Abdülmecid II
| Abdülmecid II | |
|---|---|
|
Caliph of Islam Amir al-Mu'minin Şehzade | |
 Caliph Abdülmecid II | |
| 29th And Last Caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate | |
| Tenure | 19 November 1922 – 3 March 1924 |
| Predecessor | Mehmed VI |
| Successor | Caliphate abolished |
| Head of the House of Osman | |
| Pretence | 16 May 1926 – 23 August 1944 |
| Predecessor | Mehmed VI |
| Successor | Ahmed Nihad |
| Born |
30 May 1868[1][2] Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Died |
23 August 1944 (aged 76)[1] Paris, France |
| Consort |
Şehsüvar Kadınefendi Hayrünissa Kadınefendi, Mehisti Kadınefendi Behruze Kadınefendi |
| Issue |
Şehzade Omer Faruk Efendi, Dürrüşehvar Sultan |
| House | Osmanli (Ottoman) |
| Father | Abdülaziz |
| Mother | Hayranidil Kadınefendi |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Abdülmecid II (Ottoman Turkish: عبد المجید الثانی, Abd al-Madjeed al-Thâni – Turkish: Halife İkinci Abdülmecit Efendi (29 May 1868 – 23 August 1944)) was the last Caliph of Islam from the Ottoman Dynasty, nominally the 37th Head of the Ottoman Imperial House from 1922 to 1924.
His name has various alternate spellings, including Abdul Mejid, Aakhir Khalifatul Muslimeen Sultan Abd-ul-Madjeed.
Biography
On 30 May 1868,[1][2] he was born at Dolmabahçe Palace or at Beşiktaş Palace, Beşiktaş, in Islam Pole, Osman's Dream,[3] to then Sultan Abdülaziz and his wife Hayranidil Kadın Efendi. He was educated privately.
According to custom, Abdulmecid was confined to the palace until he was 40. On 4 July 1918, his first cousin Mehmed VI became Sultan and Abdul Mejid was named Crown Prince.[1] Following the deposition of his cousin on 1 November 1922, the Sultanate was abolished. But on 18 November 1922, the Crown Prince was elected Caliph by the Turkish National Assembly at Ankara.[1] He established himself in Constantinople[4][5] on 24 November 1922.
On 3 March 1924, six months after the foundation of the Turkish Republic, the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished and the Ottoman dynasty was deposed and expelled from Turkey.[6]
Artist
Abdülmecid was given the title of General in the Ottoman Army, but did not in fact have strong military inclinations, and his more significant role was as Chairman of the Ottoman Artists' Society.
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 his wife, Şehsuvar Kadınefendi, reading Goethe's Faust.[7] were displayed at an exhibition of Ottoman paintings in Vienna in 1918. His personal self-portrait can be seen at Istanbul Modern.
Abdülmecid was an avid collector of butterflies, an activity that he occupied himself with during the last 20 years of his life. His favourite magazine was Revue des deux Mondes.[7]
Death
On 23 August 1944, Abdülmecid II died at his house in the Boulevard Suchet, Paris XVIe, France. His death coincided with the Liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation. He was buried in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Family
First marriage and issue
He married firstly at Constantinople, Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, on 22/23 December 1896 to HH Şehsüvar Kadınefendi (Constantinople, 2 May 1881 – Paris, 1945, buried there at Bobigny Cemetery), daughter of a Circassian court attendant, and had:
- Prince Şehzade Ömer Faruk (Constantinople, Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, 27/29 February 1898 – 28 March 1969/1971), married firstly at Yıldız Palace on 29 April 1920 to his cousin Princess Rukiye Sabiha Sultan Kadın (Constantinople, Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, 19 March/1 April 1894 – Istanbul, 26 August 1971), and had three daughters, and married secondly in İskenderiye on 31 July 1948 to his cousin Princess Mihriban Mihrishah Sultan Kadın (Constantinople, Beşiktaş, Beşiktaş Palace, 1 June 1916 – Istanbul, 25 January 1987), without issue:
