Abdul Hamid II
Abdulhamid or Abdul Hamid II (Ottoman Turkish: عبد الحميد ثانی, romanized: Abd ul-Hamid-i s̱ānī; Turkish: II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 – 10 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. He oversaw a period of decline, with rebellions (particularly in the Balkans), and presided over an unsuccessful war with the Russian Empire (1877–78), followed by a successful war against the Kingdom of Greece in 1897, though Ottoman gains were tempered by subsequent Western European intervention.
Elevated to power in the wake of Young Ottoman coups, he promulgated the Ottoman Empire's first constitution, a sign of the progressive thinking that marked his early rule. But his enthronement came in the context of the Great Eastern Crisis, which began with the Empire's default on its loans, uprisings by Christian Balkan minorities, and a war with the Russian Empire. At the crisis's end, Ottoman rule in the Balkans and its international prestige was severely diminished, and the Empire lost its economic sovereignty as its finances came under the control of the Great Powers through the Ottoman Public Debt Administration.
In 1878, Abdul Hamid consolidated his rule by suspending both the constitution and the parliament, purging the Young Ottomans, and curtailing the power of the Sublime Porte. He ruled as an absolute monarch for three decades. The Hamidian era was defined by Abdul Hamid's convictions and personality. Ideologically an Islamist, the sultan asserted his title of Caliph to Muslims around the world. His paranoia about being overthrown like his uncle and brother led to the creation of secret police organizations and a heavy censorship regime. The Ottoman Empire's modernization and centralization continued during his reign, including reform of the bureaucracy, extension of the Rumelia Railway and the Anatolia Railway, and construction of the Baghdad Railway and the Hejaz Railway. In addition, systems for population registration and control over the press were established, along with the first local modern law school in 1898. The farthest-reaching reforms were in education, with many professional schools established in fields including law, arts, trades, civil engineering, veterinary medicine, customs, farming, and linguistics. Abdul Hamid II closed Istanbul University in 1881, but it reopened in 1900, and a network of primary, secondary, and military schools extended throughout the Empire. German firms played a major role in developing the Empire's railway and telegraph systems.
Many attempts were made on Abdul Hamid's life during his reign. Of the many assassination attempts against him, one of the most famous is the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's Yıldız assassination attempt of 1905. Large sections of the Ottoman intelligentsia also sharply criticized and opposed him due to his use of secret police to silence dissent and the Young Turks. In 1908, a secret revolutionary Young Turks organization, the Committee of Union and Progress, forced Abdul Hamid to recall the parliament and reinstate the constitution in the Young Turk Revolution. Abdul Hamid attempted to reassert his absolutism a year later, resulting in his deposition by Unionist forces in the 31 March incident.
Early life
Abdul Hamid II was born on 21 September 1842 in Çırağan Palace, Ortaköy, or at Topkapı Palace, both in Istanbul. He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Tirimüjgan Kadın (Circassia, 20 August 1819 – Constantinople, Feriye Palace, 2 November 1853), originally named Virjinia. Following his mother's death, he became the adoptive son of his father's legal wife, Perestu Kadın. Perestu was also the adoptive mother of Abdul Hamid's half-sister Cemile Sultan, whose mother Düzdidil Kadın had died in 1845, leaving her motherless at the age of two. The two were brought up in the same household, where they spent their childhood together.
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 in a very difficult and critical period for the Empire. 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
Abdul Hamid worked with the Young Ottomans to realize some form of constitutional arrangement. This new form could help bring about a liberal transition with Islamic arguments. The Young Ottomans believed that the modern parliamentary system was a restatement of the practice of consultation, or shura, that had existed in early Islam.
In December 1876, due to the 1875 insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ongoing war with Serbia and Montenegro, and the feeling aroused throughout Europe by the cruelty used in stamping out the 1876 Bulgarian rebellion, Abdul Hamid promulgated the constitution and its parliament. Midhat Pasha headed the commission to establish a new constitution, and the cabinet passed the constitution on 6 December 1876, allowing for a bicameral legislature with senate appointments made by the sultan. The first ever election in the Ottoman Empire was held in 1877. Crucially, the constitution gave Abdul Hamid the right to exile anyone he deemed a threat to the state.
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 significant 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. Early in 1877, the Ottoman Empire went to war with the Russian Empire.
War with Russia
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 effectively purchased Austrian neutrality with the Reichstadt Agreement by that time. 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.
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.
