[1][2] The Khedivate of Egypt, an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, awarded the contract for Hifz-ur Rahman to the Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard in Bordeaux in 1867, where her keel was laid down the following year.

Egyptian efforts to assert their independence angered Sultan Abdülaziz, who, on 5 June 1867, demanded Egypt surrender all of the ironclads ordered from foreign shipyards.

During this period, the Ottoman fleet, under Hobart Pasha, remained largely inactive, with training confined to reading translated British instruction manuals.

[5] Hifz-ur Rahman was assigned to the II Squadron of the Asiatic Fleet, along with her sister ship Lütf-ü Celil and the ironclads Avnillah and Muin-i Zafer.

[6] Early in the ship's career, the Ottoman ironclad fleet was activated every summer for short cruises from the Golden Horn to the Bosporus to ensure their propulsion systems were in operable condition.

At the start of the war, Hifz-ur Rahman and Lütf-ü Celil were assigned to the Danube Squadron,[9] where they were tasked with preventing Russian forces from crossing the river.

[10] Hifz-ur Rahman was stationed at the port of Sulina at the mouth of the Danube, along with the ironclads Muin-i Zafer and Asar-i Şevket.

The British naval attache to the Ottoman Empire at the time estimated that the Imperial Arsenal would take six months to get just five of the ironclads ready to go to sea.

During a period of tension with Greece in 1886, the fleet was brought to full crews and the ships were prepared to go to sea, but none actually left the Golden Horn, and they were quickly laid up again.

[6] The Ottomans inspected the fleet and found that almost all of the vessels, including Hifz-ur Rahman, to be completely unfit for combat against the Greek Navy.

During these operations, Hifz-ur Rahman were stationed at Morto Bay at the mouth of the Dardanelles, while the rest of the ironclads remained safely inside the straits.