Mustafa III
Caliph of Islam Amir al-Mu'minin Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Reign	October 30, 1757 – January 21, 1774
Predecessor	Osman III
Successor	Abdülhamid I
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Consort	Aynülhayat Kadınefendi Mihrişah Sultan Rif’at Kadınefendi Ayşe Adilşah Kadınefendi Fehmi Kadınefendi Binnaz Kadınefendi
Royal house	House of Osman
Father	Ahmed III
Mother	Emine Mihrişah Sultan
Religion	Sunni Islam
Tughra

Mustafa III (Ottoman Turkish: مصطفى ثالث Muṣṭafā-yi sālis) (January 28/18, 1717 – January 21, 1774) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30) and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I (1774–89). He was born in Edirne Palace. His mother was Âminā Mihr-î-Shâh Sultan.

Reign[edit]

An energetic and perceptive ruler, Mustafa III sought to modernize the army and the internal state machinery to bring his empire in line with the Powers of Europe.

Unfortunately the Ottoman state had declined so far that any general attempts at modernization were but a drop in the ocean, while any major plans to change the administrative status quo immediately roused the conservative Janissaries and imams to the point of rebellion. Mustafa III did secure the services of foreign generals to initiate a reform of the infantry and artillery. The Sultan also ordered the founding of Academies for Mathematics, Navigation and the Sciences.

Well aware of his own military weakness, Mustafa III assiduously avoided war and was powerless to prevent the annexation of the Crimea by Catherine II of Russia (1762–96). However this action, combined with further Russian aggression in Poland compelled Mustafa III to declare war on Russia shortly before his death.

He died at Topkapi Palace, Constantinople.

Personal life[edit]

Mustafa married Valide Sultan Mihrişah (Mihr-i shah, originally from Georgia), and had two sons: Selim, son of Mihrişah (Mihr-i shah) and Mohammed. He also had five daughters, among them Hatice Sultan.

Mustafa III in his royal robes.

He was well talented and educated . He was an excellent poet, his poetry being written under the pseudonym of Cihangir.^[1] One of his most famous poems is as follows:

(Ottoman Turkish)

“Yıkılupdur bu cihan sanma ki bizde düzele

Devleti çarh-ı deni verdi kamu müptezele

Şimdi erbab-ı saadette gezen hep hazele

İşimiz kaldı hemen merhamet-i lem yezele.”

(Translation)

"This world has ruined, don't even think with us it recovers,

It was the lousy fate that has delivered the power to vulgars

Now the perfidious ones have populated the Imperial Palace

It's now the mercy of the everlasting God that runs our business."

See also[edit]

• Esma Sultan, sister of Mustafa III

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• A more detailed profile of Mustafa III