Reign
Disintegration
Abdul Hamid's distrust of the reformist admirals of the Ottoman Navy (whom he suspected of plotting against him and trying to bring back 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 Kararname 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 should 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 to 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 Beirut and Damascus with a railroad between them.
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. But despite working with the reformist Young Ottomans while still a 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 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 about 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. He also created a large system of primary, secondary, and military schools throughout the empire. 51 secondary schools were constructed in a 12-year period (1882–1894). As the goal of the educational reforms in the Hamidian era were to counter foreign influence, these secondary schools used European teaching techniques while instilling in students a strong sense of Ottoman identity and Islamic morality.
Abdul Hamid also reorganized the Ministry of Justice and developed rail and telegraph systems. The telegraph system expanded to incorporate the furthest parts of the Empire. Railways connected Constantinople and Vienna by 1883, and shortly afterward the Orient Express connected Paris to Constantinople. During his rule, railways within the Ottoman Empire expanded to connect Ottoman-controlled Europe and Anatolia with Constantinople as well. The increased ability to travel and communicate within the Ottoman Empire served to strengthen Constantinople's influence over the rest of the Empire.
Abdul Hamid took tight measures for 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 tightly 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 and/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. To prevent such measures, in 1890–91 Abdul Hamid gave semi-official status to the bandits who were already actively mistreating the Armenians in the provinces. Made up of Kurds and other ethnic groups such as Turcomans, and armed by the state, they came to be called the Hamidiye Alayları ("Hamidian Regiments"). The Hamidiye and Kurdish brigands were given free rein to attack Armenians, confiscating stores of grain, foodstuffs, and driving off livestock, and confident of escaping punishment as they were subject only to court-martial. In the face of such violence, the Armenians established revolutionary organizations, the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchak; founded in Switzerland in 1887) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (the ARF or Dashnaktsutiun, founded in 1890 in Tiflis). Clashes ensued and unrest occurred in 1892 at Merzifon and in 1893 at Tokat. Abdul Hamid put these revolts down with harsh methods while using local Muslims (in most cases Kurds) against the Armenians. As a result, 300,000 Armenians were killed in what became known as the Hamidian massacres. News of the massacres was widely reported in Europe and the United States and drew strong responses from foreign governments and humanitarian organizations. Abdul Hamid was 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.
Foreign policy
Pan-Islamism
Abdul Hamid did not believe the ideas of Tanzimat could bring the disparate peoples of the empire to a common identity, such as Ottomanism. He adopted a new ideological principle, Pan-Islamism; since Ottoman sultans beginning in 1517 were also nominally Caliphs, he wanted to promote that fact and emphasized the Ottoman Caliphate. Given the huge diversity of ethnicities in the Ottoman Empire, he believed that Islam was the only way to unite his people.
He encouraged Pan-Islamism, telling Muslims living under European powers to unite into 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. Foreigners' privileges in the Ottoman Empire, which were an obstacle to an effective government, were curtailed. At the very end of his reign, Abdul Hamid finally provided funds to start construction of the strategically important Constantinople-Baghdad Railway and the Constantinople-Medina Railway, making the trip to Mecca for Hajj more efficient. After he was deposed, the Young Turks accelerated and completed construction of both railways. Missionaries were sent to distant countries preaching Islam and the Caliph's supremacy. During his rule, Abdul Hamid refused Theodor Herzl's offers to pay down a substantial portion of the Ottoman debt (150 million pounds sterling in gold) in exchange for a charter allowing the Zionists to settle in Palestine. He is famously quoted as telling Herzl's Emissary, "as long as I am alive, I will not have our body divided; only our corpse they can divide."
Pan-Islamism was a considerable success. After the Greco-Ottoman war, many Muslims celebrated the Ottoman victory as Muslims' 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
After being approached by the United States Minister to the Ottoman Empire Oscar Straus, Abdul Hamid sent a letter to the Moros of the Sulu Sultanate telling them not to resist American takeover, and to cooperate with the Americans at the start of the Moro Rebellion. The Sulu Moros complied.
U.S. Secretary of State John Hay asked Straus in 1898 to approach Abdul Hamid to request that he, in his capacity as caliph, write a letter to the Moro Sulu Muslims of the Sulu Sultanate in the Philippines telling them to submit to American suzerainty and American military rule. The Sultan obliged them and wrote the letter, which was sent to Sulu via Mecca, whence two Sulu chiefs brought it home 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."
