[May 16] Mehmed VI, sultan of the Ottoman Empire

True Name: Meḥmed-i sâdis (محمد سادس)
Parents: Abdülmecid I, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Gülüstü

Date of Birth: 14 January 1861

House: Osman
Spouse: Emine Nazikeda Marjim-Abaza, Kadin, among others

Predecessor: Mehmed V

Reign: 1918 – 1922

Summary: Mehmed lived during the worst years of the Ottoman Empire's history and witnessed its eventual end. Much of the once expansive empire was already independent or in open rebellion when World War I started in 1914. The choice of the Ottomans to join the Central Powers during the war sealed its fate. Mehmed was not the sultan during most of the war; his brother, Mehmed V, had that honor. During the war, Baghdad, Damascus, and Jerusalem were all conquered by the British. The Hejaz, the region housing Mecca and Medina, likewise went independent. The Ottoman Empire had lost its control over Islam's most important sites and with that failure, the future of the empire was very much in doubt. Mehmed was still not the next in line at the start of the war, but his nephew, Yusuf Izzettin Efendi, committed suicide in 1916 leaving the succession to Mehmed. His brother died 3 July 1918 and Mehmed VI was girded with the sword of the empire.

Mehmed did not have to wait long to discover the fate of his empire. Syria and Lebanon were handed to the French while the British took control over Palestine and Iran. The Treaty of Sèvres reduced the size of the Ottoman Empire to almost its modern-day borders on Asia Minor. A new government headed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk formed in 1920 to decide the fate of their sultan and empire. Mehmed VI was publicly denounced and a constitution was drafted. The sultanate survived for another two years amazingly, but Mehmed was finally forced to go into exile where he settled first in Malta and later on the Italian Riviera. His first cousin, ABdülmecid, was elected Caliph of Sunni Islam for a further two years until the post was ended. Mehmed died in 1926 at Sanremo, Italy, the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire. 

Date of Death: 16 May 1926

Successor: Abdülmecid II (only as Caliph of Sunni Islam)