Overview
Abdülhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. The farthest-reaching reforms were in education through the establishment of many professional schools and a network of primary, secondary, and military schools throughout the Empire.
Early life and accession
in 1867, accompanying his uncle Sultan Abdulaziz during his visit to Western Europe between 21 June 1867 – 7 August 1867. Hamid Efendi was born on 21 September 1842 either in Çırağan Palace, Ortaköy, or at Topkapı Palace, both in Constantinople. He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I Unlike many other Ottoman sultans, Abdul Hamid II visited distant countries. In the summer of 1867, nine years before he ascended the throne, he accompanied his uncle Sultan Abdul Aziz on a visit to Paris (30 June – 10 July 1867), London (12–23 July 1867), Vienna (28–30 July 1867), and capitals or cities of a number of other European countries.
Accession to the Ottoman throne
Abdul Hamid ascended the throne after his brother Murad was deposed on 31 August 1876. At his accession, some commentators were impressed that he rode practically unattended to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, where he was presented with the Sword of Osman. Most people expected Abdul Hamid II to support liberal movements, but he acceded to the throne at a critical time. Economic and political turmoil, local wars in the Balkans, and the Russo-Turkish War threatened the Empire's very existence.
First Constitutional Era, 1876–1878
in 1877 Abdul Hamid worked with the Young Ottomans to realize some form of constitutional arrangement. The delegates to the Constantinople Conference were surprised by the promulgation of a constitution, but European powers at the conference rejected the constitution as a too-radical change; they preferred the 1856 constitution (Islâhat Hatt-ı Hümâyûnu) or the 1839 Gülhane edict (Hatt-ı Şerif), and questioned whether a parliament was necessary to act as an official voice of the people. In any event, like many other would-be reforms of the Ottoman Empire, it proved nearly impossible. Russia continued to mobilize for war, and early in 1877 the Ottoman Empire went to war with the Russian Empire.
War with Russia
(1877) in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) Abdul Hamid's biggest fear, near dissolution, was realized with the Russian declaration of war on 24 April 1877. In that conflict, the Ottoman Empire fought without help from European allies. Russian chancellor Prince Gorchakov had by that time effectively purchased Austrian neutrality with the Reichstadt Agreement. The British Empire, though still fearing the Russian threat to the British presence in India, did not involve itself in the conflict because of public opinion against the Ottomans, following reports of Ottoman brutality in putting down the Bulgarian uprising. Russia's victory was quick; the conflict ended in February 1878.
The Treaty of San Stefano, signed at the end of the war, imposed harsh terms: the Ottoman Empire gave independence to Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro; it granted autonomy to Bulgaria; instituted reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and ceded parts of Dobrudzha to Romania and parts of Armenia to Russia, which was also paid an enormous indemnity. After the war, Abdul Hamid suspended the constitution in February 1878 and dismissed the parliament, after its only meeting, in March 1877. For the next three decades, Abdul Hamid ruled the Ottoman Empire from Yıldız Palace.
Aftermath of war
As Russia could dominate the newly independent states, the Treaty of San Stefano greatly increased its influence in Southeastern Europe. At the Great Powers' insistence (especially the United Kingdom's), the treaty was revised at the Congress of Berlin so as to reduce the great advantages Russia gained. In exchange for these favors, Cyprus was ceded to Britain in 1878. There were troubles in Egypt, where a discredited khedive had to be deposed. Abdul Hamid mishandled relations with Urabi Pasha, and as a result, Britain gained de facto control over Egypt and Sudan by sending its troops in 1882 to establish control over the two provinces. Cyprus, Egypt, and Sudan ostensibly remained Ottoman provinces until 1914, when Britain officially annexed them in response to the Ottoman participation in World War I on the side of the Central Powers. (Prince) Abdul Hamid in 1868.
