Abdulmejid II or Abdulmecid II (
Ottoman Turkish: عبد المجید ثانی,
romanized: ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i sânî;
Turkish: II. Abdülmecid;[5][6] 29 May 1868 – 23 August 1944) was the last
Ottoman caliph, the only caliph of the
Republic of Turkey, and head of the
Osmanoğlu family from 1926 to 1944. As opposed to previous caliphs, he used the title Halîfe-i Müslimîn (Caliph of the Muslims), instead of Emîrü'l-Mü'minîn (Commander of the Faithful).[1]
He died in
Paris in 1944 and was buried as a caliph in
Medina.
Biography
Early years
On 30 May 1868,[2][3] he was born at
Dolmabahçe Palace,
Beşiktaş, Istanbul, to then Sultan
Abdulaziz and his consort
Hayranidil Kadın. He was the younger full brother of
Nazime Sultan. He was educated privately. According to testimonies, he agreed with marriages between cousins within the Ottoman dynasty to reduce tensions within the dynasty.[7]
In accordance with late Ottoman custom, Abdulmejid was confined to the palace until he was 40. On 4 July 1918, his first cousin
Mehmed VI became Sultan and Abdulmejid was named Crown Prince.[2] He was interested in literature and founded the
Pierre Loti Society in 1920 to promote the works of the author and translate them into Turkish.[8] He had a genuine interest in
painting as well, and himself painted a lot, trying to develop
realist art in the Ottoman Empire and in music, for he was a
composer also.[9][10] He played the
piano.[11]
Caliphate
When his cousin was deposed on 1 November 1922, the
Ottoman Sultanate was abolished. But on 19 November 1922, the Crown Prince was elected
Caliph by the
Turkish National Assembly at
Ankara.[2] He established himself in Istanbul[12][13] on 24 November 1922. The choice of Abdulmejid as caliph was not evident for all Muslims, and there was a significant amount of Islamic and political criticism from within and outside the Ottoman Empire.[14][15][16] There was indeed a conflict among certain Muslims, for example in
Palestine, who opposed the figures of
Hussein bin Ali and Abdulmejid to succeed
Mehmed VI.[17] Western colonial powers, such as
France or the
United Kingdom, were very attentive to these developments.[17] One of those critics was
Muhammad Rashid Rida, who claimed that he lacked some of the qualities needed to be the caliph.[18]
However, even though he was criticized when he assumed the position, it seems that the vast majority of Muslims chose to recognize him.[19]
Abdulmejid was targeted by
Kemalist propaganda which used the fact that he occupied the
Yıldız Palace in Istanbul, and he was subsequently portrayed as having unjustly claimed it for himself.[20] He was also unhappy about the transfer of certain responsibilities from
Istanbul to
Ankara; for instance, he was angry about the relocation of a
military band unit.[21]
The caliph was nominally the supreme religious and political leader of all Muslims across the world, with the main goal to prevent extremism or protect the religion from corruption.[24] In the last session of the budget negotiations on 3 March 1924, Urfa Deputy Sheikh Saffet Efendi and his 53 friends demanded the abolition of the caliphate, arguing it was not necessary anymore. This was approved by majority of the votes and a law was established. With the same law, it was decided to expel all members of the Ottoman dynasty.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, however, offered the caliphate to
Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, on the condition that he reside outside Turkey; Senussi declined the offer and confirmed his support for Abdulmejid.[25] He was succeeded by Hussein bin Ali in the Arab world, with the support of his cousin, Mehmed VI[26][27][28][29][30] but that attempt ended fast as well.[31]
Although Abdülmecid and his family were upset about this decision, they did not want the people to revolt, so they secretly went to
Çatalca by car from the Dolmabahçe Palace at 5:00 the next morning. Here, after being hosted by the head of the Rumeli Railways Company for a while, they were put on the
Simplon Express.[32] When he left Turkey, he traveled to
Switzerland.[33] However, contrary to expectations, he was not greeted by a delegation or ceremony but simply as an ordinary traveler.[33] He was also in a difficult financial situation.[34]
When Abdulmejid II arrived in
Switzerland, he was detained at the border for a while, but was admitted to the country after a delay.[35] In Switzerland, he said multiple times that he was upset about the abolition of the caliphate, and that this would bring chaos to the Islamic world, with the rise of extremism. But after the Turkish government put pressure on the Swiss government, Abdulmejid was never allowed to give such speeches in Switzerland again.[36] After staying in Switzerland for a while, he moved to
Nice, France in October 1924.[37][6]
Abdulmejid lived a quiet life in
Nice, France.[38] His daughter
Dürrüşehvar Sultan and his niece
Nilüfer Hanım Sultan married the sons of the
Nizam of Hyderabad, one of the richest people in the world; thanks to this, his financial situation improved. As he didn't get the anticipated support from the
Islamic world for the restoration of the caliphate, he started to focus more on worship, painting, and music.[38]
Abdulmejid, who later settled in Paris, used to perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque of Paris with other Muslims in the region. After the departure of his very fond grandchildren and son, who left France to marry the Kavala princes of Egypt, he spent painful days alone. He wrote a 12-volume book of memoirs, preserved by his daughter Dürrüşehvar Sultan.
