35. Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed V
Reşad
- Reign
- 1909 – 1918
- Born
- 1844
- Died
- 1918
The Second Constitutional Era. The Balkan Wars and the First World War fall in his reign.
Sultan Mehmed Reşad was born in Istanbul on 2 November 1844. His father was Sultan Abdulmejid, his mother Gülcemal Kadın Efendi. His childhood passed at the side of his father, then sultan, and due importance was given to his education and schooling.
Although Mehmed Reşad passed his years as prince comfortably in the time of his uncle Sultan Abdulaziz, in the reign of his elder brother Abdul Hamid II he lived confined in the palace. Being heir apparent, he was kept under constant watch. Mehmed Reşad spent his days in the harem, reading poetry and books.
Mehmed V Reşad was sixty-five when he came to the throne with the support of the Committee of Union and Progress. During the reign of Abdul Hamid II he had not concerned himself much with affairs of state. In his own reign the government passed largely into the hands of the leading men of the Committee — Enver Pasha, Talat Pasha and Cemal Pasha.
Source: Osmanlı Tarihi Interaktif CD-ROM (Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları XXXI. Dizi-Sa.2)