Line of succession to the Ottoman throne
Encyclopedia
The Ottoman Dynasty
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...

, which completely excluded females from the throne, had unusual succession practices
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...

 compared to other monarchies. Those succession practices changed over time, and ultimately the sultanate
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

 was abolished in 1922.

Succession practices

In the early period (from the 14th through the late 16th centuries), the Ottomans practiced open succession, or what historian Donald Quataert has described as "survival of the fittest
Survival of the fittest
"Survival of the fittest" is a phrase originating in evolutionary theory, as an alternative description of Natural selection. The phrase is today commonly used in contexts that are incompatible with the original meaning as intended by its first two proponents: British polymath philosopher Herbert...

, not eldest, son." During their father's lifetime, all of the adult sons of the reigning sultan would hold provincial governorships. Accompanied and mentored by their mothers, they would gather supporters while ostensibly following a Ghazw
Ghazw
Ghazi or ghazah is an Arabic term that means "to raid/foray." From it evolved the word "Ghazwa" which specifically refers to a battle led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad.In English language literature the word often appears as razzia, deriving from French, although it probably...

 ethos. Upon the death of their father, the sons would fight among themselves until one emerged triumphant. How remote a province the son governed was of great significance. The closer the region that a particular son was in charge of the better the chances were of that son succeeding, simply because he would be told of the news of his father's death and be able to get to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 first and declare himself Sultan. Thus a father could hint at whom he preferred by giving his favourite son a closer governorship. Bayezid II
Bayezid II
Bayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...

, for instance had to fight his brother Cem
Cem
Prince Cem , December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495) was a pretender to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. He was a son of Mehmed II the Conqueror and younger brother of Sultan Bayezid II. He was banished to Europe, first under the protection of the Knights Hospitaller of St...

 in the 1480s for the right to rule. Occasionally, the half-brothers would even begin the struggle before the death of their father. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...

 (1520–1566), strife among his sons Selim and Mustafa caused enough internal turmoil that Suleiman ordered the death of Mustafa, leaving Selim II
Selim II
Selim II Sarkhosh Hashoink , also known as "Selim the Sot " or "Selim the Drunkard"; and as "Sarı Selim" or "Selim the Blond", was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574.-Early years:He was born in Constantinople a son of Suleiman the...

 the sole heir.

With Suleiman and Selim, the favourite concubine (haseki) of the Sultan achieved new prominence. Gaining power within the harem, the favourite was able to manoeuvre to ensure the succession for one of her sons. This led to a short period of effective primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...

. However, unlike the earlier period, when the sultan had already defeated his brothers (and potential rivals for the throne) in battle, these sultans had the problem of many half-brothers who could act as the focus for factions that could threaten the sultan. Thus, to prevent attempts upon his throne, the sultan practiced fratricide
Fratricide
Fratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....

 upon ascending the throne. The practice of fratricide, first employed by Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...

, soon became widespread. Both Murad III
Murad III
Murad III was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death.-Biography:...

 and his son Mehmed III
Mehmed III
Mehmed III Adli was sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death.-Biography:...

 had their half-brothers murdered. The killing of all the new sultan's brothers and half-brothers (which were usually quite numerous) was traditionally done by manual strangling with a silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 cord. As the centuries passed, the ritual killing was gradually replaced by lifetime solitary confinement in the kafes
Kafes
Kafes, literally "the cage", was the part of the Imperial Harem of the Ottoman Palace where possible successors to the throne were kept under a form of house-arrest and constant surveillance by the palace guards....

("Golden Cage"), a room in the Imperial Harem
Imperial Harem
The Imperial Harem of the Ottoman Empire was one of the most important elements of the Ottoman court. It was known in the West as "the Seraglio", an Italian term.- Harem quarters:...

 from where the sultan's brothers could never escape, unless perchance they became next in line to the throne. Some had already become mentally unstable by the time they were asked to reign.

Mehmet, however, was the last sultan to have previously held a provincial governorship. Sons now remained within the imperial harem until the death of their father. This denied them not only the ability to form powerful factions capable of usurping their father, but also denied them the opportunity to have children while their father remained alive. Thus when Mehmet's son came to the throne as Ahmed I
Ahmed I
Ahmed I or Ahmed Bakhti was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617.-Biography:...

, he had no children of his own. Moreover, as a minor, there was no evidence he could have children. This had the potential to create a crisis of succession and led to a gradual end to fratricide. Ahmed had some of his brothers killed, but not Mustafa (later Mustafa I
Mustafa I
Mustafa I Deli , son of Mehmed III, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1617 to 1618 and from 1622 to 1623. His mother was Valide Sultan Handan Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Helena....

