List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Imperial
Coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire
Suleiman I (1520–1566)
Details
Style	His Imperial Majesty^[a]
First monarch	Osman Gazi (1281–1326)
Last monarch	Mehmed VI (1918–1922)
Formation	27 July 1299
Abolition	1 November 1922
Residence	Palaces in Istanbul: Topkapı (1460s–1853) Dolmabahçe (1853–1889; 1909–1922) Yıldız (1889–1909)
Appointer	Hereditary

Ottoman Imperial Standard

Ottoman Empire in 1683, at the height of its territorial expansion

The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish: Osmanlı padişahları), made up solely of the members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire spanned from Hungary in the north to Somalia in the south, and from Algeria in the west to Iran in the east. Administered at first from the city of Bursa, the empire's capital was moved to Edirne in 1363 following its conquest by Murad I, and then to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1453 following its conquest by Mehmed II.^[1]

The Ottoman Empire's early years have been the subject of varying narratives due to the difficulty of discerning fact from legend; nevertheless, most modern scholars agree that the empire came into existence around 1299 and that its first ruler (and the namesake of the Empire) was Osman I Khan (leader) of the Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks.^[2] The eponymous Ottoman dynasty he founded endured for six centuries through the reigns of 36 sultans. The Ottoman Empire disappeared as a result of the defeat of the Central Powers with whom it had allied itself during World War I. The partitioning of the Empire by the victorious Allies and the ensuing Turkish War of Independence led to the abolition of the sultanate in 1922 and the birth of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923.^[3]

State organisation of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was an absolute monarchy during much of its existence. The sultan was at the apex of the hierarchical Ottoman system and acted in political, military, judicial, social, and religious capacities under a variety of titles.^[a] He was theoretically responsible only to God and God's law (the Islamic شریعت şeriat, known in Arabic as شريعة sharia), of which he was the chief executor. His heavenly mandate was reflected in Islamic titles such as "shadow of God on Earth" (Turkish: Allah'ın yeryüzündeki gölgesi), (Arabic: ظل الله في العالم‎ zill Allah fi'l-alem) and "caliph on the earth" (Persian: خلیفه روی زمین‎‎ khalife-i ru-yi zemin).^[4] All offices were filled by his authority, and every law was issued by him in the form of a decree called firman (فرمان). He was the supreme military commander and had the official title to all land.^[5] Ertuğrul served as the elected leader of the Ottomans from 1230 until his death in 1281. In 1281, Ertuğrul's son, Osman, became elected leader of the Ottomans. From 1299 until his death in 1326, Osman served as Osman I "Sultan of the Ottoman Empire."

After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II, Ottoman sultans came to regard themselves as the successors of the Roman Empire, hence their occasional use of the titles Caesar (قیصر Qayser) of Rûm, and emperor,^[4][6][7] as well as the caliph of Islam. Following the conquest of Egypt in 1517, Selim I furthered strengthened the claim of caliphal authority.^[b] Newly enthroned Ottoman rulers were girded with the Sword of Osman, an important ceremony that served as the equivalent of European monarchs' coronation.^[8] A non-girded sultan was not eligible to have his children included in the line of succession.^[9]

Although theocratic and absolute in theory and in principle, the sultan's powers were limited in practice. Political decisions had to take into account the opinions and attitudes of important members of the dynasty, the bureaucratic and military establishments, as well as religious leaders.^[5] From the 17th century onwards, the empire entered into a long-term period of stagnation, during which the sultans were much enfeebled. Many of them ended up being deposed by the powerful Janissary corps. Despite being barred from inheriting the throne,^[10] women of the Imperial Harem—especially the reigning sultan's mother, known as the Valide Sultan—also played an important behind-the-scenes political role, effectively ruling the empire during the period known as the Sultanate of Women.^[11]

