ghazi mehmed iv and candia 145the absent yet never forgotten foil illustrating the negative consequences of
improper rule. For the next two decades, as Abdi Pasha composed his history in
the genre of the book of kings, with the active participation of his near coauthor
and audience, Mehmed IV, other writers penned conquest books, which pro-
moted an image of the sultan’s martial attributes. Instead of being the puppet
of his regent, the valide sultan, when he matured Mehmed IV is depicted as
having recaptured power from women, as he was able to evoke an earlier age
when sultans were military leaders. Mehmed IV did so largely by turning his
back on Istanbul and holding court in Edirne, a city referred to as “the hearth
of the ghazi,” the launching pad for war into the heartland of the Christian
enemy.^29 The spatial and symbolic move away from Istanbul confi rmed thecoming into being of the sultan as man and ruler. He was compelled to break
away from his mother’s regency if he were to develop into a full-fl edged man.
He expanded the palace at Edirne so it could become the main royal residence
for the fi rst time since the conquest of Constantinople two centuries before.^30
There he passed most of his reign in the legendary pursuits of hunting, feast-
ing, and banqueting, as well as hosting archery competitions, horse races, and
javelin and wrestling matches.^31 Unlike Topkapı Palace, this royal residence
afforded the sultan easy escape. There was ample space for him to pitch the
imperial tent outside the palace at the start of military campaigns or royal jour-
neys. When he did alight in the environs of Istanbul, he most often stayed in
the palace and hunting lodge at Davud Pasha or at Kağıthane on the Golden
Horn, which was well known for its empty spaces, ideal for archery competi-
tions and military processions.
In an era when Muslim sovereigns were kept from the battlefi eld where
they could engage in activities considered to be crucial for the performance
of sultanic virtue, and were considered to be utterly lacking in the attributes
of a strong ruler, Mehmed IV was depicted as an earthy, rough, simple
leader more comfortable on horseback than sitting on a throne. Hunting
caused him to become “vigorous and robust due to riding about outdoors.”^32
Mehmed IV’s chroniclers highlight the diverse prey that he ordered killed or
killed with his own bow or gun, and other, sometimes cruel entertainments
that he enjoyed watching. Far from being presented as a font of peace and
reconciliation or sedate, a peripatetic Mehmed IV is depicted as eagerly pro-
moting war, overseeing battle, dealing harshly with prisoners, and executing
and displaying the heads of those who dared to challenge his monopoly on
violence. Unlike most other seventeenth-century sultans, the Mehmed IV
of Ottoman chronicles pursues conquest. His armies penetrate enemy terri-
tory with swords and missiles, humiliate the enemy by selling their wives
and families into slavery, symbolically violate men and women, and replace