Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Osmanl? padi?ahlar?
Imperial
Imperial Coat of arms
Last to reign Mehmed VI 4 July 1918 - 1 November 1922
Details
Style	His Imperial Majesty
First monarch	Osman I (c. 1299-1323/4)
Last monarch	Mehmed VI (1918-1922)
Formation	c. 1299
Abolition	1 November 1922
Residence	Palaces in Istanbul: Topkap? (1460s-1853) Dolmabahçe (1853-1889; 1909-1922) Y?ld?z (1889-1909)
Appointer	Hereditary

Ottoman Imperial Standard

Ottoman Empire in 1683, at the height of its territorial expansion in Europe.

The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish: Osmanl? padi?ahlar?), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire spanned an area from Hungary in the north to Yemen in the south, and from Algeria in the west to Iraq in the east. Administered at first from the city of Sö?üt since before 1280 and then from the city of Bursa since 1323 or 1324, the empire's capital was moved to Adrianople (now known as Edirne in English) in 1363 following its conquest by Murad I, and then to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1453 following its conquest by Mehmed II.^[1]

Family tree

The Ottoman Empire's early years have been the subject of varying narratives due to the difficulty of discerning fact from legend. The empire came into existence at the end of the thirteenth century, and its first ruler (and the namesake of the Empire) was Osman I. According to later, often unreliable Ottoman tradition, Osman was a descendant of the Kay? tribe of the Oghuz Turks.^[2] The eponymous Ottoman dynasty he founded endured for six centuries through the reigns of 36 sultans. The Ottoman Empire disappeared as a result of the defeat of the Central Powers with whom it had allied itself during World War I. The partitioning of the Empire by the victorious Allies and the ensuing Turkish War of Independence led to the abolition of the sultanate in 1922 and the birth of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1922.^[3]

Names

The sultan was also referred to as the Padishah (Ottoman Turkish: ‎, romanized: pâdi?âh, French: Padichah). In Ottoman usage the word "Padisha" was usually used except "sultan" was used when he was directly named.^[4] In several European languages, he was referred to as the Grand Turk, as the ruler of the Turks,^[5] or simply the "Great Lord" (il Gran Signore, le grand seigneur) especially in the 16th century.

Names of the sultan in languages used by ethnic minorities:^[4]

• Arabic: In some documents "Padishah" was replaced by "malik" ("king")^[4]
• Armenian: "Sultann" and "PADI?AH"
• Bulgarian: In earlier periods Bulgarian people called him the "tsar". The translation of the Ottoman Constitution of 1876 instead used direct translations of "sultan" (Sultan) and "padishah" (Padi?ax)^[4]
• Greek: In earlier periods the Greeks used the Byzantine Empire-style name "basileus". The translation of the Ottoman Constitution of 1876 instead used a direct transliterations of "sultan" ( Soultanos) and "padishah" (? padisach).^[4]
• Judaeo-Spanish: Especially in older documents, El Rey ("the king") was used. In addition some Ladino documents used sultan (in Hebrew chartacters and ?).^[4]
• Persian: "Padishah" (as p?deh) was used in Persian as well.
• Serbian: Sultan was used in Serbian language.

State organisation of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was an absolute monarchy during much of its existence. By the second half of the fifteenth century, the sultan sat at the apex of a hierarchical system and acted in political, military, judicial, social, and religious capacities under a variety of titles.^[a] He was theoretically responsible only to God and God's law (the Islamic ‎ ?eriat, known in Arabic as sharia), of which he was the chief executor. His heavenly mandate was reflected in Islamic titles such as "shadow of God on Earth" ( ? ‎ ll All?h f?'l-?alem) and "caliph of the face of the earth" ( ?‎ ?alife-i r?-yi zem?n).^[6] All offices were filled by his authority, and every law was issued by him in the form of a decree called firman (‎). He was the supreme military commander and had the official title to all land.^[7]Osman (died 1323/4) son of Ertu?rul was the first ruler of the Ottoman state, which during his reign constituted a small principality (beylik) in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire.