The declining powers of the sultans are evidenced by the difference in reign lengths between early sultans and later ones. Suleiman I, who ruled the empire when it was at its zenith in the 16th century, had a reign of 46 years, the longest in Ottoman history. Mehmed Murad V, who ruled in the late 19th-century period of decline, had the shortest reign on record: he was in power for just 93 days before being deposed. Constitutionalism was only established during the reign of Murad V's successor, Abdul Hamid II, who thus became the empire's last absolute ruler and its reluctant first constitutional monarch.^[12] Although Abdul Hamid II abolished the parliament and the constitution to return to personal rule in 1878, he was again forced in 1908 to reinstall constitutionalism and was deposed. Since 2009, the head of the House of Osman and pretender to the defunct Ottoman throne has been Bayezid Osman, a great-grandson of Abdülmecid I.^[13]

List of sultans

The table below lists Ottoman sultans, as well as the last Ottoman caliph, in chronological order. The tughras were the calligraphic seals or signatures used by Ottoman sultans. They were displayed on all official documents as well as on coins, and were far more important in identifying a sultan than his portrait. The "Notes" column contains information on each sultan's parentage and fate. When a sultan's reign did not end through a natural death, the reason is indicated in bold. For earlier rulers, there is usually a time gap between the moment a sultan's reign ended and the moment his successor was enthroned. This is because the Ottomans in that era practiced what historian Quataert has described as "survival of the fittest, not eldest, son": when a sultan died, his sons had to fight each other for the throne until a victor emerged. Because of the infighting and numerous fratricides that occurred, a sultan's death date therefore did not always coincide with the accession date of his successor.^[14] In 1617, the law of succession changed from survival of the fittest to a system based on agnatic seniority (اکبریت ekberiyet), whereby the throne went to the oldest male of the family. This in turn explains why from the 17th century onwards a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his own son, but usually by an uncle or brother.^[15] Agnatic seniority was retained until the abolition of the sultanate, despite unsuccessful attempts in the 19th century to replace it with primogeniture.^[16]

The official full style of the Ottoman Sultans was:

'Ala Hazrat-i-Aqdas-i-Hümayun (اعلی حضرت اقدس همایون, His Sacred and Imperial Majesty) Sultan (سلطان) N.N. Khan (خان),

Padishah (پادشاه), i.e. Emperor,

Hünkar-i Khanedan-i Âl-i Osman (شاه خاندان آل عثمان), i.e. Sovereign of the Sublime House of Osman,

Sultan us-Selatin (سلطان السلاطین), i.e. Sultan of Sultans,

Khakan (خاقان), i.e. Khan of Khans,

Amir ül-Mü'minin ve Khalifeh ül-Rasul Rabb al-A’alimin (امیر المؤمنین و خلیفه الرسول رب العالمین), i.e. Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe,

Khâdim ül-Haramayn ush-Sharifayn (خادم الحرمین الشریفین), i.e. Custodian of the Two Noble Sanctuaries (i.e. the Holy Cities of Mecca, and Medina),

Qayser-i Rûm (قیصر روم), i.e. Caesar of the Roman Empire (or the Grecian Ceasar)

