Ottoman Empire – House of Osman

Devlet-i Aliye-yi Osmaniyye

The Ottoman Empire or Sublime Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِيّهٔ عُثمَانِیّه Devlet-i ʿAliyye-yi ʿOsmâniyye (also عثمانلى دولتى Osmanlı Devleti), Modern Turkish: Osmanlı Devleti or Osmanlı İmparatorluğu) was a Turkish empire which lasted from 27 July 1299 to 29 October 1923.

The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and longest lasting empires in history; such that the Ottoman State, its politics, conflicts, and cultural heritage in a vast geography provide one of the longest continuous narratives. During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the empire became the most powerful state in the world – a multinational, multilingual empire that stretched from the southern borders of the Holy Roman Empire to the outskirts of Vienna, Royal Hungary (modern Slovakia) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the north to Yemen and Eritrea in the south; from Algeria in the west to Azerbaijan in the east; controlling much of southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The empire contained 29 provinces and numerous vassal states, some of which were later absorbed into the empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.

With Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Ottoman Turkish: استنبول, Istanbul and قسطنطينيه, Kostantiniyye) as its capital city, and vast control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, the empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for over six centuries. After the international recognition of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) headquartered in Ankara, by means of the Treaty of Lausanne signed on 24 July 1923, the GNAT proclaimed on 29 October 1923 the establishment of the Republic of Turkey as the new Turkish State that succeeded and formally ended the defunct Ottoman Empire, in line with the treaty. The Ottoman Caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924 (de jure, the Caliphate’s powers and properties were transferred to the GNAT.)

The Imperial House of Osman- Osmanoglu

The Osmanli Dynasty traces its origins to Osman Khan Ghazi, founder of the Turkish Empire and son of Ertugrul, leader of the Kayi clan of the Oghuz tribe, during the late 13th century. The tribe reputedly descends from Noah, through his grandson, Oghuz. The Imperial Ottoman family ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1922. The rule of one single family, for more than 600 years, over an Empire that was once the most powerful in the world is unique in world history. There were thirty six Ottoman Sultans who ruled over the Empire, and each one was a direct descendant through the male line of the first Ottoman Sultan, Sultan Osman I. The Ottoman dynasty is known in Turkish as Osmanlı, meaning “House of Osman”. The first rulers of the dynasty never had called themselves sultans, but rather beys, or “chieftain”, roughly the Turkic equivalent of Emir, which would itself become a gubernatorial title and even a common military or honorific rank. Thus they still formally acknowledged the sovereignty of the contemporary Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm and its successor, the Ilkhanate.

The first Ottoman to actually claim the title of sultân was Murad I, who ruled from 1359 to 1389. The title sultan (سلطان)-in Arabic, was Caliph of Islam, starting with Selim I, who became khalif after in later Arabic-Islamic dynasties originally the power behind the throne of the Caliph in Bagdad and it was later used for various independent Muslim Monarchs. This title was more prestigious then Emir; it was not comparable to the title of Malik ‘king’ or the originally Persian title of Shah. With the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the road was open for the Ottoman state to become an empire, with Sultan Mehmed II taking the title of pâdişah (پادشاه), a Persian title meaning “lord of kings” claiming superiority to the other kings, that title was abandoned when the empire declined and lost its might. In addition to such secular titles, the Ottoman sultan became the the death of the last Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil III, the last of Abbasid Caliphs in Cair.

After the deposition of the last Sultan, Mehmet VI, in 1922, and the subsequent abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, members of the Imperial family were forced into exile. Their descendants now live in many different countries throughout Europe, as well as in the USA, the Middle East, and since they have now been permitted to return to their homeland, many now also live in Turkey. When in exile, the family adopted the surname of Osmanoğlu, meaning son of Osman, out of respect for the founder of their dynasty. It was announced in 2010 that members of the Ottoman dynasty are working to create a foundation with the goal of uniting the family and helping the ones living abroad to connect with their Turkish heritage.

