Editing Selim III (section)

==Reign==

=== Plans of reforms ===
{{Main|Ottoman military reforms}}

[[File:Ottoman Sultan Selim III (1789).jpg|thumb|Selim III receiving dignitaries at an audience at the Gate of Felicity, [[Topkapı Palace]].]]
The talents and energy with which Selim III was endowed had endeared him to the people, and great hopes were founded on his accession. He had associated much with foreigners and was thoroughly persuaded of the necessity of [[Ottoman Reform Efforts under Selim III and Mahmoud II|reforming]] his state.

However, [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]] and [[Russian Empire|Russia]] gave him no time for anything but defense, and it was not until the [[Peace of Iaşi]] (1792) that breathing space was allowed him in Europe, while [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]'s [[French Invasion of Egypt (1798)|invasion of Egypt and Syria]] soon called for the empire's most vigorous efforts.

Ottoman provinces from Egypt to Syria began implementing French policies and differed away from Istanbul after [[Napoleon]]'s attack.

[[File:Bataille du mont-thabor.jpg|thumb|[[French campaign in Egypt and Syria]] against the [[Mamluk]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] forces.]]

Selim III profited by the respite to abolish the military tenure of fiefs; he introduced salutary reforms into the administration, especially in the fiscal department, sought by well-considered plans to extend the spread of education, and engaged foreign officers as instructors, by whom a small corps of new troops called ''[[Nizam-I Cedid]]'' were collected and drilled in 1797. This unit comprised Turkish peasant youths from Anatolia and was supplied with modern weaponry.<ref name="nizam-i jedid">{{cite book|last1=Cleveland|first1=William L.|last2=Bunton|first2=Martin|title=A history of the modern Middle East|date=2013|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder, CO|isbn=9780813348339|page=57|edition=Fifth}}</ref>

These troops were able to hold their own against rebellious [[Janissary|Janissaries]] in the [[Balkan]] provinces such as the [[Sanjak of Smederevo]] against its appointed [[Vizier]] [[Hadži Mustafa Pasha]], where disaffected governors made no scruple of attempting to make use of them against the reforming sultan.

Emboldened by this success, Selim III issued an order that in the future, picked men should be taken annually from the Janissaries to serve in the ''Nizam-I Cedid''.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} Selim III was unable to integrate the Nizam-I Cedid with the rest of the army which overall limited its role in defense of the state.<ref name="nizam-i jedid" />

=== Foreign relations ===
Selim III ascended the throne only to find that the Ottoman Empire of old had been considerably reduced due to conflicts outside the realm. In the north, Russia had taken the Black Sea through the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] in 1774. Selim realized the importance of diplomatic relations with other nations and pushed for permanent embassies in the courts of all the great nations of Europe, a hard task because of religious prejudice towards Muslims. Even with the religious obstacles, resident embassies were established in [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]], [[First French Republic|France]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] and [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]]. Selim, a cultured poet and musician, carried on an extended correspondence with [[Louis XVI]]. Although distressed by the establishment of the republic in France, the Ottoman government was soothed by French representatives in Constantinople who maintained the goodwill of various influential personages.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stanford |first=Shaw |author-link=Stanford J. Shaw |year=1965 |title=The Origins of Ottoman Military Reform: The Nizam-I Cedid Army of Sultan Selim III |journal=The Journal of Modern History |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=291–306 |doi=10.1086/600691 |jstor=1875404 |s2cid=145786017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Naff |first=Thomas |date=1963 |title=Reform and the Conduct of Ottoman Diplomacy in the Reign of Selim III, 1789-1807 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=295-315 |doi=10.2307/598070 |jstor=598070}}</ref>

