The Ottoman Empire was ruled twice by Mustafa I (1601 or 1602–20 January 1639): from November 22, 1617, to February 26, 1618, and from May 20, 1622, to September 10, 1623. Halime Sultan and Sultan Mehmed III were his parents.
Early life
In the Topkapi Palace, Mustafa was born in 1601 or 1602. He was the son of an Abkhazian concubine named Halime Hatun and Sultan Mehmed III.
Prior to 1603, it was traditional for an Ottoman Sultan to have his brothers put to death soon after taking the throne (Mehmed III, Mustafa's father, had put his nineteen half-brothers to death). However, Mustafa's older half-brother, thirteen-year-old Ahmed I, spared Mustafa's life when he took the kingdom in 1603. Ahmed I's mother, Handan Sultan, was essential to Mustafa's survival because she persuaded her son to spare his life because she did not think he posed a threat because of his perceived mental weakness.
The influence of Ahmed's favorite consort, Kosem Sultan, may have wanted to prevent Sultan Osman II, Ahmed's first-born son by another concubine, from succeeding him, which contributed to Mustafa's survival. Osman would probably attempt to put his half-brothers, Ahmed and Kosem's sons, to death if he were to become Sultan. (In 1621, Osman II murdered his half-brother Mehmed, the eldest son of Ahmed and Kosem, making this scenario a reality.) Moreover, Mustafa was the only potential heir when Ahmed took the throne. The dynasty would have ended if Ahmed had killed him and died without a son. According to reports from foreign ambassadors, Ahmed had a good relationship with his older half-brother, Şehzade Mahmud, who was Mustafa's full brother and was executed by his father Mehmed III and grandmother Safiye Sultan. He was shocked by his death and sympathized with Mustafa's young age.
Prior to Ahmed's passing in 1617, Mustafa resided in the Old Palace with his mother and grandmother Safiye Sultan. Later, they moved to the Kafes.
First reign (1617–1618)
The Ottoman Empire faced an unprecedented predicament following Ahmed's passing. Topkapı Palace was home to several princes who were now qualified for the sultanate. In place of Ahmed's son Osman, Mustafa was crowned by a group led by the Şeyhülislam Esad Efendi and Sofu Mehmed Pasha, who represented the Grand Vizier while he was absent from Constantinople. Sofu Mehmed said Osman was too young to be crowned without provoking conflict among the people. Chief Black Eunuch Mustafa Agha filed a complaint, citing Mustafa's mental health problems, but he was fired. Mustafa's rise led to the establishment of a new succession policy known as seniority, according to which the oldest prince would take the throne. Until the end of the Empire, this practice continued. An Ottoman ruler was replaced for the first time by his brother rather than his son. His mother, Halime Sultan, became a Valide sultan and a strong regent. Mustafa acted more directly as regent as a result of her mental disorders.
Mustafa's unusual behavior continued despite the belief that regular social interaction would improve his mental health. He removed the turbans from his viziers and grabbed their beards. Others witnessed him hurling coins at birds and fish. İbrahim Peçevi, an Ottoman historian, claims that "all men of state and the people saw this situation, and they understood that he was mentally disturbed."
Deposition
Mustafa was never more than a tool of the court cliques in the Topkapı Palace. After a short reign, Mustafa was deposed by another palace party in 1618 and replaced by his young nephew Osman II (1618–1622), returning him to the Old Palace. The conflict between Osman II and the Janissaries gave him another chance. Mustafa reclaimed the throne and governed it for another year after Osman II was deposed and slain in 1622 as a result of a Janissary rebellion.
Alleged mental instability
When Mustafa I took the throne, it is said that he was mentally unstable. However, Baki Tezcan claims that there is insufficient proof to prove that Mustafa was mentally ill when he ascended to the throne. Mustafa "made several trips to the arsenal and the navy docks, inspecting different types of weapons and actively participating in the army and navy's munitions supply."The French ambassador, Baron de Sancy, "suggested that Mustafa was interested in leading the Safavid campaign himself and was entertaining the idea of wintering in Konya for that purpose" in one of his letters.
Furthermore, Mustafa's incapacity is not included in the explanation of the coup by a contemporary observer. Baron de Sancy said that the deposition was the outcome of a political scheme by Grand Admiral Ali Pasha and Chief Black Eunuch Mustafa Agha, who were angry with the former's expulsion after Sultan Mustafa's coronation. After the coup, they might have disseminated rumors about the sultan's mental instability in order to defend it.
Second reign (1622–1623)
Mustafa executed all those implicated in Sultan Osman's murder to start his second reign. The rebel commander Hoca Ömer Efendi, the vizier Dilaver Pasha, the kızlar Agha Suleiman Agha, the defterdar Baki Pasha, the segban-bashi Nasuh Agha, the general of the Janissaries Ali Agha, and the Kaim-makam Ahmed Pasha were all executed.
During his reign, he was referred to as "Veli" (which means "saint").
Mustafa's mental state remained untreated, and his mother and brother-in-law, the grand vizier Kara Davud Pasha, dominated him like a puppet. He was observed looking for Osman II throughout the palace, banging on doors, and pleading with his nephew to relieve him of the responsibility of sovereignty since he thought Osman II was still alive. He was negatively contrasted to his predecessor, "The present emperor being a fool" (English Ambassador Sir Thomas Roe). As Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, his mother Halime Sultan actually served as the de facto co-ruler.
Deposition and last years
Political instability resulted from conflict between the Janissaries and the sipahis (Ottoman cavalry). The governor-general of Erzurum, Abaza Mehmed Pasha, decided to march on Istanbul in retribution for Osman II's assassination, which led to the Abaza uprising. Despite the regime's attempt to end the war by putting Kara Davud Pasha to death, Abaza Mehmed continued to advance. Mustafa's mother was convinced to allow her son's deposition by clerics and Kemankeş Kara Ali Pasha. She agreed as long as Mustafa's life was spared.
On September 10, 1623, the 11-year-old son of Ahmed I and Kosem, Murad IV, was crowned. While his mother was transported to the Old Palace, where she passed away, Mustafa was committed to the Kafes for the remainder of his life.
Death
Mustafa died in the Kafes on January 20, 1639. One account is that he passed away from epilepsy brought on by spending the majority of his life in prison. There are claims that Sultan Murad IV, who was on the verge of death, ordered his killing with the intention of severing the lineage. He is buried in the courtyard of the Haghia Sophia.