After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II, Ottoman sultans came to regard themselves as the successors of the Roman Empire, hence their occasional use of the titles caesar (?‎ qayser) of Rûm, and emperor,^[6][8][9] as well as the caliph of Islam.^[b] Newly enthroned Ottoman rulers were girded with the Sword of Osman, an important ceremony that served as the equivalent of European monarchs' coronation.^[10] A non-girded sultan was not eligible to have his children included in the line of succession.^[11]

Although absolute in theory and in principle, the sultan's powers were limited in practice. Political decisions had to take into account the opinions and attitudes of important members of the dynasty, the bureaucratic and military establishments, as well as religious leaders.^[7] Beginning in the last decades of the sixteenth century, the role of the Ottoman sultans in the government of the empire began to decrease, in a period known as the Transformation of the Ottoman Empire. Despite being barred from inheriting the throne,^[12] women of the imperial harem--especially the reigning sultan's mother, known as the valide sultan--also played an important behind-the-scenes political role, effectively ruling the empire during the period known as the Sultanate of Women.^[13]

Constitutionalism was established during the reign Abdul Hamid II, who thus became the empire's last absolute ruler and its reluctant first constitutional monarch.^[14] Although Abdul Hamid II abolished the parliament and the constitution to return to personal rule in 1878, he was again forced in 1908 to reinstall constitutionalism and was deposed. Since 2017, the head of the House of Osman has been Dündar Ali Osman, a great-grandson of Abdul Hamid II.^[15]

List of sultans

The table below lists Ottoman sultans, as well as the last Ottoman caliph, in chronological order. Continuingly, the tughras were the calligraphic seals or signatures used by Ottoman sultans. They were displayed on all official documents as well as on coins, and were far more important in identifying a sultan than his portrait. The "Notes" column contains information on each sultan's parentage and fate. For earlier rulers, there is usually a time gap between the moment a sultan's reign ended and the moment his successor was enthroned. This is because the Ottomans in that era practiced what historian Quataert has described as "survival of the fittest, not eldest, son": when a sultan died, his sons had to fight each other for the throne until a victor emerged. Because of the infighting and numerous fratricides that occurred, a sultan's death date therefore did not always coincide with the accession date of his successor.^[16] In 1617, the law of succession changed from survival of the fittest to a system based on agnatic seniority (‎ ekberiyet), whereby the throne went to the oldest male of the family. This in turn explains why from the 17th century onwards a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his own son, but usually by an uncle or brother.^[17] Agnatic seniority was retained until the abolition of the sultanate, despite unsuccessful attempts in the 19th century to replace it with primogeniture.^[18] Note that pretenders and co-claimants during the Ottoman Interregnum are also listed here, but they are not included in the formal numbering of sultans.

