as vizier of the divan for one week in 1652 before being dismissed due to the constant power struggle within the palace. Over the years, Köprülü had cultivated many friendships at the sultan's court, especially with the Queen Mother Turhan Hatice Sultan , mother of the minor sultan Mehmed IV. In 1656, the political situation in Ottoman Empire was critical. The war in Crete against the Venetians was still continuing. The Ottoman Navy under Kapudan Pasha (grand admiral) Kenan Pasha, in May 1656, was defeated by the Venetian and Maltese navy at the Battle of Dardanelles (1656) and the Venetian navy continued the blockade of the Çanakkale Straits cutting the Ottoman army in Crete from Constantinople, the state capital. There was a political plot to unseat the reigning Sultan Mehmed IV led by important viziers including the Grand Mufti (Şeyhülislam) Hocazade Mesut Efendi. This plot was discovered, and the plotters were executed or exiled. The Mother Sultana Turhan Hatice conducted consultations and the most favored candidate for the post of Grand Vizier came out as the old and retired but experienced Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. Mehmed Efendi, the chief of scribes, and the chief architect convinced the sultan that only Köprülü Mehmed Pasha could avert disaster. Grand Vizier Köprülü was called to Istanbul, where he accepted the position of Grand Vizier on 14 September 1656. As a condition of his acceptance, Köprülü demanded that the sultan decree only what Köprülü approved, allow him to make all the appointments and dismissals, and refuse to hear or accept any malicious stories that might be spread about him. He was given extraordinary powers and political rule without interference, even from the highest authority of the Sultan. Of course, he gave reports on governance to Turhan Sultan, Valide sultan (mother of Sultan Muhammad) and in many administrative matters her supported him. Thus, historians saw her and him as the mainstay of the Ottoman state. Köprülü had acquired the reputation of being an honest and able administrator, but he was 80 years old when he assumed office. As the Grand Vizier, his first task was to advise Sultan Mehmed IV to conduct a life of hunts and traveling around the Balkans and to reside in the old capital of Edirne, thus stopping his direct political involvement in the management of the state. On 4 January 1657, the household cavalry Sipahi troops in Constantinople started a rebellion