Ahmed I

Ahmed I (Ottoman Turkish: احمد اول‎ Aḥmed-i evvel; Turkish: I. Ahmed; April 18, 1590 – November 22, 1617) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617.

Reign

In the earlier part of his reign Ahmed I showed decision and vigor, which were belied by his subsequent conduct. The wars which attended his accession both in Hungary and in Persia terminated unfavourably for the empire, and its prestige received its first check in the Treaty of Zsitvatorok, signed in 1606, whereby the annual tribute paid by Austria was abolished. Following the crushing defeat in the Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–18) against the neighbouring rivalling Safavid Empire led by Shah Abbas the Great, Georgia, Azerbaijan and other vast territories in the Caucasus were ceded back to Persia per the Treaty of Nasuh Pasha in 1612, territories which had earlier been temporarily conquered per the outcoming result of the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–90). The new borders were drawn per exactly the same line as confirmed in the Peace of Amasya of 1555.

Ahmad

Ahmad, Ahmed or Ahmet are the principal transliterations of an Arabic given name, أحمد.

Etymology

Ahmad comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D, meaning "highly praised", which in turn implies "one who constantly thanks God." Several Arabic names are derived from this root word.

The name Ahmad has its origins in a prophecy attributed to Jesus, in the Quran in Surah 61: As-Saff (The Ranks). Some Muslim scholars see the names parallel in the word 'Paraclete' in the biblical text. This view is not universal considering translations, meanings and etymology.

Regarding Ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad, the Sirat Asul Allah, Islamic scholar Alfred Guillaume wrote:

Lexicology

Other Arabic names from the same root include Mahmud, Ahmed, Hamed, Muhammad and Hamid. The name has one of the highest number of spelling variations in the world.

Interpretations and meanings of Ahmad

Ahmad passage

Here are three translations of the passage in question in Surat 61 verse 6:

- Sahih International

Şehzade Ahmet

Şehzade Ahmet (1465–1513) was an Ottoman prince who fought to gain the throne of the Ottoman Empire in 1512–13. (Şehzade means prince in Turkish and Persian)

Background

Ahmet was the oldest living son of Beyazıt II; his mother was Bülbül Hatun. In Ottoman tradition, all princes (Turkish: şehzade) were required to serve as provincial (sanjak) governors in Anatolia (Asiatic part of modern Turkey) as a part of their training. Ahmet was the governor of Amasya, an important Anatolian city. Although the status was not official, he was usually considered as the crown prince during the last years of his father's reign, in part because of the support of the grand vizier, Hadim Ali Pasha.

Siblings

Ahmet had two living brothers. Of the two, Korkut was governing in Antalya and Selim (future sultan Selim I) in Trabzon. Custom dictated that whoever first reached Istanbul after the death of the previous sultan had the right to ascend to throne (although disagreements over who had arrived first very often led to civil wars between the brothers, most prominently displayed in the Ottoman Interregnum), so the distances from the sanjaks to Istanbul more or less determined the succession and usually whoever the previous sultan favored the most as his successor. In this respect, Ahmet was the most fortunate because his sanjak was the closest to Istanbul.