Abdul Hamid's distrust of the reformist admirals of the Ottoman Navy (whom he suspected of plotting against him and trying to restore the constitution) and his subsequent decision to lock the Ottoman fleet (the world's third-largest fleet during the reign of his predecessor Abdul Aziz) inside the Golden Horn indirectly caused the loss of Ottoman overseas territories and islands in North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean Sea during and after his reign. Financial difficulties forced him to consent to foreign control over the Ottoman national debt. In a decree issued in December 1881, a large portion of the empire's revenues were handed over to the Public Debt Administration for the benefit of (mostly foreign) bondholders (see Ottoman Decree of 1296). The 1885 union of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia was another blow to the Empire.
The creation of an independent and powerful Bulgaria was viewed as a serious threat to the Empire. For many years Abdul Hamid had to deal with Bulgaria in a way that did not antagonize the Russians or the Germans. There were also key problems regarding the Albanian question resulting from the Albanian League of Prizren and with the Greek and Montenegrin frontiers, where the European powers were determined that the Berlin Congress's decisions be carried out. Crete was granted "extended privileges", but these did not satisfy the population, which sought unification with Greece. In early 1897 a Greek expedition sailed to Crete to overthrow Ottoman rule on the island. This act was followed by the Greco-Turkish War, in which the Ottoman Empire defeated Greece, but as a result of the Treaty of Constantinople, Crete was taken over en depot by the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.
Prince George of Greece was appointed ruler and Crete was effectively lost by the Ottoman Empire. The ʿAmmiyya, a revolt in 1889–90 among Druze and other Syrians against excesses of the local sheikhs, similarly led to capitulation to the rebels' demands, as well as concessions to Belgian and French companies to provide a railroad between Beirut and Damascus.
Political decisions and reforms
Most people expected Abdul Hamid II to have liberal ideas, and some conservatives were inclined to regard him with suspicion as a dangerous reformer. Despite working with the reformist Young Ottomans while still crown prince and appearing to be a liberal leader, he became increasingly conservative after taking the throne. In a process known as İstibdad, Abdul Hamid reduced his ministers to acting as secretaries and concentrated much of the Empire's administration into his own hands. Default in the public funds, an empty treasury, the 1875 insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the war with Serbia and Montenegro, the result of Russo-Turkish war, and the feeling aroused throughout Europe by Abdul Hamid's government in stamping out the Bulgarian rebellion all contributed to his apprehension regarding enacting significant changes.
His push for education resulted in the establishment of 18 professional schools; and in 1900, Darülfünûn-u Şahâne, now known as Istanbul University, was established. Abdul Hamid took stringent measures regarding his security. The memory of the deposition of Abdul Aziz was on his mind and convinced him that a constitutional government was not a good idea. Because of this, information was tightly controlled and the press rigidly censored. A secret police (Umur-u Hafiye) and a network of informants was present throughout the empire, and many leading figures of the Second Constitutional Era and Ottoman successor states were arrested or exiled. School curricula were closely inspected to prevent dissidence. Ironically, the schools that Abdul Hamid founded and tried to control became "breeding grounds of discontent" as students and teachers alike chafed at the censors' clumsy restrictions.
Armenian question
Starting around 1890, Armenians began demanding implementation of the reforms promised to them at the Berlin Conference. Robert Melson noted that a distinction must be made between the policies of Abdul Hamid and of the later policies of the Young Turks during the Armenian genocide: "Sultan Abdul Hamid II had no intention of exterminating the Armenians or destroying the Armenian millet as such. The main reason why total genocide was not perpetrated by the Ottoman regime in 1894–1896 was its commitment to Islam, to the millet system, and to restoring the old order". After the massacres, Abdul Hamid began to be called the "Bloody Sultan" or "Red Sultan" in the West.
On 21 July 1905, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation attempted to assassinate him with a car bomb during a public appearance, but he was delayed for a minute, and the bomb went off too early, killing 26, wounding 58 (four of whom died during their treatment in hospital), and destroying 17 cars. This continued aggression, along with the handling of the Armenian desire for reform, led western European powers to take a more hands-on approach with the Turks. Abdul Hamid survived an attempted stabbing in 1904 as well.