Padişah-i thalath şehireha-i Qostantiniyye, Edirne ve Hüdavendigâr, ül şehireyn-i Dimaşq ve Qahira, tamam Azerbayjan, Mağrib, Barqah, Kayravan, Haleb, ül-‘Iraq-i ‘Arab vel ‘Ajam, Basra, ül-dulan-i Lahsa, Rakka, Musul, Partiyye, Diyârbekir, Kilikiyye, ül vilâyatun-i Erzurum, Sivas, Adana, Karaman, Van, Barbariyye, Habeş, Tunus, Trablus-i Garb, Şam, Kıbrıs, Rodos, Girit, ül vilâyet-i Mora, ül Bahr-i Sefid vel Bahr-i Siyah ve i-swahil, Anadolu, Rumeli, Bagdâd, Kurdistân, Yunanistan, Türkistan, Tatariyye, Çerkesyye, ül mintaqateyn-i Kabarda, Gürjistan, ül-Deşt-i Qipçaq, tamam ül-mamlikat-i Tatar, Kefe ve tamam ül-etraf, Bosna, ül şehir ve hisar-i Belgrat, ül vilâyet-i Sırbistan bil tamam ül-hisareha ve şehireha, tamam Arnaut, tamam Eflâk ve Boğdan, ve tamam ül-mustamlak vel-hududeha, ve muteaddit mamalekat ve şehireha, i.e. Emperor of The Three Cities of Constantinople, Adrianople and Bursa, and of the Cities of Damascus and Cairo, of all Azerbaijan, of the Magreb, of Barca, of Kairouan, of Aleppo, of the Arabic and the Persian Iraq, of Basra, of Al-Hasa strip, of Ar Raqqah, of Mosul, of Diyarbakır, of Cilicia, of the provinces of Erzurum, of Sivas, of Adana, of Karaman, Van, of Barbara, of Abyssinia, of Tunisia, of Tripoli-of-the-West (Tripolitania), of Sham, of Cyprus, of Rhodes, of Crete, of the province of Morea, of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and also their coasts, of Anatolia, Rumelia, Baghdad, Kurdistan, Greece, Turkistan, Tartary, Circassia, of the two regions of Kabarda, of Georgia, of the steppe of Kypchaks, of the whole realm of the Tatars, of Kefe and of all the neighboring regions, of Bosnia, of the City and Fort of Belgrade, of the province of Serbia, with all the castles and cities, of all Albania, of all Eflak and Bogdania, as well as all the dependencies and borders, and many other countries and cities.

