Osman II
Encyclopedia
Sultan Osman II or Othman II (commonly known as Genç Osman – meaning Osman the Young – in Turkish
) (Ottoman Turkish
عثمان ثانى ‘Osmān-i sānī) (November 3, 1604 – May 20, 1622) was the Sultan
of the Ottoman Empire
from 1618 until his death on 20 May 1622. He married Aisha, born in 1607, without issue.
, Istanbul
, the son of Sultan Ahmed I
(1603–17) and his wife Mâh-Firûze Hatice (Khadija) Valide Sultan, originally named Maria, a Greek
. At a young age his mother paid a lot of attention to his education, as a result of this Osman II was a known poet and had mastered many languages, including Arabic, Persian
, Greek
, Latin
and Italian
. He ascended the throne at the early age of 14 as the result of a coup d'état
against his uncle Mustafa I (The Intestable)
(1617–18, 1622–23). Despite his youth, Osman II soon sought to assert himself as a ruler, and after securing the empire's eastern border by signing a peace treaty (treaty of Serav
) with Safavid Iran
, he personally led the Ottoman invasion of Poland
during the Moldavian Magnate Wars
. Forced to sign a peace treaty with the Poles
after the Battle of Chotin (Chocim)
(which was, in fact, a siege of Chotin
defended by the Polish hetman
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
) in September–October, 1621, Osman II returned home to Istanbul
in shame, blaming the cowardice of the Janissaries
and the insufficiency of his statesmen for his humiliation.
Probably the first Sultan to identify and attempt to tackle the Janissaries
as a praetorian institution doing more harm than good to the modern empire, Osman II closed their coffee shops (the gathering points for conspiracies against the throne) and started planning to create a new, loyal and ethnic Turkic
army consisting of Anatolia
n, Mesopotamia
n and Egypt
ian Turks
and Turkmens
. The result was a palace uprising by the janissaries, who promptly imprisoned the young sultan. When an executioner was sent to strangle him at Yedikule, Istanbul
, Osman II refused to give in and started fighting the man and was only subdued when he was hit on his back with the rear end of an axe by one of his imprisoners. After that he was strangled with a bowstring. Alternatively, Turkish traveller Evliya Celebi
recorded that after a putting up a desperate struggle, Osman was killed by the Grand Vizier Kara Davud Paşa (Black David Pasha) from compression of his testicles which was a mode of execution reserved by custom to the Ottoman sultans. A combination of these stories is given by the French traveler Pouqueville, who writes that when the cord was thrown over his neck, Osman 'had the presence of mind to slip it with his hand, and knock down the principal executioner; on which his grand vizier seized him by the most sensible part of his body, when Osman fainted with pain, and was strangled.'
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
) (Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
عثمان ثانى ‘Osmān-i sānī) (November 3, 1604 – May 20, 1622) was the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from 1618 until his death on 20 May 1622. He married Aisha, born in 1607, without issue.
Biography
Osman II was born at Topkapı PalaceTopkapi Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, the son of Sultan Ahmed I
Ahmed I
Ahmed I or Ahmed Bakhti was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617.-Biography:...
(1603–17) and his wife Mâh-Firûze Hatice (Khadija) Valide Sultan, originally named Maria, a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
. At a young age his mother paid a lot of attention to his education, as a result of this Osman II was a known poet and had mastered many languages, including Arabic, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. He ascended the throne at the early age of 14 as the result of a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
against his uncle Mustafa I (The Intestable)
Mustafa I
Mustafa I Deli , son of Mehmed III, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1617 to 1618 and from 1622 to 1623. His mother was Valide Sultan Handan Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Helena....
(1617–18, 1622–23). Despite his youth, Osman II soon sought to assert himself as a ruler, and after securing the empire's eastern border by signing a peace treaty (treaty of Serav
Treaty of Serav
Treaty of Serav was a treaty between Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia after the war of 1615 - 1618. - Background :...
) with Safavid Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, he personally led the Ottoman invasion of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
during the Moldavian Magnate Wars
Moldavian Magnate Wars
The Moldavian Magnate Wars refer to the period at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century when the magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth intervened in the affairs of Moldavia, clashing with the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire for domination and influence over the...
. Forced to sign a peace treaty with the Poles
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
after the Battle of Chotin (Chocim)
Battle of Khotyn (1621)
The Battle of Khotyn was a battle fought between a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army and an invading Ottoman Imperial army. Here, for a whole month , the Commonwealth forces halted the Ottoman advance...
(which was, in fact, a siege of Chotin
Khotyn
Khotyn is a city in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, and is the administrative center of Khotyn Raion within the oblast, and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, it has a population of 11,124...
defended by the Polish hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz was a famous Lithuanian military commander and one of the most prominent noblemen of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Biography:...
) in September–October, 1621, Osman II returned home to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in shame, blaming the cowardice of the Janissaries
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
and the insufficiency of his statesmen for his humiliation.
Probably the first Sultan to identify and attempt to tackle the Janissaries
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
as a praetorian institution doing more harm than good to the modern empire, Osman II closed their coffee shops (the gathering points for conspiracies against the throne) and started planning to create a new, loyal and ethnic Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
army consisting of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n, Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
n and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Turkmens
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
. The result was a palace uprising by the janissaries, who promptly imprisoned the young sultan. When an executioner was sent to strangle him at Yedikule, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Osman II refused to give in and started fighting the man and was only subdued when he was hit on his back with the rear end of an axe by one of his imprisoners. After that he was strangled with a bowstring. Alternatively, Turkish traveller Evliya Celebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
recorded that after a putting up a desperate struggle, Osman was killed by the Grand Vizier Kara Davud Paşa (Black David Pasha) from compression of his testicles which was a mode of execution reserved by custom to the Ottoman sultans. A combination of these stories is given by the French traveler Pouqueville, who writes that when the cord was thrown over his neck, Osman 'had the presence of mind to slip it with his hand, and knock down the principal executioner; on which his grand vizier seized him by the most sensible part of his body, when Osman fainted with pain, and was strangled.'