Abdul Hamid used his position as caliph to order the Sulu Sultan not to resist or fight the Americans when they became subject to American control. 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. Despite Abdul Hamid's "pan-Islamic" ideology, he 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:
After due consideration of these facts, the Sultan, as Caliph caused a message to be sent to the Mohammedans of the Philippine Islands forbidding them to enter into any hostilities against the Americans, inasmuch as no interference with their religion would be allowed under American rule. As the Moros have never asked more than that, it is not surprising, that they refused all overtures made, by Aguinaldo's agents, at the time of the Filipino insurrection. President McKinley sent a personal letter of thanks to Mr. Straus for the excellent work he had done, and said, its accomplishment had saved the United States at least twenty thousand troops in the field.
In his position as caliph, Abdul Hamid was approached by the Americans to help them deal with Muslims during their war in the Philippines, and the Muslims of the area obeyed the order he sent to help the Americans.
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
The Triple Entente – the United Kingdom, France and Russia – maintained 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, distinct for having more Muslims than Christians.
Over time the hostile diplomatic attitudes shown from 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. Abdul Hamid twice hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II in Istanbul, on 21 October 1889 and on 5 October 1898. (Wilhelm II later visited Constantinople a third time, on 15 October 1917, as a guest of Mehmed V.) German officers such as Baron von der Goltz and Bodo-Borries von Ditfurth were employed to oversee the organization of the Ottoman Army.
German government officials were brought in to reorganize the Ottoman government's finances. The German emperor was also rumored to have counseled Abdul Hamid in his controversial decision to appoint his third son as his successor. Germany's friendship was not altruistic; it had to be fostered with railway and loan concessions. In 1899, a significant German desire, 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 in 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 Enver Pasha to China in 1901, but the rebellion was over by that time. Because the Ottomans did not want conflict against 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.
Young Turk Revolution
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 Young Turks were still influential in the rest of the army and provinces. The CUP appealed to Mahmud Shevket Pasha to restore the status quo, who 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, 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
Abdul Hamid was conveyed into captivity at Salonica (now Thessaloniki), mostly at the Villa Allatini in the city's southern outskirts. In 1912, when Salonica fell to Greece, he was returned to captivity in Constantinople. He spent his last days studying, practicing carpentry, and writing his memoirs in custody at Beylerbeyi Palace in the Bosphorus, in the company of his wives and children. He died there on 10 February 1918, a few months before his brother Mehmed V, the reigning sultan. He was buried in Istanbul.
In 1930, his nine widows and thirteen children were granted $50 million from his estate after a lawsuit that lasted five years. His estate was worth $1.5 billion.
Abdul Hamid was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire to hold absolute power. He presided over 33 years of decline, during which other European countries regarded the empire as the "sick man of Europe".
Personal life
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 Ottoman Turkish translations of many classic operas. He also composed several opera 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.
Abdul Hamid was also a good wrestler of Yağlı güreş and a "patron saint" of the wrestlers. He organized wrestling tournaments in the empire, and selected wrestlers were invited to the palace. Abdul Hamid personally tried the sportsmen, and good ones remained in the palace. He was also a skilled drawer, having drawn the sole known portrait of his fourth wife, Bidar Kadın. He was extremely fond of Sherlock Holmes novels, and awarded its author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the Order of the Medjidie 2nd Class in 1907.
Religion
Abdul Hamid practiced traditional Islamic Sufism. He was influenced by Libyan Shadhili Madani Sheikh, Muhammad Zafir al-Madani, whose lessons he attended in disguise in Unkapani before he became sultan. Abdul Hamid asked al-Madani to return to Istanbul after he ascended the throne. 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
Abdul Hamid wrote poetry, following in the footsteps of many other Ottoman sultans. One of his poems translates thus:
My Lord I know you are the Dear One (Al-Aziz)
... And no one but you are the Dear One
You are the One, and nothing else
My God take my hand in these hard times
My God be my helper in this critical hour
Impressions
In the opinion of F. A. K. Yasamee:
He was a striking amalgam of determination and timidity, of insight and fantasy, held together by immense practical caution and an instinct for the fundamentals of power. He was frequently underestimated. Judged on his record, he was a formidable domestic politician and an effective diplomat.
Family
Abdul Hamid II 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. 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. The only partial exception was Cemile Sultan, his half-sister and adoptive sister.
