12. Murad IV was the epitome of the brutal Ottoman ruler
Murad IV was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from the age of 11; his mother ruled through him during the early years of his reign. Murad grew fearful of the corruption he saw surrounding him during this period, and at the age of twenty, in 1632, he moved to consolidate his power. An early step in that direction was the arrest and execution of his brother-in-law. He banned the consumption of coffee, alcohol, and tobacco (since people gathered in shops to use them, and where people gathered corrupt bargains loomed) making those violating the edict subject to death. Civil law was strengthened and strictly enforced. Imams who opposed him or counteracted his civil laws with religious edicts were executed. Murad may have banned consumption of alcohol by his subjects, but he did not extend the ban to himself, nor to his many concubines when in his presence. He died in his capital of Istanbul in 1640, at the age of 27, of cirrhosis of the liver.