Ottoman Empire - Year 4 - Silver Para - Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1808–1839), renowned for his extensive reforms that modernized the empire and laid the groundwork for the Tanzimat era. Mahmud II was born on 20 July 1785 in Constantinople, the son of Sultan Abdul Hamid I and Nakşidil Kadin. He ascended the throne in 1808 after a coup deposed his half-brother Mustafa IV, who had ordered Mahmud’s execution. Early in his reign, Mahmud faced significant challenges, including territorial losses to Russia and nationalist uprisings in the Balkans and Greece.