Ibrahim I

Ibrahim was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Constantinople, the son of sultan Ahmed I by Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia. He was called Ibrahim the Mad due to his mental condition and behavior. However, historian Scott Rank notes that his opponents spread rumors of the sultan's insanity, and some historians suggest he was more incompetent than mad. Ibrahim spent all of his early life in the close confinement of the Kafes before succeeding his brother Murad IV in 1640. Two of their brothers had been executed by Murad, and Ibrahim lived in terror of being the next to die. His life was saved only by the intercession of Kösem Sultan, mother of Ibrahim and Murad. After Murad's death, Ibrahim was left the sole surviving prince of the dynasty. Upon being asked by Grand Vizier Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha to assume the Sultanate, Ibrahim suspected Murad was still alive and plotting to trap him. It took the combined persuasion of Kösem and the Grand Vizier, and personal examination of his brother's dead body, to make Ibrahim accept the throne. During the early years of Ibrahim's reign, he retreated from politics and turned increasingly to his harem for comfort and pleasure. During his sultanate, the harem achieved new levels of luxury in perfumes, textiles and jewellery. Ibrahim was fond of collecting beautiful women and animals, and he amassed a collection of 280 concubines and 380 exotic animals. He also had a passion for fur and ordered the killing of 50,000 animals to make a fur carpet for his palace. He was known for his erratic and cruel behavior, such as throwing his grand vizier into a cistern, ordering the drowning of 280 women after a minor incident, and executing a whole regiment of Janissaries for displeasing him. Ibrahim was not entirely without merit as a ruler. He expanded the empire by conquering Baghdad from the Safavids in 1638, and he reformed the army by introducing new weapons and tactics. He also patronized arts and sciences, and invited many scholars and artists to his court. He commissioned the famous Ibrahim Pasha Mosque in Istanbul, and he supported the development of astronomy, medicine, and literature. He was a lover of music and poetry, and he composed some verses himself. However, Ibrahim's reign was also marked by war, misrule, and rebellion. He faced revolts in Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt, and he lost territory to Venice and Russia. He was unable to control the corruption and factionalism of his ministers and relatives, and he alienated the religious and military elites by his lavish spending and disregard for Islamic law. He was eventually deposed by a coup led by his Grand Vizier, who feared for his own life. Ibrahim was strangled in his palace on 18 August 1648, and succeeded by his seven-year-old son Mehmed IV.