Selim III (; ; 24 December 1761 – 28 July 1808) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, he was eventually deposed and imprisoned by the Janissaries, who placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV (). A group of assassins subsequently killed Selim.
Early life
Selim III was the son of Sultan Mustafa III and his wife Mihrişah Sultan. His mother, Mihrişah Sultan, originated in Georgia, and when she became the Valide sultan, she participated in reforming the government schools and establishing political corporations. His father, Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III, was very well educated and believed in the necessity of reforms. Mustafa III attempted to create a powerful army with professional, well-educated soldiers during peacetime. This was primarily motivated by his fear of a Russian invasion. During the Russo-Turkish War, he fell ill and died of a heart attack in 1774. Sultan Mustafa was aware of the fact that a military reform was necessary. He declared new military regulations and opened maritime and artillery academies.
Sultan Mustafa was significantly influenced by mysticism. An oracle predicted his son Selim would be a world conqueror, so he organized a seven-day joyous feast. Selim was very well educated in the palace. Sultan Mustafa III named his son his successor; however, Selim's uncle Abdul Hamid I ascended the throne after Mustafa's death. Sultan Abdul Hamid I took care of Selim and emphasized his education.
After Abdul Hamid's death, Selim succeeded him on 7 April 1789, at the age of 27. Sultan Selim III was very fond of literature and calligraphy; many of his works were put on the walls of mosques and convents. He wrote many poems, especially about Crimea's occupation by Russia. He spoke Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Old Bulgarian fluently. Selim III showed great importance to patriotism and religion. He demonstrated his poetry and music skills and was fond of fine arts and the army.
Reign
Plans of reforms
The talents and energy with which Selim III was endowed had endeared him to the people, and great hopes were founded on his accession. He had associated much with foreigners and was thoroughly persuaded of the necessity of reforming his state.
However, Austria and Russia gave him no time for anything but defense, and it was not until the Peace of Iaşi (1792) that breathing space was allowed him in Europe, while Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria soon called for the empire's most vigorous efforts.
Ottoman provinces from Egypt to Syria began implementing French policies and differed away from Istanbul after Napoleon's attack.
Selim III profited by the respite to abolish the military tenure of fiefs; he introduced salutary reforms into the administration, especially in the fiscal department, sought by well-considered plans to extend the spread of education, and engaged foreign officers as instructors, by whom a small corps of new troops called nizam-i-jedid were collected and drilled in 1797. This unit comprised Turkish peasant youths from Anatolia and was supplied with modern weaponry.
These troops were able to hold their own against rebellious Janissaries in the Balkan provinces such as the Sanjak of Smederevo against its appointed Vizier Hadži Mustafa Pasha, where disaffected governors made no scruple of attempting to make use of them against the reforming sultan.
Emboldened by this success, Selim III issued an order that in the future, picked men should be taken annually from the Janissaries to serve in the nizam-i-jedid. Selim III was unable to integrate the nizam-i jedid with the rest of the army which overall limited its role in defense of the state.
Foreign relations
Selim III ascended the throne only to find that the Ottoman Empire of old had been considerably reduced due to conflicts outside the realm. In the north, Russia had taken the Black Sea through the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774. Selim realized the importance of diplomatic relations with other nations and pushed for permanent embassies in the courts of all the great nations of Europe, a hard task because of religious prejudice towards Muslims. Even with the religious obstacles, resident embassies were established in Britain, France, Prussia and Austria. Selim, a cultured poet and musician, carried on an extended correspondence with Louis XVI. Although distressed by the establishment of the republic in France, the Ottoman government was soothed by French representatives in Constantinople who maintained the goodwill of various influential personages.