№	Sultan	Portrait	Reigned from	Reigned until	Tughra	Notes
—	Emir Gazi Ertuğrul Bey ارطغرل غازی Amîr Ghazi – The Esquire (1191–1281)		1230	1281	— ^[c]	Son of Kaya Alp Oğlu Süleyman Şah and Haimā (Hayme) Ana; Reigned until his death.[17] Father of Osman Ghazi and the elected leader of the Kayı clan of the Oghuz tribe.
—	Emir Gazi Osman Bey عثمان بن ارطغرل Amîr Fakhr ud-din Othman-Al Ghazi – The Esquire (1258–1324)		1281	1299	— ^[c]	Son of Ertuğrul Ghazi and Khālīma Khānūm; Elected by the Beys and Ghazis of the Kayı tribe as chief in succession to his father Ertuğrul Ghazi, and invested as Prince (Amir) by Âlâ ād-Dīn Kayqubad III, Sultan of The Anatolian Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm. Became an independent sovereign on the collapse of the Sultanate of Iconium on July 27, 1299.
Rise of the Ottoman Empire (27 July 1299 – 20 July 1402)
1	Osman I GHAZI (The Warrior) BEY (The Esquire) KARA (lit. The Land or The Black for his bravery)		27 July 1299	29 July 1326	— ^[c]	Son of Ertuğrul Ghazi and Khālîma Khānum; On 27 July 1299, declared his independence from the Anatolian Seljuk Empire. Reigned until his death.[17]
2	Orhan GHAZI (The Warrior) BEY (The Esquire)		29 July 1326	1362		Son of Osman I and Malhūn (Māl) Khātûn; Reigned until his death.[18]
3	Murad I SULTAN-İ AZAM (The Most Exalted Sultan) HÜDAVENDİGÂR - Khodāvandgār (The devotee of God) ŞEHÎD (Shāhīd) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)[19]^[b]		1362	15 June 1389		Son of Orhan and Nilūfer Khātûn; Reigned until his death; Killed on the battlefield at the Battle of Kosovo on June 15, 1389.[20]
4	Bayezid I SULTAN-İ RÛM (Sultan of the Roman Empire) YILDIRIM (The Thunderbolt) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		15 June 1389	20 July 1402		Son of Murad I and Gül-Çiçek Khātûn; Captured on the battlefield at the Battle of Ankara (de facto end of reign); Died in captivity in Akşehir on 8 March 1403.[21]
Ottoman Interregnum (20 July 1402 – 5 July 1413)
5	Mehmed I ÇELEBİ (The Affable) KİRİŞÇİ (lit. The Bowstring Maker for his support) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		5 July 1413	26 May 1421		Son of Bayezid I and Devlet Khātûn; Reigned until his death.[22]
6	Murad II KOCA (The Great) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		25 June 1421	1444		Son of Mehmed I and Âminā (Emine) Khātûn;[23] Abdicated of his own free will in favour of his son Mehmed II.[24]
7	Mehmed II FATİH (The Conqueror) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		1444	1446		Son of Murad II and Hadice Âlime Hūmâ Khātûn;[25] Surrendered the throne to his father after having asked him to return to power, along with rising threats from Janissaries.[24]
—	Murad II KOCA (The Great) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		1446	3 February 1451		Second reign; Forced to return to the throne following a Janissary insurgence;[26] Reigned until his death.[23]
Growth of the Ottoman Empire (29 May 1453 – 11 November 1606)
—	Mehmed II HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)^[b] QAYSER-İ RÛM (Caesar of the Roman Empire) FATİH (The Conqueror)		3 February 1451	3 May 1481		Second reign; Conquered Constantinople in 1453; Reigned until his death.[27]
8	Bayezid II VELÎ (The Saint) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		19 May 1481	25 April 1512		Son of Mehmed II and Mükrîme (Sitt-î Mū’kārîmā) Khātûn; Abdicated; Died near Didymoteicho on 26 May 1512.[28]
9	Selim I YAVUZ (The Strong) Hadim'ul Haramain'ish-Sharifain (Servant of Mecca and Medina) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		25 April 1512	21 September 1520		Son of Bayezid II and Kül-Bahār Khātûn; Reigned until his death.[29]
10	Suleiman I MUHTEŞEM (The Magnificent) or KANÛNÎ (The Lawgiver) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		30 September 1520	6 or 7 September 1566		Son of Selim I and A’ishā Hafīzā (Ayşe Hafsa) Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death.[30]
11	Selim II SARI (The Blond) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		29 September 1566	21 December 1574		Son of Suleiman I and Hürrem Sultan (Khūrrām or Kārimā); Reigned until his death.[31]
12	Murad III HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		22 December 1574	16 January 1595		Son of Selim II and Afîfe Nûr-Bānû Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death.[32]
13	Mehmed III ADLÎ (The Just) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		27 January 1595	20 or 21 December 1603		Son of Murad III and Sâfiyā Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death;[33]
Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire (11 November 1606 – 26 January 1699)
14	Ahmed I BAKHTÎ (The Fortunate) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		21 December 1603	22 November 1617		Son of Mehmed III and Handan Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death.[34]
15	Mustafa I DELİ (The Deranged) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		22 November 1617	26 February 1618		Son of Mehmed III and Fûlâne Valide Sultan; Deposed due to his non-syndromic mental retardation in favour of his young nephew Osman II.[35]
16	Osman II GENÇ (The Young) ŞEHÎD (Shāhīd) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		26 February 1618	19 May 1622		Son of Ahmed I and Mâh-Firûze Hadice (Khadija) Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed in a Janissary riot on 19 May 1622; Murdered on 20 May 1622 by the Grand Vizier Kara Davud Paşa (Black Da'ud Pasha) from compression of his testicles.[36]
—	Mustafa I DELİ (The Deranged) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		20 May 1622	10 September 1623		Second reign; Returned to the throne after the assassination of his nephew Osman II; Deposed due to his syndromic mental retardation and confined until his death in Istanbul on 20 January 1639.[35]
17	Murad IV SAHİB-Î KIRAN The Conqueror of Baghdad GHAZI (The Warrior) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		10 September 1623	8 or 9 February 1640		Son of Ahmed I and Mâh-Peyker Kösem Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death.[37]
18	Ibrahim DELİ (The Arrage) The Conqueror of Crete ŞEHÎD (Shāhīd) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		9 February 1640	8 August 1648		Son of Ahmed I and Mâh-Peyker Kösem Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed on 8 August 1648 in a coup led by the Sheikh ul-Islam; Strangled in Istanbul on 18 August 1648[38] at the behest of the Grand Vizier Mevlevî Mehmed Paşa (Sofu Mehmed Pasha).
