SLIM I=I„ Sultan of Turkey, the only son$of Mustapha III., was b. Dcc. 14, 1761, and ascended the throne on the death of his uncle, Abdul-H•mid. in 1789. Seeing clearly the causes of the decadence of the empire, and the proper remedies, he inaugu rated a policy of renovation and progression; but the war with Russia, in which his newly raised army of 150,000 men was totally defeated, first by the prince of Coburg, and next by Suwarof, put a stop for a time to his schemes of reform. He was com pelled, in 1701, to cede Choezim to Austria, and in the following year, all his possessions beyond the Dniester to Russia. About this time, his good harmony with Napoleon was troubled by the expedition of the French to Egypt, and subsequently by the question of the recognition of the French empire, but on the whole, Selim continued the faithful ally of France; and at every opportunity pursued with ardor his various reforms, estab lishine. eannon-foundries, and organizing a body of troops ("the Nix un-Djedit"), armod,• clothed, and disciplined in the European fashion; bat this list reform stirred up against him (1835) all the fanatic bigotry of his subjects. The priests of Islam even preached revolt in different parts of the empire, and accused their sovereign of despising the holy injunctions of the Koran, so that &limn felt compelled to adopt a more cautious policy. At length, a formidable rebellion broke out, and the Niz.sin-Djedit, who attempted to suppress it, were overpowered, their commander put to death, and the rebels m welled into Constantinople, their ranks being swelled at every step by bodies of disaffected Janizaries. All those who had favored or forwarded the sultan's schemes were seizel
and put to death, and Selim was compelled to issue a decree suppressing the new insti tutions. But the malignant emnity of the mufti and his coadjutors was not thus to be satisfied, and Selim saw himself forced to resign the throne (1837) to his cousin, Xustapha .1T. (1807-8).
On the news of this insurrection being conveyed to Mustapha-Bairaktar, the pasha of Rustchnk, and one of the sultan's chief advisers, this energetic and able soldier marched upon Constantinople, with a view to reinstate Selim on the throne, but on his arrival the unfortunate monarch was strangled, and his bOdy cast at the feet of Bairak tar. See BAIRARTAR. Thus perished Selim, and with him the first attempt at reforma tion hi Turkey; the effects of which, however, were not wholly lost,. for manufactures had begun to tlorish, thousands of silk and other looms were now in vigorous opera tion, a printing press had been established in Scutari, and many other improvements calculated to foster the prosperity and happiness, of his subjects, had been inaugurated; though these advantages, the natural result of Selim's enlightened patriotism, were neither understood nor appreciated by the great majority of his ignorant and fanatical subjects. •