Ahmed Nihad

Ahmed Nihad was born on 5 July 1883 in the Çırağan Palace. His father was Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, and his mother was Naziknaz Hanım.[3] He was the grandson of Sultan Murad V and his consort Reftarıdil Kadın. He spent his entire childhood and early adulthood confined in Çırağan Palace. The Palace served as an enforced residence to his grandfather Sultan Murad, who had been deposed in 1876, and replaced by his brother, Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The restrictions imposed on the former Sultan extended to his entire family, and were not lifted until his death in 1904.[4]

On the death of his grandfather, Ahmed Nihad left his enforced confinement at Çırağan Palace and lived for a few years in the properties rented by his father in the Feneryolu, Kuruçeşme and Ortaköy districts of Istanbul. From 1911 until his exile he lived in the mansion which he had designed himself and had built on Serencebey hill overlooking Beşiktaş and from 1915 he would spend the summer months at the Muradiye Pavilion in Kurbağalıdere. However, he would only enjoy 20 years of freedom in his homeland, as following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, and the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate and the Caliphate, the entire Imperial Ottoman family were forced into exile in March 1924.

He was promoted to the rank of Colonel of Infantry of the Ottoman Army.

Ahmed Nihad's first wife was Safiru Hanım.[5][6] She was born in 1884.[5] They married in the Çırağan Palace, during the confinement Sulltan Murad's family. She gave birth to the couple's only son Şehzade Ali Vâsib on 3 October 1903, one year before their ordeal in the Çırağan came to an end in 1904.[7] She died in 1975.[5]

His second wife was Nezihe Hanım.[5] She was born in 1890 in Circassia. Her mother was Fatma Şazende Hanım, who was the head kalfa in the harem of Sultan Murad. They divorced in 1916, after Nihad married Nevrestan, her stepsister. She then married Ali Fehmi Doğrusöz, an Ottoman Officer, and had a son Feridun Doğrusöz. In 1934, in accordance to the Surname Law, she took the surname "Doğrusöz" She died on 24 November 1972 in Istanbul.[8][9]

His third wife was Nevrestan Hanım.[5] She was born in 1893 in Adapazarı. Her father was Tahir Bey Atzamba, an Abkhazian Officer in the Ottoman Army, and her mother was Fatma Şazende Hanım. She had one brother, Aziz Bey Atzamba. Fatma Şazende had married twice, and Tahir was her second husband, making Nevrestan Nezihe's stepsister. They married on 10 April 1915. The couple resided in the Beylerbeyi Palace. At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, they settled in Beirut. When the female members of the Ottoman dynasty were allowed to return to Turkey in 1952, Nevrestan then moved to Serecebey, Istanbul. In accordance to the Surname Law, she took the surname "Osmanoğlu". She died in 1983.[8]

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Ahmed Nihad, and his two wives, first went to Budapest for a few months, then to Nice, France for twelve years. As the former Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI had settled in San Remo, many members of the family had congregated to the South of France. In 1937 he moved to Beirut, Lebanon where he lived for the rest of his life. Life in exile was always very difficult since members of the Imperial Ottoman family had no financial means, and all yearned to return to their homeland but for Ahmed Nihad life was made harder after he suffered a stroke which left him handicapped. Ahmed Nihad became the head of the exiled Imperial family in August 1944,[10] but was the first head of the Ottoman family since the early 16th century who did not hold the title of Caliph of Islam. Since many members of the family had settled in the Middle East following their exile, they frequently visited him in Beirut to pay homage, as was the custom of the family. Ahmed Nihad was a pious and dutiful man, who had a talent for architectural design and carpentry. He was also a talented composer and an accomplished musician and painter.

Ahmed Nihad died on 4 June 1954 and was buried in Sultan Selim Mosque, Damascus, Syria.[3]

Ottoman honours

• Order of House of Osman, Jeweled[11]
• Order of Osmanieh, Jeweled[11]
• Order of Medjidie, Jeweled[11]
• Liakat War Medal in Gold[12]
• Imtiyaz War Medal in Silver[12]

Foreign honours

•  Austria-Hungary: Grand-Crossnof the Order of Leopold, 6 June 1918[13]

• Line of succession to the former Ottoman throne

• Osmanoğlu, Osman Selaheddin (2003). Bir Şehzadenin Hâtırâtı. Turkey: Yapı Kredi Yayınları. ISBN 975-08-0878-9. OCLC 469568294. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
• Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78335-5.

• "Genealogy of the Ottoman Family". Archived from the original on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
• Family Tree, descendants of Sultan Mahmud II. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
• Heirs of Europe, Turkey. Retrieved 2019-06-09.