MAHMUD I

born Aug. 2, 1696, Edirne, Ottoman Empire died Dec. 13, 1754, Constantinople Ottoman sultan who on succeeding to the throne in 1730 restored order after the Patrona Halil uprising in Constantinople; during his reign the Ottomans fought a successful war against Austria and Russia, culminating in the Treaty of Belgrade (1739). Mahmud spent the first months of his rule eliminating the rebels, and in 1731 he suppressed a Janissary uprising. A war with Iran that lasted, with intervals, until 1746 was inconclusive. Mahmud, advised by Comte de Bonneval (Humbaraci Ahmed Pasa, a French convert to Islam), participated in political and military affairs and attempted a partial reform of the army. A patron of music and literature, he wrote poetry in Arabic.