Ottoman Dynasty

Members of the imperial House of Osman, popularly known as the Ottomans, formed the Ottoman dynasty. According to Ottoman legend, the family descended from the Kay tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, who lived in northwestern Anatolia in Bilecik Söüt during the reign of Osman I. From c. 1299 to 1922, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by the Ottoman dynasty, named after Osman I. The Sultan was the ultimate regent, head of state, and head of the government during much of the Empire's existence. However, much of the power was often delegated to other officials such as the Grand Vizier. During the late Empire's First and Second Constitutional Eras, a constitutional monarchy was established, with the Grand Vizier serving as Prime Minister and presiding over an elected General Assembly. During the Turkish War of Independence, the imperial dynasty was ousted, and the Sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922. The following year, the Republic of Turkey was established. The dynasty's living members were first exiled as persona non grata, though some have been allowed to return to Turkey and live as private people. The Osmanoğlu family is the name given to the family in its current form.

The Ottoman dynasty was founded on the principles that the Sultan ruled over the entire Empire, that any male member of the royal line was theoretically entitled to become Sultan. Only one person could be Sultan at any given time. Such regulations were very common in monarchical regimes at the time. The mechanisms by which men climbed to the Sultanate, on the other hand, were unique to the Ottoman Empire. To better understand these processes, the history of Sultan succession can be separated into two periods: the period between Orhan's reign, the first person to inherit the Ottoman sultanate, and Ahmed I's reign, and the period after Ahmed I's reign. During the first phase, violence and intra-familial struggle dominated the succession process. The several sons of the dead Sultan fought until only one remained alive and therefore gained the throne. This ritual was known as fratricide in the Ottoman Empire, but it may have evolved from tanistry. This similar succession procedure existed in many Turco-Mongolian dynasties before the Ottomans. Sultan's sons were frequently granted provinces to manage until the Sultan died, at which point they would all aspire for the throne. According to historian H. Erdem Cipa, each son had to show that his riches was better than his rivals', a display that often took the shape of military prowess and cruelty. This act of violence was not particularly surprising or rare. As Cipa has pointed out, the Ottoman words for "successor" and "conflict" are derived from the same Arabic root, and all but one of the successions in this roughly 200-year span were resolved through fighting. The fighting became more common and well-known throughout time, especially after Murad II's effort to abdicate the throne peacefully to his son, Mehmed II, in 1444 was thwarted by a Jannissary rebellion. Fratricide became legalized as an official practice during Mehmed II's rule. Before Bayezid II died, his sons committed fratricide, and after Murad III died, his successor Mehmed III executed 19 relatives to win the throne.

The tradition of fratricide was replaced with a simpler and less violent process during the second phase. The Ottoman monarchy was inherited by the eldest male blood relative, not necessarily a son of the Sultan, beginning with the succession from Ahmed I to Mustafa I in 1617, regardless of how many eligible family members were alive. The reduction in popularity of fratricide among Ottoman elites and Ahmed I's choice not to kill Mustafa when inheriting the throne from Mehmed III in 1603 were significant reasons for the change in succession practice. With the possibility of policy change now open, a political dispute erupted between supporters of unlimited Sultanic privilege and supporters of a stronger, centralized legal system that would, to some extent, exceed even the Sultan's power. Historian Baki Tezcan claims that the latter faction won this battle with the support of the prominent şeyhülislam Hocasadeddinzade Esad Efendi. The nonaggressive succession from Ahmed I to Mustafa I in 1617 served as a model for the eventual stabilization of Ottoman succession law, which was a constitutional check on the dynastic prerogative because an outside power regulated it. The pattern established in 1617 was followed by the eldest living family member successfully inheriting the throne in each of the next 21 successions, with only a few instances of a son succeeding.

The Ottomans followed an open succession system from the fourteenth to the late sixteenth century, which historian Donald Quataert describes as "survival of the fittest, not the eldest, son." During their father's reign, all of the ruling Sultan's adult sons were appointed to regional governorships. They would recruit supporters while following a Ghazi ethos, accompanied and coached by their mothers. After the reigning Sultan died, his sons fought amongst themselves until one emerged victoriously. Because he would learn of his father's death and declare himself Sultan first, a Prince's proximity to Constantinople increased his chances of succession. By giving a favourite son tighter governance, a Sultan could hint to his desired successor. In the 1480s, Bayezid II had to fight his brother Cem Sultan for the right to reign. Occasionally, the half-brothers would start fighting even before their father died. Suleiman the Magnificent had such internal rivalry between his sons Mustafa and Selim that he orchestrated both Mustafa and another son, Bayezid, leaving Selim as the sole successor. The Haseki Sultan, or main consort, rose to prominence during the reigns of Suleiman and Selim II. The favourite was able to work her way into power inside the Imperial Harem, ensuring the succession of one of her sons. As a result, there was only a brief era of effective primogeniture. However, unlike in the past, when the Sultan had previously defeated his brothers and possible competitors for the throne in combat, these sultans faced the dilemma of having a large number of half-brothers who may serve as a focal point for rival factions.

