The Ottomans enteredWorld War I in November 1914, upon which Mehmeddeclared a jihad against theAllies. In 1915, Ottoman forces successfully fended off anAllied invasion at Gallipoli and captured a large British garrisonat Kut. During that year, the CUP initiated theArmenian genocide against the Sultan's wishes, though his private disapproval over his governments' actions was inconsequential. By Mehmed V's death on 3 July 1918, defeat loomed on theMacedonian,Palestinian, andWestern fronts. With military collapse in the field and theArab Revolt spelling impending disaster, the Ottomans signed theArmistice of Mudros, though by then he was dead, and succeeded byMehmed VI.[3]
Prince Mehmed Reşad was born on 2 November 1844, at theÇırağan Palace,[4] Constantinople.[5] His father was SultanAbdulmejid I, and his mother wasGülcemal 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 consortServetseza 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]
Reşad received his education at the palace.Halid Ziya, the chief clerk of theChamberlain'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. He studiedArabic andPersian, 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 theHagia Sophia. In addition toPersian literature, Mehmed was also interested inMevlevi Sufism and theMasnavi.[13]
He enjoyed the company of his uncleAbdul Aziz. Mehmed becamecrown-prince in 1876 with the ascension of his brotherAbdul Hamid II, but was essentially kept under house arrest inDolmabahçe 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 theYoung Turk Revolution Mehmed earned popularity as crown prince by attending ceremonies that celebrated theconstitution, much to the chagrin of his previouslyabsolutist brother.[14]
His reign began at the conclusion of the31 March Incident on 27 April 1909, which resulted in the deposition of his brother Abdul Hamid II. Mehmed came to the throne largely as a figurehead with no real political power. At the age of 64, Mehmed V was the oldest person to ascend the Turkish throne. It was decided to use the name "Mehmed" as his regal name, not his real name "Reşad". This name change was made upon the suggestion of Ferik Sami Pasha, to establish a connection betweenMehmed the Conqueror's entry intoConstantinople with his army and the arrival of theAction Army to Istanbul. Although he ascended to the throne with the title of Mehmed V, he was called Sultan Reşad by the people.[15]
HisCülûs [tr] [Coronation] ceremony was held in theMinistry of War building (now part ofIstanbul University) inBeyazıt. The new sultan boarded theİhsaniye from Dolmabahçe Palace toSirkeci, during which he received agun salute that frightened him. As he was leaving Sirkeci to Beyazıt in the royal carriage, the people of Istanbul lined up on both sides of the road and enthusiastically applauded as he passed by. In his speech after thebay'ah prayer, he declared, "I am the first sultan of liberty and I am proud of it!" and from then on Mehmed V was known as the "Constitutional Sultan."[14] On May 10, 1909, the sultan boarded the yachtSöğütlü in front of Dolmabahçe, and was received in theEyüp Sultan Mosque Complex by theShaykh al-Islam Saygı Efendi and Postnişini Abdülhalim Efendi of theMevlevi Order, and was girded with thesword of Osman. Mehmed V then boarded the royal carriage and visited the tomb of Mehmed the Conqueror in theFatih Mosque, after which he returned to the Dolmabahçe. Since the sultan was not seen on the streets of Istanbul during the long years of Abdul Hamid's reign, the new sultan's carriage trip around the city, during which he cheerfully greeted his subjects, created great excitement among the people of Istanbul.[14]
Because of his house imprisonment, Mehmed sat on the throne at the age of 65 and with no experience in state affairs. Due to his meek and weak-willed personality and the strength of theYoung Turk movement, the government was firmly out of his hands. When the sultan was asked to take a more proactive approach to politics when partisanship took hold, Mehmed V responded "If I was to interfere in every matter during the Constitutional Monarchy administration, what was [my] brother's fault?" He also claimed that he had to be subservient to the Unionists in order to save the sultanate, an institution much discredited after the 31 March Incident, otherwise the Unionists would have declared a republic.[16]
Despite its shaky foundations, theconstitution was promulgated for the third and final time when Mehmed ascended to the throne (it was retracted during the 1909 and 1878 crisis). However the issue about what to with the 31 March perpetrators revealed who was really in power:Mahmud Şevket Pasha and theCommittee of Union and Progress. In the immediate aftermath of the 31 March Incident, Mehmed V persistently informed the members of theChamber of Deputies that he would not approve the executions of common criminals and especially political criminals associated with the 31 March uprising.[17] Afterwards, he wasn't able to resist the insistence of the Unionist politicians, and eventually approved their hanging. This was the first of many examples of Sultan Reşad's reluctant approval of many laws, decrees and wills during his reign against his personal convictions and the constitution, and he soon developed a disinterest in statecraft.[18]
On May 5, 1909,Ahmed Tevfik Pasha, Abdul Hamid II's last grand vizier who was appointed in the middle of the 31 March Crisis, resigned under the pressure from the CUP, and a new government more favorable to the committee was formed under the grand viziership ofHüseyin Hilmi Pasha.