Pan-Islamism
Abdul Hamid did not believe that the Tanzimat movement could succeed in helping the disparate peoples of the empire achieve a common identity, such as Ottomanism. He adopted a new ideological principle, Pan-Islamism; since, beginning in 1517, Ottoman sultans were also nominally Caliphs, he wanted to promote that fact and emphasized the Ottoman Caliphate. Given the great diversity of ethnicities in the Ottoman Empire, he believed that Islam was the only way to unite his people. Pan-Islamism encouraged Muslims living under European powers to unite under one polity. This threatened several European countries: Austria through Bosnian Muslims; Russia through Tatars and Kurds; France and Spain through Moroccan Muslims; and Britain through Indian Muslims.
Abdul Hamid accepted the arrival of Jews to Ottoman lands on condition that they did not gather in one place, and offered Herzl the option of settling Jews in Mesopotamia in scattered communities, but Herzl did not accept this offer. Pan-Islamism was a considerable success. After the Greco-Ottoman war, many Muslims celebrated the Ottoman victory as their victory. Uprisings, lockouts, and objections to European colonization in newspapers were reported in Muslim regions after the war. But Abdul Hamid's appeals to Muslim sentiment were not always very effective, due to widespread disaffection within the Empire. In Mesopotamia and Yemen, disturbance was endemic; nearer home, a semblance of loyalty was maintained in the army and among the Muslim population only by a system of deflation and espionage.
America and the Philippines
In 1898, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay asked United States Minister to the Ottoman Empire Oscar Straus to request that Abdul Hamid, in his capacity as caliph, write a letter to the Sulu Muslims, a Moro subgroup, of the Sulu Sultanate in the Philippines, ordering them not to join the Moro Rebellion and submit to American suzerainty and American military rule. The Sultan obliged the Americans and wrote the letter, which was sent to Mecca, whence two Sulu chiefs brought it to Sulu. It was successful, since the "Sulu Mohammedans ... refused to join the insurrectionists and had placed themselves under the control of our army, thereby recognizing American sovereignty." Despite Abdul Hamid's "pan-Islamic" ideology, he had readily acceded to Straus's request for help in telling the Sulu Muslims to not resist America, since he felt no need to cause hostilities between the West and Muslims.
Collaboration between the American military and Sulu Sultanate was due to the Ottoman Sultan persuading the Sulu Sultan. John P. Finley wrote: President McKinley did not mention the Ottoman role in the pacification of the Sulu Moros in his address to the first session of the Fifty-sixth Congress in December 1899, since the agreement with the Sultan of Sulu was not submitted to the Senate until 18 December. The Bates Treaty, which the Americans signed with the Moro Sulu Sultanate, and which guaranteed the Sultanate's autonomy in its internal affairs and governance, was then violated by the Americans, who then invaded Moroland, causing the Moro Rebellion to break out in 1904, with war raging between the Americans and Moro Muslims and atrocities committed against Moro Muslim women and children, such as the Moro Crater Massacre.
Germany's support
troops in service of the Qing imperial army serving under General Dong Fuxiang; they were also known as the Kansu Braves. The Triple Entente – the United Kingdom, France and Russia – had strained relations with the Ottoman Empire. Abdul Hamid and his close advisors believed the Empire should be treated as an equal player by these great powers. In the Sultan's view, the Ottoman Empire was a European empire that was distinguished by having more Muslims than Christians. Over time, the hostile diplomatic attitudes of France (the occupation of Tunisia in 1881) and Great Britain (the 1882 establishment of de facto control in Egypt) caused Abdul Hamid to gravitate towards Germany. Germany's friendship was not altruistic; it had to be fostered by railway and loan concessions. In 1899, a significant German wish, the construction of a Berlin-Baghdad railway, was granted.