Consorts
Abdul Hamid II had at least 16 consorts:
- Nazikeda Kadın (1848 - 11 April 1895). BaşKadin (First Consort). She was an Abkhazian princess, born Mediha Hanim, lady-in-waiting of Cemile Sultan. She died prematurely after years of deep depression, due to the tragic 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 to 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 Abdülhamid (future Abdülhamid II). 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. Abdülhamid then married Safinaz, renamed Nurefsun, in secret, in October 1868. However, she could not get used to life in the harem and wanted to be Abdülhamid's only consort. She then asked for a divorce, which he 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 Abdülhamid II's harem when Rahime Perestu Sultan died. She left Abdülhamid 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 1855 - 13 January 1918). Kabartian princess, she was considered the most beautiful and charming of Abdülhamid II's consorts. She had a son and a daughter.
- Dilpesend Kadın (16 January 1865 - 17 June 1901).Georgian. She was educated by Tiryal Hanim, last consort of Mahmud II, who was Abdülhamid II'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 of hers. She had a son, Abdülhamid's favorite.
- Emsalinur Kadın (1866 - 1952). She entered at Palace with her sister Tesrid Hanım, who became a consort of Şehzade Ibrahim Tevfik. She was very beautiful. She did not follow Abdülhamid II 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, mother of Sultan Abdülaziz, uncle of Abdülhamid II. She followed Abdülhamid 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 Abdülhamid II into exile, and later left Turkey with her daughter. She had a daughter.
- Peyveste Hanım (1873 - 1943). Abkhazian princess, born Hatice Rabia Hanim and aunt of Leyla Açba. She served Nazikeda Kadın with her sisters before and then became the treasurer of the harem. She was highly respected. She followed her husband into exile and then her son. She had a son.
- Pesend Hanım (13 February 1876 - 5 November 1924). Born princess Fatma Kadriye Achba, she was one of his favorite consorts, known for her kindness, charity and tolerance. She was one of the consorts who stayed with Abdülhamid II 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 and her real name was Behiye Hanim. She was arrogant and proud, she initially she had to marry Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin, son of Abdülhamid II, but in the end the sultan decided to marry her himself, against the will of Behice herself. She had two twin sons.
- Saliha Naciye Kadın (1887 - 1923). She was born Zeliha Ankuap and called also Atike Naciye Kadın. Known for her kindness and modesty, she was his favorite and among her consorts who stayed with him until his death. She had a son and a daughter.
- Dürdane Hanım (1867 - January 1957).
- Calibös Hanım (1880 - ?).
- Nazlıyar Hanım.
Sons
Abdülhamid II 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
Abdülhamid II 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 in an extremely tragic way: while her mother played the piano and their servants were dismissed for the meal, Ulviye Sultan began to play with matches or candles. 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 total despair, from which she never recovered. She 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 Abdülhamid's favorite daughters.
- Fatma Naime Sultan (5 September 1876 - 1945) - with Bidar Kadın. She is the favorite daughter of Abdülhamid II, 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, buried in the Yahya Efendi cemetery.
- Aliye Sultan (1900 - 1900) - unknown motherhood. She died a few days after her birth.
- Cemila 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, 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)
- 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 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.
Awards and honors
- Ottoman orders
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Grand Master of the Order of the Crescent
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Grand Master of the Order of Glory
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Grand Master of the Order of the Medjidie
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Grand Master of the Order of Osmanieh
- Foreign orders and decorations
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Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen, in Diamonds, 1881 (Austria-Hungary)
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Knight of the Order of the Elephant, 13 December 1884 (Kingdom of Denmark)
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Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, in Diamonds, 24 July 1879 (Kingdom of Sweden)
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Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Kamehameha I, July 1881 (Kingdom of Hawaii)
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Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Olav, 11 February 1885 (Kingdom of Norway)
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Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword (Kingdom of Portugal) -
Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 19 December 1880 (Kingdom of Spain)
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Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Falcon, 1891 (Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach)
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Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Saint Alexander, 1897 (Principality of Bulgaria)
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Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Carol I, 1907 (Kingdom of Romania)
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Knight of the Order of the Annunciation, 29 November 1881 (Kingdom of Italy)
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Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, in Diamonds, 3 February 1882 (German Empire)
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Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, 18 December 1892 (Kingdom of Siam)
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Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 26 June 1888 (Empire of Japan)
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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.
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Abdul Hamid II, 1908 (L'Illustration) -
Enver Bey, Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Niyazi Bey -
Abdul Hamid II arrives in Thessaloniki -
Istanbul Military Museum Abdulhamid II desk
See also
- The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
- Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque
- List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire
- List of nicknames of European royalty and nobility: A
- Payitaht: Abdülhamid, 2017 TV-drama
- Abdul the Damned