Editing Mahmud II (section)

==In fiction==
The 2006 historical [[detective novel]] ''[[The Janissary Tree]]'', by [[Jason Goodwin]], is set in 1836 Constantinople, with Mahmud II's modernising reforms (and conservative opposition to them) forming the background of the plot. The Sultan himself and his mother appear in several scenes.

The 1989 film ''[[The Favorite (1989 film)|Intimate Power]]'', also known as ''The Favorite'', is adapted from a historical fiction novel by [[Prince Michael of Greece]]. It portrays a legend about [[Aimée du Buc de Rivéry]] as a young captured French girl who, after spending years in an Ottoman harem, outlives two Sultans and protects Mahmud as his surrogate mother. Mahmud is a minor role in the film but is portrayed as both an adult and a child. The film concludes with a variation of his dramatic succession.