On 1 July 1798, however, French forces landed in [[Eyalet of Egypt|Egypt]], and Selim declared war on France. In alliance with [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and Britain, the Turks were in periodic conflict with the French on land and sea until March 1801. Peace came in June 1802, but the following year brought new trouble in the [[Balkan]]s. For decades, a sultan's word had had no power in outlying provinces, prompting Selim's reforms of the military to reimpose central control. This desire was not fulfilled. One rebellious leader was Austrian-backed [[Osman Pazvantoğlu]], whose invasion of [[Wallachia]] in 1801 inspired Russian intervention, resulting in greater autonomy for the Danubian provinces. Serbian conditions also deteriorated. They took a fateful turn with the return of the hated [[Janissary|Janissaries]], ousted eight years before. These forces murdered Selim's enlightened governor, ending this province's best rule in the last 100 years.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.bookrags.com/biography/selim-iii|title=Selim, III Biography|access-date=5 June 2017}}</ref>  Neither arms nor diplomacy could restore Ottoman authority.

French influence with the ''[[Sublime Porte]]'' (the European diplomatic designation of the Ottoman state) did not revive. Still, it led the Sultan to defy St. Petersburg and London, and Turkey joined [[Continental System|Napoleon's Continental System]]. War was declared on [[Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)|Russia]] on 27 December and on [[Anglo-Turkish War (1807–1809)|Britain]] in March 1807.

=== Janissary revolt ===
The Sultan's most ambitious military project was the creation of an entirely new infantry corps fully trained and equipped according to the latest European standards. This unit called the ''[[Nizam-I Cedid]]'' (the new order), was formed in 1797 and adopted a pattern of recruitment that was uncommon for the imperial forces; it was composed of Turkish peasant youths from Anatolia, a clear indication that the ''devshirme'' system was no longer functional. Officered and trained by Europeans, the ''Nizam-I Cedid'' was outfitted with modern weapons and French-style uniforms. By 1806, the new army numbered around 23,000 troops, including a modern artillery corps, and its units performed effectively in minor actions. But Selim III's inability to integrate the force with the regular army and his reluctance to deploy it against his domestic opponents limited its role in defending the state it was created to preserve.

From the start of Selim's reign, the Janissaries had viewed this entire military reform program as a threat to their independence, and they refused to serve alongside the new army in the field. The powerful ''derebeys'' were alarmed by how the sultan financed his new forces—he confiscated ''timars'' and directed the other revenue toward the ''Nizam-I Cedid''. Further opposition came from the ulama and other ruling elite members who objected to the European models on which Selim based his military reforms.

Led by the rebellious Janissaries, these forces came together in 1806, deposed Selim III, and selected a successor, Mustafa IV, who pledged not to interfere with their privileges. The decree of deposition accused Selim III of failing to respect Islam's religion and the Ottomans' tradition. Over the next year, the embassies in Europe were dismantled, the ''Nizam-I Cedid'' troops were dispersed, and the deposed sultan, whose cautious military reforms were intended to do no more than preserve the tradition of the Ottomans, was murdered.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cleveland|first=William|title=A History of the Modern Middle East|year=2013|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder, Colorado|isbn=978-0813340487|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernm00will/page/57 57–58]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernm00will/page/57}}</ref>

===Austro-Turkish War (1788–91)===
[[File:TurkischeHauptArmeeHochenleitterBGHistory.png|thumb|The main Ottoman army led by the Grand Vizier advancing to Sofia in May 1788]]

The [[Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791)]] was an inconclusive struggle between the [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian]] and Ottoman Empires. It took place at the same time as the [[Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)|Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792]], during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III.

=== Russo-Turkish war ===
[[File:January Suchodolski - Ochakiv siege.jpg|thumb|Ottoman troops desperately attempt to halt advancing Russians during the [[Siege of Ochakov (1788)]].]]

