Ahmed I came to the throne in 1603 at roughly thirteen years old, breaking the Ottoman practice of fratricide by sparing his brother Mustafa — a decision that would haunt the dynasty for generations. This sultani was struck in the opening year of his reign, during a period of simultaneous war with the Habsburgs on the western front and the Safavids to the east, the latter having just retaken Tabriz. The treasury was under considerable strain, and gold coinage from this accession period circulated hard across a sprawling empire fighting on two fronts.
Ahmed I came to the throne in 1603 at roughly thirteen years old, breaking the Ottoman practice of fratricide by sparing his brother Mustafa — a decision that would haunt the dynasty for generations. This sultani was struck in the opening year of his reign, during a period of simultaneous war with the Habsburgs on the western front and the Safavids to the east, the latter having just retaken Tabriz. The treasury was under considerable strain, and gold coinage from this accession period circulated hard across a sprawling empire fighting on two fronts.