Şehzade Mehmed Abdülhalim Efendi (; 28 September 1894 – 26 May 1926) was an Ottoman prince, the son of

Şehzade Selim Süleyman Şehzade Selim Süleyman (; 25 July 1860 – 16 July 1909) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I, and one of his consorts Serfiraz Hanım. Early life Şehzade Selim Süleyman was born on 25 July 1860 in the Do ...

, and the grandson of Sultan

Abdulmejid I ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...

Early life

Şehzade Mehmed Abdülhalim was born on 28 September 1894 in the

Feriye Palace The Feriye Palace () is a complex of Ottoman imperial palace buildings along the European shoreline of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, Turkey. Currently, the buildings host educational institutions such as a high school and a university. Histo ...

. His father was

, son of Sultan

and

Serfiraz Hanım Serfiraz Hanım (; ; "''triumphant''" or "''proud''"; born Ayşe Lah; 1837 – 9 June 1905) was a consort of Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire. Early life Born in 1837 as Ayşe, Serfiraz Hanım was a member of the Abkhazian family, La ...

and his mother was Fatma İkbal Hanım. In 1899, he was

circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

together with

Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri Efendi ( ;15 August 1894 – 1 January 1952) was an Ottoman prince, son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Peyveste Hanım. Early life Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri was born on 15 August 1894 in the Yıldız Palace. His father w ...

, son of Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

and Şehzade Mehmed Cemaleddin, son of

Şehzade Mehmed Şevket Şehzade Mehmed Şevket Efendi (; 5 June 1872 – 22 October 1899) was an Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdulaziz and Neşerek Kadın. Early life Şehzade Mehmed Şevket was born on 5 June 1872 in the Dolmabahçe Palace. His father was Abd ...

Education and career

In 1914, Abdülhalim along with other princes, Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri, son of Sultan Abdul Hamid, Şehzade Osman Fuad, son of

Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin Efendi (; 5 August 1861 – 29 April 1915) was an Ottoman prince, the only surviving son of Sultan Murad V, and his second consort Reftarıdil Kadın. Early life Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin was born on 5 August 186 ...

, were sent to the Potsdam Military Academy as the guests of Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

, where

Şehzade Ömer Faruk Şehzade Ömer Faruk Efendi (; also Ömer Faruk Osmanoğlu; 27 February 1898 – 28 March 1969) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman prince, the son of the last caliph of Muslim world Abdulmejid II and his first consort Şehsuvar Hanım. He was also th ...

, the son of

Abdulmejid II ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...

, later joined them. The Kaiser had admitted these four princes into the Imperial Guard of Hussars, the personal guard regiment of the Kaiser. After graduating from the Potsdam Military Academy he served as Captain at the Berlin royal court. He participated in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, that took place in the Balkan Peninsula in 1912 and 1913, and was injured in the war. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was given the command of the automobile detachments with the rank of colonel. Because of being the brother-in-law of the Minister of War,

Enver Pasha İsmâil Enver (; ; 23 November 1881 – 4 August 1922), better known as Enver Pasha, was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish military officer, revolutionary, and Istanbul trials of 1919–1920, convicted war criminal who was a p ...

, he was a popular prince. He supported the Ankara movement, and even helped many of his friends move to Anatolia. By 1918, he was serving as major in the infantry. He was also serving as honorary aide-de-camp to the Sultan.

Personal life

In 1908, Sultan Abdul Hamid arranged his son Şehzade Abdurrahim's marriage to Abdülhalim's half-sister Naciye Sultan. However, Naciye and her family were not told of this decision. When they learned of it, Abdülhalim's father opposed it, as Naciye was only twelve years old at that time. However, his father couldn't opposed his brother, and was obliged to accept it, and so Naciye was engaged to Abdurrahim. In 1909, after the engagement, Abdülhalim received a letter, which said that he will be killed if the engagement is not broken off. Abdülhalim's mother, İkbal Hanım, informed Sultan

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd (; or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch. He had ...

about this situation, after which the Sultan ordered the first secretary Halid Ziya Bey, to carry out an investigation. It turned out that Abdülhalim himself wrote this letter as he was against this engagement. After the incident, Sultan Mehmed broke off the engagement, and engaged Naciye to

. Abdülhalim owned his father's villa in Bebek known as "Nisbettiye Mansion". His only wife was Samiye Hanım. She was born on 1 February 1896 in Üsküdar. They married on 10 August 1913 in the Nisbettiye Mansion. On 21 June 1920, she gave birth to Fatma Samire Sultan, followed three years later by ''Şehzade'' Cengiz, born on 23 December 1925. She died in 1947, and was buried in Bobigny cemetery.

Exile and death

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Abdülhalim and his family settled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he died on 26 May 1926. He was buried in the cemetery of the

Sulaymaniyya Takiyya The Sulaymaniyya Takiyya (; ) is a '' takiyya'' ( Ottoman-era Arabic name for a mosque complex which served as a Sufi convent) in Damascus, Syria, located on the right bank of the Barada River.. Commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Ma ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Honours

* Order of the House of Osman * Order of Glory, Jeweled * Order of Distinction, Jeweled * Order of Osmanieh, Jeweled * Order of Medjidie, Jeweled * Imtiyaz Medal in Silver * Imtiyaz Medal in Gold * Liakat War Medal * Liakat Medal in Gold * Turkish War Medal * Imtiyaz War Medal in Gold * Greek War Medal

Military appointments

Military ranks and army appointments

*'' 1912'': Captain, German Army *Colonel, Ottoman Army *'' 1918'': Major General of Infantry, Ottoman Army

Honorary appointments

*'' 1918'': Aide-de-Camp to the Sultan

Issue

Ancestry

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sehzade Mehmed Abdulhalim Ottoman princes 1894 births 1926 deaths 20th-century Ottoman royalty Royalty from Istanbul