The Ottoman Empire, at its height, covered a significant portion of the Mediterranean World, including portions of three continents. One of the great imperial powers of the world between 1299 and 1922, the Empire dissolved in the wake of World War I. The Demise of the Ottoman Caliphate took place in part because of a slow erosion of power in relation to Europe and political instability that led to the ouster of Sultan -- and Caliph -- Mehmed VI and the creation of the modern Turkish state. Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem At the height of its power (1683) Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Events Osman I declares the independence of the Ottoman Principality The County of Holland is annexed by the County of Hainaut April 1, 1299 Kings Towne on the River Hull granted city status by Royal Charter of King Edward I of England. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the six inhabited continents of the Earth. ... Mehmed VI (Arabic: محمد السادس), original name Mehmed Vahdettin or Mehmed Vahideddin, (January 14, 1861 – May 16, 1926) was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918–1922. ... Motto: Turkish: Yurtta Sulh, Cihanda Sulh (English: Peace at Home, Peace in the World) Anthem: Ä°stiklâl Marşı (English: Independence March) Capital Ankara Largest city Ä°stanbul Turkish (Türkçe) Government Republic  - Founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk  - President of the Republic Ahmet Necdet Sezer  - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan...

1517-1875

For the last 400 years of its existence, the Caliphate was claimed by the Turkish Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Though the Ottomans actively used the title only sporadically, from 1517 onwards the Ottoman Sultan came to be viewed as the de facto leader and representative of the Islamic world. From Constantinople (now Istanbul), the Ottomans ruled over an empire that, at its peak, covered Anatolia, most of the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and extended deep into Eastern Europe. But the latter half of the Ottoman era was a period of general decline in the Islamic world’s strength and position vis-à-vis Western Europe. Strengthened by the Peace of Westphalia, the Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution, European powers regrouped and challenged Ottoman dominance. Owing largely to poor leadership, archaic political norms, and an inability to keep pace with technological progress in Europe, the Ottoman Empire could not respond effectively to Europe’s resurgence and gradually lost its position as a pre-eminent superpower. No other state in the Islamic world arose to challenge the Ottomans’ faltering leadership and revitalize Muslim power, and the balance shifted decisively in Europe’s favor. By the late nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire’s problems had evolved into crises. Territorial losses in conflicts such as the Russo-Turkish Wars substantially reduced Ottoman strength and influence, and years of financial mismanagement came to a head when the Empire defaulted on its loans in 1875. A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic monarch ruling under the terms of shariah. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem At the height of its power (1683) Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI... Map of Constantinople. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: Konstandinúpoli, historically known in English as Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and economic center. ... Anatolia lies east of the Bosphorus, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Anatolia is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... The Ethnolinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map Russia Georgia Azerbaijan (Azer. ... Regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked salmon):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium... The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster by Gerard Terborch (1648) Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1648 The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, refers to the... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... A Watt steam engine in Madrid. ... The Russo-Turkish Wars were a series of eleven wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Turkish-ruled Ottoman Empire during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. ...

A chief symbol of the Ottoman Caliphate was the "Great Banner of the Caliphs", a huge green banner embroidered with texts from the Qur'an and with the name of Allah emblazened upon it 28,000 times in golden letters. It was passed down in the Ottoman dynasty from father to son and only carried into battle if the Sultan himself or his specifically designated representative was there in person. The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎ , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ...

Abdul-Hamid II and Signs of Instability

Sultan Abdul-Hamid II, who ruled 1876-1909, felt that the Empire’s desperate situation could only be remedied through strong and determined leadership. He distrusted his ministers and other officials that had served his predecessors and gradually reduced their role in his regime, concentrating absolute power over the Empire’s governance in his own hands. For thirty years, Abdul-Hamid ruled the Empire from a state of fortified seclusion in his palace at Yildiz. Taking a hard-line against Western involvement in Ottoman affairs, he emphasized the Empire’s Islamic character, reasserted his status as the Caliph, and called for Muslim unity behind the Caliphate. By building numerous schools, reducing the national debt, and embarking on projects aimed at revitalizing the Empire’s decaying infrastructure, Abdul-Hamid strengthened the Empire’s position somewhat and succeeded briefly in reasserting Islamic power. But his autocratic style of governance created a backlash that led to the end of his reign, setting into motion a chain of events that would finally destroy the Ottoman Empire and with it, the Caliphate. Sultan Abdul Hamid II Abd_ul_Hamid II also Abdulhamid, Abdul Hamid, Abd al_Hamid II, or Abdul_Hamid (September 21, 1842 – February 10, 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from August 31, 1876 – April 27, 1909. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Caliph is the title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ...

