The achievement of May 1807 had torn the Ottoman Empire from the hands of a utopian and placed it in the grip of men who knew only fear and tradition. Sultan Selim III, deposed after nearly two decades of struggle for reform, now sat in confinement within the Topkapı Palace. His lyrical soul still rumored of renewal, but his hands were bound, his vision shattered. In his place, the throne passed to Mustafa IV, a whoreson of Selim, chosen not for his strength but for his weakness.