[3] The empire likewise experienced significant economic growth during much of the eighteenth century[4] and was, until the disastrous war with Russia in 1768-74, also able to match its rivals in military strength.

[6] The Old Regime was brought to an end not by a single dramatic event, but by the gradual process of reform begun by Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807), known as the Nizam-ı Cedid (New Order).

Tax farming had been used as a method of revenue-raising throughout the seventeenth century, but contracts only began to be sold on a life-term basis in 1695, as part of the empire's wartime fiscal reforms.

Malikāne contracts were split into shares and privately traded on an ever-expanding market, taking advantage of the growing economy of the early eighteenth century Ottoman Empire.

These state assets were traded among numerous social groups, including but not limited to military and religious officials, rural gentry, urban notables, and janissaries.

[11] The institution of malikāne continued largely undisturbed until 1793, when Selim III began to phase it out as part of his general reform effort, known as the New Order (Ottoman Turkish: Niẓām-ı Cedīd).

The last effort of a militarily active sultan to personally control the entire government of the empire was undone in the 1703 rebellion known as the Edirne incident, in which Mustafa II was deposed.

[15] High-ranking bureaucrats found their social mobility increased, and many of them went on to establish successful careers as provincial governors and even grand viziers, posts which in previous centuries were typically limited to men of military backgrounds.

Ayan utilized patronage networks to wield significant influence within their local city or region, and their cooperation was essential in order for Ottoman provincial administration to function.

[18] Thus paradoxically, the Ottoman government both granted provincial figures a greater degree of autonomy than ever before, while also tying them more closely to the central state in a mutually beneficial relationship.

[19] During the seventeenth century provincial governors had been appointed for unspecified periods of time, producing a significant degree of uncertainty among them with regard to security of office.

[25] Extended peace also resulted in a lack of practical experience among Ottoman commanders, in contrast with Russian generals such as Rumiantsev and Suvorov, whose abilities were honed during the Seven Years' War.

[26] Thus when war finally broke out with Russia in 1768 the Ottomans suffered devastating defeats, resulting in the loss of Crimea and the signing of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774.

[28] Istanbul's commercial infrastructure was significantly revamped and expanded during the eighteenth century, improvements which underpinned the empire's rapidly growing international trade.

Coffeehouse culture had become an established feature of the cities and towns of the Ottoman Empire, and now the state limited itself to surveillance measures in an effort to control the unruly groups which could gather in them.

Müteferrika's press was mainly used to disseminate historical, geographical, and linguistic works, but suffered due to low market demand for printed books in comparison with more prestigious manuscripts, eventually closing down in 1796-7.

[35] Although Mustafa II (1695–1703), last of campaigning sultans, won a few minor victories, he suffered a devastating loss in the Battle of Zenta by Prince Eugene of Savoy of Austria.

[36] In 1710 Charles XII of Sweden convinced Sultan Ahmed III to declare war against Russia, and the Ottoman forces under Baltacı Mehmet Pasha won a major victory at the Battle of Prut.

In the subsequent treaty, Russia returned Azov to the Ottomans, agreed to demolish the fortress of Taganrog and others in the area, and to stop interfering with the affairs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or Cossacks.

The celebrated Persian military leader Nadir Konli Khan (who afterwards reconquered and conquered states for himself), gained his first renown by exploits against the enemies of Shah Tahmasp.

Russian forces captured Azov (1736) and Ochakov (1737), but failed to take Bender and suffered immense losses from disease and logistical challenges after unsuccessfully invading the Crimea in 1738.

[citation needed] Ever since the Patrona Halil rebellion had overthrown Ahmed III in 1730, the government had largely been dominated by the empire's Chief Black Eunuchs.