State organisation of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Dynasty – House of Osman
Grand Vizier (1320–1922) Dīvān (1586?–1908)
Imperial Government (1908–1920)
See also	Subdivisions – Phanariotes

The Ottoman Dynasty (or the Imperial House of Osman) ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1281 to 1923, beginning with Osman I (not counting his father, Ertuğrul), though the dynasty was not proclaimed until 1383 when Murad I declared himself sultan. Before that the tribe/dynasty might have been known as Söğüt but was renamed Osmanlı (Ottoman in English) in honour of Osman.

The sultan was the sole and absolute regent, head of state and head of government of the empire, at least officially, though often much power shifted de facto to other officials (in principle all his subservient creatures), especially the Grand Vizier, after whose palace the Ottoman government was known as High Porte, the Sultan's own Topkapı Palace being mainly a seraglio, 'harem'.

See the article on state organisation of the Ottoman Empire for further information on the sultan and the structure of power.

Titles

The Ottoman dynasty is known in Turkish as Osmanlı, meaning "House of Osman". The first rulers of the dynasty never had called themselves sultans, but rather beys, or "chieftain", roughly the Turkic equivalent of Emir, which would itself become a gubernatorial title and even a common military or honorific rank. Thus they still formally acknowledged the sovereignty of the contemporary Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm and its successor, the Ilkhanate.

The first Ottoman to actually claim the title of sultân was Murad I, who ruled from 1359 to 1389. The title sultan (سلطان)—in Arabic, was in later Arabic-Islamic dynasties originally the power behind the throne of the Caliph in Bagdad and it was later used for various independent Muslim Monarchs. This title was more prestigious then Emir; it was not comparable to the title of Malik 'king' or the originally Persian title of Shah. With the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the road was open for the Ottoman state to become an empire, with Sultan Mehmed II taking the title of pâdişah (پادشاه), a Persian title meaning "lord of kings" and roughly equivalent to a Christian emperor as would ultimately be formally established.

In addition to such secular titles, the Ottoman sultan became the Caliph of Islam, starting with Selim I, who became khalif after the death of the last Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil III, the last of Abbasid Caliphs in Cairo.

In Europe, Ottoman padishah was often referred to informally by such terms unrelated to the Ottoman protocol as "the Grand Turk".

The sultans further adopted in time many secondary formal titles as well, such as "Sovereign of the House of Osman", "Sultan of Sultans" (roughly King of Kings), and "Khan of Khans".

As the empire grew, sultans adopted secondary titles expressing the empire's claim to be the successor in law of the structures of the absorbed states. Furthermore they tended to enumerate even regular provinces, not unlike the long lists of -mainly inherited- feudal titles in the full style of many Christian European monarch.

Some early Ottoman Sultans even had to accept the vassal status in the eyes of a foreign kingmaker. For example, Tamerlane appointed in 1402 the Ottoman Sultan (deposed in 1410) Sulayman Chelebi Khan, who was styled as-Sultan ul-Azam, Sayyid us-Saladin ul-Arab wal Ajam, Malik ur-Rikaab ul-Umam, Ghiyas ud-Daula wa ud-Dunya, Sultan ul-Islam was ul-Muslimin, as-Sultan ibni us-Sultan, Hasib-i-Nasib-I-Zaman, Amir of Rumelia. Again his brother, who ended the Interregnum after the defeat of Ottomans to Tamerlane, Mehmed I also held his post with a fief from Tamerlane. However the next Ottoman ruler (6th Sultan of House of Osman) was Sultan Murad Khan II (1421 - 1451) took the title 'Abu'l Hayrat, Sultan ul-Mujahidin, Khan of Khans, Grand Sultan of Anatolia and Rumelia, and of the Cities of Edirne and Filibe.

When Mehmed II conquered Constantinople on May 29, 1453, he claimed the title Emperor of the Roman Empire and protector of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He appointed the Patriarch of Constantinople Gennadius Scholarius, whom he protected and whose stature he elevated into leader of all the Eastern Orthodox Christians. As emperor of the Romans he laid claim to all Roman territories, which at the time before the Fall of Constantinople, however, extended to little more than the city itself, plus some areas in Morea (Peloponnese) and the Empire of Trebizond.

The conqueror of Constantinople was Sultan Mehmed II Fatih Ghazi 'Abu'l Fath (1451 - 1481, 7th Sovereign of the House of Osman), was still 'simply' styled Kaysar-i-Rum (=Emperor of [Byzantium = the second] Rome, Caesar of Rome), Khan of Khans, Grand Sultan of Anatolia and Rumelia, Emperor of the three Cities of Constantinople, Edirne and Bursa, Lord of the two lands and the two seas and the first to adopt the 'imperial' style Padishah.

