Osman II.

Osman II ( born November 3, 1604 † May 20, 1622 ), also Genç Osman ( Osman the Young ) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1618 He was the son of Ahmed I..

Life

Osman II ascended the throne at age 14 as a result of a coup d'etat against his uncle Mustafa I. Despite his youth, he soon led a campaign against Poland personally. Severely beaten in 1621 at Khotin by Hetman January Karol Chodkiewicz he returned to Istanbul and saw the reason for the defeat at the inefficiency and lack of discipline of his Janissaries.

The Janissaries had become an independent power factor at the Ottoman court with its own political agenda since 1590. Because the state treasury more often could not pay the wages for the professional soldiers who Janissaries had been repeatedly rebelled against their officers and forced their pay.

After the defeat at Khotin Osman II undertook to reform the Janitscharencorps. He envisioned the excavation of a new army, which was recruited mainly from his troops in Egypt. To want to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca Under the pretext, let prepare Osman II his departure to Cairo.

However, when the real plans of the Sultan were known, initiated the Janissary 1621 a palace coup. They let Osman II to capture and put his predecessor as Sultan Mustafa I. again. Osman was eventually strangled in the fortress Yedikule.

The reign of Osman II is noteworthy for two reasons. Firstly Osman should be the first and so far only Sultan to Tanzimatzeit who tried to carry out a military reform. On the other hand, the coup of the Janissaries a new high point in their quest for political power dar. Previously, the Janissaries had indeed been already used by competing groups at the court for various intrigues. The deposition of Osman, however, was the first case in which the professional soldiers tried alone to enforce their own interests.