Murad V

Murad V was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 30 May to 31 August 1876. He was the son of Abdulmejid I and Şevkefza Kadın, an ethnic Georgian. He was educated in the palace and learned several languages, including French, Arabic, and Persian. He was also interested in literature, music, and painting. He was the heir to the throne after his uncle Abdulaziz, who had attempted to name his own son as the successor. Murad supported the conversion of the government to a constitutional monarchy and participated in the overthrow of Abdulaziz in 1876. However, his reign was short-lived and unstable, as he suffered from mental and physical health problems. He was deposed by his half-brother Abdul Hamid II, who restored the absolute monarchy and imprisoned Murad and his family in the Çırağan Palace for 28 years. Murad died in 1904 from diabetes and was buried in the New Mosque in Istanbul. He was the father of seven children, including Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, who was a prominent figure in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. Murad is remembered as a reformist and liberal sultan who initiated the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire.