38 Facts About Selim III

Selim III was the son of Sultan Mustafa III and his wife Mihrisah Sultan.

Mustafa Selim III attempted to create a powerful army with professional, well-educated soldiers during peacetime.

Selim III declared new military regulations and opened maritime and artillery academies.

An oracle predicted his son Selim III would be a world conqueror, so he organized a seven-day joyous feast.

Sultan Mustafa III named his son his successor; however, Selim's uncle Abdul Hamid I ascended the throne after Mustafa's death.

Sultan Abdul Hamid I took care of Selim III and emphasized his education.

Sultan Selim III was very fond of literature and calligraphy; many of his works were put on the walls of mosques and convents.

Selim III wrote many poems, especially about Crimea's occupation by Russia.

Selim III spoke Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Old Bulgarian fluently.

Selim III demonstrated his poetry and music skills and was fond of fine arts and the army.

The talents and energy with which Selim III was endowed had endeared him to the people, and great hopes were founded on his accession.

Selim III had associated much with foreigners and was thoroughly persuaded of the necessity of reforming his state.

Selim III profited by the respite to abolish the military tenure of fiefs; he introduced salutary reforms into the administration, especially in the fiscal department, sought by well-considered plans to extend the spread of education, and engaged foreign officers as instructors, by whom a small corps of new troops called Nizam-I Cedid were collected and drilled in 1797.

Selim III was unable to integrate the Nizam-I Cedid with the rest of the army which overall limited its role in defense of the state.

Selim III ascended the throne only to find that the Ottoman Empire of old had been considerably reduced due to conflicts outside the realm.

Selim III realized the importance of diplomatic relations with other nations and pushed for permanent embassies in the courts of all the great nations of Europe, a hard task because of religious prejudice towards Muslims.

Selim III, a cultured poet and musician, carried on an extended correspondence with Louis XVI.

The decree of deposition accused Selim III of failing to respect Islam's religion and the Ottomans' tradition.

Selim III had urgently requested Ottoman assistance during the Third Anglo-Mysore War, in which he had suffered an irreversible defeat.

The British then appealed to Selim III to send a letter to Tipu Sultan requesting the Sultanate of Mysore to halt its state of war against the British East India Company.

Selim III then wrote a letter to Tipu Sultan criticizing the French and informed Tipu Sultan that the Ottomans would act as an intermediary between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British.

Selim III was thoroughly under the influence of French ambassador to the Porte Horace Sebastiani, and the fleet was compelled to retire without effecting its purpose.

However, the anarchy, manifest or latent, existing throughout the provinces proved too great for Selim III to cope with.

The Janissaries rose once more in revolt, induced the Sheikh ul-Islam to grant a fatwa against the reforms, dethroned and imprisoned Selim III, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne, as Mustafa IV, on 29 May 1807.

Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, a loyalist of Selim III, was approaching the city with his army to reinstate Selim III.

Selim III knew his end was coming when he saw their swords drawn.

Selim III was more fortunate and later ordered the assassins to be executed.

Selim III would be the only Ottoman sultan killed by a sword.

Selim III was buried in Laleli Mosque near his father's tomb.

Selim III created fourteen makams, three of which are in current use today.

Sixty-four compositions by Selim III are known today, some of which are part of the regular repertory of Turkish classical music performance.

Selim III was exceptionally respectful of Tanburi Izak Efendi, and it is recounted that the Sultan rose in respect when Tanburi Izak Efendi entered the court.

The Hamparsum notation system that Selim III commissioned became the dominant notation for Turkish and Armenian music.

Selim III's name is associated with a school in Turkish classical music due to the revival and rebirth of music at his court.

Selim III was interested in Western music and, in 1797, invited an opera troupe for the first opera performance in the Ottoman Empire.

Selim III was a member of the Mevlevi Order of Sufi dervishes and entered into the order at the Galata Mevlevihanesi under the name Selim Dede.

Selim III was a renowned composer, creating many musical compositions, including a Mevlevi ayin, a long and complex liturgical form performed during the sema of the Mevlevi Order, in the makam Suzidilara.

Selim III extended his patronage to Antoine Ignace Melling, appointed court architect in 1795.