Kaiser Wilhelm II also requested the Sultan's help when he had trouble with Chinese Muslim troops. During the Boxer Rebellion, the Chinese Muslim Kansu Braves fought the German Army, routing them and the other Eight Nation Alliance forces. The Muslim Kansu Braves and Boxers defeated the Alliance forces led by the German Captain Guido von Usedom at the Battle of Langfang during the Seymour Expedition, in 1900, and besieged the trapped Alliance forces during the Siege of the International Legations. It was only on the second attempt, in the Gasalee Expedition, that the Alliance forces managed to get through to battle the Chinese Muslim troops at the Battle of Peking. Wilhelm was so alarmed by the Chinese Muslim troops that he requested that Abdul Hamid find a way to stop the Muslim troops from fighting.
Abdul Hamid agreed to Wilhelm's demands and sent Hasan Enver Pasha (no relation to the Young Turk leader) to China in 1901, but the rebellion was over by that time. Because the Ottomans did not want conflict with the European nations and because the Ottoman Empire was ingratiating itself to gain German assistance, an order imploring Chinese Muslims to avoid assisting the Boxers was issued by the Ottoman Khalifa and reprinted in Egyptian and Muslim Indian newspapers.
Opposition
Abdul Hamid II made many enemies in the Ottoman Empire. His reign featured several coup d'état plans and many rebellions. The Sultan triumphed in a challenge by Kâmil Pasha of absolute rule in 1895. A large conspiracy by the Committee of Union and Progress was also foiled during the 1896 Ottoman coup d'état attempt. His ascendancy finally ended in a revolution in 1908, and his reign for good ended with the 31 March Incident. These conspiracies were primarily driven by members of the Ottoman government due to dissatisfaction with autocracy. Journalists had to contend with a strict censorship regime, while the intelligentsia chafed under the surveillance of intelligence agencies. It was in this context that a broad opposition movement to the sultan emerged, known as the Young Turks to European observers.
Most Young Turks were ambitious military officers, constitutionalists, and bureaucrats of the Sublime Porte. With state policy fostering an Islamist Ottomanism, Christian minority groups also began to turn against the government, going so far as to advocate for separatism. By the 1890s, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Aromanian militant groups started fighting Ottoman authorities, and each other, in the Macedonian conflict. Using the İdare-i Örfiyye, a clause in the defunct Ottoman constitution comparable to declaring a state of siege, the government suspended civil rights in the Ottoman Balkans. İdare-i Örfiyye was also soon declared in Eastern Anatolia to more effectively prosecute fedayi. The statute persisted under the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey until the 1940s.
Educated Muslim women resented the Salafist Hatts that mandated veils be worn outside the home and to be accompanied by men, though these decrees were mostly ignored.
Young Turk Revolution
celebrating the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 and the restoration of the 1876 constitution in the Ottoman Empire The national humiliation of the Macedonian conflict, together with the resentment in the army against the palace spies and informers, at last brought matters to a crisis. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), a Young Turks organization that was especially influential in the Rumelian army units, undertook the Young Turk Revolution in the summer of 1908. Upon learning that the troops in Salonica were marching on Istanbul (23 July), Abdul Hamid capitulated. On 24 July an irade announced the restoration of the suspended constitution of 1876; the next day, further irades abolished espionage and censorship, and ordered the release of political prisoners.
On 17 December, Abdul Hamid reopened the General Assembly with a speech from the throne in which he said that the first parliament had been "temporarily dissolved until the education of the people had been brought to a sufficiently high level by the extension of instruction throughout the empire."
Deposition
Abdul Hamid's new attitude did not save him from the suspicion of intriguing with the state's powerful reactionary elements, a suspicion confirmed by his attitude toward the counter-revolution of 13 April 1909, known as the 31 March Incident, when an insurrection of the soldiers backed by a conservative upheaval in some parts of the military in the capital overthrew Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha's government. With the Young Turks driven out of the capital, Abdul Hamid appointed Ahmet Tevfik Pasha in his place, and once again suspended the constitution and shuttered the parliament. But the Sultan controlled only Constantinople, while the Unionists were still influential in the rest of the army and provinces.