On 23 August 1944, Abdulmejid II died at his house in the 15th Avenue du Maréchal Mounoury,
Paris, due to a heart attack.[39][40] His death coincided with the
Liberation of Paris from the
German occupation. Despite the efforts of Dürrüşehvar Sultan, the Turkish government did not permit his funeral to be held in Turkey. Subsequently, his remains were preserved at the
Grand Mosque of Paris for ten years. Finally, when the mosque could no longer maintain his body, his body was subsequently moved to
Medina, where he was then buried. His predecessor,
Mehmed VI, was buried in
Damascus, by
Faisal I.[41][42] This is explained by the prohibition imposed by the
Kemalists,
Atatürk and then
İnönü, who prohibited them from being buried in Turkey.[41][42]
As artist
Abdulmejid was given the title of General in the
Ottoman Army, but did not have strong military inclinations. He had a more significant role as Chairman of the Ottoman Artists' Society and was a personal friend of some Western painters, such as
Fausto Zonaro, who was influential in art in the
Ottoman Empire.[43] He was also connected to the French artist Adolphe Thalasso, who dedicated some works to him.[44]
He is considered 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 novel
Faust, express the influence of western Europe in his elite circle.[45] These were displayed at a 1918 exhibition of
Ottoman paintings in
Vienna. His personal self-portrait can be seen at
Istanbul Modern.
Abdülmecid's first wife was
Şehsuvar Hanım, a Turk[4] or an
Ubykh. They married on 23 December 1896. She was the mother of
Şehzade Ömer Faruk,[46] born in 1898.[47] She died in Paris in 1945,[46] and was buried in
Bobigny cemetery. His second wife was Mihrimah Hanım. She died at the Nakkaştepe Palace, on 23 May 1899, and was buried in Nuhkuyusu Mosque, Istanbul.[48][49]
Şehsuvar Kadın (2 May 1881-1945). They married on 22 December 1896 and had a son.
Hayrünnisa Kadın (2 March 1876-3 September 1936). She was born in
Bandirma, Turkey. They married on 18 June 1902 in Ortakoy Palace. She died in Nice. Hayrünisa was extremely well educated and a cello virtuoso. She was portrayed by her husband while playing.
Mihrimah Bihruz Kadın (24 May 1893-1955). She was born in
İzmit. They married on 21 March 1912 in Çamlıca Palace. She died in Istanbul.
Atiye Mehisti Kadın (27 January 1892-1964). She was born in
Adapadari. They married on 16 April 1912 in Bağlarbaşı Palace and had a daughter. She died in London.
Issue
Abdülmejid II had a son and a daughter:[58][60][52]
Şehzade Ömer Faruk (27 February 1898 - 28 March 1969) - with Şehsuvar Kadın. Married twice with two his cousins and had three daughters by his first marriage.
^İnan, Süleyman (2014). "Political Marriage: The Sons-in-Law of the Ottoman Dynasty in the Late Ottoman State". Middle Eastern Studies. 50 (1): 61–73.
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10.1080/00263206.2013.849698.
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^Hüttler, Michael, ed. (2014). The time of Joseph Haydn: from Sultan Mahmud I to Mahmud II (r. 1730 - 1839). Ottoman Empire and European theatre / ed. by Michael Hüttler. Wien: Hollitzer.
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^Kupferschmidt, Uri M. (2023). The Diffusion of "Small" Western Technologies in the Middle East: invention, use, and need in the 19th and 20th centuries. Studies of Modern Orient (1st ed.). Boston: De Gruyter.
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^The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 7, Edited by Hugh Chisholm, (1911), 3; Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire...
^Kassam, Zain R.; Greenberg, Yudit Kornberg; Bagli, Jehan (2018). Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Encyclopedia of Indian religions. Dordrecht: Springer.
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abSanchez-Summerer, Karène; Zananiri, Sary, eds. (2021). European cultural diplomacy and Arab Christians in Palestine, 1918-1948: between contention and connection. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 442.
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^Ahmed, Faiz (2017). Afghanistan rising: Islamic law and statecraft between the Ottoman and British empires. Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England: Harvard University Press. p. 240.
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^"Central File: Decimal File 867.9111, Internal Affairs Of States, Public Press., Newspapers., Turkey, Clippings And Items., March 22, 1924 - March 12, 1925". Turkey: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1802-1949. 22 March 1924.
GaleC5111548903.
^Phạm, Quỳnh N.; Shilliam, Robbie, eds. (2016). Meanings of Bandung: postcolonial orders and decolonial visions. Kilombo : International Relations and Colonial Questions. London ; New York: Rowman & Littlefield International. p. 90.
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^Lord Kinross, The Rebirth of a Nation, Kasım 1966, Sayfa 386, Amerikan Neşriyatı Bürosu için özel basım (ISBN bilgisi yoktur).
^Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The concubine, the princess, and the teacher: voices from the Ottoman harem. Austin, Tex: University of Texas Press. p. 278.
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abKarpat, Kemal H (2017). "Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in İstanbul". International Journal of Turkish Studies. 23 (1/2): 102–104.
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abPeirce, Leslie (2017). "Ottoman Women in Public Space". International Journal of Turkish Studies. 23 (1/2): 104–108.
ProQuest1985569314.
^Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kandınefendiler, Sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. p. 713.
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abcdefYılmaz Öztuna (1978). Başlangıcından zamanımıza kadar büyük Türkiye tarihi: Türkiye'nin siyasî, medenî, kültür, teşkilât ve san'at tarihi. Ötüken Yayınevi. p. 164.
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