No	Sultan	Portrait	Reigned from	Reigned until	Time in office	Tughra	Notes
Rise of the Ottoman Empire (1299 - 1453)
1	Osman I Z? (the Warrior)		c. 1299	c. 1326 [19]	27 years, 0 days	-- [c]	Son of Ertu?rul Bey[20] and an unknown woman.[21] Reigned until his death.
2	Orhan Z? (the Warrior)		c. 1326 [22]	1362	36 years, 0 days		Son of Osman I and Malhun Hatun.[21] Reigned until his death.[23]
3	Murad I SULTÂN-I ÂZAM (the Most Exalted Sultan) HÜDAVEND?GÂR (the Devotee of God) ?EHÎD (the Martyr) [24][b]		1362	15 June 1389	27 years, 165 days		Son of Orhan and Nilüfer Hatun.[21] Reigned until his death. Killed on the battlefield at the Battle of Kosovo on June 15, 1389.[25]
4	Bayezid I SULTÂN-I RÛM (Sultan of Rome) YILDIRIM (Thunderbolt)		15 June 1389	20 July 1402	13 years, 35 days		Son of Murad I and Gülçiçek Hatun.[21] Captured on the battlefield at the Battle of Ankara (de facto end of reign); Died in captivity in Ak?ehir on 8 March 1403.[26]
Ottoman Interregnum[d] (20 July 1402 - 5 July 1413)
--	?sa Çelebi The Co-Sultan of Anatolia		1403-1405 (Sultan of the Western Anatolian Territory)	1406	3 years, 0 days	--	After the Battle of Ankara on July 20, 1402, ?sa Çelebi defeated Musa Çelebi and began controlling the western part of Anatolian territory of the empire for approximately two years. Defeated by Mehmed Çelebi in the battle of Ulubat in 1405. Murdered in 1406.
--	Emir (Amir) Süleyman Çelebi The First Sultan of Rumelia		20 July 1402	17 February 1411[27]	8 years, 212 days		Acquired the title of The Sultan of Rumelia for the European portion of the empire, a short period after the Ottoman defeat of The Battle of Ankara on 20 July 1402 Murdered on 17 February 1411.[28]
--	Musa Çelebi The Second Sultan of Rumelia		18 February 1411	5 July 1413[29]	2 years, 0 days	--	Acquired the title of The Sultan of Rumelia for the European portion of the empire[30] on 18 February 1411, just after the death of Süleyman Çelebi. Killed on 5 July 1413 by Mehmed Çelebi's forces in the battle of Çamurlu Derbent near Samokov in Bulgaria.[31]
--	Mehmed Çelebi The Sultan of Anatolia		1403-1406 (Sultan of the Eastern Anatolian Territory) 1406-1413 (The Sultan of Anatolia)	5 July 1413	10 years, 185 days	--	Acquired the control of the eastern part of the Anatolian territory as the Co-Sultan just after the defeat of the Battle of Ankara on 20 July 1402. Defeated ?sa Çelebi in the battle of Ulubat in 1405. Became the sole ruler of the Anatolian territory of the Ottoman Empire upon ?sa's death in 1406. Acquired the title of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I Khan upon Musa's death on 5 July 1413.
Sultanate resumed
5	Mehmed I ÇELEB? (The Affable) K?RÇ? (lit. The Bowstring Maker for his support)		5 July 1413	26 May 1421	7 years, 325 days		Son of Bayezid I and Devlet Hatun.[21] Reigned until his death.[32]
--	Mustafa Çelebi The Third Sultan of Rumelia	--	January 1419	May 1422	3 years, 120 days	--	Son of Bayezid I Executed by Murad II
6	Murad II KOCA (The Great) Ghazavat-? Sultan (Ghazi Sultan)		25 June 1421	1444	22 years, 190 days		Son of Mehmed I and Emine Hatun;[21] Abdicated of his own free will in favour of his son Mehmed II.[33]
7	Mehmed II F?T (The Conqueror)		1444	1446	2 years, 0 days		Son of Murad II and Hüma Hatun.[21] Surrendered the throne to his father after having asked him to return to power, along with rising threats from Janissaries.[33]
(6)	Murad II KOCA (The Great)		1446	3 February 1451	5 years, 33 days		Second reign; Forced to return to the throne following a Janissary insurgence;[34] Reigned until his death.
Growth of the Ottoman Empire (1453 - 1550)
(7)	Mehmed II KAYSER-? RÛM (Caesar of the Roman Empire) F?T (The Conqueror)		3 February 1451	3 May 1481	30 years, 89 days		Second reign; Conquered Constantinople in 1453; Reigned until his death.[35]
8	Bayezid II VELÎ (The Saint)		19 May 1481	25 April 1512	30 years, 342 days		Son of Mehmed II and Gülbahar Sultan.[21] Abdicated. Died near Didymoteicho on 26 May 1512.[36]