Around 1500 the full style of naming of the ruling Sultan had become practically stabilised, e.g. in 1601 Sultan Mehmed III was called:

''Sultan Hân N.N.,

:Padishah,

:Hünkar,

:Hakan ül-Berreyn vel-Bahreyn;

:Sovereign of the House of Osman, Sultan of Sultans,

:Khan of Khans,

:Commander (Caliph) of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe

:Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem

:Caesar of the Roman Empire

:Emperor of The Three Cities of Constantinople, Adrianople and Bursa, and of the Cities of Damascus and Cairo, of all Azerbaijan, of the Magris, of Barka, of Kairouan, of Aleppo, of Arabic Iraq and of Acem, of Basra, of Al-Hasa, of Dilen, of Ar Raqqah, of Mosul, of Parthia, of Diyarbakır, of Cilicia, of the Vilayets of Erzurum, of Sivas, of Adana, of Karaman, Van, of Barbary, of Abyssinia, of Tunisia, of Tripoli, of Damascus, of Cyprus, of Rhodes, of Candia, of the Vilayet of the Morea, of the Marmara Sea, the Black Sea and also its coasts, of Anatolia, of Rumelia, Baghdad, Kurdistan, Greece, Turkistan, Tartary, Circassia, of the two regions of Kabarda, of Georgia, of the plain of Kypchak, of the whole country of the Tartars, of Kefe and of all the neighboring countries, of Bosnia and its dependencies, of the City and Fort of Belgrade, of the Vilayet of Serbia, with all the castles, forts and cities, of all Albania, of all Eflak and Bogdania, as well as all the dependencies and borders, and many others countries and cities.

Heads of the House of Osman

Pre-Imperial Heads of the House of Osman

Name	Born-Died	Reign start	Reign end	Relationship
Süleyman Shah (Bey)	Died 1227		1227
Ertugrul (Bey)	1198 - 1281	1227	1281	Son of Suleyman Shah

Imperial heads of the House of Osman (1281-1922)

Name	Born-Died	Reign start	Reign end	Relationship
Osman I (Bey)	1258 – 1326	1281	1326	Son of Ertugrul
Orhan I (Bey)	1284 – 1359	1326	1359	Son of Osman I
Murad I (the God-like One)	1326 - 1389	Bey from 1359, Sultan from 1383	28 June 1389	Son of Orhan I
Bayezid I (the Thunderbolt)	1354 - 1403	28 June 1389	20 July 1402	Son of Murat I
Ottoman Interregnum		1402	1413
Mehmed I (Celebi)	1389 - 1421	1413	26 May 1421	Son of Bayezid I
Murad II (first reign)	1404 - 1451	26 May 1421	August 1444 (abdicated)	Son of Mehmed I
Mehmed II (the Conqueror) (first reign)	1432 - 1481	August 1444	1446	Son of Murad II
Murad II (second reign)	1404 - 1451	1446	3 February 1451	Son of Mehmed I
Mehmed II (the Conqueror) (second reign)	1432 - 1481	3 February 1451	3 May 1481	Son of Murad II
Bayezid II	1447/1448 - 1512	20 May 1481	25 April 1512 (abdicated)	Son of Mehmed II
Selim I (the Grim)	1465 - 1520	25 April 1512 (Caliph from 1517)	22 September 1520	Son of Bayezid II
Suleyman I (the Magnificent)	1494 - 1566	22 September 1520	6 September 1566	Son of Selim I
Selim II	1524 - 1574	6 September 1566	12 December 1574	Son of Suleyman I
Murad III	1546 - 1595	12 December 1574	15 January 1595	Son of Selim II
Mehmed III	1566 - 1603	15 January 1595	22 December 1603	Son of Murad III
Ahmed I	1590 - 1617	22 December 1603	22 November 1617	Son of Mehmed III
Mustafa I (first reign)	1592 - 1639	22 November 1617	26 February 1618 (deposed)	Son of Mehmed III
Osman II	1604 - 1622	26 February 1618	20 May 1622	Son of Ahmed I
Mustafa I (second reign)	1592 - 1639	20 May 1622	10 September 1623 (deposed)	Son of Mehmed III
Murad IV	1612 - 1640	10 September 1623	9 February 1640	Son of Ahmed I
Ibrahim I (the Mad)	1615 - 1648	9 February 1640	8 August 1648 (deposed)	Son of Ahmed I
Mehmed IV	1642 - 1693	8 August 1648	8 November 1687 (deposed)	Son of Ibrahim I
Suleyman II	1642 - 1691	8 November 1687	23 June 1691	Son of Ibrahim I
Ahmed II	1643 - 1695	23 June 1691	6 February 1695	Son of Ibrahim I
Mustafa II	1664 - 1703	6 February 1695	22 August 1703 (abdicated)	Son of Mehmed IV
Ahmed III	1673 - 1736	22 August 1703	1 October 1730 (abdicated)	Son of Mehmed IV
Mahmud I	1696 - 1754	2 October 1730	13 December 1754	Son of Mustafa II
Osman III	1699 - 1757	14 December 1754	30 October 1757	Son of Mustafa II
Mustafa III	1717 - 1774	30 October 1757	21 January 1774	Son of Ahmed III
Abdul Hamid I	1725 - 1789	21 January 1774	7 April 1789	Son of Ahmed III
Selim III	1761 - 1808	7 April 1789	29 May 1807 (deposed)	Son of Mustafa III
Mustafa IV	1779 - 1808	29 May 1807	28 July 1808 (deposed)	Son of Abdul Hamid I
Mahmud II	1785 - 1839	28 July 1808	1 July 1839	Son of Abdul Hamid I
Abdulmecid I	1823 - 1861	1 July 1839	25 June 1861	Son of Mahmud II
Abdülâziz	1830 - 1876	25 June 1861	30 May 1876 (deposed)	Son of Mahmud II
Murad V	1840 - 1904	30 May 1876	31 August 1876 (deposed)	Son of Abdulmecid I
Abdul Hamid II	1842 - 1918	31 August 1876	27 April 1909 (deposed)	Son of Abdulmecid I
Mehmed V (Reşad)	1844 - 1918	27 April 1909	3 July 1918	Son of Abdulmecid I
Mehmed VI (Vahideddin)	1861 - 1926	3 July 1918	1 November 1922 (deposed)	Son of Abdulmecid I

