Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir

Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir was born on 16 January 1878 in the Yıldız Palace.[1][2] His father was Sultan Abdul Hamid II, son of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Tirimüjgan Kadın.[3] His mother was Bidar Kadın,[4] daughter of Talhosten Prince Ibrahim Bey and, and Princess Şahika İffet Hanım Lortkipanidze.[5] He was the second son, and fifth child born to his father, and the second child of his mother.[3] He had a sister Naime Sultan two years elder then him.[1]

Abdülkadir's circumcision took place in 1891, together with his younger half-brothers, Şehzade Ahmed Nuri, and Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin.[6] His early education took place in the Prince's School, Yıldız Palace, together with his elder brother, Şehzade Mehmed Selim, and Sultan Abdulaziz's second son, Abdulmejid II.[7] His tutor was Halil Agha.[8] He spoke several languages, and was a pianist and a violinist,[9] and kemenche player. He had been thought to play the violin by violinist Vondra Bey, and his classical music teacher was Aranda Pasha.[2]

After graduating from the Prince's School, he was sent to Germany for his military education, and went onto become brigadier in the imperial Ottoman Army.[9] On 27 April 1909, Abdul Hamid was deposed, and sent into exile in Thessaloniki.[10] Abdülkadir, however, remained in Istanbul.[11] After Thessaloniki fell to Greece in 1912, Abdul Hamid returned to Istanbul, and settled in the Beylerbeyi Palace, where he died in 1918.[12] Between 1909 and 1924, Abdülkadir lived in the Kızıltoprak Palace and Büyükdere waterfront Palace.[2]

When Abdülkadir came of age, his father arranged his marriage to Emine Sultan, daughter of Sultan Abdulaziz and Nesrin Kadın. However, Emine abominated this decision and repudiated it as she didn't wanted to marry a man younger than her, although the Sultan considered this pertinent.[9]

Abdülkadir's first wife was Mislimelek Hanım. She was born in 1883. Her real name was Pakize Marshania. Her father was Prince Abdülkadir Hasan Bey Marshania (1862 - 1917), an Abkhazian officer in the imperial Ottoman army, whose family had migrated from the Caucasus,[13] and her mother was Mevlüde Hanım İnalipa (1862 - 1937), also an Abkhazian.[14] In 1890, aged seven, she was given to the palace, in order to become companion of her cousin Nemika Sultan.[13] She married Abdülkadir on 10 June 1898. The marriage was performed by the Sultan's senior Imam, Hafız Raşid Efendi and witnessed by Cevher Ağa, Esvabcıbaşı İsmet Bey, Imam of Sinan Paşa Mosque, Mustafa Asım Efendi, and the imperial harem departure manager, Ali Rıza Efendi. The wedding took place on 21 June 1898.[15] She was the mother of Şehzade Ahmed Orhan who died in 1901.[16][17] At the exile of the imperial family in 1924, Mislimelek went to Hungary, then in 1933 to Bulgaria and later to Albania, where she was imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp from 1944-45. At the end of World War II, she went to Beirut.[13] She penned her memoirs in 1950s, and died in Tripoli in 1955.[18]

His second wife was Suhendan Hanım. She was an Abkhazian from Tokat. She didn't have any children. The two divorced later.[19] His third wife was Mihriban Hanım. She was an Abkhazian born in Kayalar Memduhiye neighbourhood of Adapazarı. She had one brother.[20][21] She was a slender, and beautiful woman, and had blonde hair.[21] She was the mother of Șehzade Mehmed Orhan, born in 1909.[22] After the two divorced in 1913,[23][21] she went to live in with her brother.[20] She died in Egypt in 1955-6.[24]

His fourth wife was Macide Hanım. She was the daughter of Mustafa Şerif Bey, Colonel in the imperial Ottoman army.[25] In 1913,[24] Abdülkadir showed his intentions to marry Macide. However, the parliament rejected the match on the basis of her family's social status. The prince married Macide Hanım despite the refusal. As a result Abdülkadir and Macide were deprived of their status. Abdülkadir's salary was halved, and the children born of this marriage were deprived from titles and inheritance.[25] She was the mother of Şehzade Ertuğrul Necib, born in 1914,[22] and Şehzade Alaeddin Kadir, born in 1917. At the exile of imperial family, Macide went to Hungary, where couple divorced soon after.[26] She died in Vienna in 1934.[24]

His fifth wife was Meziyet Fatma Hanım. She was born in Crete in 1908. She was the daughter of Mecid Bey, Colonel in the imperial Ottoman army. In 1922,[22] Abdülkadir fell in love with her. The marriage took place in the neighbourhood of Osman Ağa in Kadıköy, and was performed by Imam Süleyman Efendi in the presence of the representatives and witnesses of the parties. Soon after, the incident was reported to the council. On the other hand, a man named Selim Sipahi, alleged that Meziyet was his wife. However, his claim was rejected because before the marriage, they had obtained permission form the Heybeli Ada Imam Şevket Efendi and the Naib of Kartal District Court of religious law. However, as the marriage was performed without the parliament's permission, it was rejected. Meziyet and the children born from this marriage were deprived from their status.[27] She was the mother of Bidar Sultan, born in 1924, and Neslişah Sultan, born in 1925.[22] In accordance to the Surname Law, she took the surname "Osmanoğlu". She died on 13 November 1989, and was buried in Karacaahmet Cemetery, Istanbul.[28][29]

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Abdülkadir and his family settled in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary.[9] On 14 January 1925, he gave the power of attorney to Sami Günzberg, a well-known Turkish Jewish lawyer, authorising him to regain from usurpers buildings, lands, mines, concessions left by Abdul Hamid situated in Turkish territory and elsewhere.[30] After which, he sold Abdülkadir's mansion in Feneryolu to the former Khediva Ikbal Hanim. However, he didn't send money to the prince.[9] Günzberg also transferred the prince's stake in Mosul oil to the American Oil Company, and sent a small amount of money to the prince for ten years.[9]

Abdülkadir and his family later went to Sofia, Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1933. In 1943, he renovated the mausoleum of Bali Efendi in Sofia.[2] The prince suffered a heart attack in the bunker during an air raid of American aircraft on 16 March 1944. He died by being crushed during the stampede. He was buried in Sofia.[3][2][9]

• In the 2017 TV series Payitaht: Abdülhamid, Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir is portrayed by Turkish actor Can Sipahi.[33]

• Kırpık, Cevdet (2011). Şehzade Evliliklerinde Değişim Changes in the Marriage of Ottoman Princes.
• Osmanoğlu, Ayşe (2000). Babam Sultan Abdülhamid. Mona Kitap Yayinlari. ISBN 978-6-050-81202-2.

• "Ottoman Family". Official website of the immediate living descendants of the Ottoman Dynasty. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
• "Genealogy of the Ottoman Family". Retrieved 19 August 2008.
• Family Tree, descendants of Sultan Mahmud II. Retrieved 2011-02-28.