Abstract
The article concentrates on the reign of Sultan Mehmed Reşad (1909-18) to discuss the last phase of the Ottoman sultanate. Notwithstanding the significance of the Second Constitutional Period, Mehmed Reşad's reign itself is often mentioned merely as representing the twilight of the Ottoman sultanate, when it became devoid of political power. By using a variety of primary sources, archival, printed and visual documents, this paper focuses on the rule of Mehmed Reşad as representing an attempt to shape a new stage of the Ottoman sultanate. It analyzes the use of Ottoman history at that time and the diffusion of imperial representations to evoke the grandeur of past sultans and its links to the reign of Mehmed Reşad. By promoting his image as a benevolent ruler and the supreme icon of the imagined Ottoman past, Mehmed Reşad endeavored to safeguard his status as a sultan and the future of the sultanate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 50-70 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Turkish Historical Review |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Keywords
- Constitution
- Ottoman dynasty
- Sultan Mehmed Reşad
- Young Turk regime
- legitimacy