Mehmed IV

Mehmed IV took the throne in 1648 as a child, installed after a coup tore his father down. What followed was four decades of rule split into thirds: early chaos, a long middle surge tied to the Köprülü grand viziers who steadied the state and drove conquest, then a final unraveling. The empire pressed farther into Europe than it ever had, and Mehmed earned the title gazi — holy warrior — for the campaigns waged in his name. But he spent those years hunting, a passion that defined him more than governance. In 1687, soldiers fed up with losses in the War of the Holy League forced him out. He wit…