Sultan Mehmet Resad V, the penultimate sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigned from 1909 to 1918, a period marked by profound upheaval and transformation. Ascending to the throne after the deposition of his brother, Abdul Hamid II, Mehmet V’s reign coincided with some of the most tumultuous events in Ottoman history, including the Balkan Wars, World War I, and the Armenian Genocide. Despite his limited political power, as the real authority lay with the Committee of Union and Progress, Mehmet V endeavored to maintain the empire’s integrity and navigate through these crises. This article delves into the extra history of Sultan Mehmet Reşad V, exploring his life, the challenges he faced, and his enduring legacy. Join us as we uncover the intricate details of his reign and the impact he had on the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
Sultan Mehmet Resat V, the third son of Abdülmecit, was born on November 2, 1844. Since he was born during his father’s sultanate, he had a comfortable childhood and youth. Because his father placed importance on innovation, he received a Western-style education open to new ideas. When his brother Abdülhamit II ascended to the throne, a difficult period began in his life. Because Murat V, who was succeeded by Abdülaziz after he was dethroned and killed, was also dethroned in a short time, Abdülhamid II had become suspicious. Worried that his brother Sultan Mehmet Resat V might be used against him, Abdülhamid II forbade him to meet with anyone other than his own close relatives in the palace. The years he spent in the palace during his brother’s sultanate were a nightmare for Sultan Mehmet Resat V. The March 31 Incident led to Reşat’s ascension to the throne. After the March 31 Incident, on April 27, 1909, Abdülhami II was enthroned as the second son of Abdülhamid II. After Abdulhamid was dethroned, he ascended to the throne as the 35th sultan of the Ottoman Empire on the same date.
The Parliament Named Mehmet V
The entry of the Action Army into Istanbul, which played a role in the dethronement of Abdulhamid II after the March 31st uprising, was evaluated by the National Assembly as the second conquest of Istanbul, and on the day he ascended to the throne, he was given the title of Mehmet V, inspired by the conqueror of the city, Mehmet II. Mehmet V, while ascending to the throne in a ceremony held at the Ministry of War on the same day, described himself as the “first sultan of freedom.” He did not accept the request of Grand Vizier Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, who formally submitted his resignation. Although the National Assembly gave him the title of Mehmet V, the people always called him Sultan Mehmet Resat V.
According to the Constitution, the Head of the Executive was the Grand Vizier
His years on the throne were marked by great crises. There were ten changes of government. Each government came to power during a crisis and left power as a result of another crisis. Mehmet V did not have the political knowledge and experience to prevent these crises or to guide them. According to the 1876 Constitution, the head of the executive branch was the Grand Vizier. The Grand Vizier and the government he formed were responsible to the legislative assembly and could remain in his position as long as he had the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies. Although the sultan had the authority to appoint the Grand Vizier, he was not responsible for the executive. For this reason, the sultan’s political role weakened and the palace ceased to be the focus of political life. The focus of political life was virtually transferred to the headquarters of the Union and Progress Party and the Grand Vizier and his cabinet.
He Later Learned That His Brother Was Deported to Thessaloniki
Since Sultan Mehmet Resat V had painfully ascended to the throne, he did not even know that his brother had been exiled to Thessaloniki on the day he became the ruler. Mahmut Şevket Pasha, the commander of the Action Army that controlled Istanbul, had sent Abdulhamid II to Thessaloniki. Grand Vizier Tevfik Pasha heard about this exile from the French ambassador the next day. When he went to the palace to inform Sultan Mehmet Resat V of the situation, he learned that the palace officials had also been taken away. Sultan Mehmet Resat V could not protect Grand Vizier Ahmet Tevfik Pasha from the pressure of the Union and Progress Society. Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha, who was wanted by the Union and Progress Society, was appointed in his place on May 5, 1909. The Ottoman Empire was not used to the constitutional system. Mehmet V wanted the system to work the most. For this reason, he did not even want to use the powers granted to him by the constitution. It is reported that he said to those who criticized him on this issue, “If I was going to interfere in everything during the constitutional administration, what was my brother’s crime?” His hesitation to use his authority has caused problems from time to time in solving problems. Different ethnic elements have tried to use the constitutional monarchy as an opportunity to create chaos and have started uprisings in different parts of the country.