19	Mehmed IV AVCI (The Hunter) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		8 August 1648	8 November 1687		Son of Ibrahim and Turhan Hadice (Khadija) Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed on 8 November 1687 following the Ottoman defeat at the Second Battle of Mohács; Died in Edirne on 6 January 1693.[39]
20	Suleiman II GHAZI (The Warrior) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		8 November 1687	22 June 1691		Son of Ibrahim and Sâliha Dil-Âşûb (Dilâshûb) Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death.[40]
21	Ahmed II KHAN GHAZI (The Warrior Prince) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		22 June 1691	6 February 1695		Son of Ibrahim and Hatice (Khadija) Mû’azzez İkinci Haseki Sultân; Reigned until his death.[41]
22	Mustafa II GHAZI (The Warrior) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		6 February 1695	22 August 1703		Son of Mehmed IV and Mâh-Pârā Ummetullah (Emetullah) Râbi’a Gül-Nûsh (Gül-Nûş) Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed on 22 August 1703 by reason of the Janissary uprising known as the Edirne Event; Died in Istanbul on 8 January 1704.[42]
Decline of the Ottoman Empire (26 January 1699 – 9 January 1792)
23	Ahmed III Tulip Era Sultan GHAZI (The Warrior) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		22 August 1703	1 or 2 October 1730		Son of Mehmed IV and Mâh-Pârā Ummetullah (Emetullah) Râbi’a Gül-Nûsh (Gül-Nûş) Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed in consequence of the Janissary rebellion led by Patrona Halil; Died on 1 July 1736.[43]
24	Mahmud I GHAZI (The Warrior) KAMBUR (The Hunchback) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		2 October 1730	13 December 1754		Son of Mustafa II and Sâliha Sebkat-î Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death.[44]
25	Osman III SOFU (The Devout) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		13 December 1754	29 or 30 October 1757		Son of Mustafa II and Şâh-Süvar (Shah-Sûvar) Vâlidā Sultân; Reigned until his death.[45]
26	Mustafa III YENİLİKÇİ (The First Innovative) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		30 October 1757	21 January 1774		Son of Ahmed III and Âminā Mehr-î-Shâh (Emine Mihr-î-Şâh) İkinci Kadın Efendi; Reigned until his death.[46]
27	Abdülhamid I Abd ūl-Hāmīd (The Servant of God) ISLAHATÇI (The Improver) GHAZI (The Warrior) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		21 January 1774	6 or 7 April 1789		Son of Ahmed III and Râbi’a Sharm-î (Şerm-î) Kadın Efendi; Reigned until his death.[47]
Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire^[e] (9 January 1792 – 1 November 1922)
28	Selim III BESTEKÂR (The Composer) NİZÂM-Î (Regulative - Orderly) ŞEHÎD (Shāhīd) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		7 April 1789	29 May 1807		Son of Mustafa III and Mehr-î-Shâh (Mihr-î-Şâh) Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed as a result of the Janissary revolt led by Kabakçı Mustafa against his reforms; Assassinated in Istanbul on 28 July 1808[48] at the behest of Ottoman Sultan Mustafa IV.
29	Mustafa IV HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		29 May 1807	28 July 1808		Son of Abdülhamid I and Bash Iqbal Nushatzaza (Nüzhet-Zâdāh / Nükhet-Sedâ) Khānūm Effendi; Deposed in an insurrection led by Alemdar Mustafa Pasha; Executed in Istanbul on 17 November 1808[49] by order of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II.
30	Mahmud II İNKILÂPÇI (The Reformer) GHAZI (The Warrior) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		28 July 1808	1 July 1839		Son of Abdülhamid I and Naksh-î-Dil (Nakş-î-Dil) Haseki Vâlidā Sultân (adoptive mother of Mahmud II); Disbanded the Janissaries in consequence of the Auspicious Event in 1826; Reigned until his death.[50]
31	Abdülmecid I TANZİMÂTÇI (The Strong Reformist or The Advocate of Reorganization) GHAZI (The Warrior) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		1 July 1839	25 June 1861		Son of Mahmud II and Bezm-î-Âlem Vâlidā Sultân; Proclaimed the Hatt-ı Sharif (Imperial Edict) of Gülhane (Tanzimât Fermânı) that launched the Tanzimat period of reforms and reorganization on 3 November 1839 at the behest of reformist Grand Vizier Great Mustafa Rashid Pasha; Accepted the Islâhat Hatt-ı Hümayun (Imperial Reform Edict) (Islâhat Fermânı) on 18 February 1856; Reigned until his death.[51]
32	Abdülaziz I BAHTSIZ (The Unfortunate) ŞEHÎD (Shāhīd) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		25 June 1861	30 May 1876		Son of Mahmud II and Pertav-Nihâl (Pertevniyâl) Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed by his ministers; Found dead (suicide or murder) five days later.[52]
33	Mehmed Murad V HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		30 May 1876	31 August 1876		Son of Abdülmecid I and Shāvk-Efzâ (Şevk-Efzâ) Vâlidā Sultân; Deposed due to his efforts to implement democratic reforms in the empire; Ordered to reside in Çırağan Palace where he died on 29 August 1904.[53]
34	Abdülhamid II Ulû Sultân Abd ūl-Hāmīd Khan (The Sublime Khan) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		31 August 1876	27 April 1909		Son of Abdülmecid I and Tîr-î-Müjgan Üçüncü Kadın Efendi; and later the adoptive son of Rahime Perestû (Piristû) Vâlidā Sultân (adoptive mother of Abdul Hamid II). Reluctantly allowed the First Constitutional Era on 23 November 1876 and then suspended it and reverted to personal rule on 13 February 1878; Forced to restore the Second Constitutional Era on 3 July 1908; Deposed after the 31 March Incident (on 13 April 1909); Confined to Beylerbeyi Palace where he died on 10 February 1918.[54]
35	Mehmed V REŞÂD (Rashād) (The True Path Follower) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		27 April 1909	3 July 1918		Son of Abdülmecid I and Gül-Cemâl Dördüncü Kadın Efendi; Reigned as a figurehead of Mehmed Talât, İsmail Enver, and Ahmed Cemal (Djemal) Pashas until his death.[55]
36	Mehmed VI VAHDETTİN (Wāhīd ād-Dīn) (The Unifier of Religion (Islam) or The Oneness of Islam) HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		4 July 1918	1 November 1922		Son of Abdülmecid I and Gül-İstü (Gülistan Münire) Dördüncü Kadın Efendi; Sultanate abolished; Left Istanbul on 17 November 1922; Died in exile in Sanremo, Italy on 16 May 1926.[56]
Republican Caliphate (1 November 1922 – 3 March 1924)
—	Abdülmecid II HALİFE (Caliph of Islam)		18 November 1922	3 March 1924	— ^[c]	Son of Abdülaziz I and Hayrân-î-Dil Kadın Efendi;[57] Elected caliph by the TBMM; Exiled after the abolition of the caliphate;[58] Died in Paris, France on 23 August 1944.[59]