The CUP appealed to Mahmud Şevket Pasha to restore the status quo. Şevket Pasha organized an ad hoc formation known as the Action Army, which marched on Constantinople. Şevket Pasha's chief of staff was captain Mustafa Kemal. The Action Army stopped first in Aya Stefanos, and negotiated with the rival government established by deputies who escaped from the capital, which was led by Mehmed Talat. It was secretly decided there that Abdul Hamid must be deposed. When the Action Army entered Istanbul, a fatwa was issued condemning Abdul Hamid, and the parliament voted to dethrone him. On 27 April, Abdul Hamid's half-brother Reshad Efendi was proclaimed as Sultan Mehmed V.
The Sultan's countercoup, which had appealed to conservative Islamists against the Young Turks' liberal reforms, resulted in the massacre of tens of thousands of Christian Armenians in the Adana province, known as the Adana massacre.
After deposition
) of Sultans Mahmud II, Abdulaziz, and Abdul Hamid II, located at Divanyolu street, Istanbul Abdul Hamid was conveyed into captivity at Salonica (now Thessaloniki),
Personal life
Sufi Sheikh Muhammad Zafir al-Madani in Istanbul who initiated the Sultan into the Shadhili Sufi Order Abdul Hamid II was a skilled carpenter and personally crafted some high-quality furniture, which can be seen at the Yıldız Palace, Şale Köşkü, and Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul. He was also interested in opera and personally wrote the first-ever Turkish translations of many classic operas. He also composed several operatic pieces for the Mızıka-yı Hümâyun (Ottoman Imperial Band/Orchestra, established by his grandfather Mahmud II who had appointed Donizetti Pasha as its Instructor General in 1828), and hosted the famous performers of Europe at the Opera House of Yıldız Palace, which was restored in the 1990s and featured in the 1999 film Harem Suare (it begins with a scene of Abdul Hamid watching a performance).
One of his guests was the French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt, who performed for audiences. and awarded their author, Arthur Conan Doyle, the Order of the Medjidie, 2nd-Class, in 1907. Bilgi University professor Suraiya Farooqi stated that the sultan's "tastes were distinctly Verdi" despite his political rule being "conservative".
Paranoia
as Abdul Hamid II It was rumored that Abdul Hamid always carried a pistol on his person at all times. In addition to locking the Ottoman Navy in the Golden Horn, he also did not allow the army to train with live ammunition.
Religion
Abdul Hamid practiced traditional Islamic Sufism. He was influenced by the Libyan Shadhili Madani Sheikh, Muhammad Zafir al-Madani, whose lessons he attended in disguise in Unkapani before he became sultan. After he ascended the throne, Abdul Hamid asked al-Madani to return to Istanbul. Al-Madani initiated Shadhili gatherings of remembrance (dhikr) in the newly commissioned Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque; on Thursday evenings he accompanied Sufi masters in reciting dhikr. He also became a close religious and political confidant of the sultan. In 1879, the sultan forgave the taxes of all of the Caliphate's Madani Sufi lodges (also known as zawiyas and tekkes). In 1888, he even established a Sufi lodge for the Madani order of Shadhili Sufism in Istanbul, which he commissioned as part of the Ertuğrul Tekke mosque.
The relationship of the sultan and the sheik lasted for 30 years, until the latter's death in 1903.
Poetry
language and scripts, which was taken from the book My Father Abdul Hameed, written by his daughter Ayşe Sultan Abdul Hamid wrote poetry, following in the footsteps of many other Ottoman sultans. One of his poems translates thus:
Impressions
In the opinion of F. A. K. Yasamee:
Family
Abdul Hamid had numerous consorts, but allowed none of them to have political influence; in the same way he did not allow his adoptive mother, Rahime Perestu Sultan, or other female members of his family to have such influence, though some of them still had some degree of power in private or in the daily life of the harem. The only, partial exception was Cemile Sultan, his half-sister and adoptive sister. He was convinced that his predecessors' reigns, especially those of his uncle Abdülaziz and his father Abdülmecid I, had been ruined by the excessive meddling of the women of the imperial family in affairs of state.