Western-inclined Turkish military officers opposed to Hamid’s rule had steadily organized in the form of secret societies within and outside Turkey. By 1906, the movement enjoyed the support of a significant portion of the army, and its leaders formed the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), informally known as the Young Turk Party. The Young Turks sought to remodel administration of the Empire along Western lines. Their ideology was nationalist in character, and was a precursor of the movement that would seize control of Turkey following World War I. Though privately disdainful of Islam and the religious establishment, CUP leaders presented their ideas to the public as a revival of true Islamic principles. Under the leadership of Enver Pasha, a Turkish military officer, the CUP launched a military coup against the Sultan in 1908, proclaiming a new regime on July 6. Though they left Abdul-Hamid on his throne, the Young Turks compelled him to restore the parliament and constitution he had suspended thirty years earlier, thereby creating a constitutional monarchy and stripping the Caliphate of its authority. A counter-coup launched by soldiers loyal to the Sultan threatened the new government but ultimately failed, and Abdul-Hamid was deposed on April 13, 1909. He was replaced by his brother Rashid Effendi, who was proclaimed Sultan Mehmed V on April 27. Foundation: 1890 Dissolved: 1918, Court Martialed Head: Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) (Turkish: Ä°ttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti) was a political organization during the dissolution period of the Ottoman Empire which came to power between 1908 and 1918. ... The Young Turks were a Turkish nationalist reform party, officially known as the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) — in Turkish the Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti — whose leaders led a rebellion against Sultan Abdul Hamid II (who was officially deposed and exiled in 1909). ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... Ismail Enver Ismail Enver, known to Europeans during his political career as Enver Pasha ( Istanbul, November 22, 1881 - August 4, 1922) was a military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution in the closing days of the Ottoman Empire. ... Sultan Mehmed V Mehmed V (sometimes also Mahommed V; known as Mehmed V ReÅŸad (or ReÅŸat) or Reshid Effendi) (November 2, 1844 – July 3, 1918) was the 39th Ottoman Sultan. ...

Territorial Wars and Disputes

Meanwhile, Ottoman territory was splintering away at the edges. Several Balkan territories that had been effectively autonomous since the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 but nominally tied to the Ottomans were formally severed from the Empire soon thereafter. In 1908, Bulgaria declared itself completely independent of Turkey. Bosnia-Herzegovina was annexed that same year by Austria, which had claimed the territory as a colony and was angered by the Young Turks’ attempts to have Bosnia represented in the Empire’s new parliament. In 1911 Italy warred with the Ottomans over Libya, and Turkey’s failure to defend these regions demonstrated the weakness of the Ottoman military. In 1912 Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece formed the Balkan League, an anti-Turkish alliance that subsequently launched a joint attack on the Ottoman Empire. The ensuing Balkan Wars eliminated what little presence the Ottomans had left in Europe, and only infighting between the Balkan League allies prevented them from advancing into Anatolia. ... Plevna Monument near the walls of Kitai-gorod. ... Bosnia and Herzegovina (also variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. ... Motto: none Anthem: Bože pravde (English: God of Justice) Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Serbian, cyrillic script1 Government Republic  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica  - President Boris Tadić Establishment    - Formation 814   - First Serbian Uprising 1804   - Internationally recognized July 13, 1878   - Kingdom of SCS created December 1, 1918   - SCG dissolved June... Anthem: Oj, svijetla majska zoro Capital (and largest city) Podgorica Serbian of the Ijekavian dialect1 Government Republic  - President Filip Vujanović  - Prime Minister Željko Å turanović Independence From Serbia and Montenegro   - Declared June 3, 2006   - Recognised June 8, 2006  Area  - Total 13. ... The Balkan League refers to the alliance of Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria against the Ottoman Empire during the Balkan Wars. ... Combatants Ottoman Empire Balkan League Bulgaria Commanders Nizam Pasha, Zekki Pasha, Esat Pasha, Abdullah Pasha, Ali Rizah Pasha Bulgaria: Vladimir Vazov, Vasil Kutinchev, Nikola Ivanov, Radko Dimitriev Serbia: Radomir Putnik, Petar Bojović, Stepa Stepanović Greece:Crown Prince Constantine, Panagiotis Danglis, Pavlos Kountouriotis Nikola Ivanov, Vasil Kutinchev, Radko Dimitriev The outcome...