Extra History Of Sultan Mehmet Resat V
Sultan Mehmet Resat V was a sultan who went on trips to boost the morale of the people and to unite the society. He visited Bursa and İzmit with the grand vizier and some ministers, as well as chatting with the people in Istanbul. Here, he met with various segments of the people regardless of religion or race. He made donations to schools and charitable institutions. He distributed gifts from specially printed money for these trips. Although the Union and Progress Society ensured the declaration of the constitutional monarchy, held elections and made the parliament functional, it consisted of idealistic people who had no experience in governing the country. The most abused concepts of that period were freedom and constitutional monarchy. These concepts were the subject of abuse discourse by some people. Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha resigned from his post as grand vizier, where he served for 10 months and 6 days, at the beginning of 1910. The Ambassador to Rome, İbrahim Hakkı Bey, was appointed in his place on January 12, 1910. İbrahim Hakkı Pasha, who was given the rank of vizier and appointed as grand vizier, was not known as a party member. The ties between the elements of the empire, both with the center and with each other, had weakened considerably. With the increase in external provocations, separatist movements among the elements had begun to gain strength. This was the reason for the uprisings in many parts of the country, from Albania to Yemen.
The Weakness of the Committee of Union and Progress in State Administration Revealed
The churches led the nationalization movements in the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, the churches that were previously affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church established their own national churches and separated from the Greek Orthodox Church. However, there was a problem of sharing the assets of these churches. It was necessary to determine which church the churches and schools in Rumelia belonged to. Abdulhamid II left this problem unresolved in order to prevent the Balkan states from forming an alliance. The Union and Progress Society resolved this problem with a law it enacted on July 3, 1910. The Fener Greek Patriarch visited Sultan Mehmet Resat V and asked him not to approve the law. Sultan Mehmet Resat V approved the law, thinking that it would strengthen the sense of belonging of the Christian elements and strengthen the sense of brotherhood among them. Thus, the way was opened for the Balkan states to unite against the Ottoman Empire. This led to the Balkan War.
He went on a Balkan trip
When the unrest in the Balkans started again, the Unionists took Sultan Mehmet Resat V on a Rumelia tour on June 26, 1911, hoping to calm the people of the region and bring them back to the state. Sultan Mehmet Resat V, who went by ship from Çanakkale to Thessaloniki, was met with great interest from the people in the cities of Üsküp, Pristina, Kosovo and Manastır. Sultan Mehmet Resat V, who met with people from all walks of life, regardless of whether they were Christians or Muslims, tried to win their hearts by helping charitable institutions. In addition, coins printed in memory of his Balkan tour were distributed to the people. He performed Friday prayers with a large congregation on the plain where the Tomb of Sultan Murat is located near the city of Mitrovica in Kosovo. The effect of Sultan Mehmet Resat V‘s Balkan tour on the people was short-lived. Ethnic unrest started again upon his return to Istanbul. Every passing day seemed like a harbinger of the Balkan War. This situation was also reflected in the work of the National Assembly. In the parliament, in addition to the Committee of Union and Progress, the Ahrar Party (Party of Freedoms), which defended the liberal and decentralized ideas of Prince Sabahattin, the Moderate Freedom Party, which was organized by deputies of mostly Albanian and Arab origin, and the Ottoman Democrat Party, founded by Abdullah Cevdet and İbrahim Temo, who separated from the Committee of Union and Progress, and İsmail Kemal’s People’s Party were also represented.
