Mehmed V

Mehmed V was the 35th sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I and his sixth wife, Gülcemal Kadın. He had three elder sisters, Fatma Sultan, Refia Sultan and Hatice Sultan. He spent most of his life in seclusion until he became sultan after his brother Abdul Hamid II was deposed by the Young Turk Revolution. He reigned as a constitutional monarch, but had little political power or influence. He was largely a figurehead of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), a political faction that dominated the Ottoman government and military. His reign was marked by several wars and uprisings, as well as the decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire. He entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and declared a jihad against the Allies. He faced defeats and losses on various fronts, and witnessed the Arab Revolt and the Armenian Genocide. He died of heart failure in 1918, four months before the end of the war and the signing of the Armistice of Mudros. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI. He was buried in the Tomb of Sultan Mehmed V Reşad in Eyüp, Istanbul. He was known for his religious devotion and his interest in poetry and calligraphy. He wrote many poems in Turkish and Persian, and adopted the pen name Reşad, meaning "the true path". He was also an avid collector of stamps and medals. He was married to five women, and had four children, three sons and one daughter.