Born in Manisa and named by his grandfather in: honor of Mehmed the Conqueror, Sultan Mehmed the Third was well educated, of medium height with light brown hair and a handsome appearance. He was very religious and interested in Moslem mysticism. Whenever the name of His Exalted Excellency Mohammed Moustapha was mentioned, Mehmed would leap to his feet and recite:
"We give no consent to tyranny,
since we have a desire for justice,
We work for the love of Allah,
and we pay attention to his commands. "
The time of Mehmed marks the beginning of the decline of the Empire and during his reign the Ottomans conceded a number of citadels to European countries. The Grand Vizier, Kodja Sinan Pasha, was defeated by enemy forces and Mehmed himself began to mobilize an army. He defeated the Europeans at Hachova and captured the citadel of Eghri. For that reason he is sometimes mentioned in history books as the Conqueror of Eghri.
Ottoman-Russian struggles began again at this time. Unfortunately, there was much decadence in the Empire at this time and inferior men were promoted to power. This caused a great deal of trouble for Mehmed and the Ottomans.
Further land was lost and rebellions at Djelal further weakened the Empire, although Tiriaki Hassan Pasha did achieve the famous defence of Kanije at this time.
Sultan Mehmed who was also a great poet and wrote under the pseudonym of Adlee, died in 1603 when he was still a relatively young man.
The great Muslim personalities of Sultan Muhammed Khan's reign were - Mawlana Muhammad Khawaja al-Amkanki from the Naqshbandi Tariqa, Hadrat Muhammad Baqi billah, Hasan Jalabi Efendi who wrote the book "al-Tadhkira" - the reminder.
He had four sons whose names were Ahmed the First, Moustapha the First, Selim and Mahmoud. He had some daughters but their names remain unknown.