Biography
Mustafa was born in Constantinople in 1779, a son of Sultan Abdul Hamid I. With his half-brother Mahmud he was one of the last male members of the House of Osman, and his cousin Sultan Selim III treated him as favoured heir.
He came to the throne on 29 May 1807, when a Janissary revolt and a religious ruling against Selim's European-style reforms forced his cousin's deposition. Mustafa spared Selim's life at first, but his short reign was chaotic, with Janissary rioting in the capital, an army in disarray after a truce with Russia, and food shortages.
In July 1808 the reformist commander Alemdar Mustafa Pasha marched on Constantinople to restore Selim. Mustafa ordered both Selim and Mahmud killed to leave himself the sole heir; Selim died, but Mahmud escaped, and Mustafa was deposed in his favour on 28 July 1808. He was executed on Mahmud II's orders that November.
Offices held
Family
Mustafa IV