Heads of the House of Osman since 1922

The Ottoman dynasty was exiled from Turkey in 1924. The female members of the dynasty were allowed to return after 1951, and the male members after 1973. Below is a list of people who would have been heirs to the Ottoman throne following the abolition of the sultanate on 1 November 1922. These people have not necessarily made any claim to the throne; for example Ertuğrul Osman said “Democracy works well in Turkey.”

• Mehmed VI, last Ottoman Sultan (1918-1922) then 36th Head of the House of Osman in exile (1922-1926).
• Abdülmecid II, last Ottoman Caliph (1922-1924) then 37th Head of the House of Osman following Mehmed VI’s death (1926-1944).
• Ahmed IV Nihad, 38th Head of the House of Osman (1944-1954), grandson of Sultan Murad V.
• Osman IV Fuad, 39th Head of the House of Osman (1954-1973), brother of Ahmed IV Nihad, and grandson of SultanMurad V.
• (Mehmed) Abdülaziz II, 40th Head of the House of Osman (1973-1977), grandson of Sultan Abdülaziz I.
• Ali I Vâsib, 41st Head of the House of Osman (1977-1983), son of Ahmed IV Nihad, and great-grandson of Sultan Murad V.
• (Mehmed) Orhan II, 42nd Head of the House of Osman (1983-1994), grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
• Ertuğrul Osman V, 43rd Head of the House of Osman (1994-2009), grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
• (Osman) Bayezid III, 44th Head of the House of Osman (2009-present), great-grandson of Sultan Abdülmecid I.

Resurgence of interest in the Ottoman Dynasty

Since the turn of this century there has been a growing interest in the living members of the Ottoman family, both within Turkey and abroad. In 2006, family members met at Dolmabahçe Palace for the presentation of the documentary “Osmanoğlu’nun Exile” produced by TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation). This documentary followed the stories of the members of the Ottoman family who went into exile in 1924, following the establishment of the Turkish Republic and the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. It then follows the stories of their descendants, who now live in Turkey, Europe, the United States and throughout the Middle East. Extensive coverage of this event, and the success of the documentary series has dramatically raised the profile of the Imperial Family. The outpouring of affection shown by the Turkish people at the funeral of H.I.H Prince Ertuğrul Osman Efendi in September 2009 revealed how deep feeling still runs for the Imperial family.

Turkish Citizenship

Without any exception, all members of the Imperial Ottoman family were exiled in 1924. Most had never left their homeland before, and all were forced to make a new life abroad. The family departed from Sirkeci Train Station, and would disperse across Europe, the United States and the Middle East. As the former Ottoman Sultan, H.I.M. Sultan Mehmed VI Vahideddin, had settled in San Remo, many members of the family congregated to the South of France. After living in Switzerland for a short time, the last Caliph of Islam H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Abdulmecid II, also moved to Nice. The travel documents issued by the Turkish Republic to the Ottoman family on their exile were only valid for one year. Therefore, by 1925 members of the family were no longer able to travel, and it was due to the intervention of H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Ali Vâsib Efendi that the family received courtesy passports from the French Government. The French Government also issued passports to the children of the members of the family who were born in exile. Today many members of the Ottoman family have now obtained Turkish citizenship, and hold Turkish passports.

Imperial Princes (Şehzades) of the House of Osman

The formal way of addressing the male descendants of the Ottoman Sultans is Daulatlu Najabatlu Şehzade (given name) Hazretleri Efendi, i.e. Prince (given name) Efendi, with the style of His Imperial Highness. According to genealogies of the House of Osman, had the Sultanate not been abolished, there are twenty-four Imperial Princes in the line of succession after Bayezid Osman, the current head of the family. They are listed as follows; the succession law used is agnatic seniority, with the succession passing to eldest male dynast.

