MURAD V

His Father's Name: Abdulmedjid
His Mother’s Name: Shefkefza Kadin Effendi
Date of Birth: September 21st ,1840
Date of Death: August 29th 1904
His Reign: 93 days in 1876

 


 (b. Sept. 21, 1840, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Tur.]--d. Aug. 29, 1904, Constantinople), Ottoman sultan from May to August 1876, whose liberal disposition brought him to the throne after the deposition of his uncle Abdülaziz.

A man of high intelligence, 35 years old at his accession, Murad received a good education and was widely read in both Turkish and European literature. He was a gifted poet and prose writer.. In 1867 he accompanied Sultan Abdülaziz on his European tour and made a favourable impression; during the tour he secretly contacted exiled nationalist-liberal Young Turks, for which Abdülaziz placed him under close surveillance.

Upon Abdülaziz' deposition by a group of ministers led by Midhat Pasha, the great advocate of constitutional government, Murad was brought to the throne. The new sultan was determined to introduce constitutional reforms, but, under the impact of Abdülaziz' suicide and the murder of some of his key ministers, Murad suffered mental collapse. After declaration by Turkish and foreign doctors that his illness was incurable, Murad was deposed by the same men who had brought him to the throne. During the reign (1876-1909) of his brother Abdülhamid II, several attempts to restore him to the throne failed (Murad had recovered to some extent from his mental breakdown], and he spent the remaining years of his life confined in the Çiragan Palace until the end of his life        

During his reign the greatest crime in Ottoman history was committed when Hussein Avni Pasha, Midhat Pasha and their companions murdered Sultan Abdulaziz in his prison. It had been feared that another rebellion might happen and that the deposed Sultan would be raised to power again. Eleven days after the murder,  Binbashi Cherkez Hassan, the brother-in-law of Abdulaziz, killed Hussein Awni Pasha, thus taking complete vengeance for the death of his brother-in-law.

The administration of the Empire was carried out by Rushdi Pasha but the great catastrophe of the Ottoman-Russian war was about to break out.

Murad spoke French and loved music. This did not assist him in his sultanate and, since he was mentally ill, the leaders of the Empire had no choice but to depose him. He lived at the Chiraghan Palace  and, some time after his dethronement, recovered his sanity to some extent. He died when he was 64 years of age and was interred into his tomb next to the New Mosque

His only son was Mehemed Salahouddin and three daughters.