Mehmed V
Mehmed V Reşâd (Ottoman Turkish: محمد خامس, romanized: Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; Turkish: V. Mehmed or Mehmed Reşad; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a constitutional monarch, interfering little when it came to government affairs, though the constitution was held with little regard by his ministries. The first half of his reign was marked by contentious politicking between factions of the Young Turks, and the second half by war and domination of the Committee of Union and Progress and the Three Pashas.
Mehmed V
27 April 1909 – 3 July 1918
10 May 1909
2 November 1844
Old Çırağan Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
(present-day Istanbul, Turkey)
3 July 1918 (aged 73)
Yıldız Palace, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Gülcemal Kadın (biological mother)
Servetseza Kadın (adoptive mother)
Reşad was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I.[2] He succeeded his half-brother Abdul Hamid II after the 31 March Incident. Coming to power in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt, his nine-year reign featured three coups d'etat, four wars, and numerous uprisings. The Italo-Turkish War saw the cession of the Empire's North African territories and the Dodecanese Islands, including Rhodes, during which the CUP was forced out of power by the military. This was followed up by the traumatic loss of almost all of the Empire's European territories west of Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the First Balkan War, and the return of a now radicalized CUP rule in another coup. Eastern Thrace was retaken in the Second Balkan War.
The Ottomans entered World War I in November 1914 during which Mehmed declared jihad against the Allies. While Ottoman forces successfully fended off an Allied invasion at Gallipoli, defeat loomed on the Caucasian and Mesopotamian fronts. Military collapse in the field and a revolt by the Empire's Arab subjects spelled impending disaster, though Mehmed died before Ottoman surrender, and he was succeeded by Mehmed VI.[3]
Early life[edit]
Prince Mehmed Reşad was born on 2 November 1844 at the Çırağan Palace,[4] Istanbul.[5] His father was Sultan Abdulmejid I, and his mother was Gülcemal Kadın. He had three elder sisters, Fatma Sultan,[6] Refia Sultan and Hatice Sultan (Refia Sultan's twin sister, died in infancy).[7] After his mother's death in 1851, he and his sisters were entrusted to the care of his father's senior consort Servetseza Kadın.[8][9] She had asked Abdulmejid to take the motherless children under her wing, and raised as her own, and carried out the duties of a mother who cares for her children with compassion and concern.[10]
In 1856, aged twelve, he was ceremoniously circumcised together with his younger half-brothers, Şehzade Ahmed Kemaleddin, Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin, and Şehzade Ahmed Nureddin.[11][12]
Reşad received his education at the palace. Halid Ziya, the chief clerk of the Chamberlain's office between 1909 and 1912, described this as being a poor one. Thanks to his comparatively high intelligence, however, he made good use of the education he had and used it to go further. He studied Arabic and Persian, and spoke the latter very well. He took piano lessons from an Italian pianist and calligraphy lessons from a famous Ottoman calligrapher, Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi (1801–1876), who designed the giant pendant medallions of the Hagia Sophia. In addition to Persian literature, Mehmed was also interested in Mevlevi Sufism and the Masnavi.[13]
He enjoyed the company of his uncle Abdul Aziz. Mehmed became crown-prince in 1876 with the ascension of his brother Abdul Hamid II, but was essentially kept under house arrest in Dolmabahçe Palace, and was under close surveillance. Abdul Hamid made sure to not personally communicate with him.
After the lifting of many restrictions in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution Mehmed earned popularity as crown prince by attending ceremonies that celebrated the constitution, much to the chagrin of his previously absolutist brother.[14]
Le Petit Journal, Mehmed V is proclaimed Sultan in 1909.
Mehmed V arrives in Selânik (Thessaloniki), Ottoman Empire, 1909.
Portrait of Sultan Mehmed V.
Portrait of Sultan Mehmed V.
Portrait of Sultan Mehmed V in Imperial Ottoman naval uniform.
Portrait of Sultan Mehmed V.
Ottoman Empire in 1914
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.[23] 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 Istanbul. His grave is in the Eyüp district of modern Istanbul. He was succeeded by his brother Mehmed Vahideddin, who took the regal name Mehmed VI.
Media related to Mehmed V at Wikimedia Commons