Inauspicious Enthronement
This chapter explores Mehmed IV's turbulent accession to the sultanate at the age of seven following the dethronement (and subsequent execution) of his father, Ibrahim. Nearly a week after Ibrahim was dethroned and put under house arrest, and his son Prince Mehmed became Sultan Mehmed IV, the royal family boarded a skiff at the imperial boathouse down the hill from Topkapı Palace and took a short journey up the Golden Horn to make a pilgrimage to the district of Eyüp, a fundamental part of an Ottoman sultan's enthronement. The purpose of the boy's first trip beyond the palace walls was for him to visit the city's most sacred cemetery; gird the sword of the sultanate in its most holy mosque; acquire both the charisma of a man who fought for Muhammad and that of his sultanic predecessors; ride on horseback through the city mimicking Mehmed II's triumphant path after the conquest; and, finally, to display his munificence to his subjects, who would be able to see him for the first time.
Keywords: Mehmed IV, sultanate, Ibrahim, Eyüp, pilgrimage
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .