Suleiman II

Suleiman II was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1687 to 1691. He was the son of Sultan Ibrahim and Saliha Dilaşub Sultan, a Serb woman originally named Katarina. He was only 3 months younger than his half-brother Mehmed IV, who became the sultan in 1648 after the deposition and execution of their father. Suleiman was confined in the Kafes, a luxurious prison for royal princes within Topkapı Palace, for 36 years until he took the throne in 1687. Shortly before he assumed the throne, the Ottomans suffered a major defeat at the second Battle of Mohács in 1687. In 1688, Suleiman II urgently requested the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb for assistance against the rapidly advancing Austrians, during the Ottoman–Habsburg War, but most Mughal forces were engaged in the Deccan Wars and Aurangzeb ignored Suleiman's request to commit to any formal assistance to their desperate Ottoman allies. Suleiman II appointed Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha as his Grand Vizier in 1689, leading to the reconquest of Belgrade in 1690. Later, the threat from the Russian Empire was renewed when they joined in an alliance with other European powers, while the Ottomans had lost the support of their Crimean vassals, who were forced to defend themselves from several Russian invasions. Under Köprülü's leadership, the Ottomans halted an Austrian advance into Serbia and crushed an uprising in Macedonia and Bulgaria until Köprülü was killed in the Battle of Slankamen by Austrian forces. Suleiman II also carried out some internal reforms, such as banning alcohol, improving the treasury, and reducing corruption. He also attempted to reform the Janissary corps, but faced resistance from the powerful military elite. He died of natural causes in 1691 and was buried in the Süleymaniye Mosque, which was built by his namesake Suleiman the Magnificent. He was succeeded by his brother Ahmed II.