
The Jelali uprisings in Anatolia were another significant occurrence under his rule. In 1600, a former Ottoman official named Karayazıcı Abdülhalim took control of Urfa and proclaimed himself a sultan. The killing of Hüseyin Pasha, whom Karayazıcı Abdülhalim referred to as Grand Vizier, was one of the harsh measures Mehmed ordered to quell the rumors of his claim to the throne that had spread to Constantinople. When the armies headed by Baghdad's governor, Sokulluzade Hasan Pasha, defeated Abdülhalim in 1601, he escaped to the area of Samsun. But his brother, Deli Hasan, assassinated Sokulluzade Hasan Pasha and routed Hadım Hěrev Pasha's army. After that, he marched to Kütahya, took control of it, and set it on fire.
Relationship with England
The Ottoman court received a convoy of gifts from Queen Elizabeth I in 1599, the fourth year of Mehmed III's reign. The initial recipient of these presents was Murad III, the sultan's predecessor, who had passed away prior to their arrival. Among these presents was a massive clockwork organ adorned with jewels, which was put together on the Royal Private Garden's slope by a group of engineers that included Thomas Dallam. The organ's dancing sculptures, including a flock of blackbirds that sang and shook their wings at the conclusion of the performance, took many weeks to complete. A ceremonial vehicle and a letter from the Queen to Safiye Sultan, Mehmed's mother, were also included in the English gifts. The goal of these presents was to strengthen ties between the two nations, expanding on the 1581 trade pact that granted English traders preference in the Ottoman Empire. England was keen to form an alliance with the Ottomans since the two countries could split the power due to the impending threat of Spanish military presence. Mehmed personally examined the enormous 27-gun merchantman ship carrying Elizabeth's gifts, which was an obvious demonstration of English maritime might that would lead him to expand his fleet during the ensuing years of his rule. However, anti-European attitudes resulting from the intensifying Austro-Ottoman War and the deaths of Safiye Sultan's interpreter and the pro-English leader Hasan Pasha would prevent the Anglo-Ottoman alliance from being finalized.
Death
At the age of 37, Mehmed passed away on December 22, 1603. One version claims that his sadness over his son Şehzade Mahmud's death was the reason for his demise. Another source claims that either a stroke or the disease killed him. The Hagia Sophia Mosque is where he was laid to rest. Ahmed I, his 13-year-old son, succeeded him as sultan.