Interregnum period (1402–1413)

№	Sultan	Portrait	Reigned from	Reigned until	Tughra	Notes
Ottoman Interregnum^[d] (20 July 1402 – 5 July 1413)
—	İsa Çelebi The Co-Sultan of Anatolia		1403–1405 (Sultan of the Western Anatolian Territory)	1406	—	After the Battle of Ankara on July 20, 1402, İsa Çelebi defeated Musa Çelebi and began controlling the western part of Anatolian territory of the empire for approximately two years. Defeated by Mehmed Çelebi in the battle of Ulubat in 1405. Murdered in 1406.
—	Emir (Amir) Süleyman Çelebi The First Sultan of Rumelia		20 July 1402	17 February 1411[60]	—	Acquired the title of The Sultan of Rumelia for the European portion of the empire, a short period after the Ottoman defeat of The Battle of Ankara on 20 July 1402 Murdered on 17 February 1411.[61]
—	Musa Çelebi The Second Sultan of Rumelia		18 February 1411	5 July 1413[62]	—	Acquired the title of The Sultan of Rumelia for the European portion of the empire[63] on 18 February 1411, just after the death of Süleyman Çelebi. Killed on 5 July 1413 by Mehmed Çelebi’s forces in the battle of Çamurlu Derbent near Samokov in Bulgaria.[64]
—	Mehmed Çelebi The Sultan of Anatolia		1403–1406 (Sultan of the Eastern Anatolian Territory) 1406–1413 (The Sultan of Anatolia)	5 July 1413	—	Acquired the control of the eastern part of the Anatolian territory as the Co-Sultan just after the defeat of the Battle of Ankara on 20 July 1402. Defeated İsa Çelebi in the battle of Ulubat in 1405. Became the sole ruler of the Anatolian territory of the Ottoman Empire upon İsa’s death in 1406. Acquired the title of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I Khan upon Musa’s death on 5 July 1413.

