محمد الثالث

محمد الثالث

c. 1566 CE · 974 AH – c. 21 December 1603 CE · 18 Rajab 1012 AH

Mehmed III (r. 1003–1012/1595–1603) — the last Ottoman sultan to take the field in person, reviving the custom his father and grandfather had let lapse; at Eger he held firm when his troops scattered and the victory came within the hour. A poet-sultan inclined to tasawwuf; died 18 Rajab 1012 aged 38 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Ruler
Era
The Gunpowder Empires
Region
Anatolia
Identifiers
Wikidata
Review
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Life in time

1530154015501560157015801590160016101620163016401650 c.
The Gunpowder Empires Contemporaries: Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti · Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (Mujaddid-i Alf-i Thani) · al-Shinhaji al-Fishtali · Baha' al-Din al-'Amili (al-Bahai, 953–1030/1547–1621) · Francis Bacon

Overview

Sultan Mehmed III, son and successor of Murad III. He was born in 974 AH, came to the sultanate in 1003 AH, and died in 1012 AH. 2

Rule

He sat on the throne twelve days after his father's death, while he was in Manisa. His mother Safiye was of Italian origin. 2

Al-Salabi says that weakness began to affect the state. Seeing that sultans no longer led the armies themselves, he went out and took command of them, and marched to Belgrade and then to the battlefields. 2

Al-Salabi relates that he nearly fell captive in one of the battles after the conquest of the fortress of Igri, and that Shaykh Sa'd al-Din Efendi steadied him, so he took up his sword and victory came down. 2

His character

Al-Salabi describes him as having a share of education and literature, very devout, and inclined to Sufism. He died on Sunday, 18 Rajab 1012 AH, after nine years, two months and two days of his rule. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Child of
مراد الثالث
Successor of
مراد الثالث

People and things also explored

Murad III's offer of an alliance with the Sa'dids to recover al-Andalus· Uluj Ali's bid to annex Morocco (989/1581)· سليم الثاني· مراد الثالث

Sources

  1. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 295-296
  2. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p.295-296
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “محمد الثالث”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/mehmed-iii-uthmani/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-19.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story.
Related

Murad III's offer of an alliance with the Sa'dids to recover al-Andalus

Rajab 988/September 1580 — as Spain swallowed Portugal, Murad III wrote the Sa'dids proposing an alliance sworn at the Ka'ba: three hundred imperial galleys and an Ottoman army to 'open the land of al-Andalus'.