Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1383

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TURKEY

(Mbmalik i Osmanie— Ottoman Empire.) ]

Reigning Saltan.

Mohammed VI., tarn January 27, 1861, son of Sultan Abdul Medjid; succeeded to the throne on the death of his elder brother, Sultan Mohammed V., July 3, 1918.

Children of the Sultan.

I. Princess Ulvia Sultana, born September 12, 1892 ; married August 10, 1916, to Ismail Hakki Bey. II. Princess Rukia i>af,ika Sultana, born April 1, 1894. III. Prince Eriogru.1 Effeudi, born October 5, 1912.

The Heir Apparent is Abdul Medjid Effendi, cousin of the Sultan ; born Hay 26, 1868. Offspring: (1) Prince Omer Faruk Effendi, born F. 28, 1898 ; (2) Princess Durri Chehvar, born January 28, 1914.

SUterfof the Sultan.

I. Senihe Sultana, born November 16, 1852 ; married the late Mahmnd Pasha, son of Halil Pasha, in 1S77 ; widow, 1903.

II. Mtdihe Sultana, born July 26, 1856 ; married (1) 1S79, to Nedjib Pasha ; widow, 1SS5 ; (jQ April 30, 1880, to Fend Pasha.

The present sovereign of Turkey is the thirty-seventh, in male descent, of the house of Othman, the founder of the Empire, and the thirtieth Sultan since the conquest of Constantinople. By the law of succession obeyed in the reigning family, the crown is inherited according to seniority by the male .descendents of Othman, sprung from the Imperial Har-ai. All children born in the Harem, whether offspring of free women or of slaves, are legitimate and of equal lineage. A Council presided over by the heir apparent and comprising several State dignitaries, the Grand Vizier, the Sheykh-ul- Islam, and others, was instituted in January, 1914, to regulate all matters relating to the Imperial family, including the Damads or persons married to Imperial princesses, under the theoretical supervision of the Sultan.

It has not been the custom of the Sultans of Turkey for some centuries to contract regular marriages. The inmates of the Harem come, by pur- chase or free will, mostly from districts beyond the limits of the empire, the majority from Circassia. From among these inmates the Sultan designates a certain number, nowadays very limited, to be called Kadin, or full wives. The title is only given after a child has been born to the Sultan. Ladies of inferior standing on whom the Sultan has looked with favour are called Ikbal, and girls in course of training in the Harem are called Odalik. The superintendent of the Harem, always an aged Lady of the Palace, and bear- ing the title of ' Haznadar- Kadin,' has to keep up intercourse with the outer world through the Guard of Eunuchs.

The following is a list of the names, with date of aoewsion, of the thirty -

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