The first major [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)]] began after Turkey demanded that Russia's ruler, [[Catherine II the Great]], abstain from interfering in Poland's internal affairs. The Russians went on to win impressive victories over the Turks. They captured Azov, the [[Crimea]], and Bessarabia, and under Field Marshal [[Pyotr Rumyantsev]], they overran Moldavia and also defeated the Turks in [[Ottoman Bulgaria|Bulgaria]]. The Turks were compelled to seek peace, concluding in the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]]. This treaty made the Crimean khanate independent of the Turkish sultan and advanced the Russian frontier. [[Russian Empire|Russia]] was now in a much stronger position to expand, and in 1783 Catherine annexed the Crimean Peninsula outright.

[[Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792)|War]] broke out in 1787, with Austria again on the side of Russia. Under General [[Alexander Suvorov]], the Russians won several victories that gave them control of the lower Dniester and Danube rivers, and further Russian successes compelled the Turks to sign the [[Treaty of Jassy]] on 9 January 1792. Turkey ceded the entire western Ukrainian Black Sea coast to Russia by this treaty. When Turkey deposed the Russophile governors of [[Moldavia]] and [[Walachia]] in 1806, [[Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812)|war]] broke out again, though in a desultory fashion since Russia was reluctant to concentrate large forces against Turkey while its relations with Napoleonic France were so uncertain. But in 1811, with the prospect of a [[French invasion of Russia|war between France and Russia]] in sight, the latter sought a quick decision on its southern frontier. The Russian field marshal [[Mikhail Kutuzov]]’s victorious campaign of 1811–12 forced the Turks to sign the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1812)|Treaty of Bucharest]] on 18 May 1812. Ending the war that had begun in 1806, this peace agreement established the Ottoman cession of Bessarabia to Russia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://universalium.academic.ru/244800/Russo-Turkish_Wars|title=Russo-Turkish Wars|website=Universalium.academic.ru|access-date=5 June 2017}}</ref>

The Russians also secured amnesty and a promise of autonomy for the Serbs, who had rebelled against Turkish rule, but Turkish garrisons were given control of the Serbian fortresses. Several disputes forestalled the treaty's implementation, and Turkish troops invaded Serbia again the following year.

===Relations with Tipu Sultan===
[[File:Joseph Warnia-Zarzecki - Sultan Selim III - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|Selim III]]
Tipu Sultan was an independent ruler of the [[Sultanate of Mysore]], with high regard for loyalty to the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Shah Alam II]]. He had urgently requested Ottoman assistance during the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]], in which he had suffered an irreversible defeat. Tipu Sultan then began to consolidate his relations with France. In an attempt to support and open a route to link up with Tipu Sultan, [[Napoleon]] invaded [[Ottoman Egypt]] in the year 1798, causing a furor in [[Constantinople]].

The British then appealed to Selim III to send a letter to Tipu Sultan requesting the [[Sultanate of Mysore]] to halt its state of war against the [[British East India Company]]. Selim III then wrote a letter to [[Tipu Sultan]] criticizing the French and also informed Tipu Sultan that the Ottomans would act as an intermediary between the [[Sultanate of Mysore]] and the British. Tipu Sultan wrote twice to Selim III, rejecting the advice of the Ottomans; before most of his letters could arrive in Constantinople, the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]] broke out and Tipu Sultan was killed during the [[Siege of Seringapatam (1799)]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Özcan |first1=Azmi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s04pus5jBNwC&q=selim+iii |title=Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain, 1877-1924 - Azmi Özcan |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=1997 |isbn=9004106324 |access-date=29 November 2012}}</ref>

===Alcohol prohibition===

Many Ottoman sultans imposed alcohol bans (often with limited success). Despite Selim III's hardline stance on alcohol consumption and threats to execute Christians and Jews caught selling wine or ''[[rakı]]'' to Muslims, it proved extremely difficult to curtail alcohol consumption in [[Istanbul]], where wines were locally produced, and the city had many established wine-houses serving its non-Muslim residents.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boyar |first1=Ebru |last2=Fleet |first2=Kate |title=[[A Social History of Ottoman Istanbul]]|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|date=2010 |page=196}}</ref>