Turkey. Ottoman. Mustafa IV (AH 1222-1223/1807-1808 AD). Kurush, Qustantiniyya, accession AH 1222, year 1. Toughra, floral ornament before, mint and year below, rev. Four-line Ottoman protocol. When a fatwa was issued against Selim III for introducing the "manners of infidels" and for intending to suppress the janissaries, his cousin Mustafa IV became the new sultan. Mustafa saved Selim from poisoning himself, but later, seeking to secure his position, ordered the murder of both Selim and his own brother Mahmud. Selim was killed, but Mahmud escaped by hiding in the furnace of a bath. After ruling a little over a year, Mustafa was deposed, and his brother ascended the throne as Mahmud II. Mustafa was killed on Mahmuds orders some three months later. KM 539. Rare. Bold, satiny white lustre. NGC MS 63.
