Mustafa IV: Ottoman Sultan from 1807 to 1808

Mustafa IV was an Ottoman sultan who reigned from 1807 to 1808 and was a member of the reactionary conservative alliance that deposed his reformer relative, Sultan Selim III. Mustafa, a passionate and ambitious man of little intelligence, put an end to Selim's reforms and executed most of the reformers under the influence of the Shaykh al-Islam (head of the Muslim religious hierarchy) and the Janissaries. Meanwhile, reformist Bayrakdar Mustafa Paşa of Rusçuk (modern Ruse, Bulg.) marched to Constantinople to reinstall Selim III. Mustafa assassinated Selim after learning of Bayrakdar's plans. He was overthrown the next day (28 July 1808) and imprisoned until he was strangled on orders from Mahmud II, who succeeded him.

Mustafa IV was born in Constantinople on 8 September 1779. Sultan Abdul Hamid I (1774–1789) and Sineperver Sultan were his parents. After their cousin, the reformist Sultan Selim III (1789–1807), he and his brother, Mahmud II, were the last male members of the House of Osman. They were the only ones qualified to inherit the kingdom from Selim, who had treated them well. Because Mustafa was the eldest, he ascended to the throne ahead of his brother. Mustafa would rescue his cousin's life while also ordering his assassination during his brief rule. Sultan Selim III's favorite crown prince, Mustafa, betrayed his cousin and collaborated with the rebels to usurp his throne.

After his cousin Selim was deposed on 29 May 1807, Mustafa ascended to the throne. He ascended to the throne in the aftermath of the upheavals that led to the fatwa against Selim for "introducing the habits of infidels among the Moslems and demonstrating an intention to subjugate the Janissaries." Selim went to the palace and committed suicide after swearing devotion to his cousin as the new sultan. Mustafa saved his cousin's life by destroying the poison cup he was about to drink. Mustafa's rule was tumultuous. The Janissaries rioted across Constantinople shortly after assuming the throne, plundering and murdering everyone who looked to support Selim. A truce with the Russians, meantime, posed a more significant threat, allowing Mustafa Bayrakdar, a pro-reformist commander stationed on the Danube, to march his army back to Constantinople to attempt to reinstate Selim. The army marched on the city and seized the palace with the help of the Grand Vizier of Adrianople. Sarıbeyzade Aleko, the interpreter for Fenerli Divan-ı Hümayun, was executed on 11 September 1807 for eavesdropping on government activities that were unrelated to his work. The label around his neck was written that he provided the enemy with treachery and state secrets. The Ottoman-French relationship was strained as a result of this execution. By travelling to Babıali, French envoy Sebastiani denounced the killing of Aleko, who was under the government's support. Following the signing of a cease-fire agreement in the Russian Lada and the chaos in the Silistra army, Ottoman troops retreated to Edirne, which had lost its army character. Meanwhile, after a long winter, centre frosts, shortages, and wood shortages were encountered in Istanbul and Edirne. The status of Edirne's troops and cadre was disastrous. Soldiers were instructed to dispatch soldiers from the province governors until just a small number of soldiers remained from Izmit and Şile, both near Istanbul. In the first place, pro-Nizam-ı Cedid rioters in Anatolia and Çapanoğlu Süleyman Bey had cut off all aid to Istanbul. Mustafa planned the assassination of Selim and his brother Mahmud in Constantinople's Topkapı  Palace to secure his position as Osman's sole surviving successor. He then instructed his guards to display the rebels Selim's body, which they dumped into the palace's inner courtyard. Mustafa assumed Mahmud was likewise dead and climbed his throne, but the prince hid in a bath's furnace. Just as the rebels demanded that Mustafa "give his seat to someone more deserving," Mahmud appeared and toppled Mustafa. The failure of his brief reign thwarted attempts to reverse the changes, which continued under Mahmud.

On Mahmud's instructions, Mustafa was slain and buried in his father's mausoleum on 16 November 1808.