Abdulmejid II

Abdulmejid II
Caliph of Islam
Amir al-Mu'minin

A portrait of Abdulmejid II
37th Caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate
Tenure 18 November 1922 – 3 March 1924
Predecessor Mehmed VI
Successor Caliphate abolished
Head of the House of Osman
(in exile)
Pretence 16 May 1926 – 23 August 1944
Predecessor Mehmed VI
Successor Ahmed Nihad
Born 29/30 May 1868[1][2]
Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey)
Died 23 August 1944(1944-08-23) (aged 76)
Paris, France
Burial Al-Baqi, Medina, Saudi Arabia
Consorts Şehsuvar Hanım
Mihrimah Hanım
Hayrünissa Hanım
Mehisti Hanım
Bihruze Hanım
Issue Şehzade Omer Faruk
Dürrüşehvar Sultan
Full name
Abdul Mecid bin Abdul Aziz
Dynasty Ottoman
Father Abdulaziz
Mother Hayranidil Kadın
Religion Sufi Islam

Abdulmejid 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, nominally the 37th Head of the Ottoman Imperial House from 1922 to 1924.

Biography

On 30 May 1868,[1][2] he was born at Dolmabahçe Palace or at Beşiktaş Palace, Beşiktaş, Istanbul, to then Sultan Abdulaziz and his wife Hayranidil Kadın. 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[3][4] 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.[5]

Artist

Abdulmejid's painting of his wife.

Abdulmejid 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 Hanım, reading Goethe's Faust.[6] were displayed at an exhibition of Ottoman paintings in Vienna in 1918. His personal self-portrait can be seen at Istanbul Modern.

Abdulmejid 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.[6]

Death

On 23 August 1944, Abdulmejid II died at his house in the Boulevard Suchet, Paris. His death coincided with the Liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation. He was buried in Medina, Saudi Arabia by the order of King Saud of Saudi Arabia.

Family

Photo of Abdulmejid II during his exile
Standard of Abdulmejid II
Princess Dürrüşehvar Sultan, Princess of Berar; Caliph Abdulmecid II of the Ottoman Empire, and Nawab Azam Jah, Prince of Berar
Consorts

Abdulmejid had five consorts:

son
Daughter

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abdümecid II". Encyclopædia Britannica. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
  2. 1 2 There are sources that give the 29th as the day of his birth.
  3. The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol.7, Edited by Hugh Chisholm, (1911), 3; Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire...
  4. 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.
  5. Caroline Finkel (2007). "Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire". Basic Books. p. 546. ISBN 9780465008506.
  6. 1 2 "The Ottoman caliphate: Worldly, pluralist, hedonistic—and Muslim, too". The Economist. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Hülagü, M. Metin (2008). Yurtsuz İmparator: Vahdeddin : İngiliz gizli belgelerinde Vahdeddin ve Osmanlı hanedanı. Timaş. p. 53. ISBN 978-9-752-63690-3.
  8. Haskan, Mehmet Nermi (2001). Yüzyıllar boyunca Üsküdar - Volume 1. Üsküdar Belediyesi. p. 298. ISBN 978-9-759-76062-5.
Abdulmejid 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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