Internally, the Ottomans continued to be troubled by political instability. Nationalist uprisings that had plagued the Empire sporadically for the past fifty years intensified. The masses were growing frustrated with chronic misgovernance and Turkey’s poor showing in military conflicts. In response, the CUP led a second coup d’etat in 1913 and seized absolute control of the government. For the next five years, the Empire was a one-party state ruled by the CUP under the leadership of Enver Pasha (who returned to Istanbul after having served Turkey abroad in various military and diplomatic capacities since the initial coup), Minister of the Interior Talat Pasha, and Minister of the Navy Cemal Pasha. Though the Sultan was retained, he made no effort to exercise power independent of the Young Turks and was effectively their puppet. The Caliphate was thus held nominally by Mehmed V, but the authority attached to the office rested with the Young Turks. As World War I broke out in Europe, the Young Turks struck an alliance with Germany, a move that would have disastrous consequences. The Empire entered the war on the side of the Central Powers in November 1914, and Britain, France, and Russia immediately declared war on Turkey. Ismail Enver Ismail Enver, known to Europeans during his political career as Enver Pasha ( Istanbul, November 22, 1881 - August 4, 1922) was a military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution in the closing days of the Ottoman Empire. ... Mehmed Talat Pasha was one of leaders of the Young Turks , Ottoman statesman, grand vizier (1917) , and leading member of the Ottoman government from 1913 to 1918. ... Ahmed Djemal Pasha (Turkish: Ahmet Cemal Paşa) was born on May 6, 1872, in Midilli. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Triple Alliance. ...

World War I

For more details see: Middle Eastern theater of World War I, Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

As the development of the war, the empire’s position continued to deteriorate, and even in the Middle East—the very heartland of the Islamic world—would soon be lost. Though the Young Turks had compelled the Sultan in his capacity as the Caliph to declare a global jihad urging all Muslims to resist Allied encroachment on their lands, the effort was largely unsuccessful. The Young Turk government resigned en masse and Enver, Talat, and Cemal fled Turkey aboard a German warship. Sultan Mehmed VI, who was proclaimed Sultan after his brother Mehmed V died of a heart attack in July, agreed to an armistice. The Armistice of Mudros formalizing Ottoman surrender was signed aboard a British warship on October 30, 1918. Allied troops arrived in Istanbul and occupied the Sultan’s palace shortly thereafter. Combatants Ottoman Empire Triple Entente Strength 2,850,000 2 Casualties 550,000 KIA 3 891,000 WIA 240,000 Sickness 103,731 MIO 250,000 POW 1 1 Ottoman casualties are from Republic of Turkey gov. ... // Balkan Wars The Ottoman army in the balkans was large and appeared on the surface to be modern. ... The Islamic world is the world-wide community of those who identify with Islam, known as Muslims, and who number approximately one-and-a-half billion people. ... Jihad, sometimes spelled Jahad, Jehad, Jihaad, Jiaad, Djehad, Jawwad, or Cihad, (Arabic: ‎ ) is an Islamic term, meaning to strive or struggle in the way of God, and is sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam, although it has no official status. ... Mehmed VI (Arabic: محمد السادس), original name Mehmed Vahdettin or Mehmed Vahideddin, (January 14, 1861 – May 16, 1926) was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918–1922. ... The Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire (represented by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Beg) and the Allies (represented by the British Admiral Arthur Calthorpe), in the Mudros port in the island of Lemnos on 30 October 1918. ...

By the end of the war, the Ottomans had lost virtually their entire Empire. Hoping to keep his throne and preserve the Ottoman dynasty in some form or another, the Sultan agreed to cooperate with the Allies. He dissolved parliament and allowed an Allied military administration to replace the government vacated by the Young Turks.

see:[Proclamation of the Sheriff of Mecca]

