Mehmed V
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2008) |
| Mehmed V | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ottoman Sultan and Caliph | |
| 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 |
| Born | 2 November 1844 Topkapı Palace, Constantinople(present day Istanbul)[1] |
| Died | 3 July 1918 (aged 73) Yıldız Palace, Constantinople(present day Istanbul) |
| Wives | Kam-res Durr-i And Mihr-engiz Naz-perver Dil-firib |
| Issue | Prince Mehmed Ziyaeddin Prince Mehmed Necmeddin Prince Omer Hilmi Princess Refia Sultana |
| Dynasty | Ottoman |
| Father | Abdülmecid I |
| Mother | Gülcemal Sultan |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Signature |  |
Mehmed V Reshad (Ottoman Turkish: محمد خامس Meḥmed-i ẖâmis, Turkish: Mehmed V Reşad or [Reşat Mehmet] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) (2/3 November 1844 – 3/4 July 1918) was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. His mother was Gülcemal, originally named Sofiya, an Albanian.[citation needed] He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmet 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
His reign began on 27 April 1909 but he had no real political power. The actual decisions were made by various members of the Ottoman government and finally, during the First World War, by the Three Pashas: Enver Pasha, Talat Pasha, and Cemal Pasha.
Mehmed V's only significant political act was to formally declare Jihad against the Allies on 11 November 1914. 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.
Mehmed V has been accused of war crimes and mass murder for is role in the Armenian genocide, Greek genocide and Assyrian Genocide.[3]
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 - Curuchashme, 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
- ^ The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol.7, Edited by Hugh Chisholm, (1911), 3; "Constantinople, the capital of the Turkish Empire..".
- ^ The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol.7, 3; "Constantinople, the capital of the Turkish Empire..".
- ^ The Armenian genocide: the Young Turks before the judgment of history: (1992) John S. Kirakossian, Jon Kirakosyan