Tripoli was occupied
İbrahim Hakkı Pasha, who was the Grand Vizier in 1910-1911, decided to reduce the number of Turkish soldiers in Libya in response to the security threat that emerged in the Balkans. His failure to foresee the Italian threat to North Africa proved costly for the Ottoman Empire. İbrahim Hakkı Pasha, who was the ambassador to Rome before becoming the Grand Vizier, unaware that Italy had long been making plans for Libya, left the provinces of Tripoli and Benghazi without soldiers, governors and commanders, and spurred Italy into action. The Italians, who wanted Tripoli to be handed over to them, declared war on the Ottoman Empire on September 28, 1911. When this occupation took place due to reasons stemming from their own negligence, İbrahim Hakkı Pasha resigned from the Grand Viziership on the same day. Although Turkish officers like Mustafa Kemal went to Tripoli to fight against the Italians, Italy declared that it had annexed Libya on October 5, 1911. After İbrahim Hakkı Paşa, Sait Paşa was appointed as the Grand Vizier. The opposition asked the Speaker of the Senate, Sait Paşa, who had served as the Grand Vizier seven times during the reign of Abdülhamit II, to have İbrahim Hakkı Paşa tried in the Divan-ı Ali. The proposal made by the Tripoli deputies was blocked by the deputies of the Union and Progress Society. Thereupon, the opposition in the Assembly accelerated its efforts to form a party. The Freedom and Accord Party was founded on November 21, 1911. Damat Ferit Paşa was appointed as the party leader, while Colonel Sadık Bey served as the party leader behind the scenes. The opposition’s strong organization under the name of the Freedom and Accord Party made it impossible to carry out the work of the general assembly.
Elections Renewed
The establishment of the Freedom and Entente Party changed all the balances in the parliament. 70 of the 105 opposition deputies joined the Freedom and Entente Party. The Freedom and Entente Party won the by-election held in Istanbul on December 11, 1911. Thereupon, the Union and Progress Society asked the sultan to dissolve the parliament. However, Article 35 of the Constitution, which regulated the right of dissolution belonging to the sultan, had previously been considered dangerous to the constitutional monarchy and was changed. Grand Vizier Sait Pasha proposed to the parliament that Article 35 of the Constitution be changed in order to give the right of dissolution back to the sultan. When the opposition blocked the proposal, he resigned from his post on December 30, 1911. It did not seem possible for the Ottoman Empire, whose political integrity was under threat, to be governed for a long time with a weak parliament. The Committee of Union and Progress and the Freedom and Accord Party could not reach an agreement on transferring the authority to dissolve the parliament to Sultan Reşat. The negotiations between the government, the opposition, the palace and the Assembly could not yield any results. Grand Vizier Sait Pasha brought up his proposal to change Article 35 of the Constitution and grant the Sultan the authority to dissolve the Assembly. Since this deadlock that rendered the Parliament inoperable could only be overcome by holding new elections, the Assembly of Deputies was dissolved on January 18, 1912 by the will of the Sultan after the approval of the Chamber of Notables was obtained in accordance with Article 7 of the Constitution. Thus, on the one hand, the government of İbrahim Hakkı Pasha was saved from going to the Divan-ı Ali, and on the other hand, the first real multi-party period of the Second Constitutional Era was ended.