--	Cem Sultan		28 May 1481	20 June 1481	23 days		Son of Mehmed II Acquired the title Cem bin Mehmed Han.[37] Died in exile
9	Selim I YAVUZ (The Strong) Hadim'ul Haramain'ish-Sharifain (Servant of Mecca and Medina)		25 April 1512	21 September 1520	8 years, 149 days		Conquered Mamluks in 1516-1517. Son of Bayezid II and Gülbahar Hatun. Reigned until his death.[38]
10	Suleiman I MUHTE?EM (The Magnificent) or KANÛNÎ (The Lawgiver)		30 September 1520	6 September 1566	45 years, 341 days		Son of Selim I and Hafsa Sultan; Died of natural causes in his tent during the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566.[39]
Transformation of the Ottoman Empire (1550 - 1700)
11	Selim II SARI (The Blond) Fatih Cyprus (The Conqueror of Cyprus) Sarho? (The Drunk)		29 September 1566	21 December 1574	8 years, 83 days		Son of Suleiman I and Hürrem Sultan; Reigned until his death.[40]
12	Murad III Dindar (The Pious)		22 December 1574	16 January 1595	20 years, 25 days		Son of Selim II and Nurbanu Sultan; Reigned until his death.[41]
13	Mehmed III ADLÎ (The Just)		16 January 1595	22 December 1603	8 years, 340 days		Son of Murad III and Safiye Sultan; Reigned until his death;[42]
14	Ahmed I BA?T? (The Fortunate)		22 December 1603	22 November 1617	13 years, 335 days		Son of Mehmed III and Handan Sultan; Reigned until his death.[43]
15	Mustafa I DEL? (The Mad)		22 November 1617	26 February 1618	96 days		Son of Mehmed III and Halime Sultan; Deposed due to his mental instability in favour of his young nephew Osman II.[44]
16	Osman II GENÇ (The Young) ?EHÎD (The Martyr) ?		26 February 1618	19 May 1622	4 years, 82 days		Son of Ahmed I and Mahfiruz Hatun; Deposed in a Janissary riot on 19 May 1622; Murdered on 20 May 1622 by the Grand Vizier Kara Davud Pasha.[45]
(15)	Mustafa I DEL? (The Mad)		20 May 1622	10 September 1623	1 year, 113 days		Second reign; Returned to the throne after the assassination of his nephew Osman II; Deposed due to his poor mental health and confined until his death in Istanbul on 20 January 1639.[44]
17	Murad IV SAH?B-Î KIRAN The Conqueror of Baghdad Z? (The Warrior) ?		10 September 1623	8 February 1640	16 years, 151 days		Son of Ahmed I and Kösem Sultan. Reigned until his death.[46]
18	Ibrahim DEL? (The Mad) The Conqueror of Crete ?EHÎD		9 February 1640	8 August 1648	8 years, 181 days		Son of Ahmed I and Kösem Sultan; Deposed on 8 August 1648 in a coup led by the Sheikh ul-Islam; Strangled in Istanbul on 18 August 1648[47] at the behest of the Grand Vizier Mevlevî Mehmed Pa?a (Sofu Mehmed Pasha).
19	Mehmed IV AVCI (The Hunter) Z? (The Warrior) ?		8 August 1648	8 November 1687	39 years, 92 days		Son of Ibrahim and Turhan Sultan; Deposed on 8 November 1687 following the Ottoman defeat at the Second Battle of Mohács; Died in Edirne on 6 January 1693.[48]
20	Suleiman II Z? (The Warrior)		8 November 1687	22 June 1691	3 years, 226 days		Son of Ibrahim and A?ub Sultan; Reigned until his death.[49]
21	Ahmed II N Z? (The Warrior Prince)		22 June 1691	6 February 1695	3 years, 229 days		Son of Ibrahim and Muazzez Sultan; Reigned until his death.[50]
22	Mustafa II Z? (The Warrior)		6 February 1695	22 August 1703	8 years, 197 days		Son of Mehmed IV and Gülnu? Sultan; Deposed on 22 August 1703 by a Janissary uprising known as the Edirne Event; Died in Istanbul on 8 January 1704.[51]
Stagnation and reform of the Ottoman Empire (1700 - 1827)
23	Ahmed III Z? (The Warrior)		22 August 1703	1 October 1730	27 years, 40 days		Son of Mehmed IV and Gülnu? Sultan; Deposed in consequence of the Janissary rebellion led by Patrona Halil; Died on 1 July 1736.[52]
24	Mahmud I Z? (The Warrior) KAMBUR (The Hunchback)		2 October 1730	13 December 1754	24 years, 72 days		Son of Mustafa II and Saliha Sultan; Reigned until his death.[53]
25	Osman III SOFU (The Devout)		13 December 1754	30 October 1757	2 years, 321 days		Son of Mustafa II and ?ehsuvar Sultan; Reigned until his death.[54]