As a result, starting with Murat I in 1362, reigning sultans practised fratricide upon succession to deter efforts at capturing the throne. Murad III and his son Mehmed III were both slain by their half-brothers. All of the new Sultan's brothers and half-brothers, who were generally rather numerous, were killed. Manual strangulation with a silk string was once the method of choice. The ritual slaughter was progressively replaced with lifetime solitary confinement in the "Golden Cage" or kafes, a room in the harem from which the Sultan's brothers could never escape until they became heir presumptive, as the decades passed. By the time they were called to govern, several had already grown mentally ill. Mehmed III was the last Sultan to had served as governor of a province. Sons were now confined to the harem until their father died. This not only prevented them from forming powerful factions capable of usurping their father, but it also prevented them from having children while their father was still alive. As a result, when Mehmet's son, Ahmed I, ascended to the throne, he had no children of his own.

Furthermore, there was no evidence that he could have children as a juvenile. This had the potential to cause a succession crisis, resulting in the gradual cessation of fratricide. As a result, some of Ahmed's brothers were executed, but not Mustafa I. Similarly, Osman II allowed his Ottoman Empire half-brothers Murad IV and Ibrahim to live. This resulted in a move from primogeniture to agnatic seniority in the 17th century. The eldest man within the dynasty succeeded, ensuring adult sultans and preventing both fratricides and the Sultanate of women. Mustafa II succeeded his brother Ahmed; Suleiman II and Ahmed II succeeded their brother Mehmed IV, and Mehmed's son Mustafa II succeeded them all. Because of agnatic seniority, a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his son after the 17th century, but rather by an uncle or sibling. It also meant that future rulers had to wait a long period in the kafes before climbing the throne, explaining why some sultans were so ancient when they were crowned. Although attempts in the nineteenth century to replace agnatic seniority with primogeniture failed, seniority was kept until the Sultanate was abolished in 1922.

Timeline of Sultans

In comparison to other monarchies, the Ottoman Dynasty had odd succession customs. The Sultanate was abolished in 1922, and the succession practices altered over time. Later, the House of Osman followed the most recent succession method for the family's head.

In 1924, the Ottoman dynasty was exiled from Turkey, and the majority of its members adopted the surname Osmanoğlu, which means "son of Osman." In 1951, the female members of the dynasty were allowed to return, and after 1973, the male members were allowed to return. Following the collapse of the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, a list of people who would have been heirs to the Ottoman throne was compiled. However, these individuals have not made a formal claim to the throne.

Mehmed VI

Title:

• Last Ottoman Sultan and Caliph (from 1918 to 1922)
• 36th Head of the House of Osman (from 1922 to 1926)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan:

Head of the House of Osman: 1 November 1922 - 16 May 1926

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 3 years & 196 days

Abdulmejid II

Title:

• Last Ottoman Caliph (from 1922 to 1924)
• 37th Head of the House of Osman following Mehmed VI's death (from 1926 to 1944)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: First cousin of Mehmed VI and son of Sultan Abdülaziz.

Head of the House of Osman: 16 May 1926 - 23 August 1944

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 18 years & 99 days

Ahmed Nihad

Title:

• 38th Head of the House of Osman (from 1944 to 1954)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: The first cousin twice removed of Abdulmejid II, grandson of Sultan Murad V.

Head of the House of Osman: 23 August 1944 - 4 June 1954

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 9 years & 285 days

Osman Fuad

Title:

• 39th Head of the House of Osman (from 1954 to 1973)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: Younger half-brother of Ahmed Nihad and grandson of Sultan Murad V.

Head of the House of Osman: 4 June 1954 - 19 May 1973

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 18 years & 349 days

Mehmed Abdulaziz

Title:

• 40th Head of the House of Osman (from 1973 to 1977)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: The second cousin twice removed of Osman Fuad, grandson of Sultan Abdülaziz.

Head of the House of Osman: 19 May 1973 - 19 January 1977

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 3 years & 245 days

Ali Vâsib

Title:

• 41st Head of the House of Osman (from 1977 to 1983)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: The second cousin twice removed of Mehmed Abdulaziz, great-grandson of Sultan Murad V.

Head of the House of Osman: 19 January 1977 - 9 December 1983

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 6 years & 324 days

Mehmed Orhan

Title:

• 42nd Head of the House of Osman (from 1983 to 1994)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: The second cousin once removed of Ali Vâsib, grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Head of the House of Osman: 9 December 1983 - 12 March 1994

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 10 years & 93 days

Ertuğrul Osman

Title:

• 43rd Head of the House of Osman (from 1994 to 2009)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: First cousin of Mehmed Orhan and  grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Head of the House of Osman: 12 March 1994 - 23 September 2009

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 15 years & 195 days

Bayezid Osman

Title:

• 44th Head of the House of Osman (from 2009 to 2017)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: Second cousin of Ertuğrul Osman and  great-grandson of Sultan Abdulmejid I.

Head of the House of Osman: 23 September 2009 - 6 January 2017

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 7 years & 105 days

Dündar Ali Osman

Title:

• 45th Head of the House of Osman (from 2017 to 2021)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: The second cousin once removed of Bayezid Osman, great-grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Head of the House of Osman: 6 January 2017 - 18 January 2021

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 4 years & 12 days

Harun Osman

Title:

• 46th Head of the House of Osman (from 2021 to present)

Relationship to ancestor and Sultan: The younger brother of Dündar Ali Osman, great-grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Head of the House of Osman: 18 January 2021 - present

Length as Head of the House of Osman: 275 days only