1. HIH Prince Şehzade Dündar Aliosman Efendi (b. 1930) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
2. HIH Prince Şehzade Harun Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1932) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
3. HIH Prince Şehzade Cengiz Nazim Efendi (b. 1939) (descendant of Mehmed V)
4. HIH Prince Şehzade Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1940) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I, and of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi)
5. HIH Prince Şehzade Ömer Abdülmecid Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1941) (descendant of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi and Mahmud Namık)
6. HIH Prince Şehzade Mehmed Selim Orhan Efendi (1943) Abdul Hamid II)
7. HIH Prince Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin Efendi (b. 1947) (descendant of Mehmed V)
8. HIH Prince Şehzade Roland Selim Kadir Efendi (b. 1949) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
9. HIH Prince Şehzade Selim Djem Efendi (b. 1955) (descendant of Abdülmecid I)
10. HIH Prince Şehzade Orhan İbrahim Suleiman Saadeddin Efendi (b. 1959) (descendant of Abdülaziz I)
11. HIH Prince Şehzade Orhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1963) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
12. HIH Prince Şehzade Eric Mehmed Ziyaeddin Nazim Efendi (b. 1966) (descendant of Mehmed V)
13. HIH Prince Şehzade Orhan Murad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1972) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I, and of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi)
14. HIH Prince Şehzade Francis Mahmud Namık Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmiand Mahmud Namık)
15. HIH Prince Şehzade René Osman Abdul Kadir Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
16. HIH Prince Şehzade Daniel Adrian Hamid Kadir Efendi (b. 1977) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
17. HIH Prince Şehzade Abdulhamid Kayıhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
18. HIH Prince Şehzade Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I, and of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi)
19. HIH Prince Şehzade Nazım Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1985) (descendant of Mehmed V)
20. HIH Prince Şehzade Yavuz Selim Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1989) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
21. HIH Prince Şehzade Turan Cem Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2004) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
22. HIH Prince Şehzade Tamer Nihad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2006) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
23. HIH Prince Şehzade Harun Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2007) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
24. HIH Prince Şehzade Batu Bayezid Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2008) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)

Imperial Princesses (Sultans) of the House of Osman

The formal way of addressing the female descendants of the Ottoman Sultans is Daulatlu Hazretleri (given name) Sultan, i.e. Princess (given name) Sultan, with the style of Her Imperial Highness. According to genealogies of the House of Osman, had the Sultanate not been abolished, there are seventeen Imperial Princesses.

1. HIH Princess Fatma Neslişah Sultan (b. 1921) (descendant of Caliph Abdülmecid II, and of Mehmed V)• Children: Sultanzade HRH Prince Abbas Hilmi Beyefendi 1941, HRH Princess İkbal Hanımsultan 1944
2. HIH Princess Safvet Neslişah Sultan (b. 1925) (descendant of Mehmed V) • Children: Sultanzade HH Prince Salih Beyefendi 1955, Sultanzade HH Prince Ömer Beyefendi 1959
3. HIH Princess Fevziye Sultan (b. 1928) (descendant of Mehmed V)
4. HIH Princess Fatma Necla Sultan (b. 1933) (descendant of Mehmed V) • Children: Sultanzade HH Prince Mehmed Erol Beyefendi 1954, Sultanzade HH Prince Osman Cem Beyefendi 1963
5. HIH Princess Margot Leyla Sultan (b. 1947) (descendant of Mehmed V) • Children: HH Princess Katharina Alia Hanımsultan 1980
6. HIH Princess Iskra Sultan (b. 1949) (descendant of Mehmed V) • Child: HH Princess Andrea Hanımsultan 1974
7. HIH Princess Nilüfer Sultan (b. 1953) (descendant of Mehmed V)
8. HIH Princess Perihan Sultan (b. 1963) (descendant of Abdülaziz)
9. HIH Princess Ayşe Louise Sultan (b. 1964) (descendant of Mehmed V)^[• Children: HH Princess Peri Kathleen Hanımsultan 1994, Sultanzade HH Prince Zekeriya James Beyefendi 1996
10. HIH Princess Gülhan Sultan (b. 1968) (descendant of Abdülaziz)
11. HIH Princess Ayşe Gülnev Sultan (b. 1971) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I, and of Mehmed Vthrough Ömer Hilmi)• Children: Sultanzade HH Prince Maximilian Ali Beyefendi 2000, Sultanzade HH Prince Cosmo Tarık Beyefendi 2001, Sultanzade HH Prince Lysander Cengiz Beyefendi 2003, HH Princess Tatyana Aliye Hanımsultan 2005, Sultanzade HH Prince Ferdinand Ziya Beyefendi 2006
12. HIH Princess Nurhan Sultan (b. 1973) • Children: Sultanzade HH Prince Muhammed Halil Beyefendi 2002, HH Princess Sara Hanımsultan 2004
13. HIH Princess Nilhan Sultan (b. 1987) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
14. HIH Princess Nermin Zoe Sultan (b. 1988) (descendant of Mehmed V)
15. HIH Princess Nilüfer Sultan (b. 1995) (descendant of Mehmed V)
16. HIH Princess Berna Sultan (b. 1998) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
17. HIH Princess Asyahan Sultan (b. 2004) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)

