Mehmed VI Biography

Mehmed VI, also known as Şahbaba, was the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 1918 to 1922. His forced abdication and exile led to the emergence of the Republic of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923. The half-brother of Mehmed V who died in 1918, Mehmed VI succeeded to the throne as the oldest male member of the House of Osman. Born to Sultan Abdulmejid I and his wife Gülüstü Hanım, daughter of Prince Tahir Bey Çaçba, he was orphaned early on in life. Mehmed VI became the 36th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and was girded with the Sword of Osman. He opposed all nationalist ideologies and eventually undertook a campaign to crush the nationalists. However, general elections were held later on and the ensuing negotiations between him and the nationalists removed him from the throne in 1922. He was deposed by the founder of the nation-state of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and became the last ruler of a dynasty that lasted for 641 years. Mehmed VI died in 1926 in Italy at the age of 65.