The Freedom and Entente Party Was Liquidated
The elections held in February 1912 resulted in the victory of the Committee of Union and Progress. The Freedom and Accord Party was liquidated as a result of the elections, which were claimed to have been held under pressure and went down in history as the “pocket elections”. As a result of the elections, 157 Turks, 68 Arabs, 18 Albanians, 15 Greeks, 13 Armenians, 4 Jews and 9 Slavs entered parliament. In the second parliamentary term that began on April 18, 1912, all but 15 of the deputies were members of the Committee of Union and Progress. Italy, which attacked Tripolitania, began to threaten Istanbul by occupying the Aegean islands on April 24, 1912. During the same period, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece, which had formed an alliance with each other, began to prepare to attack the Ottoman Empire. During the same period, the Albanians also rebelled again. A group of officers tasked with suppressing the Albanian rebellion, instead of doing their jobs, took to the mountains raising a flag against the Union and Progress Society’s administration. This group, which called itself “Halaskâran” or “Halaskâr Zâbitan”, submitted a memorandum to the government through its representatives in Istanbul. The memorandum demanded the dissolution of the parliament and the establishment of an impartial government under the presidency of Kamil Pasha, otherwise it was stated that the administration would be seized. Following the memorandum, the Minister of War (Minister of Defense) Mahmut Şevket Pasha resigned on July 9, 1912. When the other ministers (ministers) resigned as well, Grand Vizier Sait Pasha requested a vote of confidence from the Parliament. Despite the vote of confidence given to the Sait Pasha cabinet on July 15, the Sait Pasha cabinet resigned on July 16, 1912. With this resignation, a power vacuum emerged. Sultan Mehmet Resat V appointed Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pasha as the Grand Vizier on July 22, 1912, with the hope that he would be able to bring order to the army due to his influence as a result of the negotiations he held to eliminate the power vacuum in accordance with the parliamentary system.
Real History Of Sultan Mehmet Resat V
Ahmet Muhtar Pasha, the first grand vizier of the Constitutional Era, was a military veteran and because he included three former grand viziers in his cabinet formed from neutral people, the public called this government the “grand cabinet”. The Union and Progress Party’s loss of power despite its overwhelming majority in the Assembly and its falling into opposition against the neutral government disrupted the political balances that had been in place since 1908. The price of the resulting political vacuum was paid bitterly in the Balkan War. After assuming the office of Grand Vizier, Ahmet Muhtar Pasha first lifted the martial law that had been in effect for a long time. Then, on August 4, 1912, he dissolved the Chamber of Deputies. The Balkan states’ declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire on October 8, 1912 made the struggle against the Italians in Tripoli difficult. The heroic struggle of the Ottoman officers against the Italians by organizing the local tribes for a year came to naught with the beginning of the Balkan War. The Treaty of Ouchy was signed with Italy on October 18, 1912. Thus, Tripoli-Benghazi, which remained under Ottoman rule for hundreds of years, was lost.
Great Defeat in the First Balkan War
The army’s involvement in politics and the discussions among the officers about the regimental and schoolboys made the army unmanageable. In a short period of 8 months, the Balkan states seized a large part of the Ottoman Empire’s lands in the Balkans. At the end of the war, 168 thousand square kilometers of land in the Balkans, including the Aegean islands, up to Edirne and Kırklareli, were lost. Thus, 83 percent of the lands in Europe and 65 percent of the population were lost. Approximately 1.5 million Turks were forced to migrate from Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo and Bulgaria to Turkey. Due to armed attacks and epidemics, only 600 thousand of these Turks were able to reach Turkey. After the 1877-78 Ottoman-Russian War, the First Balkan War also left deep scars on the Turks. Following the great defeat, Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pasha resigned on October 29, 1913. Kıbrıslı Kamil Pasha was appointed in his place. Since the Chamber of Deputies was dissolved, Kamil Pasha convened a council in the palace for consultation purposes. While Mahmut Şevket Pasha excused himself and did not attend this council, the princes attended as listeners.
Enver and Talat Pashas Came to Power with the Raid on Babıali
The Kamil Pasha government lasted three months. As a result of the coup on January 23, 1913, this government was overthrown. This coup, led by Enver Pasha and Talat Pasha, went down in history as the “Bayıli Raid”. The Committee of Union and Progress, which regained power as a result of the coup, appointed Mahmut Şevket Pasha as the Grand Vizier to Sultan Reşat. Mahmut Şevket Pasha also remained in this position for 4 months and 19 days. The promise of Enver and Talat Pashas to the people was to save Edirne. However, with the London Treaty signed with the Kingdom of Bulgaria on May 30, 1913, the surrender of the Balkan lands to Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro had to be accepted. Two weeks after this agreement, on June 11, 1913, Mahmut Şevket Pasha was assassinated in Beyazıt. Thereupon, Sait Halim Pasha, who was requested by Enver and Talat Pashas, was appointed as the Grand Vizier. The first task of the newly established government was to try the suspects of the Mahmut Şevket Pasha assassination. As a result of the trials, 12 people were sentenced to death, while 350 people from the opposition were arrested and exiled to Sinop.
