Achmet Kahn I, from Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey
John Young
1815
Medium
Mezzotint, hand-colored with brush and watercolor, on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
37.5 × 25.3 cm (14 13/16 × 10 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
213637
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Achmet I (Ahmed) was the fourteenth Ottoman sultan, ruling from 1603 to 1617. Comparatively peace-loving, he settled hostilities with neighbors including the Hapsburgs and the Safavids. One of his most significant decisions changed the laws of succession by making the eldest prince heir to the throne. This shift deterred, to a degree, the established practice of a new sultan ordering the execution of his surviving brothers upon his ascension.