Mehmed IV محمد رابع |
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Caliph of Islam Amir al-Mu'minin Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques |
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19th Ottoman Sultan (Emperor) | |
Reign | August 8, 1648 – November 8, 1687 |
Predecessor | Ibrahim |
Successor | Suleiman II |
Regents |
See list
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Born |
Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire |
January 2, 1642
Died | January 6, 1693 Edirne, Ottoman Empire |
(aged 51)
Consort |
Gülnûş Sultan (Legal wife) Siyavuş Sultan Afifa Haseki Rabia Haseki Kaniya Haseki Gul-Beyaz Iqbal Rukiya Bash-odalik Jihan-Shah Hatun Durriya Gozde Navruz Gozde |
Dynasty | House of Osman |
Father | Ibrahim |
Mother | Turhan Hatice Sultan |
Tughra |
Mehmed IV (Ottoman Turkish: محمد رابع Meḥmed-i rābiʿ; Modern Turkish: IV. Mehmet; also known as Avcı Mehmed, Mehmed the Hunter; January 2, 1642 – January 6, 1693) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of seven after his father was overthrown in a coup. Mehmed went on to become the second longest reigning sultan in Ottoman history. While the first and last years of his reign were characterized by military defeat and political instability, during his middle years he oversaw the revival of the empire's fortunes associated with the Köprülü era. Mehmed IV was known by contemporaries as a particularly pious ruler, and was referred to as gazi, or "holy warrior" for his role in the many conquests carried out during his long reign. Under his reign the empire reached the height of its territorial expansion in Europe. From a young age he developed a keen interest in hunting, for which he is known in Turkish as avcı ("the Hunter"). In 1687 Mehmed was overthrown by soldiers disenchanted by the course of the ongoing War of the Holy League. He subsequently retired to Edirne, where he resided until his natural death in 1693.
Born at Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, in 1642, he was the son of Sultan Ibrahim (r. 1640–48) by Valide Sultan Turhan Hatice, a Ruthenian (Ukrainian) concubine, and the grandson of Kösem Sultan of Greek origin. Soon after his birth, his father and mother quarreled, and Ibrahim was so enraged that he tore Mehmed from his mother's arms and flung the infant into a cistern. Fortunately, Mehmed was rescued by the harem servants. However, this left Mehmed with a lifelong scar on his head.