Mehmed V

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Mehmed V
Ottoman Sultan and Caliph (full titles)
Reign	27 April 1909 – 3 July 1918
Sword girding	10 May 1909
Predecessor	Abdülhamid II
Successor	Mehmed VI
Grand Viziers	Ahmed Tevfik Pasha Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha İbrahim Hakkı Pasha Küçük Mehmet Sait Pasha Ahmed Muhtar Pasha Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha Mahmud Shevket Pasha Said Halim Pasha Mehmed Talat
Wives	Kam-res Durr-i And Mihr-engiz Naz-perver Dil-firib
Issue
Prince Mehmed Ziyaeddin Prince Mehmed Necmeddin Prince Ömer Hilmi Princess Refia Sultana
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Abdülmecid I
Mother	Gülcemal Sultan
Born	2 November 1844(1844-11-02) Topkapı Palace, Constantinople(present day Istanbul)[1]
Died	3 July 1918(1918-07-03) (aged 73) Yıldız Palace, Constantinople(present day Istanbul)
Signature
Religion	Sunni Islam

Mehmed V Reshad (Ottoman Turkish: محمد خامس Meḥmed-i ẖâmis, Turkish: Mehmed V Reşad or Reşat Mehmet) (2/3 November 1844 – 3/4 July 1918) was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I.^{[citation needed]} He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.

Birth

He was born at Topkapı Palace, Constantinople.^[2] Like many other potential heirs to the throne, he was confined for 30 years in the Harems of the palace. For nine of those years he was in solitary confinement. During this time he studied poetry of the old Persian style and was an acclaimed poet. On his ninth birthday he was ceremoniously circumcised in the special Circumcision Room (Sünnet Odasi) of Topkapı Palace.

Reign

Kaiser Wilhelm II, Mehmed V, Franz Joseph: The three emperors of the Central Powers in World War I.

His reign began on 27 April 1909 but he was largely a figurehead with no real political power, as the Ottoman state affairs were largely run by the Three Pashas since the Young Turk Revolution in 1908. Mehmed V's only significant political act was to formally declare Jihad against the Entente Powers (Allies of World War I) on 11 November 1914, following the Ottoman government's decision to join the First World War on the side of the Central Powers.

This was the last genuine proclamation of Jihad in history by a Caliph, as the Caliphate lasted until 1924. The proclamation had no noticeable effect on the war, despite the fact that many Muslims lived in Ottoman territories. The Arabs eventually joined the British forces against the Ottomans with the Arab Revolt in 1916.

Mehmed V hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II, his World War I ally, in Constantinople on 15 October 1917. He was made Generalfeldmarschall of the Kingdom of Prussia on 27 January 1916, and of the Empire of Germany on 1 February 1916.

Death

Mehmed V died at Yıldız Palace on 3 July 1918 at the age of 73, only four months before the end of World War I. Thus, he did not live to see the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. He spent most of his life at the Dolmabahçe Palace and Yıldız Palace in Constantinople. His grave is in the historic Eyüp district of the city.

Marriages and children

He married firstly at Constantinople, Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, on 30 September 1872 to Azerbaijani HH Kümures Baş Kadın Efendi (Ganja, 5 March 1855 – Kuruçeşme, 30 April 1921), and had one child.^{[citation needed]}

He married secondly at Constantinople, Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, on 10 October 1876 and divorced in 1887 Georgian HH Dürrüdem Kadım Efendi (Kars, 16 May 1860 – 17 October 1909), and had one child.^{[citation needed]}

He married thirdly at Constantinople, Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, on 4 April 1887 to HH Mihrengis Haseki Kadın Efendi (Adapazarı, 15 October 1869 – Alexandria, 12 December 1938 and buried in Cairo), a concubine who took the place of the second wife, and had two children.^{[citation needed]}

He also married HH Nazperver Kadın Efendi without issue, and married HH Dilfirib Kadın Efendi without issue.^{[citation needed]}

References

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