- Princess Fatma Neslişah Osmanoğlu Sultan (Constantinople, Nişantaşı, Nişantaşı Palace, 4 February 1921 – 1 April 2012), married in Heliopolis Palace, Cairo, on 26 September 1940 to her cousin Damat Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim (Alexandria, Montaza Palace, 20 February 1899 – Istanbul, 1/2 December 1979, buried in Cairo), heir apparent to the throne of Egypt from 1899 to 1914, created HH in 1922, created HRH in 1952, Regent of Egypt from 1952 to 1953, and had issue
- Princess Zehra Hanzade Sultan (Constantinople, Dolmabahçe Palace, 12 September 1923 – Paris, 19 March 1998, buried on 26 March 1998), married in Cairo in September 1940 to Damat Prince Muhammad Ali Ibrahim (Cairo, 29 April 1900 – Paris, 2 July 1977), and had issue:
- Nabila Sabiha Fazila Ibrahim Hanımsultan (b. Neuilly-sur-Seine, 8 August 1941), was the fiance of King Faisal II of Iraq until 1958 when the king was killed. Few years later she married Kheri Oglu, together they had two sons Ali and Saleem
- Nabil Sultanzade Ahmad Rifat Ibrahim (b. 31 August 1942), married on 26 June 1969 to Emine Ushakidil, without issue
- Princess Necla Heybetullah Sultan (Nice, 15 May 1926 – 16 October 2006), married in Cairo in February 1943 to Nabil Amr Ibrahim (Cairo, 18 April 1903 – 1977), and had issue:
- Prince Nabil Sultanzade Osman Rifat Ibrahim Beyefendi (b. 20 May 1951), unmarried and without issue
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Second marriage
He married secondly at Constantinople, Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, on 18 June 1902 to HH Hayrünissa Kadınefendi (Bandırma, 2 March 1876 – Nice, 3 September 1936), without issue.
Third marriage and issue
He married thirdly at Constantinople, Üsküdar, Çamlıca Palace, on 16 April 1912 to HH Atiyye Mehisti Kadınefendi (Adapazarı, 27 January 1892 – London, Middlesex, 1964), daughter of Akalsba Hacımaf Bey, by his wife Safiye Hanım, and had:
- Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar Sultan (Constantinople, Üsküdar, Çamlıca Palace, 26 January 1914 – 7 February 2006), married in Nice on 12 November 1931 to Damat Walashan Nawab Sir Mir Himayat Ali Khan Azam Jah Bahadur (22 February 1907 – 9 October 1970), Prince of Berar, son of the last Nizam of Hyderabad India, and had issue.
Fourth Marriage
He married fourthly at Constantinople, Üsküdar, Çamlıca Palace, on 21 March 1921 to HH Behruze Kadınefendi (Izmir, 24 May 1903 - c. 1955, Istanbul, Turkey), without issue.
Titles and styles
- 4 July 1918 – 18 November 1922: His Imperial Highness The Crown Prince
- 18 November 1922 – 3 March 1924: His Imperial Majesty The Commander of the Faithful on Earth, Caliph of the Faithful and the Servant of Mecca and Medina, Sovereign of the Imperial House of Osman
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abdümecid II". Encyclopedia Britannica. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
- 1 2 There are sources that give the 29th as the day of his birth.
- ↑ (Basic Books, 2005), 57.
- ↑ The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol.7, Edited by Hugh Chisholm, (1911), 3; Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire...
- ↑ Britannica, Istanbul:When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.
- ↑ Caroline Finkel (2007). "Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire". Basic Books. p. 546. ISBN 9780465008506.
- 1 2 "The Ottoman caliphate: Worldly, pluralist, hedonistic—and Muslim, too". The Economist. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
External links
| Abdülmecid II Born: 29 May 1868 Died: 23 August 1944 | ||
| Sunni Islam titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mehmed VI |
Last Caliph of Islam Ottoman Caliph 19 November 1922 – 3 March 1924 |
Vacant |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by Mehmed VI |
— TITULAR — Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 19 November 1922 – 23 August 1944 Reason for succession failure: Empire abolished in 1922 |
Succeeded by Ahmed Nihad |
| — TITULAR — Caliph of Islam 3 March 1924 – 23 August 1944 Reason for succession failure: Caliphate abolished on March 3, 1924 |
Vacant Caliphate abolished in 1924 (The religious position and the official representation of the caliph's powers was transferred to Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı) | |
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