See also

• Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman Dynasty
• Line of succession to the Ottoman throne
• Ottoman Emperors family tree
• The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
• Ottoman family tree (more detailed)
• Tuğra-Sultan's Signature
• List of Valide Sultans
• List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
• List of admirals in the Ottoman Empire
• List of Ottoman Kaptan Pashas

Notes

a^{1 2} : The full style of the Ottoman ruler was complex, as it was composed of several titles and evolved over the centuries. The title of sultan was used continuously by all rulers almost from the beginning. However, because it was widespread in the Muslim world, the Ottomans quickly adopted variations of it to dissociate themselves from other Muslim rulers of lesser status. Murad I, the third Ottoman monarch, styled himself sultan-i azam (سلطان اعظم, the most exalted sultan) and hüdavendigar (خداوندگار, emperor), titles used by the Anatolian Seljuqs and the Mongol Ilkhanids respectively. His son Bayezid I adopted the style Sultan of Rûm, Rûm being an old Islamic name for the Roman Empire. The combining of the Islamic and Central Asian heritages of the Ottomans led to the adoption of the title that became the standard designation of the Ottoman ruler: Sultan [Name] Khan.^[65] Ironically, although the title of sultan is most often associated in the Western world with the Ottomans, people within Turkey generally use the title of padishah far more frequently when referring to rulers of the Ottoman Dynasty.^[66] The full style of the Ottoman sultan once the empire's frontiers had stabilized became:^[67]

"Sovereign of The Sublime House of Osman, Sultan es Selatin (Sultan of Sultans), Khakhan (Khakan of the Khans), Commander of the faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the lord of the Universe, Custodian of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Kouds (Jerusalem), Padishah of The Three Cities of Istanbul (Constantinople), Edirne (Adrianople) and Bursa, and of the Cities of Châm (Damascus) and Cairo (Egypt), of all Azerbaijan, of the Magreb, of Barkah, of Kairouan, of Alep, of the Arab and Persian Iraq, of Basra, of El Hasa strip, of Raka, of Mosul, of Parthia, of Diyâr-ı Bekr, of Cilicia, of the provinces of Erzurum, of Sivas, of Adana, of Karaman, of Van, of Barbaria, of Habech (Abyssinia), of Tunisia, of Tripoli, of Châm (Syria), of Cyprus, of Rhodes, of Crete, of the province of Morea (Peloponnese), of Bahr-i Sefid (Mediterranean Sea), of Bahr-i Siyah (Black Sea), of Anatolia, of Rumelia (the European part of the Empire), of Bagdad, of Kurdistan, of Greece, of Turkestan, of Tartary, of Circassia, of the two regions of Kabarda, of Gorjestan (Georgia), of the steppe of Kipchaks, of the whole country of the Tatars, of Kefa (Feodosiya) and of all the neighbouring regions, of Bosnia, of the City and Fort of Belgrade, of the province of Sirbistan (Serbia), with all the castles and cities, of all Arnaut, of all Eflak (Wallachia) and Bogdania (Moldavia), as well as all the dependencies and borders, and many others countries and cities"