). Similarly, Osman II
Osman II
Sultan Osman II or Othman II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1618 until his death on 20 May 1622...

 allowed his half-brothers Murad and Ibrahim to live. This led to a shift in the 17th century from a system of primogeniture to one based on agnatic seniority
Agnatic seniority
Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children succeed only after the males of the elder generation have all been exhausted...

, in which the eldest male within the dynasty succeeded, also to guarantee adult sultans and prevent both fratricides as well as the sultanate of women
Sultanate of Women
The Sultanate of Women was the near 130-year period during the 16th and 17th centuries when the women of the Imperial Harem of the Ottoman Empire exerted extraordinary political influence. Many of the Sultans during this time were minors and it was their mothers, leaders of the Harem, who...

. Thus, Mustafa succeeded his brother Ahmed; Suleiman II
Suleiman II
Suleiman II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1687 to 1691...

 and Ahmed II
Ahmed II
Ahmed II Khan Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1691 to 1695...

 succeeded their brother Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...

 before being succeeded in turn by Mehmed's son Mustafa II
Mustafa II
Mustafa II Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.-Life:...

. Agnatic seniority explains why from the 17th century onwards a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his own son, but usually by an uncle or brother. It also meant that potential rulers had to wait a long time in the kafes before ascending the throne, hence the extreme old age of certain sultans upon their enthronement. Although attempts were made in the 19th century to replace agnatic seniority with primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...

, they were unsuccessful, and seniority was retained until the abolition of the sultanate in 1922.

List of heirs since 1922

The Ottoman dynasty was expelled 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
    Mehmed VI
    Mehmet VI was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to 1922...

    , 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
    Murad V
    Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876.He was born at Istanbul , Topkapı Palace. His father was Abdülmecid I...

    .
  • Osman IV Fuad
    Osman Fuad
    Osman Fuad , was the 39th Head of the Imperial House of Osman from 1954 to 1973.General of Ottoman Cavalry, Commander in Chief at Tripoli, Libya. Sometime Major à la suite of the Hussar Regt. Prussian Gardes du corps...

    , 39th Head of the House of Osman (1954–1973), half-brother of Ahmed IV Nihad.
  • (Mehmed) Abdülaziz II
    Mehmed Abdulaziz
    Mehmed Abdulaziz or Abdulaziz Mehmed was the 40th head of the Ottoman dynasty from 1973 to 1977. If reigning, he would have been Sultan Abdulaziz II.-Life:...

    , 40th Head of the House of Osman (1973–1977), grandson of Sultan Abdülaziz I
    Abdülâziz
    Abdülaziz I or Abd Al-Aziz, His Imperial Majesty was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876...

    .
  • Ali I Vâsib
    Ali Vasib
    Ali Vâsib was the 41st Head of the Imperial House of Osman from 1977 - 1983.He was born at Çırağan Palace, Ortaköy, on 13 October 1903. He is the only son of Ahmed Nihad, 38th Head of the Imperial House of Osman, and H.H. Safiru Başhanımefendi. He is the great-grandson of Sultan Murad V, 33rd...

    , 41st Head of the House of Osman (1977–1983), son of Ahmed IV Nihad.
  • (Mehmed) Orhan II
    Mehmed Orhan
    Mehmed Orhan was the 42nd head of the Ottoman dynasty from 1983 to 1994. He succeeded as head of the Ottoman dynasty on December 9, 1983, following the death of Ali Vâsib...

    , 42nd Head of the House of Osman (1983–1994), grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    .
  • Ertuğrul Osman V
    Ertugrul Osman V
    -External links:*** - Daily Telegraph obituary...

    , 43rd Head of the House of Osman (1994–2009), grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
  • (Osman) Bayezid III
    Bayezid Osman
    Osman Bayezid Osmanoğlu is the 44th Head of the Imperial House of Osman, which ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1281 to 1922. The monarchy was abolished in 1922, with the modern Republic of Turkey replacing it. He is the second son of Sultan Abdülmecid I's grandson Ibrahim Tevfik by his fourth wife...

    , 44th Head of the House of Osman (2009-present), great-grandson of Sultan Abdülmecid I
    Abdülmecid I
    Sultan Abdülmecid I, Abdul Mejid I, Abd-ul-Mejid I or Abd Al-Majid I Ghazi was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on July 2, 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories...

    .

Current line of succession

According to genealogies of the House of Ottoman, there would hypothetically be twenty-four Princes now in the line of succession after Bayezid Osman, if the sultanate had not been abolished. They are listed as follows; the succession law used is agnatic seniority
Agnatic seniority
Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children succeed only after the males of the elder generation have all been exhausted...