Biographies of Members of the House of Osman

H.I.H. Prince Orhan Murad Efendi

Orhan Murad Osmanoğlu (H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Orhan Murad Efendi) born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, England on 26 December 1972, eldest son of H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu and his wife H.H. Athena Joy Hanımefendi. (b. at London, 9 March 1944), née, Christoforides. He is the great-great-great-grand-son of H.I.M. Sultan Murad V, 33rd Sovereign of the House of Osman through his grandfather H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Ali Vasıb Efendi, 41st Head of the Imperial House of Osman, and also the great-great-grand-son of H.I.M. Sultan Mehmed V Reşad Han Gazi, 35th Sovereign of the House of Osman, through his grandmother H.I.H. Princess Emine Mükbile Sultan. His father H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Osman Selaheddin Efendi, is the only Ottoman prince whose parents are both descendants of the Imperial Ottoman dynasty. educ. Degree in Business and Economics at Kingston Univ. H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Orhan Murad Efendi lives in Buckinghamshire with his family, and works for a property investment and development company.

Prince Orhan married on 17 February 2000, H.H. Patricia Emine Hanımefendi née, Iotti, and has issue, two sons:

H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Turan Cem Efendi. born at High Wycombe, England, 7 January 2004 H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Tamer Nihad Efendi. born at High Wycombe, England, 15 April 2006.

H.I.H. Prince Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu Efendi

H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu Efendi. born at High Wycombe, England , 15 December 1979. educ. Degree in Business Studies at Kingston University, London and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Insurance, a Chartered Insurance Broker and a Member of the Institute of Risk Management. m. at İstanbul, 22 June 2003, H.H. Alev Hanımefendi, née, Öcal. educ. Boğaziçi University, İstanbul. He has issue, one son: i) H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Batu Bayezid Efendi. born at Sidcup, England, 23 April 2008.

H.I.H. Prince Mahmud Namık Efendi

Prince Mahmud Namık Efendi (December 23, 1913; Dolmabahçe Palace-), is the only son of Prince Ömer Hilmi Efendi, and his wife H.H. Hadice Firdevs Gülnev Başhanımefendi, and grand-son of Sultan Mehmed V. He received the Collar of the Hanedan-ı-Ali-Osman. Mahmud Namık Effendi was born in Dolmabahçe Palace and lived there until the death of his grandfather, Sultan Mehmed V, just before the end of World War I on July 4, 1918. He then moved with his family to a Konak (residence) at Nişantaşı for the winter months and to one in Bağlarbaşı, above Beylerbeyi, for the summer.

