Abd-ul-Hamid I

Abd-ul-Hamid I (b.1725-d.April 7 1789), also known as Abdulhamid, Abdul Hamid or Abdul-Hamid, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was a son of sultan Ahmed III and succeeded his brother Mustafa III on January 21, 1774.

Long confinement in the palace aloof from state affairs left Abd-ul-Hamid pious, God-fearing and pacific in disposition. At his accession the financial straits of the treasury were such that the usual donative could not be given to the janissaries. War was, however, forced on him, and less than a year after his accession the complete defeat of the Turks at Battle of Kozluja led to the treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji on July 21 1774.

Slight successes against rebellious outbreaks in Syria and the Morea could not compensate for the loss of the Crimea, which Russia soon showed that she meant to absorb entirely. In 1787 war was again declared against Russia, joined in the following year by Austria. Nevertheless Joseph II was entirely won over to Catherine the Great and accompanied in her triumphal progress in the Crimea. The empire held her own against the Austrians, but in 1788 Ochakov fell to the Russians.

The sultan died four months later at the age of sixty-four.