Post-Imperial Heads of the House of Osman (1922-Present)

Name	Born-Died	Reign start	Reign end
Abdulmecid II	1868 - 1944	19 November 1922	23 August 1944
Ahmed IV Nihad	1883 - 1954	23 August 1944	4 June 1954
Osman IV Fuad	1895 - 1973	4 June 1954	19 May 1973
Mehmed Abdulaziz II	1901 - 1977	19 May 1973	19 January 1977
Ali Vâsib	1903 - 1983	19 January 1977	9 December 1983
Mehmed VII Orhan	1909 - 1994	9 December 1983	12 March 1994
Ertuğrul Osman V	1912 -	12 March1994	Present

Note: Although Abdul Mejid II was chosen as caliph in 1922, he was no longer Sultan, as the National Assembly had abolished the sultanate to turn Turkey into a republic. The caliphate was abolished in turn in 1924.

It was from the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) onwards that the Ottoman Sultans decided to lay claim to the Universal Caliphate. For that to be credible, they needed to establish an acceptable source of legitimacy in the eyes of the world. For that purpose, Turkish propaganda (which was greatly to influence Urdu journalism and Indian Muslim thought), dredged up the mythical story of transfer of the Caliphate to Selim, by al-Mutawakkil in 1517. It was necessary to take resort to that mythical origin of the Ottoman Caliphate which, it was hoped, would reinforce their claim for legitimacy of their Caliphate. If they could show that it had been formally transferred to them by a member of the House of Abbas who was supposed to be the custodian-in-exile of the Abbasid Caliphate and held that legacy until he could transfer it to a Muslim Sultan who possessed secular power that could do justice to that awesome office, their claim, they hoped, would thereby be unchallengeable. The Ottomans resurrected al-Mutawakkil from the grave to prove their Caliphal credentials. The claim is that from 1517 onwards, the Ottoman Sultan was also Caliph (i.e. successor to the Prophet), which theoretically gave him overlordship over all Muslim rulers in the world. And it is claimed, for example, among the Mughal Emperors of India, only Aurangzeb had the Khutba read in his own name. However, there is evidence that contradicts this.

See also

• Tuğra-Sultan's Signature
• Ottoman Empire
• Valide Sultan
• Line of succession to the Ottoman throne

References

External links

In English

• Turkey, includes all the full ruler styles with various biographical data in the Royal Ark
• Sultans, Contemporary Paintings by Ismail Acar
• Everything about Ottoman Empire Everything about the history, culture and civilization of Ottoman Empire
• MSN encarta - the Ottoman Empire (see Sultanate)
• WorldStatesmen- Turkey
• Ottoman Dynasty meet at Dolmabahçe Palace
• Ottoman Empire - The Family

In Turkish

• Osmanlı Sultanları

In French

• interview with Neslişah Sultan on YouTube], grand-daughter of the last emperor about her family's exile]

•  • [ e] State organisation of the Ottoman Empire
House of Osman	Ottoman Dynasty - Imperial Harem - Palace Schools see also: Ottoman Caliphate
Porte (Divan)	Grand Vizier - Vizier - Sheikh ul-Islam see also: Ottoman Senate (2nd Constitutional Era)
Imperial Government	Prime Minister - Minister of War - Education Minister see also: List of parties
Administrative Subdivisions	Bey, Elder (religious), Millet (Ottoman Empire)