Abdul Mejid II

The last Caliph Abdülmecid II

Abdülmecid II (also with various alternate spellings, including Abdul Mejid, Aakhir Khalifatul Muslimeen Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid, Abdul Medjit in (lived May 29, 1868 – August 23, 1944; reigned November 19, 1922 – March 3, 1924) was the last Caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty, nominally the 37th Head of the Ottoman Imperial House. Effectively, the Ottoman Empire had already ended and with it any role for the sultan before he

Life

On May 29, 1868 he was born at Dolmabahçe Palace of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) to then Sultan Abdülaziz. He was educated privately and was more or less confined to the palace until his 40th birthday. On July 4, 1918 his first cousin Mehmed VI became Sultan and Abdul Mejid was named Crown Prince. He was given the title of General of Ottoman Army. Following the deposition of his cousin on November 1, 1922 the Sultanate was abolished. However, on November 19, 1922 the Crown Prince was elected Caliph by the Turkish National Assembly at Ankara. He established himself in Istanbul, on November 24, 1922. On March 3, 1924 he was deposed and expelled from the shores of Turkey with the rest of his family, traveling on a British ship to exile in Malta. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the nation-state of Turkey, was anxious to distance the Turkish people from their former rulers. By so doping, Turkey avoid being punished for its role in the war by the victors of World War I, which ended November 11th 1918. By abolishing the sultanate and allowing the allies to take control of all former Ottoman colonies, Ataturk ensured that Turkey would not be burdened with heavy reparations, as Germany was.

Family

On December 23, 1896 he was married for the first time at the Ortaköy Palace to Shahsuvar Bash Kadin Effendi (Istanbul May 2, 1881 – Paris 1945). They had a son, Prince Shehzade Ömer Faruk Effendi (February 27, 1898 – March 28, 1969). On June 18, 1902 he was married for the second time at the Ortaköy Palace to Hair un-nisa Kadin Effendi (born: Panderma, March 2, 1876; died: Nice, September 3, 1936). They had a daughter, Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (January 26, 1914 – February 7, 2006) who was married to Azam Jah, son of the last Nizam of Hyderabad. On April 16, 1912 he was married for the third time at Çamlica Palace to Atiya Mihisti Kadin Effendi (born at Adapazarı, January 27, 1892 – London, 1964). She was sister of Kamil Bey. On March 21, 1921 he was married for the fourth time at Çamlica Palace to Bihruz Kadin Effendi (born: İzmir, May 24, 1903).

Artist

Serving as Chairman of the Ottoman Artist's Society, Abdul Mejid II was a gifted painter. He is considered as one of the most important painters of late period Ottoman art. His paintings of the Harem, showing a modern musical gathering, and of a woman reading Goethe's Faust were displayed at an exhibition of Ottoman paintings in Vienna in 1918. His personal self-portrait can be seen at Istanbul Modern.

Death

On August 23, 1944 Abdul Mejid II passed away at his house in the Boulevard Suchet, Paris XVIe, France. He was buried at Medina, Saudi Arabia.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Kent, Marian. 1984. The Great powers and the end of the Ottoman Empire. London: G. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780049560130
• Finkel, Caroline. 2006. Osman's dream: the story of the Ottoman Empire 1300-1923. London: John Murray. ISBN 9780719561122
• Fromkin, David. 2001. A peace to end all peace: the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the modern Middle East. New York: H. Holt. ISBN 9780805068849
• Macfie, A. L. 1998. The end of the Ottoman Empire, 1908-1923. London: Longman. ISBN 9780582287624

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