Consorts
Abdul Hamid had at least 23 consorts: * Nazikeda Kadın (1848 – 11 April 1895). BaşKadin (First Consort). She was an Abkhazian princess, born Mediha Hanim, lady-in-waiting to Cemile Sultan. She died prematurely after years of deep depression, due to the death of her only daughter. * Safinaz Nurefsun Kadın (1850–1915). Her real name was Ayşe and she was the younger sister of the last consort of Abdülmecid I, Yıldız Hanım. When Yıldız Hanım married Abdülmecid, Ayşe was sent into the service of Şehzade Abdülaziz, where she was renamed Safinaz. According to Harun Açba, Abdülaziz was fascinated by her beauty and wanted to marry her, but she refused because she was in love with Şehzade Abdul Hamid. The feeling was mutual and the young prince asked for the help of his stepmother Rahime Perestu Kadin.
She told Abdülaziz that Safinaz was ill and that she needed a change of air; later, Abdülaziz was informed of her death. Abdul Hamid then secretly married Safinaz, who was renamed Nurefsun, in October 1868. However, she could not get used to life in the harem and wanted to be Abdul Hamid's only consort. She then asked for a divorce, which was granted to her in 1879. She had no children. * Bedrifelek Kadın (1851–1930). Circassian Princess who took refuge in Istanbul when Russia invaded the Caucasus. She ruled Abdul Hamid's harem when Rahime Perestu Sultan died. She left Abdul Hamid when he was deposed, perhaps disappointed that their son had not been chosen as successor. She had two sons and a daughter. * Bidar Kadın (5 May 1858 – 13 January 1918). Kabartian princess, she was considered the most beautiful and charming of Abdul Hamid's consorts.
She had a son and a daughter. * Dilpesend Kadın (16 January 1865 – 17 June 1901). Georgian. She was educated by Tiryal Hanim, the last consort of Mahmud II, who was Abdul Hamid's grandfather. She had two daughters. * Mezidemestan Kadın (3 March 1869 – 21 January 1909). She was born Kadriye Kamile Merve Hanim, she was the aunt of Emine Nazikeda Kadın, future consort of Mehmed VI. She was loved by everyone, including his other consorts and her stepchildren. She was the most influential of his consorts, but she never abused her power. She had a son, who was Abdul Hamid's favorite. * Emsalinur Kadın (1866–1952). She entered the Palace with her sister Tesrid Hanım, who became a consort of Şehzade Ibrahim Tevfik. She was very beautiful. She did not follow Abdul Hamid into exile and died in poverty. She had a daughter. * Destizer Müşfika Kadın (1872 – 18 July 1961).
She was Abkhazian, born Ayşe Hanim. She grew up with her sister under the tutelage of Pertevniyal Sultan, the mother of Sultan Abdülaziz, uncle of Abdul Hamid. She followed Abdul Hamid into exile and was with him until his death, so much so that it is said that the sultan died in her arms. She had a daughter. * Sazkar Hanım (8 May 1873 – 1945). She was a noble Abkhazian, born Fatma Zekiye Hanım. She was among the consorts who followed Abdul Hamid into exile, and later left Turkey with her one daughter. * Peyveste Hanım (1873 – 1943). Abkhazian princess, born Hatice Rabia Hanim and aunt of Leyla Açba. She served Nazikeda Kadın, with her sisters, and then became the treasurer of the harem. She was highly respected. She followed her husband into exile and then her one son. * Pesend Hanım (13 February 1876 – 5 November 1924).
Born princess Fatma Kadriye Achba, she was one of Abdul Hamid's favorite consorts, and was known for her kindness, charity, and tolerance. She was one of the consorts who stayed with Abdul Hamid until his death; and, on his death, she cut her hair and threw it into the sea as a sign of mourning. She had a daughter. * Behice Hanım (10 October 1882 – 22 October 1969). She was Sazkar Hanım's cousin, her real name was Behiye Hanim. She was arrogant and proud, initially she had to marry Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin, son of Abdul Hamid, but in the end the sultan decided to marry her himself, against Behice's will. She had twin sons. * Saliha Naciye Kadın (1887–1923). She was born Zeliha Ankuap and was also called Atike Naciye Kadın. Known for her kindness and modesty, she was Abdul Hamid's favorite among the consorts who stayed with him until his death.
