They would often return with much booty, so much so that they became accustomed to raiding and became accustomed to raiding. They found no land that was open to the plunder of its inhabitants, attacking the people of the East, in addition to their repeated raids and the defiance of the great emirs and viziers, and their attacks on the sultans, threatening them with deposition or death, either due to their corruption or weakness in punishing them.

This was in addition to their backwardness in military art. The defensive apparatus was in a poor state. The weapons had not developed and had become obsolete against the modern weapons owned by the enemies of the state. The fleet was old and could not with old ships stand against modern fleets or protect the coasts from pirates. Therefore, the pirates obstructed trade routes and the exposed coasts were left without protection. This poor state of the defensive apparatus not only affected the state's foreign wars but also caused the spread of chaos within the state after its strength waned in the eyes of the governors. The ties between the governors and the public weakened, and some governors sought independence or to withhold princely funds from the sultan's treasury, with its depletion due to war. This chaos worsened the situation.

Suleiman III began to reform the defensive apparatus. Reform attempts had begun during the reign of Sultan Mustafa III (1757-1774). The army marched steadily during the reign of Sultan Abd al-Hamid I (1774-1789).

Suleiman III began his work by appointing a young, intelligent man to the position of Grand Admiral, who had studied the affairs of Europe and understood its internal policies. His name was Koca Huseyin Pasha. He exerted his efforts to pursue pirates to facilitate trade routes and worked diligently to...