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| 1656–61 |
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| Mehmed Koprulu's term as grand vezir. Born in Albania (in 1575), Koprulu entered government service and held numerous positions that gained him an intimate familiarity with the workings of Ottoman government. Despite his advanced years, he approached his new post with brutal vigor. He cracked down on the Kadizade movement of conservative ulama, executed rebellious soldiers and officials, purged the court, balanced the state budget, and broke the Venetian blockade of the Dardanelles. When he died (Oct. 31, 1661), his son succeeded him, establishing the rule of a dynasty of grand vezirs that dominated the state until the end of the century. | 1 |
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| 1657 |
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| Death of Katip Chelebi, known also as Haji Halifa (b. 1609), perhaps the greatest Ottoman secular intellectual and the most learned man of his time. He possessed a versatile and unconventional mind and was one of the first Ottoman writers to show interest in Western knowledge. His masterwork, reflecting his consummate love of books, was Keshf ul-zunun, a bibliography of more than 1,500 books in Turkish, Arabic, and Persian, with biographies of their authors. He also wrote works on geography and history and a treatise on the causes and remedies of the chronic imperial debt. | 2 |
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| 1658–59 |
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| The revolt of Abaza Hasan Pasha, governor of Aleppo, who assembled a large army of soldiers and peasants and declared his rule in Anatolia. A force organized by Mehmed Koprulu crushed the rebellion and had Abaza Hasan killed (Feb. 1659). | 3 |
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| 1659 |
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| The Ottoman government sent a new force of Janissaries to Damascus to neutralize the existing Janissary force (made up largely of local recruits), which had supported Abaza Hasan Pasha's revolt. Two units came to exist side by side: the old Janissaries, designated as yerliyya (local), and the new force, known as kapi kul (imperial). The politics of Damascus were dominated henceforth by the factional conflict between the two contingents. | 4 |
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| 1660 |
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| Construction of the Egyptian Market (Misir Charshi) in Istanbul. | 5 |
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| 1661–76 |
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| Kopruluzade Fazil Ahmed Pasha (b. 1635), son of Mehmed Koprulu, served as grand vezir. He continued his father's efforts to maintain a tight administration and, as a learned man, patronized scholars and established the Koprulu library, which has since become one of Istanbul's most important historical collections. However, foreign campaigns occupied most of his term. | 6 |
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| 1663–64 |
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| War with Austria. The Ottomans launched a campaign to restore their authority in Transylvania following Habsburg efforts to intervene there. After some successes and setbacks, the two sides signed a peace at Vasvar (Aug. 10, 1664), by which the Ottoman territories were restored. | 7 |
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| 1665–66 |
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| The messianic movement of Sabbatai Sevi (Shabbatai Tzvi). Sevi, an ascetic Jew from Izmir who had been propagating his mystical ideas among Jewish communities in the region for some years, was proclaimed the Jewish messiah during a visit to Gaza (May 31, 1665). He defied or replaced many of the rules of rabbinic Judaism and called on Jews to join him in preparations for the promised day of judgment, which he claimed would arrive on June 18, 1666. Masses of excited Jews became his followers even as many rabbis condemned the movement as heresy. Because of the turmoil he was creating, Sevi was arrested in Istanbul by the Ottoman authorities (Feb. 1666), and he agreed to convert to Islam instead of facing execution (Sept. 1666). His surprising conversion crushed his followers' hopes for redemption, although some continued to believe in Sevi's eventual return as the messiah even after his death (Sept. 1676). | 8 |
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| 1668 |
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| An Ottoman force captured Basra and overthrew the dynastic rule of the Afrasiyabs. | 9 |
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| 1670 |
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| Loss of Hasa in eastern Arabia. The region, occupied by the Ottomans in 1552, was retaken by the Banu Khalid Arabs. | 10 |
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| 1672–76 |
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| War with Poland (See 1672–76). Rivalry over control of the Ukraine, which the Poles occupied in 1671, led to Ottoman military intervention and the capture of most of Podolia in the southwestern Ukraine. By the treaty signed at Zorawno (Oct. 27, 1676), Podolia came under direct Ottoman rule and the rest of the Ukraine under the sultan's suzerainty. | 11 |
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| 1675, Sept |
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| Final treaty of capitulations between the Ottoman Empire and England, which included the original treaty of 1580 and subsequent additions to it. The treaty was terminated on Aug. 6, 1924. | 12 |
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