TheAlbanian Revolt of 1910 broke out and was suppressed by Şevket Pasha, nowWar Minister. The assassination ofAhmet Samim Bey and the Western-sponsored integration of theCretan State into Greece threw the sultan into a fit of depression.
In June 1911, he embarked on an imperial tour of Selânik (Salonica, todayThessaloniki) and Manastır (todayBitola), stopping byFlorina on the way. He also visited Üsküp (Skopje) and Priştine (Pristina), where he attendedFriday prayers at theTomb of Sultan Murad. The visit was recorded on film and photographs by theManaki brothers. It would soon prove to be the last visit of an Ottoman sultan to the Rumelian provinces before the catastrophe of the Balkan Wars the following year.[14]
In the backdrop of the1912 Albanian revolt and theItalian invasion of Libya, due to the CUP's policies of centralization and Turkish nationalism, the1912 elections were mainly a contest between the CUP and the newFreedom and Accord Party. With the CUP rigging the proceedings to their advantage, the military decided to dispute the results. TheSavior Officers demanded the pro-CUP Grand VizierMehmed Said Pasha dissolve parliament and to resign, which he did. Mehmed V appointedAhmed Muhtar Pasha in his place, who formed a national unity government called the Great Cabinet. Martial law was declared. With defeat in theBalkan Wars, Muhtar Pasha resigned, and was replaced by Kâmil Pasha.
Map of the Ottoman territories in Europe in 1910, prior to theBalkan Wars (1912–1913)
Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire lost all its remaining territory in North Africa (Tripolitania,Cyrenaica andFezzan) and theDodecanese toItaly in theItalo-Turkish War and nearly all its European territories (except for a small strip of land west of Constantinople) in theFirst Balkan War. The Ottomans made some small gains in thefollowing war, recapturing the peninsula comprisingEast Thrace up toEdirne, but this was only partial consolation for the Turks: the bulk of Ottoman territories that they had fought to keep had been lost forever.[19]
The sudden loss of these enormous swaths of land, which had been Ottoman territory for centuries and were ceded to the Empire's opponents within a span of only two years, was traumatic to the Turks and culminated in the1913 Ottoman coup d'etat.Muslims in the lost lands were expelled from their homes and emigrated behind the new Ottoman border surrounding Constantinople. The resulting refugee crisis overwhelmed municipal authorities. It also spelt the end of theOttomanism movement, which for several decades had advocated equal rights to all citizens of the Empire regardless of ethnicity or religion, in order to foster a communal sense of belonging and allegiance to the Ottoman state. With the loss of the Empire's ethnic minorities inRumelia and North Africa, the movement'sraison d'être also evaporated, and the country's politics soon began to take on a more exclusionary character, centered aroundTurkish nationalism. The more extreme elements of a right-wing faction, primarily in the upper echelons of the CUP-dominated government, would go on to commitgenocide against the Armenians.[20]
Despite his preference that the country stayed out of further conflict, Mehmed V's most significant political act was toformally declare jihad against theEntente Powers on 14 November 1914, following the Ottoman government's decision to join theFirst World War on the side of theCentral Powers.[21] He was actually said to look with disfavour on the pro-German policy ofEnver Pasha,[22] but could do little to prevent war due to the sultanate's diminished influence.
