Şehzade Mehmed Selim

Şehzade Mehmed Selim (Ottoman Turkish: شہزادہ محمد سلیم‎; 11 January 1870 – 5 May 1937) was an Ottoman prince, the eldest son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and his wife Bedrifelek Kadın.

Şehzade Mehmed Selim
Portrait of Şehzade Mehmed Selim in ceremonial uniform
Born	11 January 1870 Dolmabahçe Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (present day Istanbul, Turkey)
Died	5 May 1937 (aged 67) Jounieh, Lebanon
Burial	Tekkiye Mosque, Damascus, Syria
Spouse	Iryale Hanım ​ ​ (m. 1886; died 1904)​ Pervin Hanım ​ ​ (unknown)​ Eflakyar Hanım ​ ​ (his d. 1937)​ Nilüfer Hanım ​ ​ (m. 1905; div. 1924)​ Dürrüyekta Hanım ​ ​ (his d. 1937)​ Dilistan Hanım ​ ​ (m. 1918; his d. 1937)​ Gülnaz Hanım ​ ​ (unknown)​ Mevhibe Hanım ​ ​ (his d. 1937)​
Issue more...	Nemika Sultan Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkerim
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Abdul Hamid II
Mother	Bedrifelek Kadın
Religion	Sunni Islam

Early life

Şehzade Mehmed Selim was born on 11 January 1870 in the Dolmabahçe Palace. His father was Sultan Abdul Hamid II, son of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Tirimüjgan Kadın. His mother was Bedrifelek Kadın,[1][2] daughter of Prince Kerzedzh Mehmed Bey, and Princess İnal-lpa Faruhan Hanım.[3] He was the eldest son, and second child born to his father, and the eldest child of his mother. He had a sister, Zekiye Sultan, two years younger then him, and a brother Şehzade Ahmed Nuri, eight years younger than him.[1]

In 1877, Selim and other members of the imperial family settled in the Yıldız Palace,[4] after Abdul Hamid moved there on 7 April 1877.[5] His circumcision took place on 17 December 1883, together with Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin, eldest son of Sultan Mehmed V, Şehzade Ibrahim Tevfik, grandson of Sultan Abdulmejid I, and Abdulmejid II, Şehzade Mehmed Şevket and Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin, sons of Sultan Abdulaziz.[6] Halil Bey Efendi carried out Selim's circumcision.[7]

His early education took place in the Prince's School, Yıldız Palace, together with his younger half-brother, Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir, and Sultan Abdulaziz's son Abdulmejid.[8] After graduating from the Prince's School, he was enrolled in the Ottoman Military College, and went on to become General in the Imperial Ottoman Army.[9]

Personal life

Selim's first wife was Iryale Hanım. She was born in 1870 in Sukhumi.[10] He real name was Daryal Marshania. She was the daughter Prince Ali Hasan Bey Marshania and Princess Fatma Horecan Aredba. Her elder sister, Nazikeda Kadın, was married to Sultan Mehmed VI. She was taken up for service in the Yıldız Palace in 1882,[11] and married Selim in 1886.[12] She was the mother of Şehzade Mehmed, born in 1887, and Nemika Sultan, born in 1888. She died in 1904,[10] and was buried in Yahya Efendi Cemetery.[13]

His second wife was Pervin Hanım. She died in Jounieh, Lebanon.[10] His third wife was Eflakyar Hanım.[10][14] She was born in Batumi.[15] Her father was Gazi Muhammed Bey.[16] A painter by avocation,[17] she died in Jounieh, Lebanon.[10] His fourth wife was Nilüfer Hanım,[10] an Abkhazian.[15] They married in 1905.[12] She was the mother of Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkerim, born in 1906. After the two divorced in 1924, she married another man.[10] She died in 1957, and was buried in Yahya Efendi Cemetery.[13]

Another of his wives was Dürrüyekta Hanım.[18][14][19] She was a Circassian from the Karzeg family,[15] and had been formerly a hazinedar in the imperial harem. She was buried in Tripoli.[18] Another wife was Leman Dilistan Hanım.[20] She was born in Sivas. Her father was Osman Bey. They married on 16 September 1918. She died on 1 February 1951 in Beirut, Lebanon.[21] Some other wives were Gülnaz Hanım, a Circassian,[15] and Mevhibe Hanım.[14]

Abdul Hamid's deposition and later life

On 27 April 1909, Abdul Hamid II was deposed, and sent into exile in Thessaloniki.[22] Selim, however, remained in Istanbul.[23] Abdul Hamid's whole family was expelled from Yıldız Palace, and most of them didn't even have a place to live in. Selim, and his younger brother, Şehzade Ahmed, initially settled in the mansion of their sister Zekiye Sultan,[24] until Selim was allocated a mansion in Serencebey.[2] According to Halid Ziya Uşakligil, whom he met in 1909, after Sultan Mehmed V's accession to the throne, Selim was a short man, tense, and worn out before his time. He had a nervous trembling that gripped his face and entire body, a trait in common with Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin.[25]