b^{1 2 3} : The Ottoman Caliphate was one of the most important positions held by rulers of the Ottoman Dynasty. The caliphate symbolized their spiritual power, whereas the sultanate represented their temporal power. According to Ottoman historiography, Murad I acquired the title of caliph during his reign (1362 to 1389), and Selim I later strengthened the caliphal authority during his conquest of Egypt in 1516-1517, after the last Abbasid in Cairo, Al-Mutawakkil III, surrendered to him. However, the general consensus among modern scholars is that Ottoman rulers had used the title of caliph before the conquest of Egypt, as early as during the reign of Murad I (1362–1389), who brought most of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and established the title of sultan in 1383. It is currently agreed that the caliphate "disappeared" for two-and-a-half centuries, before being revived with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, signed between the Ottoman Empire and Catherine II of Russia in 1774. The treaty was highly symbolic, since it marked the first international recognition of the Ottomans' claim to the caliphate. Although the treaty officialised the Ottoman Empire's loss of the Crimean Khanate, it acknowledged the Ottoman caliph's continuing religious authority over Muslims in Russia.^[68] From the 18th century onwards, Ottoman sultans increasingly emphasized their status as caliphs in order to stir Pan-Islamist sentiments among the empire's Muslims in the face of encroaching European imperialism. When World War I broke out, the sultan/caliph issued a call for jihad in 1914 against the Ottoman Empire's Allied enemies, vainly inciting the subjects of the French, British and Russian empires to revolt. Abdülhamid II was by far the Ottoman sultan who made the most use of his caliphal position, and was recognized as caliph by many Muslim heads of state, even as far away as Sumatra.^[69] He had his claim to the title inserted into the 1876 Constitution (Article 4).^[70]

c^{1 2} : Tughras were used by 35 out of 36 Ottoman sultans, starting with Orhan in the 14th century, whose tughra has been found on two different documents. No tughra bearing the name of Osman I, the founder of the empire, has ever been discovered, although a coin with the inscription "Osman bin Ertuğrul bin Gündüz Alp" has been identified.^[71] Abdülmecid II, the last Ottoman caliph, also lacked a tughra of his own, since he did not serve as head of state (that position being held by Mustafa Kemal, President of the newly founded Republic of Turkey) but as a religious and royal figurehead.

d^ : The Ottoman Interregnum, also known as the Ottoman Triumvirate (Turkish: Fetret Devri), was a period of chaos in the Ottoman Empire which lasted from 1402 to 1413. It started following the defeat and capture of Bayezid I by the Turco-Mongol warlord Tamerlane at the Battle of Ankara, which was fought on 20 July 1402. Bayezid's sons fought each other for over a decade, until Mehmed I emerged as the undisputed victor in 1413.^[72]

e^ : The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire was a gradual process which started with the abolition of the sultanate and ended with that of the caliphate 16 months later. The sultanate was formally abolished on 1 November 1922. Sultan Mehmed VI fled to Malta on 17 November aboard the British warship Malaya.^[56] This event marked the end of the Ottoman Dynasty, not of the Ottoman State nor of the Ottoman Caliphate. On 18 November, the Grand National Assembly (TBMM) elected Mehmed VI's cousin Abdülmecid II, the then crown prince, as caliph.^[73] The official end of the Ottoman State was declared through the Treaty of Lausanne (24 July 1923), which recognized the new "Ankara government," and not the old Istanbul-based Ottoman government, as representing the rightful owner and successor state. The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed by the TBMM on 29 October 1923, with Mustafa Kemal as its first President.^[74] Although Abdülmecid II was a figurehead lacking any political power, he remained in his position of caliph until the office of the caliphate was abolished by the TBMM on 3 March 1924.^[70] Mehmed VI later tried unsuccessfully to reinstall himself as caliph in the Hejaz.^[75]

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External links

• "Website of the 700th Anniversary of the Ottoman Empire". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
• "Official website of the immediate living descendants of the Ottoman Dynasty". Retrieved 2009-02-06.