She had a son and a daughter. *Dürdane Hanım (1869 - January 1957). *Calibös Hanım (1890 - 1955). *Simperver Nazlıyar Hanım. *Bergüzar Hanım. *Levandit Hanım. *Ebru Hanım. *Sermelek Hanım. *Gevherriz Hanım. *Mihrimend Zelide Hanım (? - 1946). *Nevcedid Hanım.
Sons
Abdul Hamid had at least eight sons: * Şehzade Mehmed Selim (11 January 1870 – 5 May 1937) – with Bedrifelek Kadın. He did not get along with his father. He had eight consorts, two sons and a daughter. * Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir (16 January 1878 – 16 March 1944) – with Bidar Kadın. He had seven consorts, five sons and two daughters. * Şehzade Ahmed Nuri (12 February 1878 – 7 August 1944) – with Bedrifelek Kadın. He had a consort but no children. * Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin (19 December 1885 – 15 June 1949) – with Mezidemestan Kadın. He had four consorts and two sons. * Şehzade Abdürrahim Hayri (15 August 1894 – 1 January 1952) – with Peyveste Hanım. He had two consorts, a son, and a daughter. * Şehzade Ahmed Nureddin (June 22, 1901 – December 1944) – with Behice Hanım. Twin of Şehzade Mehmed Bedreddin.
He had a consort and a son. * Şehzade Mehmed Bedreddin (22 June 1901 – 13 October 1903) – with Behice Hanım. Twin of Şehzade Ahmed Nureddin. Born in Yıldız Palace. He died of meningitis and was buried in the Yahya Efendi cemetery. * Şehzade Mehmed Abid (May 17, 1905 – December 8, 1973) – with Saliha Naciye Kadın. He had two consorts but no children.
Daughters
Abdul Hamid had at least 13 daughters: * Ulviye Sultan (1868 – 5 October 1875) – with Nazikeda Kadın. Born in Dolmabahçe Palace, she died at the age of seven: while her mother played the piano and the servants were dismissed for their meal, Ulviye Sultan began to play with some matches. Her dress caught fire and her gold belt trapped her inside it, even though her mother burned her hands trying to unhook it. In panic, Nazikeda picked up her daughter and ran down the stairs, screaming for help, but the movement fueled the flames and Ulviye Sultan died burnt alive, leaving her mother in despair from which she never recovered. Nazikeda was buried in the Yeni Cami. * Zekiye Sultan (12 January 1872 – 13 July 1950) – with Bedrifelek Kadın. She married once and had two daughters. She was one of Abdul Hamid's favorite daughters. * Fatma Naime Sultan (5 September 1876 – 1945) – with Bidar Kadın.
She is the favorite daughter of Abdul Hamid, who called her "my accession daughter", because she was born close to the date of his accession to the throne. She married twice and had a son and a daughter. In 1904 she was embroiled in a scandal when she discovered that her first husband was cheating on her with her cousin Hatice Sultan, daughter of Murad V. * Naile Sultan (9 February 1884 – 25 October 1957) – with Dilpesend Kadın. She married once, with no children. * Seniye Sultan (1884 – 1884) – unknown motherhood. * Seniha Sultan (1885 – 1885) – with Dilpesend Kadın. She died at five months. * Şadiye Sultan (30 November 1886 – 20 November 1977) – with Emsalinur Kadın. She married twice and had a daughter. * Hamide Ayşe Sultan (15 November 1887 – 10 August 1960) – with Müşfika Kadın.
