Ibrahim I
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| Ibrahim I Ottoman Period | |
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| Preceded by: Murad IV | Ottoman Sultan 1640–48 | Succeeded by: Mehmed IV |
Ibrahim (in Arabic ابراهيم الأول) (November 5, 1615 – August 12, 1648) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648.
One of the most famous Ottoman Sultans, he was released from the Kafes and succeeded his brother Murad IV (1623–40) in 1640, though against the wishes of Murad IV, who had ordered him killed upon his own death. (Murad IV had himself succeeded their older brother Osman II in 1622). Inheriting all the cruelty and none of the ability of his brothers, Ibrahim brought the empire almost to collapse in a very short space of time — paralleled only perhaps, by the rule of Phocas (602–610) in the Byzantine Empire. Probably mentally unstable, he is claimed to have suffered from neurasthenia, and was also depressed after the death of his brother. His reign was essentially that of his Greek [[1]] mother, Kösem Sultan, who was no longer hindered in controlling the empire as she willed.
He is known to have had an obsession with obese women, urging his agents to find the fattest woman possible. A candidate was tracked down in Georgia or Armenia and Ibrahim was so pleased with her that he gave her a government pension and (allegedly) a governorship.
Ibrahim at first stayed away from politics, but eventually he took to raising and executing a number of viziers. A war with Venice was fought, and in spite of the decline of La Serenissima, Venetian ships won victories throughout the Aegean, capturing Tenedos (1646), the gateway to the Dardanelles. Ibrahim's rule grew ever more unpredictable. Eventually, he killed almost all 280 members of his harem, by tying them in weighted sacks and throwing them in the river, after just one was seduced by an outsider (however, one managed to survive; her sack had not been weighted properly). This was the last straw; he was deposed and murdered (along with his mother, favorite lover, and Grand Vizier Hezarpare Ahmet Pasha) in a coup led by the Grand Mufti.
[edit] References
- The World's Most Infamous Crimes and Criminals. New York: Gallery Books, 1987. ISBN 0-8317-9677-4
| Rise (1299–1453) | Osman I - Orhan I - Murad I - Bayezid I - Mehmed I - Murad II - Mehmed II |
|---|---|
| Growth (1453–1683) | Bayezid II - Selim I - Suleiman I - Selim II - Murad III - Mehmed III - Ahmed I - Mustafa I - Osman II - Murad IV |
| Stagnation (1683–1827) | Ibrahim I - Mehmed IV - Suleiman II - Ahmed II - Mustafa II - Ahmed III - Mahmud I - Osman III - Mustafa III - Abdul Hamid I - Selim III - Mustafa IV - Mahmud II |
| Decline (1828–1908) | ‘Abdu’l-Mijid I - ‘Abdu’l-‘Aziz - Murad V - ‘Abdu’l-Hamid II - Mehmed V |
| Dissolution (1908–1923) | Mehmed VI |
az:I İbrahim bs:Ibrahim I bg:Ибрахим I de:Ibrahim (Sultan) es:Ibrahim I fr:Ibrahim Ier hr:Ibrahim I. it:Ibrahim I hu:I. Ibrahim nl:Ibrahim I ja:イブラヒム (オスマン帝国) no:Ibrahim I ru:Ибрагим I sr:Ибрахим I sh:Ibrahim I. fi:Ibrahim I tr:I. İbrahim zh:易卜拉欣 (奥斯曼帝国)