Edirne Was Saved in the Balkan War II
The hopelessness created by the First Balkan War was compensated by the victory in the Second Balkan War. Taking advantage of the fact that Bulgaria and Greece went to war due to the sharing of the lands gained in the Balkans, Enver Pasha took back Edirne on July 21, 1913. The recapture of Edirne, which had been the capital of the Ottoman Empire until the conquest of Istanbul and had been used as a summer capital for many years, greatly improved the morale of the army and the people, while also strengthening Enver Pasha’s position. Shortly after this victory, Minister of War Ahmet İzzet Pasha resigned after learning that a group of officers had taken action to make Enver Pasha the Minister of War. Enver Pasha, who was a lieutenant colonel at the time, was appointed Minister of War on January 3, 1914. Cemal Pasha was similarly promoted and became Minister of the Navy. Talat Pasha continued his duty in the cabinet as Minister of the Interior. Thus, the trio of Talat, Cemal and Enver Pasha became the sole authority in the government. In May 1914, elections were held to reopen the Assembly, which had been dissolved on August 4, 1912. After the elections held under the Union and Progress rule, the Assembly began its work with a ceremony attended by the sultan. Although Sait Halim Pasha was the Grand Vizier, the state was now governed by Talat and Enver Pasha.
World War I Ensued
The same years were also the harbingers of a major world war. An intense competition had begun among European states regarding the sharing of new colonial areas. Germany, which had become the new power of Europe, wanted to expand in Europe. This situation inevitably brought England and Germany face to face. Since Germany’s expansion goals had become a threat to Russia, it made a secret alliance agreement with England. The agreement made it was decided that the Ottoman Empire would not be included in the alliance. In this case, the Ottoman Empire had no choice but to enter the war. Because even though it would lose its lands in Europe in the war to be waged, almost all of the lands to be shared were under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire signed an agreement on August 2, 1914 to enter the war together with the Germans. The Parliament decided to go on a monthly recess on the day this agreement was announced. Three months after the agreement, on November 11, 1914, the Ottoman Empire actually entered the First World War. The Ottoman Empire was forced to enter this war, and Sultan Reşat announced it as a declaration of war against the Allied Powers (England, Russia and France) by publishing a declaration on the same day. He also called for all Muslims to join the war alongside the army with his declaration of “greater jihad”. The Sultan attributed the cause of the war to the provocative attitudes of these three states and declared that they did not give up their evil intentions against the caliphate to which millions of Muslims, who were suffering under their cruel administration, were spiritually loyal. The National Assembly, also known as the Chamber of Deputies, resumed its work on January 14, 1915. Sultan Reşat, who made the opening speech of the assembly, explained that although the Ottoman Empire declared its neutrality in the war, it had to give the order for war when the Russian navy attacked the Ottoman navy. In the response to the speech made by the Sultan on behalf of the National Assembly and the Senate, the government and the army were thanked and it was stated that the policy being followed was in line with the interests of the state and the nation. This attitude of the assemblies was accepted as approval of the war decision, and there was no further discussion about the reason for entering the war until the end of the First World War.