Following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey and the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate and the Ottoman Caliphate, the entire Imperial Ottoman family were forced into exile in March 1924. Mahmud Namık left his homeland at the age of 10, never to return to Turkey, since he died before the decree of exile was lifted. He was initially sent to boarding school in Lebanon, but then soon came to live with his family in Nice, France once they had settled there to be close to the former Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI, who had rented a villa in San Remo, and to their cousin the last Caliph of Islam Abdülmecid II, who lived in Nice. In 1934 he moved to Alexandria, Egypt with his father, Prince Ömer Hilmi Efendi, and grandmother, and was later joined in January by his sister, Princess Emine Mükbile, and his brother-in-law, Prince Ali Vâsib Efendi. He worked until the end of World War II for the Alexandria tramline company. In the late 1940s he established himself as a successful businessman and settled in Geneva, Switzerland where he developed his business interests in places as far apart as Pakistan and the USA. In 1958 he was asked to help negotiate the marriage of his cousin Princess Sabiha Fazila Hanimsultan, the only daughter of Prince Muhammad ‘Ali Ibrahim Beyefendi of Egypt and Princess Zehra Hanzade Sultan, to King Faisal II of Iraq. The engagement was brutally brought to an end by the murder of King Faisal II, following a military coup on July 14, 1958. Mahmud Namık had a passion for music and in particular very much enjoyed playing the Spanish guitar. He died at the age of 49 from a stroke, at Cairo, Egypt on November 13, 1963 and buried at Khedive Tawfik Mausoleum (Cairo), then transferred to Sultan Mahmud II Mausoleum (Istanbul) in 1987.

He married on August 1939 (div. at Alexandria, 1947) Şaharazade Hanımefendi (b. at Alexandria, 1922; d. 1993), only daughter of Ismail Ratib Bey, by his wife Princess Emine Bihruz, younger daughter of Prince Ibrahim Rashid Fazil Pasha, of Egypt. They had issue, an only son:

H.I.H. Prince Ömer Abdülmecid Osmanoğlu b. at Alexandria, 4 June 1941, educ. Stowe school, Buckinghamshire, England, and degree in Business Administration from London Univ.

H.I.H. Prince Ömer Abdülmecid Osmanoğlu

H.I.H. Prince Ömer Abdülmecid b. at Alexandria, 4 June 1941, the only child of H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Mahmud Namık Efendi, and his wife H.H. Şaharazade Hanımefendi, (b. at Alexandria, 1922; d. 1993, only daughter of Ismail Ratib Bey, by his wife H.R.H. Princess Emine Bihruz, younger daughter of H.R.H. Prince Ibrahim Raşid Fazıl Paşa, of Egypt), and great-grandson of H.I.M. Sultan Mehmed V Reşad Han Gazi , 35th Sovereign of the House of Osman. educ. Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, England, and degree in Business Administration from London Univ. m. Beulah Hanımefendi (b. 8 April 1943), née Banbury. He has issue, an only son:

H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Mahmud Namık Osmanoğlu born in London, 27 April 1975, educ. MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons The New School for Design, New York City, USA. He is a co-founder and director of Streaming Well an online health channel, he lives in England.

H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Ömer Abdülmecid Efendi had a career as an oil trader in the City of London, is an accomplished chess player and is now retired and lives in Sussex, England.

H.I.H. Prince Mahmud Francis Namık Efendi

H.I.H. Prince Mahmud Francis Namık Efendi was born in London at what is now the Lanesborough Hotel on 27 April 1975. He is the only child of H.I.H. Prince (Şehzade) Ömer Abdülmecid Osmanoğlu Efendi, and Beulah Hanımefendi, née Banbury, and great-great grandson of H.I.M. Sultan Mehmed V Reşad Han Gazi , 35th Sovereign of the House of Osman. Prince Mahmud earned an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons The New School for Design, New York City, USA and a BFA in Visual Communications from Parsons Paris School of Art and Design, Paris, France. He is a co-founder and director of Streaming Well an online health channel, he lives in England.

He attended Gulliver Preparatory High School in Miami Florida, and The Mougins School, in the South of France (Riviera). He is an accomplished drummer with rock group The Janitors and they released their first LP “Sweeping the Nation” in 2010. He is also an avid tennis player. Prince Mahmud Efendi was the subject of an interview by the Anatolian News Agency which was picked up for publication in a number of outlets in both Turkey and the UK. A Sultan’s descendant in the heart of London.

List of Sultans of the Ottoman Empire

The table below lists Ottoman sultans, as well as the last Ottoman caliph, in chronological order. 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. In 1617, the law of succession changed from survival of the fittest to a system based on agnatic seniority (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. Agnatic seniority was retained until the abolition of the sultanate, despite unsuccessful attempts in the 19th century to replace it with primogeniture.