26	Mustafa III YEN?L?KÇ? (The First Innovative)		30 October 1757	21 January 1774	16 years, 83 days		Son of Ahmed III and Mihri?ah Kad?n; Reigned until his death.[55]
27	Abdul Hamid I Abd ?l-H?m?d (The Servant of God) ISLAHATÇI (The Improver) Z? (The Warrior)		21 January 1774	7 April 1789	15 years, 76 days		Son of Ahmed III and ?ermi Kad?n; Reigned until his death.[56]
28	Selim III BESTEKÂR (The Composer) N?ZÂMÎ (Regulative - Orderly) ?EHÎD (The Martyr)		7 April 1789	29 May 1807	18 years, 52 days		Son of Mustafa III and Mihri?ah Sultan; Deposed as a result of the Janissary revolt led by Kabakç? Mustafa against his reforms; Assassinated in Istanbul on 28 July 1808[57] at the behest of Ottoman Sultan Mustafa IV.
29	Mustafa IV		29 May 1807	28 July 1808	1 year, 60 days		Son of Abdul Hamid I and Sineperver Sultan; Deposed in an insurrection led by Alemdar Mustafa Pasha; Executed in Istanbul on 17 November 1808[58] by order of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II.
Modernization of the Ottoman Empire (1827 - 1908)
30	Mahmud II ?NKILÂPÇI (The Reformer) Z? (The Warrior)		28 July 1808	1 July 1839	30 years, 338 days		Son of Abdul Hamid I and Nak?idil Sultan; Disbanded the Janissaries in consequence of the Auspicious Event in 1826; Reigned until his death.[59]
31	Abdulmejid I TANZ?MÂTÇI (The Strong Reformist or The Advocate of Reorganization) Z? (The Warrior)		1 July 1839	25 June 1861	21 years, 359 days		Son of Mahmud II and Bezmiâlem Sultan; Proclaimed the Hatt-? Sharif (Imperial Edict) of Gülhane (Tanzimât Fermân?) that launched the Tanzimat period of reforms and reorganization on 3 November 1839 at the behest of reformist Grand Vizier Great Mustafa Rashid Pasha; Accepted the Islâhat Hatt-? Hümayun (Imperial Reform Edict) (Islâhat Fermân?) on 18 February 1856; Reigned until his death.[60]
32	Abdulaziz BA?TSIZ (The Unfortunate) ?EH?D (The Martyr)		25 June 1861	30 May 1876	14 years, 340 days		Son of Mahmud II and Pertevniyal Sultan; Deposed by his ministers; Found dead (suicide or murder) five days later.[61]
33	Murad V		30 May 1876	31 August 1876	93 days		Son of Abdulmejid I and ?evkefza Kad?n; Deposed due to his ill mental health Ordered to reside in Ç?ra?an Palace where he died on 29 August 1904.[62]
34	Abdul Hamid II Ulû Sultân Abd ?l-H?m?d Khan (The Sublime Khan)		31 August 1876	27 April 1909	32 years, 239 days		Son of Abdulmejid I and Tirimüjgan Kad?n (later became the adoptive son of Perestu Kad?n). Reluctantly allowed the First Constitutional Era on 23 November 1876 and then suspended it and reverted to personal rule on 13 February 1878; Forced to restore the Second Constitutional Era on 3 July 1908; Deposed after the 31 March Incident (on 13 April 1909); Confined to Beylerbeyi Palace where he died on 10 February 1918.[63]
35	Mehmed V RE?ÂD (Rash?d) (The True Path Follower)		27 April 1909	3 July 1918	9 years, 67 days		Son of Abdulmejid I and Gülcemal Kad?n; Reigned as a figurehead of Mehmed Talat, ?smail Enver, and Ahmed Cemal Pashas until his death.[64]
36	Mehmed VI VAHDETT?N (W?h?d ?d-D?n) (The Unifier of D?n (Islam) or The Oneness of Islam)		4 July 1918	1 November 1922	4 years, 120 days		Son of Abdulmejid I and Gülüstü Han?m; Sultanate abolished; Left Istanbul on 17 November 1922; Died in exile in Sanremo, Italy on 16 May 1926.[65]
Caliph under the Republic (1 November 1922 - 3 March 1924)
--	Abdulmejid II		18 November 1922	3 March 1924	1 year, 106 days	-- [c]	Son of Abdulaziz and Hayranidil Kad?n;[66] Exiled after the abolition of the caliphate;[67] Died in Paris, France on 23 August 1944.[68]

See also

• Line of succession to the Ottoman throne
• Ottoman Emperors family tree
• Ottoman family tree (more detailed)
• List of Valide Sultans
• List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
• List of admirals in the Ottoman Empire
• List of Ottoman Kaptan Pashas

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

• "Website of the 700th Anniversary of the Ottoman Empire". Retrieved .
• "Official website of the immediate living descendants of the Ottoman Dynasty". Retrieved .