Moving the Capital to Anatolia is on the Agenda
As the Ottoman Empire’s defense lines approached Istanbul from the Balkans, the issue of moving the capital to Anatolia came to the agenda. The issue of moving the capital to Anatolia was first discussed during the 1877-78 Ottoman-Russian War. When the Russians came as far as Yeşilköy, the concern that Istanbul would be occupied led to the need to move the capital. While this concern disappeared after the signing of the San Stefano Treaty, the Bulgarians’ coming as far as Çatalca after the First Balkan War reminded us of this need again. The issue of moving the capital for the third time came to the agenda during the Battle of Çanakkale in 1915. Among the cities considered for the capital were Eskişehir, Konya and Ankara. Sultan Mehmet Resat V complied with the decision to move the capital and began preparations to go to Eskişehir. He wanted to take his elder brother Abdulhamid II, who was living in the Beylerbeyi Palace at the time, with him. Abdulhamid II did not accept the offer and advised his brother not to leave Istanbul either. He said that if Istanbul were to be abandoned, there would be no return. The sultan, who was given the title of gazi by the fatwa of the sheikhdom, the highest authority in the ilmiye organization, remained in Istanbul. The great victory won in Çanakkale in the same year eliminated the need to move the capital to Anatolia, and Sultan Mehmet Resat V was relieved of a great concern.
The Expression of War of Independence Was Used for the First Time in the National Assembly
Sultan Reşat expressed his satisfaction with the successes achieved on the Çanakkale and Iraq fronts at the opening of the National Assembly in 1916. However, he did not mention the army’s victories in his opening speech of the 1917 legislative year. Because things were not going as expected on the fronts. While Germany was retreating on all fronts against the Allied Powers, the Ottoman Empire was forced to retreat to Anatolia. For this reason, in the Assembly’s response to Sultan Mehmet Resat V‘s opening speech in the 1917 legislative year, the term “independence war” was used for the first time instead of “general war”. The difficult conditions of war also brought political instability. Sait Halim Pasha, who had fallen out with Talat and Enver Pashas, resigned on February 3, 1917. Minister of the Interior Talat Pasha was appointed in his place. Talat Pasha’s government was the last government given office by Sultan Mehmet Resat V. After this, the Sultan practically locked himself in his palace and only appeared in the protocols requested by the government. He hosted the German Emperor and the Austro-Hungarian Emperor who visited Turkey in September 1917 and May 1918 due to the war.
Died of Diabetes
The difficult days the state went through had turned Mehmet V’s diabetes into a chronic condition. His health had deteriorated considerably due to a previous prostate surgery. For this reason, the intensive program organized for the Austrian emperor in May 1918 worsened his illness. He became very tired after the visit he paid to the mantle of the sherif during Ramadan and did not leave the palace after June 24, 1918. Mehmet V, whose reign was marked by wars, economic crises and political instability, passed away on July 3, 1918, before the Armistice of Mudros. His body was buried in the tomb he had built in Eyüp when he was alive. Like many Ottoman sultans, Mehmet V was interested in literature and poetry and knew Persian. It is said that during his princedom, he loved reading Ottoman history as well as the “Mesnevi”. He wrote his most famous ghazal on the Çanakkale Victory. This ghazal, which was talked about by word of mouth when it was written, was composed. During his reign, he was forced to submit to the Union and Progress Society. He also said to those who criticized this situation that he had to act in this way for the sake of the sultanate’s survival, otherwise the Unionists would declare a republic. The reign of Sultan Mehmet Resat V, whose title was Mehmet V, was the last attempt to ensure the continuation of the Ottoman State, and this attempt ended with the dissolution of the state. During this period, the ideas that created modern Turkey gained strength, while the idea of national unity and republic became stronger. The foundations of the national Turkish state were also laid during this period.
Final Words
In conclusion, the Extra History of Sultan Mehmet Resad V offers a compelling look at a ruler who, despite being overshadowed by the political machinations of his time, played a crucial role during a pivotal era in Ottoman history. His reign, marked by significant military and political challenges, reflects the complexities and struggles of an empire on the brink of dissolution. As we reflect on his legacy, it becomes clear that Mehmet V’s efforts to uphold the empire’s traditions and navigate through its darkest hours were both significant and poignant. We hope this exploration of his extra history has provided you with a deeper understanding of Sultan Mehmet Reşad V’s unique place in the annals of Ottoman history.