, with the succession passing to eldest male dynast.
  1. HIH Prince Şehzade Dündar Aliosman
    Dündar Aliosman
    HIH Prince Şehzade Dündar Aliosman Efendi is the heir of Bayezid Osman and future 45th Head of the Imperial House of Osman, and as such future pretender to the throne of Turkey and the caliphate of Sunni Islam. He is a descendant of the Sultan Abdul Hamid II.The House of Osman ruled the Ottoman...

     Efendi (b. 1930) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  2. HIH Prince Şehzade Harun Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1932) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  3. HIH Prince Şehzade Cengiz Nazim Efendi (b. 1939) (descendant of Mehmed V
    Mehmed V
    Mehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...

    )
  4. HIH Prince Şehzade Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1940) (descendant of Murad V
    Murad V
    Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876.He was born at Istanbul , Topkapı Palace. His father was Abdülmecid I...

     through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
  5. HIH Prince Şehzade Ömer Abdülmecid Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1941) (descendant of Mehmed V
    Mehmed V
    Mehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...

     through Ömer Hilmi
    Ömer Hilmi
    -Marriages:m. H.H. Hadice Firdevs Gülnev Başhanımefendi Yıldız Palace, 3 October 1910, . She died aged 29 from Spanish influenza, following an epidemic of the disease...

     and Mahmud Namık)
  6. HIH Prince Şehzade Mehmed Selim Orhan Efendi (1943) Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  7. HIH Prince Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin Efendi (b. 1947) (descendant of Mehmed V
    Mehmed V
    Mehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...

    )
  8. HIH Prince Şehzade Roland Selim Kadir Efendi (b. 1949) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  9. HIH Prince Şehzade Selim Djem Efendi (b. 1955) (descendant of Abdülmecid I
    Abdülmecid I
    Sultan Abdülmecid I, Abdul Mejid I, Abd-ul-Mejid I or Abd Al-Majid I Ghazi was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on July 2, 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories...

    )
  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
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  12. HIH Prince Şehzade Eric Mehmed Ziyaeddin Nazim Efendi (b. 1966) (descendant of Mehmed V
    Mehmed V
    Mehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...

    )
  13. HIH Prince Şehzade Orhan Murad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1972) (descendant of Murad V
    Murad V
    Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876.He was born at Istanbul , Topkapı Palace. His father was Abdülmecid I...

     through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
  14. HIH Prince Şehzade Francis Mahmud Namık Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Mehmed V
    Mehmed V
    Mehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...

     through Ömer Hilmi
    Ömer Hilmi
    -Marriages:m. H.H. Hadice Firdevs Gülnev Başhanımefendi Yıldız Palace, 3 October 1910, . She died aged 29 from Spanish influenza, following an epidemic of the disease...

     and Mahmud Namık)
  15. HIH Prince Şehzade René Osman Abdul Kadir Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  16. HIH Prince Şehzade Daniel Adrian Hamid Kadir Efendi (b. 1977) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  17. HIH Prince Şehzade Abdulhamid Kayıhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  18. HIH Prince Şehzade Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Murad V
    Murad V
    Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876.He was born at Istanbul , Topkapı Palace. His father was Abdülmecid I...

     through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
  19. HIH Prince Şehzade Nazım Osmanoğlu
    Naz Osmanoglu
    HIH Prince Şehzade Nazım Ziyaeddin Nazım Osmanoğlu , more commonly known as Naz Osmanoglu, is a British comedian and nineteenth in line to Turkey's former Ottoman throne. Osmanoglu is the winner of the 2009 "Amused Moose Laugh-off", runner-up in "So You Think You're Funny" in 2009, and member of...

     Efendi (b. 1985) (descendant of Mehmed V
    Mehmed V
    Mehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...

    )
  20. HIH Prince Şehzade Yavuz Selim Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1989) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  21. HIH Prince Şehzade Turan Cem Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2004) (descendant of Murad V
    Murad V
    Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876.He was born at Istanbul , Topkapı Palace. His father was Abdülmecid I...

     through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
  22. HIH Prince Şehzade Tamer Nihad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2006) (descendant of Murad V
    Murad V
    Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876.He was born at Istanbul , Topkapı Palace. His father was Abdülmecid I...

     through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
  23. HIH Prince Şehzade Harun Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2007) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II
    Abdul Hamid II
    His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

    )
  24. HIH Prince Şehzade Batu Bayezid Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2008) (descendant of Murad V
    Murad V
    Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876.He was born at Istanbul , Topkapı Palace. His father was Abdülmecid I...

     through Ahmed IV and Ali I)

See also


External links

  • Family Tree, descendants of Sultan Mahmud II
    Mahmud II
    Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdulhamid I...

    . Retrieved 2011-02-28.
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