[August 12] Ibrahim I, sultan of the Ottoman Empire

True Name: ابراهيم اول
Parents: Ahmed I, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Kösem Sultan (Anastasia)
Date of Birth: 5 November 1615
House: Osman
Spouse(s): (1) Turhan Hatice, (2) Saliha Dilasub, and (3) Hatice
Predecessor: Murad IV
Reign: 1640 – 1648
Summary: Born the younger son of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I, it was unfortunate that Ibrahim spent the majority of his childhood in the Kafes, a confined prison-like harem where successors to the throne were held captive. When his elder brother, Murad IV, died in 1640, Ibrahim was to be executed. Murad was the successor of a still-older brother, Osman II, who had ordered both Murad and Ibrahim executed. Thus, in a like fashion to his elder brother, Ibrahim lived on to succeed his brother and become the Ottoman sultan. In reality, Ibrahim was a rather insane sultan. In the course of eight years, he almost destroyed the empire. His mother, Kösem Sultan, ruled almost directly, without even recognizing her third son on many occasions.

Ibrahim had many strange habits that distracted him from ruling. He was obsessed with obese women, seeking large women of all types from throughout the Empire. When he heard that a man violated his harem, he had 280 concubines drowned in the Bosphorus. Also rather strangely, he fed coins to the koi that lived in his pond. Although Ibrahim avoided most politics, he was responsible for the execution of numerous viziers. He also ruled when Venice captured Tenedos, the gateway city that protected the Mediterranean entrance to the Dardanelles. Therefore, it was no surprise when this particular sultan was violently deposed in a coup in 1648. Ibrahim I was strangled to death at the request of his last grand vizier, Mevlevî, who wished to keep his job. Despite his insanity and deposition, three of his sons inherited the Ottoman throne in succession: Mehmed IV, Suleiman II, and Ahmed II.
Date of Death: 12 August 1648
Successor: Mehmed IV

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• Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor (875)
• Yongle, emperor of China (1424)
• Sixtus IV, pope of Rome (1484)
• Innocent XI, pope of Rome (1689)