End of Ottoman Caliphate

For more details see: Turkish National Movement, Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish national movement, as the details explained in Turkish War of Independence forms a Turkish Grand National Assembly, secured formal recognition of the nation’s independence and new borders on July 23, 1923 through the Treaty of Lausanne, which revised the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres in Turkey’s favor. The National Assembly declared Turkey a republic on October 29 and proclaimed Ankara its new capital. After nearly 700 years, the Ottoman Empire had officially ceased to exist. However, under Allied direction, the Sultan pledged to suppress such movements and secured an official fatwa from the Sheikh ul-Islam declaring them to be un-Islamic. But the nationalists steadily gained momentum and began to enjoy widespread support. Many sensed that the nation was ripe for revolution. In an effort to neutralize this threat, the Sultan agreed to hold elections, with the hope of placating and co-opting the nationalists. To his dismay, nationalist groups swept the polls, prompting him to again dissolve parliament in April 1920. Turkish National Movement is the political and military activities of Turkish revolutionaries aftermath of the World War I that resulted in decleration of the Republic of Turkey. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The Grand National Assembly (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi in Turkish) is the unicameral parliament of Turkey which carries out legislative functions. ... Borders as shaped by the treaty The Treaty of Lausanne (July 24, 1923) was a peace treaty that settle a part of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire that reflected the consequences of the Turkish Independence War between Allies of World War I and Turkish national movement, (Grand National Assembly... In a broad definition, a republic is a state or country that is led by people whose political power is based on principles that are not beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ... A fatwa (Arabic: ‎; plural fatāwa), is a legal pronouncement in Islam made by a mufti, a scholar capable of issuing judgments on Sharia (Islamic law). ... Sheikh ul-islam (Sheikhul islam, Shaikh al-Islam, Åžeyhülislam) is a title of superior authority in the issues of Islam. ...

Initially, the National Assembly seemed willing to allow a place for the Caliphate in the new regime, agreeing to the appointment of Mehmed’s cousin Abdul Mejid II as Caliph upon Mehmed’s departure. But the position had been stripped of any authority, and Abdul Mejid’s purely ceremonial reign would be short lived. Mustafa Kemal had been a vocal critic of the Ottoman House and its Islamic orientation. Now that he controlled Turkey and had the people’s overwhelming support, he could run the nation as he pleased. When Abdul Mejid was declared Caliph, Kemal refused to allow the traditional Ottoman ceremony to take place, bluntly declaring, "The Khalifa has no power or position except as a nominal figurehead." In response to Abdul Mejid's petition for an increase in his allowance, Kemal wrote, "Your office, the Khalifate, is no more than an historic relic. It has no justification for existence. It is a piece of impertinence that you should dare write to any of my secretaries!" Still, for all the power he had already wielded in Turkey, Kemal did not dare to abolish the Caliphate outright, as it still commanded a considerable degree of support from the common people. Abdul Mejid II (also with various alternate spellings, including Abd-ul-Mejid, Abdul Medjit, and, in modern Turkish, Abdülmecit; in Arabic عبد المجيد الثانى ) (lived May 29, 1868 – August 23, 1944; reigned November 19, 1922 – March 3, 1924) was the last Caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty, the 101st Caliph in line from...

Then an event happened which was to deal a fatal blow to the Caliphate. Two Indian brothers, Maulana Muhammad Ali and Shawkat, leaders of the Indian-based Khilafat Movement, distributed pamphlets calling upon the Turkish people to preserve the Ottoman Caliphate for the sake of Islam. Under Turkey's new nationalist government, however, this was construed as foreign intervention, and any form of foreign intervention was labelled an insult to Turkish sovereignty, and worse, a threat to State security. Kemal promptly seized his chance. On his initiative, the National Assembly abolished the Caliphate on March 3, 1924. Abdul Mejid was sent into exile along with the remaining members of the Ottoman House, marking the official end of the Ottoman Dynasty. Maulana Muhammad Ali 1874-1951 Amir (1914-1951) Muhammad Ali was born in 1874 in Punjab (India). ... The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) was a movement amongst the Muslims of British India (the largest single Muslim community in one geo-political entity at the time) to ensure that the British, victors of World War I, kept a promise made at the Versailles. ...

See also

• Caliph
• Ottoman Empire

Caliph is the title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem At the height of its power (1683) Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI...

Bibliography

• Deringil, Selim. "Legitimacy Structures in the Ottoman State: The Reign of Abdulhamid II (1876-1909), International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 23, No. 3 (August, 1991).
• Haddad, Mahmoud. "Arab Religious Nationalism in the Colonial Era: Rereading Rashid Rida's Ideas on the Caliphate", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 117, No. 2 (April, 1997).
• Kedourie, Elie. "The End of the Ottoman Empire", Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 3, No. 4 (October, 1968).
• Lewis, Bernard. "The Ottoman Empire and Its Aftermath", Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (January, 1980).