The reign of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III…

The reign of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III (1703-1736) is sometimes known as the Tulip Age (Lâle Devri) because of the popularity of this flower in Constantinople in the early 18th century.

With Ahmed's encouragement, art and literature has flourished during this time.

News of successful police actions by Nadr to rid Persian territories of the Turkish occupiers sparks a popular uprising in Istanbul led by Patrona Halil, a Turkish bath waiter.

The rebels strangle the Ottoman grand vizier, the chief admiral, and other senior officials; they also force the abdication (but not the execution) of Ahmed III and the enthronement of his nephew, Mahmud I (1696-1754), on October 1, 1730.

This is the only Turkish rising not originating in the army.

Patrona Halil is assassinated soon after.

Despite the success of Persia's Nadr Khan in forcing Turkish squatters out of many Persian territories, the Ottoman Empire's elite corps, the Janissaries, have not been called into action; unemployed, they are also unpaid.

When the Persian police action spills over into Ottoman territory to spark a formal conflict, the Janissaries delay involvement for two months by supporting a rebellion among twelve thousand Albanian troops.