The realization of Mehmed IV's Ghazi title at the campaing of Kamaniçe

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1558723 (Table of Contents)

In 1658 Sultan Mehmed IV was officially given the title of Ghazi with a fatwa of the Şeyhülislam; but it was not until in 1672 that this title materialized in concrete manner. This was unique, as for the first time in Ottoman history a sultan was officially - not rhetorically- receiving the Ghazi title prior to actually taking part in a campaign. In examining this unique case, the present study poses the following questions: under what circumstances was the Ghazi title first given to Mehmed IV in 1658 and why did he join the Kamaniçe campaign in 1672? To answer these questions, it advances two arguments. First, it argues that Mehmed IV’s Ghazi title was launched by the ruling elites as a legitimization tool against Abaza Hasan Paşa, the provincial governor who had revolted against the rigid rule of the Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Paşa in 1658. Second, it argues that the division of the Ottoman state bureaucracy into three parts (Grand Vizier, İstanbul Kaymakamı, and Rikab-ı Hümayun Kaymakamı) in the 1660s, which created complications during the siege of Candia, should have convinced some state officials that the Sultan should personally lead the campaigns in the 1670s. As a corollary, the study proposes to view the personal appearance of Mehmed IV in the campaign of Kamaniçe as an attempt to unify the state bureaucracy within a more limited ground, to smooth the way for centralizing the decision making process.