Murad IV


Murad IV 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 Constantinople, the son of Sultan Ahmed I and Kösem Sultan. He was brought to power by a palace conspiracy in 1623, and he succeeded his uncle Mustafa I. He was only 11 when he ascended the throne. His reign is most notable for the Ottoman–Safavid War, 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.

Early life

Murad IV was born on 27 July 1612 to Ahmed I and his consort and later wife Kösem Sultan. After his father’s death when he was six years he was confined in the Kafes with his brothers, Suleiman, Kasim, Bayezid and Ibrahim.
Grand Vizier Kemankeş Ali Pasha and Şeyhülislam Yahya Efendi were deposed from their position. They did not stop their words the next day the sultan, the child of the age of 6, was taken to the Eyüp Sultan Mausoleum. The swords of Muhammad and Yavuz Sultan Selim were besieged to him. Five days later he was circumcised.

Reign

Early reign (1623–32)

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, and decided to assert his power.
At the age of 16 in 1628, he had his brother-in-law, Kara Mustafa Pasha, executed for a claimed action "against the law of God".
After the death of the Grand Vizier Çerkes Mehmed Pasha in the winter of Tokat, Diyarbekir Beylerbeyi Hafez Ahmed Pasha became a vizier and an emperor on 8 February 1625.
The epidemic, which started in the summer of 1625 and called the plague of Bayrampaşa, spread to a threat to the population of Istanbul. On average, a thousand people died every day. The people went to the Okmeydanı, to regent themselves from this plague. The situation was worse in the countryside, but there is no one who sees what looks out of Istanbul.

Absolute rule and imperial policies (1632–1640)

Murad IV tried to quell the corruption that had grown during the reigns of previous Sultans, and that had not been checked while his mother was ruling through proxy.
Executions were issued to the states, and those who came to Istanbul were executed as Jelali, Jelali being followers of Celali, the leader of the revolt in 1519 in Tokat who lead peasants acting against feudal exploitation. Murad IV shivering and brutal sultan started with this shaking.
Ilyas Pasha, who took advantage of the confusion in Istanbul and dominated the Manisa and Balikesir sides, who was taught Şehname, Timurname at night and was caught in the sultan's dreams, was finally caught and brought to Istanbul and executed in front of the Sultan.
Murad IV banned alcohol, tobacco, and coffee in Constantinople. He ordered execution for breaking this ban. He would reportedly patrol the streets and the lowest taverns of Constantinople in civilian clothes at night, policing the enforcement of his command by casting off his disguise on the spot and beheading the offender with his own hands. Rivaling the exploits of Selim the Grim, he would sit in a kiosk by the water near his Seraglio Palace and shoot arrows at any passerby or boatman who rowed too close to his imperial compound, seemingly for sport. He restored the judicial regulations by very strict punishments, including execution, he once strangled a grand vizier for the reason that the official had beaten his mother-in-law.

Fire of 1633

On 2 September 1633, the big Cibali fire broke out, burning a fifth of the city. The fire that started during that day when a caulker burned the shrub and the ship caulked into the walls. The fire, which spread from three branches to the city. One arm lowered towards the sea. He returned from Zeyrek and walked to Atpazan. Other kollan Büyükkaraman, Küçükkaraman, Sultanmehmet, Saraçhane, Sangürz districts have been ruined. The sultan could not do anything other than watching sentence viziers, Bostancı and Yeniçeri. The most beautiful districts of Istanbul have been ruined, from the Yeniodas, Mollagürani districts, Fener gate to Sultanselim, Mesihpaşa, Bali Pasha and Lutfi Pasha mosques, Şahı buhan Palace, Unkapam to Atpazarı, Bostanzade houses, Sofular Bazaar. The fire that lasted for 30 hours could be extinguished after the wind sectioned.

War against Safavid Iran

Murad IV's reign is most notable for the Ottoman–Safavid War against Persia in which Ottoman forces managed to conquer Azerbaijan, occupying Tabriz, Hamadan, and capturing Baghdad in 1638. The Treaty of Zuhab that followed the war generally reconfirmed the borders as agreed by the Peace of Amasya, with Eastern Armenia, Eastern Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Dagestan staying Persian, while Western Armenia, and Western Georgia stayed Ottoman. Mesopotamia was irrevocably lost for the Persians. The borders fixed as a result of the war, are more or less the same as the present border line between Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
During the siege of Baghdad in 1638, the city held out for forty days but was compelled to surrender.
Murad IV himself commanded the Ottoman army in the last years of the war.

Relations with the Mughal Empire

While he was encamped in Baghdad, Murad IV is known to have met ambassadors of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, Mir Zarif and Mir Baraka, who presented 1000 pieces of finely embroidered cloth and even armor. Murad IV gave them the finest weapons, saddles and Kaftans and ordered his forces to accompany the Mughals to the port of Basra, where they set sail to Thatta and finally Surat.

Architecture

Murad IV put emphasis on architecture and in his period many monuments were erected. The Baghdad Kiosk, built in 1635, and the Revan Kiosk, built in 1638 in Yerevan, were both built in the local styles. Some of the others include the Kavak Sarayı pavilion; the Meydanı Mosque; the Bayram Pasha Dervish Lodge, Tomb, Fountain, and Primary School; and the Şerafettin Mosque in Konya.

Music and poetry

Murad IV wrote many poems. He used "Muradi" penname for his poems. He also liked testing people with riddles. Once he wrote a poemic riddle and announced that whoever came with the correct answer would get a generous reward. Cihadi Bey who was also a poet from Enderun School gave the correct answer and he was promoted.
Murad IV was also a composer. He has a composition called "Uzzal Peshrev".

Family

;Consorts
Very little is known about the concubines of Murad IV, principally because he did not leave sons who survived his death to reach the throne, but many historians consider Ayşe Sultan as his only consort until the very end of Murad's seventeen-year reign, when a second Haseki appeared in the records. It is possible that Murad had only a single concubine until the advent of the second, or that he had a number of concubines but singled out only two as Haseki.
;Sons
;Daughters
Murad had several daughters, among whom were:
Murad IV died from cirrhosis in Constantinople at the age of 27 in 1640.
Rumours had circulated that on his deathbed, Murad IV ordered the execution of his mentally disabled brother, Ibrahim, which would have meant the end of the Ottoman line. However, the order was not carried out.

In popular culture

In the TV series , Murad IV is portrayed by Cağan Efe Ak as a child, and Metin Akdülger as Sultan.