Mehmed V

Mehmed V, also known as Mohammed V, Mehmed V Reşad (or Reşat) or Reshid Effendi (Istanbul, November 2, 1844-Istanbul, July 3, 1918), was sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

He was the 35th Ottoman sultan, and is credited with having been the 99th caliph of Islam, with the understanding that the Ottoman dynasty took the caliphate in 1517, a fact disputed by some opinions.

He was the son of Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid I and Gulcemal Kadin Efandi. He ascended the throne on April 27, 1909, although he lacked real political power during his reign, dominated by political figures such as Ismail Enver, Talat Pasha and Cemal Pasha. In September 1911, Turkey entered war with Italy, suffering a resounding defeat in October 1912 when, after severe setbacks on all fronts, it had to cede to Rome all of Libya, the Dodecanese islands off the coast of Anatolia and strategic points in the Red Sea. During that war, the Italians used aviation in combat for the first time in history. Then, as a consequence of the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, it lost almost all European territories (except the region between Edirne and Istanbul).

As caliph, Mehmed V proclaimed jihad or holy war against the British Empire in November 1914, when the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War.

He lived in the Yildiz palace in Istanbul. He died on July 3, 1918 at the age of 73, just four months before the end of the Great War. The tomb of Sultan Mehmed V is in the Eyup district of modern Istanbul. He left two sons: princes Mehmed Ziyaeddin (1873-1938) and Omer Hilmi (1888-1935).

Birth

He was born in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul. Like many other potential heirs to the throne, he was confined for 30 years in the palace's Harems. 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 Topkapi Palace.

Reign

His reign began on April 27, 1909, but he was largely a figurehead with no real political power, in the aftermath of the Young Turkish Revolution in 1908 (which restored the Ottoman Constitution and Parliament) and especially the coup d'état Ottoman Empire of 1913, which brought the dictatorial triumvirate of the Three Pashas to power.

Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire lost all of its remaining territory in North Africa (Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan) to Italy in the Italo-Turkish War and almost all of its European territories (except a small strip of land to the west of Constantinople) in the First Balkan War. The Ottomans made some small gains in the following war, recovering the peninsula comprising Eastern Thrace as far as Edirne, but this was only partial consolation to the Turks: most of the Ottoman territories they had fought to hold had been lost forever.

The sudden loss of these huge swaths of land, which had been Ottoman territory for centuries and were ceded to their opponents in a span of just two years, was deeply shocking to the Ottoman Turks and resulted in a massive popular backlash against the government, which culminated in the Ottoman coup d'état of 1913.

Despite his preference that the country stay away from new conflicts, Mehmed V's most significant political act was to formally declare jihad against the Entente Powers (Allies of World War I) on November 14, 1914., following the Ottoman government's decision to join the First World War. on the side of the Central Powers. Indeed, he was said to view Enver Pasha's pro-German policy unfavorably, but could do little to prevent war due to the sultanate's diminished influence since the overthrow of Abdülhamit II in 1909.

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

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

Death

Mehmed V died in Yıldız Palace on July 3, 1918 at the age of 73, just four months before the end of the First World War. Therefore, he did not live to see the fall of the Ottoman Empire.. He spent most of his life in the Dolmabahçe Palace and the Yıldız Palace in Constantinople. His grave is in the Eyüp district of modern Istanbul.

Decorations and honors

Ottoman orders

Mehmed V was Grand Master of the following Ottoman orders:

• Grand Master of the Order of the Mid Moon
• Grand Master of the Order of Glory
• Grand Master of the Order of Medjidie
• Grand Master of the Order of Osmanieh

Foreign decorations

• Knight of the Military Order of Max Joseph (Baviera)
• Order of the Star of Karadjordje (Yugoslavia)

Predecessor: Abdul Hamid II

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1909-1918

Successor: Mehmed VI