Suleiman II: Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1687 to 1691

From 1687 until 1691, Suleiman II (15 April 1642 to 22 June 1691) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Suleiman with his Grand Vizier Fazıl Mustafa Pasha successfully turned the tide of the Holy League War, reconquering Belgrade in 1690 and implementing substantial economic and military reforms after being brought to the throne an armed revolt.

Suleiman II, the son of Sultan Ibrahim and Aşub Sultan, a Serb lady originally named Katarina, was born on 15 April 1642 at Topkapı Palace in Constantinople. Suleiman's half-brother Mehmed IV, born on 2 January 1642, was just three months his junior. Suleiman's half-brother Mehmed ascended to the throne after his father was deposed and executed in 1648. Suleiman along with his brothers were circumcised on 21 October 1649. Suleiman was imprisoned in a kafes (cage) within the Topkapı Palace in 1651 (intended to prevent any princes of the blood from organizing a revolt), and he lived there for 36 years until he ascended to the power in 1687. Şeyhülislam Hocazade Mesud Efendi and a few grand viziers attempted in 1656 but failed to depose Suleiman, with some being executed and others being condemned. Suleiman and Ahmed were taken to Istanbul after the fall of Vienna in 1683, and the Şimşirlik Kasnna was closed.

On 3 December 1687, Suleiman II visited the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, when Şeyhülislam Debbağzade Mehmed Efendi and the Janissary Ağa Mustafa Ağa besieged him with a sword. He attended the Hagia Sophia Mosque's first Friday salute the next day. The preacher of the Suleymaniye Mosque, Aralızade Abdül Efendi, was appointed by the Sultan of the Süleymaniye Mosque every day. Recep Pasha, who fled before Suleiman's accession, was captured and executed in front of Bab-I-Humayun. When word of the Venetian invasion of the Peloponnese and the burning of the Attic reached Austria in the first months of 1688, the Austrian frontier was also invaded. The Ottomans suffered a catastrophic loss at the second Battle of Mohács in 1687, just before he took the throne. During the Ottoman–Habsburg War in 1688, Suleiman II urgently requested assistance from Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb against Austrians' rapidly approaching. However, most Mughal forces were engaged in the Deccan Wars, and Aurangzeb ignored Suleiman's request to commit to any legal assistance to their desperate Ottoman allies. The trust of hamr (drink) resumed operations to offset the treasury deficit. Due to a governmental financial shortage, it was prohibited, yet people publicly sold beverages at bars in Istanbul and Galata and home. While Suleiman was destroying the alcohol establishments, the proprietors began bringing in more booze. Alcohol was taxed at eight gold coins. On 25 October 1689, Suleiman II named Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha as his Grand Vizier, paving the way for the reconquest of Belgrade in 1690.

Nonetheless, when the Russian Empire joined a European coalition, the Ottomans lost backing from their Crimean vassals, who were obliged to defend themselves against Russian invasion. The Ottomans stopped an Austrian advance into Serbia. They suppressed an insurrection in Macedonia and Bulgaria under Köprülü's command until Austrian soldiers murdered Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha at the Battle of Slankamen.

Suleiman II was taken to Edirne in a coma on 8 June 1691. On 22 June 1691, he died, and his remains were placed in an icebox. His brother Ahmed was crowned and buried in the mausoleum of Suleiman the Magnificent in Istanbul's Süleymaniye Mosque.