After Thessaloniki fell to Greece in 1912, Abdul Hamid returned to Istanbul, and settled in the Beylerbeyi Palace.[26] In February 1918, Selim's uncle, Sultan Mehmed learnt that there was no hope for Sultan Abdul Hamid, sent a message to Selim, saying that their father had a fatal disease, and to see him immediately. However, when Selim, and his brother Şehzade Ahmed came, their father ordered them to wait for a while.[27] As he gave out his last breath at the moment that he invited Selim inside. Neither Selim nor the other princes and princesses saw his last moment.[28]  

After Mehmed's death in July 1918,[29] his younger brother Sultan Mehmed VI, ascended the throne, and Selim became second in line to the throne. In 1919, rumors were circulating that a plot was afoot for the removal or assassination of Sultan Mehmed, and replacing him with Selim himself.[30][31]

Life in exile and death

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Selim and his family settled in Jounieh, Lebanon.[1][2] He used to spend his summers in Aley.[9] On 14 January 1925, he gave the power of attorney to Sami Günzberg, a well-known Turkish Jewish lawyer, authorising him to regain from usurpers buildings, lands, mines, concessions left by Abdul Hamid situated in Turkish territory and elsewhere.[14]

Into the mid-1920s, the idea to overthrow the Kemalist regime, and reverse the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate, still found Turkish and Kurdish supporters. By then, they agreed on Selim, as their choice for a future caliph. By the supporters of Sheikh Sa'ad rebellion in 1925, Selim was proclaimed caliph, and the Friday sermon in the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir was read in his name.[32] France prevented the rebellion from spreading to Syria, where Selim was very popular. However, the prince had nothing to do with the event. He was highly respected in Syria and was referred to by the people as Sultan Selim. The house where he stayed was called Kasrü'l-Melik (House of the Ruler).[9]  When he ran out of money, the Armenian, who owned the house, allowed him to live for years without paying rent.[33]

In 1930, princes descended from Sultan Abdul Hamid undertook initiative and approached the British Petroleum Company (BP) to obtain a share of the oil recovered from the Mosul wells registered in the name of Abdul Hamid and opened lawsuits one after another to reclaim ownership of some land in Palestine that had belonged to the sultan. This was led by Selim. But Abdulmejid II had made similar contacts and eventually this dual approach led to disagreement between the two of them.[34]

In 1934, his heirs approached the Land Court in Jaffa, requesting the court to order the rectification of the new register on the ground that their rights to the land in question had been omitted in the register. The heirs produced an old, pre-1908 title deed to the property in the name of their father. At the time, Selim was resident in Syria.[35]

Mehmed Selim died on 5 May 1937, and was buried in Tekkiye Mosque, Damascus, Syria.[1][2]

Honours

Ottoman honours

• Order of the House of Osman, Jeweled[36]
• Order of Glory, Jeweled[36]
• Order of Distinction, Jeweled[36]
• Order of Osmanieh, Jeweled[36]
• Order of the Medjidie, Jeweled[36]
• Imtiyaz Medal in Silver[36][37]
• Imtiyaz Medal in Gold[36][37]
• Liakat War Medal in Gold[36][37]
• Hicaz Demiryolu Medal in Gold[36][37]
• Greek War Medal in Gold[36][37]
• Outstanding Navy Medal in Gold[37]

Foreign honours

•  Austria-Hungary: Grand-Cross of the Order of Leopold, 6 June 1918[38]

Military appointments

Military ranks and army appointments

• General, Ottoman Army

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
By Iryale Hanım (married 1886; 1870 – 1904)
Şehzade Mehmed	1887	1890[39]	born and died in Yıldız Palace; buried in Yahya Efendi Cemetery[39]
Nemika Sultan	9 March 1888	6 September 1969	married once and had issue, two sons and two daughters
By Nilüfer Hanım (married 1905; died 1957)
Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkerim	26 June 1906	3 August 1935	married once and had issue, two sons

Ancestry

Ancestors of Şehzade Mehmed Selim
8. Mahmud II 4. Abdulmejid I 9. Bezmiâlem Sultan 2. Abdul Hamid II 10. Bekhan Bey 5. Tirimüjgan Kadın 11. Almaş Hanım 1. Şehzade Mehmed Selim 6. Prince Kerzedzh Mehmed Bey 3. Bedrifelek Kadın 7. İnal-lpa Faruhan Hanım