She was married twice and had three sons and a daughter. * Refia Sultan (15 June 1891 – 1938) – with Sazkar Hanım. She married once and had two daughters. * Hatice Sultan (10 July 1897 – 14 February 1898) – with Pesend Hanım. She died of smallpox and was buried in the Yahya Efendi cemetery. * Aliye Sultan (1900 – 1900) – unknown motherhood. She died a few days after her birth. * Cemile Sultan (1900 – 1900) – unknown maternity. She died a few days after her birth. * Samiye Sultan (16 January 1908 – 24 January 1909) – with Saliha Naciye Kadın. She died of pneumonia and was buried in the mausoleum Şehzade Ahmed Kemaleddin in the Yahya Efendi cemetery.
In popular culture
* Abdul the Damned (1935) portrays a time near the end of the sultan's life. * Barry Unsworth's historical novel The Rage of the Vulture (1982) portrays the paranoia of Abdul Hamid's at the twilight of his sultanate (May 1908 onwards) * In Don Rosa's comic book story "The Treasury of Croesus", Scrooge McDuck pulls out a permit which Abdul Hamid II signed in 1905, allowing McDuck carte blanche to excavate the ancient ruins of Ephesus. * Payitaht Abdulhamid, named 'The Last Emperor' in English, is a Turkish popular historical television drama series depicting the last 13 years of the reign of Abdul Hamid II. * In Orhan Pamuk's satirical novel Nights of Plague (2021), Abdul Hamid dispatches the Ottoman Empire's chief inspector of public health, along with a Muslim epidemiologist and his wife, the sultan's niece, to the fictitious island of Mingheria to combat the bubonic plague. * Civilization V: Brave New World features Abdul Hamid II as the leader of the Ottoman Empire during the Scramble for Africa scenario.
Awards and honors
; Ottoman orders * Grand Master of the Order of the Crescent * Grand Master of the Order of Glory * Grand Master of the Order of the Medjidie * Grand Master of the Order of Osmanieh ; Foreign orders and decorations * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen, in Diamonds, 1881 (Austria-Hungary) * Knight of the Order of the Elephant, 13 December 1884 (Kingdom of Denmark) * Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Carol I, 1907 (Kingdom of Romania) * Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, in Diamonds, 3 February 1882 (German Empire) * Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, 18 December 1892 (Kingdom of Siam) * Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert, 1908 (Kingdom of Bavaria)
Gallery
Threatened by several assassination attempts, Abdul Hamid II did not travel often (though still more than many previous rulers). Photographs provided visual evidence of what took place in his realm. He commissioned thousands of photographs of his empire, including from the Constantinople studio of Jean Pascal Sébah. The sultan presented large gift albums of photographs to various governments and heads of state, including the U.S. and Great Britain. The American collection is housed in the Library of Congress and has been digitized. File: V.M.
Doroshevich-East and War-Eunuch near Door of Sultan's Harem enhaced.jpg Eunuch near the door of the sultan's harem (from East and War by Vlas Doroshevich) File:No 3911 Page 162., Le sultan d'etron'e Abdul-Hamid.jpg Abdul Hamid II, 1908 (L'Illustration) File:Enver abdulhamit niyazi.jpg Enver Bey, Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Niyazi Bey File: Sultan Dioikitirio Thessaloniki.jpg Abdul Hamid II arrives in Thessaloniki File: Istanbul Military museum 3035.jpg Istanbul Military Museum Abdulhamid II desk
See also
* Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque * Ottoman invasion of Persia (1906) * Spyridon Mavrogenis * Ali Suavi Incident * Hamidian Period * Wilhelm II's voyage to the Levant in 1898
Sources
* Abdul Hamid II Biography * All Documents about Abdul Hamid in English from a Turkish Web Site * * Overy, Richard. The Times Complete History of the World, HarperCollins (2010)
External links
* * II. Abdul Hamid Forum in English II. Abdul Hamid Forum in English * II. Abdülhamit Dönemi Olayları – ittihat Ve Terakki Ödev Sitesi * US Library of Congress Abdul Hamid II Photo Collection – about 1,800 photographs mounted in albums, ca. 1880–1893 * * *