The Ottoman sultan Mahmud II (1785-1839) attempted to hold together and rebuild the empire by administrative reforms, but interior instability and foreign wars proved obstacles too great to overcome.

Mahmud was born on July 20, 1785, son of Abdul Hamid I and cousin of the reforming ruler Selim III. Immured, as his predecessors had been, within the harem, he was removed from formal education and administrative experience. But the highly intelligent and energetic Mahmud escaped the debilitating weakness trapping other Osmanli through the instruction accorded him by Selim III between the latter's dethronement in May 1807 and his execution in July 1808 as his reform-minded supporters battered down the palace gates. The reigning sultan, Mustafa IV, even ordered the execution of Mahmud, his own brother, but the prince escaped detection by hiding in an empty furnace.

Mustafa was deposed, Mahmud was elevated to the throne, and a reform administration was returned to...