References

1. Adra, Jamil (2005). Genealogy of the Imperial Ottoman Family 2005. p. 23.
2. Yılmaz Öztuna (2008). II. Abdülhamîd: zamânı ve şahsiyeti. Kubbealti Publishing. pp. 230–32. ISBN 978-97564-446-27.
3. Açba, Harun (2007). Kadın efendiler: 1839-1924. Profil. p. 124. ISBN 978-9-759-96109-1.
4. Oriental Gardens: An Illustrated History. Chronicle Books. 1992. pp. 21. ISBN 978-0-811-80132-4.
5. NewSpot, Volumes 13-24. General Directorate of Press and Information. 1999.
6. Uçan 2019, p. 25.
7. Uçan 2019, p. 25 n. 57.
8. Uçan 2019, p. 33.
9. "Uygurların Tahtında Talihsiz Bir Osmanlı Şehzâdesi". www.erkembugraekinci.com. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
10. Osmanoğlu 2000, p. 265.
11. Aredba, Rumeysa; Açba, Edadil (2009). Sultan Vahdeddin'in San Remo Günleri. Timaş Yayınları. p. 33. ISBN 978-9-752-63955-3.
12. Bey, Mehmet Süreyya (1969). Osmanlı devletinde kim kimdi, Volume 1. Küğ Yayını. p. 108.
13. Ekinci, Ekrem Buğra (March 31, 2017). Sultan Abdülhamid’in Son Zevcesi. Timaş Tarih. p. 92. ISBN 978-6-050-82503-9.
14. Kark & Frantzman 2010, p. 138.
15. Kırpık, Cevdet (2011). Şehzade Evliliklerinde Değişim Changes in the Marriage of Ottoman Princes. p. 182.
16. Açba, Leyla (2004). Bir Çerkes prensesinin harem hatıraları. L & M. p. 79. ISBN 978-9-756-49131-7.
17. Bal, Ali Asker (2015). Mihri Müşfik and Hale Asaf; Bohemia Art Lives Whose Worths are Unpaid. p. 383.
18. Osmanoğlu 2000, p. 119.
19. Murat Bardakçı (1998). Şahbaba: Osmanoğulları'nın son hükümdarı VI. Mehmed Vahideddin'in hayatı, hatıraları, ve özel mektupları. Pan Yayıncılık. pp. 409, 668 n. 41. ISBN 978-975-7652-75-5.
20. Sönmez, Cahide Sınmaz (2014). Sürgünden Vatana: Osmanlı Hanedanının Geri Dönen İlk Üyeleri (1924-1951). p. 114.
21. Adra, Jamil (2020). La saga des héritiers d’Abdulhamid. Revue de la presse occidentale, 1920-2000. pp. 182–3.
22. Hall, Richard C. (October 9, 2014). War in the Balkans: An Encyclopedic History from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Breakup of Yugoslavia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-1-610-69031-7.
23. Osmanoğlu 2000, p. 157-58.
24. "Sultan Hamid'in Açlıktan Ölen Şehzâdesi: Ahmed Nuri Efendi". www.erkembugraekinci.com. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
25. Brookes, Douglas S. (4 February 2020). On the Sultan's Service: Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil's Memoir of the Ottoman Palace, 1909–1912. Indiana University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-253-04553-9.
26. Parry, Milman; Lord, Albert B. (1979). Serbocroation heroic songs, Volume 1. Harvard University Press. p. 371.
27. Yanatma 2007, p. 54-55.
28. Yanatma 2007, p. 56.
29. Tucker, Spencer C. (October 28, 2014). World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [5 volumes]: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO. p. 1071. ISBN 978-1-851-09965-8.
30. Near East, Volume 16. 1919. p. 486.
31. Great Britain and the East ..., Volume 16. 1919. p. 486.
32. Henning, Barbara (April 3, 2018). Narratives of the History of the Ottoman-Kurdish Bedirhani Family in Imperial and Post-Imperial Contexts: Continuities and Changes. University of Bamberg Press. p. 423. ISBN 978-3-863-09551-2.
33. Ekinci, Ekrem (1924-03-03). "LÜBNAN'DA SON OSMANLILAR". Ekrem Buğra Ekinci (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-02-06.
34. Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.
35. Kark & Frantzman 2010, p. 141.
36. Yılmaz Öztuna (1978). Başlangıcından zamanımıza kadar büyük Türkiye tarihi: Türkiye'nin siyasî, medenî, kültür, teşkilât ve san'at tarihi. Ötüken Yayınevi. p. 164.
37. Alp, Ruhat (2018). Osmanlı Devleti'nde Veliahtlık Kurumu (1908-1922). p. 173.
38. Uçan 2019, p. 59.
39. Şehsuvaroğlu, Haluk Y. (2005). Asırlar boyunca İstanbul: Eserleri, Olayları, Kültürü. Yenigün Haber Ajansı. p. 148.

Sources

• Kark, Ruth; Frantzman, Seth J. (2010). "One of the most spectacular lawsuits ever launched": Abdülhamid's heirs, his lands and the land case in Palestine, 1908-1950.
• Osmanoğlu, Ayşe (2000). Babam Sultan Abdülhamid. Mona Kitap Yayinlari. ISBN 978-6-050-81202-2.
• Uçan, Lâle (2019). Son Halife Abdülmecid Efendi'nin Hayatı - Şehzâlik, Veliahtlık ve Halifelik Yılları (PDF) (PhD Thesis). Istanbul University Institute of Social Sciences.
• Yanatma, Servet (2007). The Deaths and Funeral Ceremonies of Ottoman Sultans (From Sultan Mahmud II TO Sultan Mehmed VI Vahideddin).

External links

• "Ottoman Family". Official website of the immediate living descendants of the Ottoman Dynasty. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
• Family Tree, descendants of Sultan Mahmud II. Retrieved 2011-02-28.