IV. The Early Modern Period, 1500–1800 > C. The Middle East and North Africa, 1500–1800 > 2. The Middle East, 1501–1808 > a. The Ottoman Empire > 2. Decentralization and External Challenges > 1727
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  The Encyclopedia of World History.  2001.
 
 
1727
 
Relaxation of the official ban on printing in Turkish, giving permission for the establishment of a Turkish press and the printing of books on subjects other than religion. Ibrahim Muteferrika (1674–1745), a Hungarian convert to Islam, directed the press, which published 17 books by the time of his death, when it was closed down. The press was reopened only in 1784.  1
 
1730
 
Death of Ahmed Nedim (b. 1681), a distinguished court poet whose exuberant verses reflected the passion for pleasure characteristic of the Tulip Period. His poems on love and the joys of living were spontaneous in spirit and free of the strict formal styles of classical poetry. No court poet after him matched his talent and originality.  2
 
1730–36
 
Ottoman loss of conquests in Iran. An Iranian offensive routed the Ottoman army near Tabriz and led the Ottomans to agree (Jan. 1732) to Iranian control of Azerbaijan and western Iran. Hostilities soon resumed, and the Iranians laid siege to Baghdad (1733), then captured Shirvan, Daghistan, Georgia, and Armenia. In the peace treaty ending the conflict (Sept. 1736), the Ottomans abandoned their conquests in Iran.  3
 
1730
 
The Patrona Halil revolt. Patrona Halil, an Albanian Janissary, stirred a public protest in Istanbul against the surrender of territory captured from Iran, but it soon mushroomed into a large-scale revolt against the grand vezir and his associates. The sultan executed Damad Ibrahim and then abdicated in favor of Mustafa II's son Mahmud (Oct. 1). Patrona Halil and his men went on a rampage, destroying the palaces of the wealthy and killing many before being executed by the authorities.  4
 
1730–54
 
SULTAN MAHMUD I. War with Iran and European powers occupied a good part of Mahmud's reign. Domestically, he took an active interest in reforming the army and suppressing banditry in Anatolia. He also upgraded Istanbul's water supply system. More than 60 fountains of public drinking water were built by him and others in the capital, and the example was followed in some provincial towns.  5
 
1731
 
Death of Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (b. 1641), a prolific Damascene scholar and mystic whose creative mind was engaged in a wide range of subjects. His dozens of works (most of them still unpublished) include religious commentaries, poetry, a study of farming, and several descriptions of journeys he made to shrines in the region, including Mecca.  6
 
1732
 
Comte de Bonneval (1675–1747), a French military expert and convert to Islam, undertook the modernization of the Ottoman bombardier corps. He opened a military engineering school (1734) and created a trained unit of bombardiers. Janissary opposition to his reforms limited their effects, and after his death his unit was broken up and the school closed (1750).  7
 
1732
 
Death of Levni, the last great Ottoman painter. The 137 miniatures illustrating his Surname (Book of Festivals) reflected his acute sense of observation, use of soft colors, and interest in portraying women.  8
 
1736
 
Concordat of the Maronite Church with the Vatican, in which the Maronite Church accepted the pope's authority while having its hierarchy, liturgy, canon law, and customs recognized.  9
 
1736–39
 
War with Austria and Russia. A Russian offensive in the Crimea took Azov (July 1736), and the Habsburgs invaded southern Serbia (1737). The Ottomans pushed back the Austrians. By the Treaty of Belgrade (Sept. 18, 1739), Russia retained Azov on the condition of demilitarizing the area. The Austrians gave up northern Serbia and Belgrade as well as western Wallachia, thus surrendering many of their gains at Passarowitz (1718).  10
 
1743–46
 
War with Iran. Nadir Shah laid siege to Mosul, which held out heroically (1743). His offensive in Kurdistan was also beaten back, but he made advances in the Caucasus. The war dragged on inconclusively until an agreement was reached (Sept. 4, 1746) whereby the boundaries established in the Treaty of 1639 were restored.  11
 
1746
 
Zahir al-Umar gained control of Acre, which he fortified and turned into the capital of his sheikdom and the most important economic and political center in Palestine. Zahir was a powerful tax farmer from the Arab Zaydani clan who began building a power base in the Galilee in the 1730s. He successfully withstood expeditions against his previous stronghold of Tiberias by the governor of Damascus (in 1737, 1742, and 1743).  12
 
 
 
The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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