Murad IV مراد رابع |
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Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Caliph of Islam |
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Murad IV in classic Ottoman warrior outfit.
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17th Ottoman Sultan (Emperor) | |||||
Reign | September 10, 1623 – February 8, 1640 | ||||
Predecessor | Mustafa I | ||||
Successor | Ibrahim | ||||
Regent |
Kösem Sultan (1623–1632) |
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Born | July 26, 1612 | ||||
Died | February 8, 1640 | (aged 27)||||
Consorts |
Ayşe Sultan Sanavber Hatun |
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Issue | Şehzade Süleyman Şehzade Ahmed Şehzade Mehmed Şehzade Alaaddin Kaya Sultan Safiye Sultan Gevherhan Sultan İsmihan Sultan Rukiye Sultan |
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Dynasty | House of Osman | ||||
Father | Ahmed I | ||||
Mother | Kösem Sultan | ||||
Tughra |
Full name | |
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Murad bin Ahmed |
Murad IV (Ottoman Turkish: مراد رابع, Murād-ı Rābiʿ; July 26/27, 1612 – February 8, 1640) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Istanbul, the son of Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–17) and the ethnic Greek Kösem Sultan. Brought to power by a palace conspiracy in 1623, he succeeded his uncle Mustafa I (r. 1617–18, 1622–23). He was only 11 when he took the throne. His reign is most notable for the Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–39), of which the outcome would permanently part the Caucasus between the two Imperial powers for around two centuries, while it also roughly laid the foundation for the current Turkey - Iran - Iraq borders.
In the early years of Murad's reign, he was under the control of his relatives. His absolute rule started around 1632, when he took the authority and repressed all the tyrants, and he re-etablished the supremacy of Sultan.
Murad IV was for a long time under the control of his relatives and during his early years as Sultan, his mother, Kösem Sultan, essentially ruled through him. The Empire fell into anarchy; the Safavid Empire invaded Iraq almost immediately, Northern Anatolia erupted in revolts, and in 1631 the Janissaries stormed the palace and killed the Grand Vizier, among others. Murad IV feared suffering the fate of his elder brother, Osman II (1618–22), and decided to assert his power.
At the age of 16 in 1628, he had his brother-in-law (his sister Fatma Sultan's husband) and the former governor of Egypt Kara Mustafa Pasha executed for a claimed action "against the law of God".