Ahmed III
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Koceks_-_Surname-i_Vehbi.jpg
Köçek troupe dancing at Sultan Ahmed III's 14-day celebration of his sons' circumcision in 1720. Miniature from the Surname-i Vehbi, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.
Ahmed III (December 30, 1673 – 1736) was a sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of sultan Mehmed IV. He succeeded to the throne in 1703 on the abdication of his brother Mustafa II.
Ahmed cultivated good relations with England, in view doubtless of Russia's menacing attitude. He afforded a refuge in Turkey to Charles XII of Sweden after the Swedish defeat at the hands of Peter the Great in the Battle of Poltava in 1709. Forced against his will into war with Russia, he came nearer than any Turkish sovereign before or since to breaking the power of his northern rival, whom his grand vizier Baltaji Mahommed Pasha succeeded in completely surrounding near the Pruth in 1711.
In the treaty which Russia was compelled to sign, the Ottoman Empire obtained the restitution of Azov, the destruction of the forts built by Russia and the undertaking that the tsar should abstain from future interference in the affairs of the Poles or the Cossacks. Discontent at the leniency of these terms was so strong at Constantinople that it nearly brought on a renewal of the war.
In 1715 the Morea was taken from the Venetians. This led to hostilities with Austria, in which the Ottoman Empire was unsuccessful, and Belgrade fell into the hands of Austria in 1717. Through the mediation of England and the Netherlands the peace of Passarowitz was concluded in 1718, by which Turkey retained her conquests from the Venetians, but lost Hungary.
A war with Persia terminated in disaster, leading to a revolt of the janissaries, who deposed Ahmed in September 1730. He died in captivity six years later.
| Preceded by: Mustafa II | Ottoman Sultan | Succeeded by: Mahmud I |