#8 HOW DID OTTOMAN SULTAN MEHMED IV BECOME KNOWN AS "THE HUNTER"?
Ayşe Gökçe GÜZELER*
Ottoman sultans, besides their duties in governing the state and ensuring the welfare of their subjects, also indulged in hobbies and passions that they pursued with fervor. Among them, some engaged in the art of precious stone craftsmanship, others wrote poetry, while some immersed themselves in music. However, one common interest that could sometimes lead to an obsession so consuming that it affected their reign was the pursuit of hunting. Sultan Mehmed IV (1648-1687), who witnessed long wars against the Holy League, including Austria, Venice, and Russia, resulting in significant strategic losses for the Ottoman Empire and tragic defeats, was one such ruler. His love for hunting was so profound that it ultimately contributed to his downfall, earning him the epithet "the Hunter."
Mehmed IV's passion for hunting began in his childhood years. As a young prince of just ten years old, under the supervision of Enderun Aghas, he would spend his time in Kağıthane engaging in hunting activities. This initial interest in hunting would later evolve into a great obsession. Mehmed IV, who increasingly spent his time in Edirne, would hunt in regions stretching as far as Morea and Thessaly for years. The forests of Eğriboz, the surroundings of Thessaloniki, Despot, and the Rhodope Mountains were among his frequent hunting grounds.
It is said that his hunting trips lasted for weeks and were quite expensive. When he grew tired of hunting in Istanbul and Bursa, he would travel to Edirne, Plovdiv, and Yenişehir. It's noted that Zinkeisen mentioned he took around twenty to thirty thousand people with him to collect the animals he shot during the hunts. The success of the hunt depended on the Bostancıbaşı, who was responsible for it.
Claes Rålamb, who was sent as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire by King X. Carl Gustav of Sweden (1654-1660) during this period, witnessed Mehmed IV's departure from Istanbul for hunting. The paintings of the Imperial Hunt, commissioned by Swedish Ambassador Rålamb, were exhibited for a while at the Pera Museum. Rålamb described the departure of the hunting party at dawn, with the Janissaries setting off in groups, and detailed the presence of the sultan's hunting dogs, camels, and horses within the procession.
During the terms of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha and his son Fazıl Ahmed Pasha as grand viziers, Mehmed IV concentrated his hunting grounds along the army routes. He began to devote all his time to his passion for hunting and rarely visited Istanbul. After the signing of the Treaty of Bucaş (1672), he chose to go hunting when he returned to Edirne due to favorable weather conditions.
Mehmed IV personally participated in the Çehrin Campaign (1678) under the command of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, but instead of crossing the Danube, he preferred to stay in Silistra and go hunting. Despite all the negative events that occurred during the long period of war with the Holy League, starting with the Second Siege of Vienna (1683) and ending with the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, Mehmed IV's passion for hunting remained unchanged.
When rumors spread that he was not interested in state affairs, the scholars of the time warned him about his passion for hunting. However, even these stern words did not have an effect on Mehmed IV. After the fall of Buda Fortress in 1686, when the people became restless, he declared that he would give up hunting, but he couldn't change the people's perception of him. Understanding that his reign was in trouble when the soldiers rebelled, claiming that their salaries were not paid after the defeat in the Battle of Mohács in 1687, Mehmed IV distributed his hounds and hunting equipment and declared that he would never hunt again. However, this statement was not enough to calm the situation.
As the Ottoman Empire was under enemy occupation and dragged from one war to another, it was inevitable that Mehmed IV, who couldn't rid himself of his passion for hunting, would be dethroned by the rebels. His brother, Sultan Süleyman II (1687-1691), was brought to the throne, and Mehmed IV, along with his two sons, was placed in the Şimşirlik Pavilion of the palace for a while before being sent to Edirne. He passed away there on January 6, 1693, in the city that was the center of his hunting adventures.
References
Finkel, Caroline, Rüyadan İmparatorluğa Osmanlı / İmparatorluğu'nun Öyküsü 1300-1923, Çeviri: Zülal Kılıç, Timaş Yayınları, İstanbul, 2017.
İlgürel, Mücteba, Doğuştan Günümüze Büyük İslâm Tarihi, Cilt 11, Çağ Yayınları, İstanbul, 1993.
Karaduman, Gökay , “Osmanlı Devleti'nde Şikâr-ı Hümâyun ve IV. Mehmed'in Çatalca ve Karıştıran Avları”, Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt 22, Sayı 1, 2021, ss. 131-146.
Özbil, Alev, “Üç Yabancının Kaleminden Avcı Mehmed ve Av", Acta Turcica Çevrimiçi Tematik Türkoloji Dergisi, Cilt 1, Sayı 1, ss. 1.
Özcan, Abdülkadir, “Mehmed IV", Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Cilt 28, 2003, ss. 414-418.
Zinkeisen, J.Wilhelm, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Tarihi(1669-1774), Cilt 5, Çeviri: Nilüfer Epçeli, Yeditepe Yayınevi, İstanbul, 2011.
* Undergraduate Students, Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, İnönü University, MALATYA