This was the last genuine proclamation of jihad in history by aCaliph, as theCaliphate wasabolished in 1924. As a direct result of the declaration of war, the British annexedCyprus, while theKhedivate of Egypt proclaimed its independence and was turned intoa British protectorate; these provinces had at least been under nominal Ottoman rule. The proclamation had no noticeable effect on the war, despite the fact that many Muslims lived in Ottoman territories. Some Arabs eventuallyjoined the British forces against the Ottoman Empire with theArab Revolt in 1916.
Mehmed V died atYıldız 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 theDolmabahçe Palace and Yıldız Palace in Constantinople. His grave is in theEyüp district of modern Istanbul. He was succeeded by his brotherMehmed Vahideddin, who took the regal name Mehmed VI.
Le Petit Journal, Mehmed V is proclaimed Sultan in 1909.
Kamures Kadın (5 March 1855 – 30 April 1921).BaşKadin. She is also called Gamres, Kamres or Kamus. Of Caucasian descent, she married Mehmed when he was stillŞehzade. She had a son.
Dürriaden Kadın (16 May 1860 – 17 October 1909). Second Kadın. She born Hatice Hanim, she married Mehmed when he was still Şehzade. She was the aunt ofInşirah Hanim, who was a consort ofMehmed VI (Mehmed V's younger half-brother). She had a son.
Mihrengiz Kadın (15 October 1869 – 12 December 1938). Second Kadın after Dürriaden's death. Circassian, born Fatma Hanım, married Mehmed when he was still Şehzade. She had a son.
Nazperver Kadın (12 June 1870 – 9 March 1929). Third Kadın after Dürriaden's death. Born Rukiye Hanim, she was an Abkhazian princess of Çikotua family and niece ofDürrinev Kadın, chief consort of SultanAbdülaziz, who educated her. She married Mehmed when he was still Şehzade. She had a daughter.
Dilfirib Kadın (1890–1952). Fourth Kadın after Dürriaden's death. Circassian, she married Mehmed when he was still Şehzade. She was close friends withSafiye Ünüvar, a teacher at the Palace. She had no children by Mehmed, but after his death she remarried and had a son.
Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin (26 August 1873 – 30 January 1938) – with Kamures Kadın. He had five consorts, two sons and six daughters.
Şehzade Mahmud Necmeddin (23 June 1878 – 27 June 1913) – with Dürriaden Kadın. Born withkyphosis, he never married or had children.
Şehzade Ömer Hilmi (2 March 1886 – 6 April 1935) – with Mihrengiz Kadın. He had five consorts, a son and a daughter. His great-granddaughter Ayşe Gülnev Osmanoğlu became an authress of historical novels about the Ottoman dynasty.
^Bloxham, Donald; Göçek, Fatma Müge (2008). "The Armenian Genocide".The Historiography of Genocide. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 344–372.ISBN978-0-230-29778-4.
^Lawrence Sondhaus,World War One: The Global Revolution, (Cambridge University Press, 2011), 91.
^Mehmed V, Selcuk Aksin Somel,Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, 371.
^"Ritter-Orden",Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, p. 56, retrieved14 January 2021
^Rudolf von Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels und Dr. Günther Freiherr von Pechmann:Virtuti Pro Patria: Der königlich bayerische Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden, Selbstverlag des k. b. Militär-Max-Joseph-Ordens, München 1966
^Acović, Dragomir (2012).Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 369.
Uluçay, M. Çağatay (2011).Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ötüken.ISBN978-9-754-37840-5.
Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010).The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press.ISBN978-0-292-78335-5.
Brookes, Douglas S. (2020).On the Sultan's Service: Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil's Memoir of the Ottoman Palace, 1909–1912. Indiana University Press.ISBN978-0-253-04553-9.
Glencross, Matthew; Rowbotham, Judith, eds. (2018).Monarchies and the Great War. Springer.ISBN978-3-319-89515-4.
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