alt=Sultan|thumb|Sultan Osman III by [[Konstantin Kapıdağlı]]

Osman III ( O<u>s</u>mān-i <u>s</u>āli<u>s</u>;&lrm; 2 January 1699 – 30 October 1757) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757. He was succeeded by his cousin Mustafa III.

Early life

Osman III was born on 2 January 1699 in the Edirne Palace. His father was Mustafa II and his mother was Şehsuvar Sultan. He was the younger half-brother of Mahmud I. When his father was deposed from the throne in 1703, he was taken back to Istanbul and imprisoned in the Kafes. Osman III lived in the Kafes for 51 years.

He was secretly circumcised on 17 April 1705 with the other princes here. He was among the princes in Ahmed's entourage. He also later made trips to the sultan inside and outside the city. Together with his elder brother Mahmud's embassy on 1 October 1730, he became the biggest prince waiting for the throne.

Reign

Osman III lived most of his life as a prisoner in the palace, and as a consequence, he had some behavioural peculiarities when he took the throne. Unlike previous sultans, he hated music, and banished all musicians from the palace. According to Baron de Tott, Osman III was an angry and a modest type of ruler.

Osman III's initial action in governance was to select officials to collaborate with. Throughout his reign, the alterations he implemented in high-level governmental positions, particularly that of the Grand Vizier, can be seen as efforts to diminish the overwhelming influence of the charitable authority prevalent during the previous sultan's era.

In the second year of his reign, Osman lost his mother Şehsuvar Sultan, afterward, the oldest prince Mehmed, died of illness on 22 December 1756. According to various sources, the funeral of the prince, controlled by the grand vizier and the sheikh al-Islam. It was attended by 5,000 people and contemporary sources mentioned that the prince was poisoned and killed on the initiative of Köse Mustafa Pasha.

The known consorts of Osman III are:

  • Leyla Kadın. BaşKadin (First Consort) of Osman throughout his reign. In 1757, a few months after Osman's death, she was married to Hacı Mehmed Emin Bey (d. 16 July 1785) with whom she had a son, Feyzullah Bey (d. 12 August 1792). She died in 1794 and was buried in Üsküdar.
  • Fülane Kadın. Second Kadın. No information about her is known except her rank.
  • Zevki Kadın. Third Kadın. She sponsored several building renovations and built a fountain in Fındıklı, in the Turkish-Baroque style.
  • Emine Ferhunde Kadın. Fourth Kadin. She died in August 1791.

References

Sources

[aged 58]