Ibrahim
I was assassinated by the Janissaries in 1648.; he was followed on
the throne by his seven-year-old son, Mehmed IV. Mehmed's mother,
Turhan, and powerful
grandmother, Kosem,
ruled the empire for the youngster. However, in 1649, the Janissaries
seized power in Istanbul and they allowed the Celali rebels to govern most
of Anatolia. This delicate system of government lasted only two years;
then the empire descended into anarchy. Finally, in 1656, Sultana
Turhan encouraged the young Mehmed to appoint Koprulu
Mehmed as his grand vizier. Over the next three years, Koprulu
Mehmed turned the empire around dramatically; he reestablished control
over Istanbul and the provinces, ended the Venetian blockade of the Dardanelles
(which had been ongoing since 1648), and he took control of the former
provinces of Wallachia and Transylvania in Europe. When he died in
1661, Mehmed immediately replaced him with his 26-year-old son, Koprulu
Ahmed.
In
1663, Ahmed led the Ottoman army deep into Europe to wage war against the
Hapsburgs of Austria. Unfortunately the Ottomans met with a
crushing defeat at the Battle of St. Goddard. Despite their victory,
the Austrians had suffered heavy casualties and they pressed for a quick
peace. The result was the treaty of Vasvar, a diplomatic victory
for the Ottomans since it merely restated the terms of the earlier Treaty
of Zsitva-Torok. Now at peace with the Hapsburgs, Ahmed turned his
sights towards Crete. In 1666, he sent reinforcements to Candia and
1669, after a twenty-five-year siege, the city fell to the Ottomans.
In 1672, Koprulu Ahmed began his last military campaign, when he
went to war against the expansionist king of Poland, John Sobieski.
The war with Poland ended four years later with the Treaty of Zurawno,
which forced Sobieski to make serious concessions to the Ottomans.
A few days after the treaty was signed, Koprulu Ahmed died.
Mehmed
IV was now faced with choosing a new grand vizier. He decided to
appoint his son-in-law, Kara
Mustafa. A year after his appointment, in 1677, the Russian army
moved into Ottoman territory in the Ukraine. Kara Mustafa bumbled
the coordination of Ottoman defenses in the area and the Ottomans were
forced to turn over their Ukrainian territories to the Russians.
In 1683, Kara Mustafa's next military blunder got underway. He decided
to declare war on the Hapsburgs. The Ottoman army swooped into Eastern
Europe and by the summer they were at the gates of Vienna. The second
Ottoman siege of Vienna was lifted when the Polish army under the control
of John Sobieski, attacked the Ottomans from behind. The second siege
had resurrected the Holy League, now comprised of Venice, Austria, and
Poland, with additional help from Safavid Persia. The Ottomans were
forced to withdraw from Vienna to Buda. In 1686, Buda fell to Holy
Leagues forces as well. The Ottomans withdrew again, this time to
Belgrade. After the fall of Buda, the Austrians seized the Danube
Basin, the Venetians took Morea, and the Polish began to annex ports on
the western coast of the Black Sea. It was also at this time that
the Russians joined the alliance. In 1687, Kara Mustafa led a massive
force against the Austrians at Mohac. Unlike the first Battle of
Mohac, this one was a horrible defeat for the Ottomans. The defeat
resulted in Kara Mustafa's execution and Mehmed IV's deposition.