Sultan Abdülaziz, who was dethroned in a coup in 1876, was found dead in his bed five days later. It is said that the Sultan committed suicide and there is suspicion of murder. According to the latest information about the death that has been discussed for 149 years, the power struggle within the dynasty paved the way for the death of the King.
Sultan Abdülaziz, who was dethroned in a coup on May 30, 1876, was found dead on June 4, 1876.
Meanwhile, Murad the Fifth became king. The death of this king caused great sadness to the people. The death caused suspicions from the beginning, and because of these suspicions, Serasker Hüseyin Avni Pasha was considered the main person responsible for Abdulaziz's death. Circassian Hasan Bey, brother-in-law of Sultan Abdülaziz, killed Hüseyin Avni Pasha in revenge.
The case remained unsolved during the reign of Abdulhamid II, and in 1881, those accused of murdering Sultan Abdulaziz were tried. Many, especially former Grand Vizier Midhat Pasha, were found guilty and sentenced to death.
The photo is believed to be of Sultan Abdülaziz. (Ömer Koç Collection)
Professor İlber Ortaylı described the proceedings related to this suspicious death as follows:
“After some time, the politicians accused of murdering the sultan were tried in the court established in the Yıldız Palace, or rather in the park called Çadır Mansion. The perpetrators of the coup, Circassian Hasan Bey, brother of the young harem of Sultan Abdülaziz Neşerek Kadınefendi, who was extremely upset by the treatment of the sultan and his family, rushed entered the room where the meeting took place, the chairman of Serasker Hüseyin Avni Pasha. He killed several important people.”
The death of Sultan Abdülaziz has been a controversial issue for many years. In a news report about this death, the testimony of his daughter Nazime Sultan was also given and in the news, “She said that her father was caught by eight big men in the palace, put on the ground and his wrists were cut with a razor.” a claim has been made.
Sultan Abdulaziz's bloody shirt.
According to the same news, Professor Dr. İlber Ortaylı also said that the incident was not a suicide. Ortaylı issued the following statement:
“I do not believe the sultan's suicide or the records at the Yıldız Court about how the incident took place. The records and minutes at the Yıldız Court are not in accordance with the law and procedures. For example, the testimony of the guard Fahri Bey, who confessed, was severely tortured. Abdülaziz was a very religious person. A religious person could not help but commit suicide. He could not have cut off his right and left arms. There were a number of guilty people there, but it is unclear whether some of them were guilty or not. The person who planned the incident Mithat Pasha, a close friend of Hüseyin Avni Pasha, was not involved in the murder or planned it. That is why they did not forgive him and put an end to the treatment he received.
A new book about the incident, which Ortaylı also claims was a murder, could shed light on secrets within the palace. Although historians explain the incident with political and economic conditions, new information suggests that an important dynastic struggle provided the basis for the murder.
WAR CREATES A KILLING FOUNDATION
In today's article, Professor Erhan Afyoncu says: “According to the newly published memoirs of Caliph Abdülmecid, son of Sultan Abdülaziz, the coup occurred due to dynastic strife and the sultan was murdered.” includes information.
Afyoncu believes that this incident was clarified in the book about the last Caliph by author Murat Bardakçı, “Caliph Abdülmecid Efendi, Memories”.
Afyoncu, while citing the book in his article, also shared the following notes:
“According to memory, the coup that led to the deposition of the sultan developed as follows:” Sultan Abdulaziz, with a decree published on the long-standing insistence of the Khedive Ismail Pasha of Egypt, decided that the office of the Khedive would now belong only to the descendants of Ismail Pasha. After this important change in the inheritance procedure for the Khedive of Egypt, a rumor emerged that the Ottoman succession system would also be changed and that after Sultan Abdülaziz, his descendants would ascend the throne.
İsmail Pasha's mother, feeling that Pertevniyal Valide Sultan also wanted to change the inheritance rules in favor of her nephew Yusuf İzzeddin Efendi, invited Pertevniyal Valide and one of her grandchildren, Saliha Sultan, the eldest daughter of Sultan Abdülaziz, to her son Hıdiv İsmail Pasha's residence in Emirgân. “An unusual thing was done at the invitation and it was announced that Saliha Sultan and Ibrahim Pasha, one of Ismail Pasha's sons, were engaged.”
HE IS AFRAID OF A CHANGE IN THE DYNASTY SUCTION SYSTEM
According to the quote, the dynasty was extremely worried by the possibility of the kingdom passing to another lineage, and family members began to make important calculations. The change in the succession system alarmed some members of the dynasty and unrest towards the Sultan reached its peak.
Afyoncu also claims that at this time a new network of relationships began to be established within the dynasty:
“This engagement was later annulled by Sultan Abdülhamid, but as rumors increased following the news that the inheritance system would be changed and that Yusuf İzzeddin Efendi would ascend to the throne as crown prince, Crown Prince Murad Efendi and his mother Şevkefser Kadınefendi became even more wary. The provocations of those around them further increased their hostility towards the sultan. They contacted the monarch. Serasker Hüseyin Avni Pasha. In addition, Prince Murad took the throne. They attracted Midhat Pasha to his side with the promise that he would declare a Constitutional Monarchy in the future, and Şevkefser Kadınefendi began to visit the sorcerers with the idea that she could hasten the overthrow of the monarch.
DYNASTY FIGHT PREPARES THE GROUND FOR THE COUNTRY
“Prince Abdulhamid, the second prince at the time and thinking that the throne would be his if the supporters of Sultan Abdülaziz and Murad Efendi disappeared, intervened. All his efforts were aimed at ensuring that the tension ended in his favor, and the strife within the dynasty opened the way for Hüseyin Avni Pasha's coup. As rumors about the situation increased, Valide Sultan believed that the danger could only be eliminated abolish by changing the inheritance system, and she encouraged state leaders to do that.” While all these developments increased Yusuf İzzeddin Efendi's inherent enthusiasm for the dynasty, Sultan Abdülaziz, according to his son Abdülmecid Efendi, appeared weak because he was incompetent in some areas and did not ask for help from statesmen, nor could he prevent his disastrous fate.
According to the statement in the book, the King lost his life after a coup attempt caused by the struggles in this dynasty. According to Abdülmecid Efendi, the owner of memories, “Sultan Abdulaziz was the victim of a wasted trust, and Yusuf İzzeddin Efendi was the victim of treason, and Yusuf İzzeddin Efendi betrayed his father, the king, the caliph and finally his homeland, and went down in history as a criminal.”
The Sultan's son condemned the Dynasty
Another note in the book is as follows:
“…About the last minute of my father's life, there was a big mistake. Of course, events based on rumors cannot be true. Unfortunately, the truth has not yet come to light after this painful event was reported to the whole world in an organized manner. My dear father, Sir Abdul Aziz Khan, did not commit suicide, he was a martyr. I am a brave witness of this disaster. I have kept those painful memories from my stricken heart. my hurt with all the truth until the last moment of my life.” “I will.”
