Osmanoğlu is a family belonging to the historical

Ottoman dynasty The Ottoman dynasty () consisted of the members of the imperial House of Osman (), also known as the Ottomans (). According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, under the leadership of Os ...

, which was the ruling house of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

from 1299 until the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate in 1922, and the

Ottoman Caliphate The Ottoman Caliphate () was the claim of the heads of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty, rulers of the Ottoman Empire, to be the caliphs of Islam during the Late Middle Ages, late medieval and Early Modern period, early modern era. Ottoman rulers ...

from 1517 until the abolition of the caliphate in 1924. In 1924, members of the Osmanoğlu family were forced into exile. Their descendants now live in many countries throughout Europe, as well as in the United States, the Middle East, and since they have now been permitted to return to their homeland, many now also live in Turkey. The female members of the dynasty were allowed to return after 1951, and the male members after 1973. The family adopted the surname of Osmanoğlu, meaning "son of Osman".

Heads of the Osmanoğlu family since 1922

Below is a list of people who would have been heirs to the Ottoman throne following the abolition of the sultanate on 1 November 1922. These people have not necessarily made any claim to the throne; for example Ertuğrul Osman said "Democracy works well in Turkey." * Mehmed VI, last Ottoman Sultan (1918–1922) then 36th Head of the House of Osman in exile (1922–1926). * Abdulmejid II, cousin of Mehmed VI. Last Ottoman Caliph (1922–1924) then 37th Head of the House of Osman following Mehmed VI Vahideddin's death (1926–1944). * Ahmed Nihad, 38th Head of the House of Osman (1944–1954), grandson of Sultan Murad V. * Osman Fuad, 39th Head of the House of Osman (1954–1973), half-brother of Ahmed IV Nihad. * Mehmed Abdulaziz, 40th Head of the House of Osman (1973–1977), grandson of Sultan Abdulaziz. * Ali Vâsib, 41st Head of the House of Osman (1977–1983), son of Ahmed IV Nihad. * Mehmed Orhan, 42nd Head of the House of Osman (1983–1994), grandson 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 ...

.Pope, Hugh.
Oldest Ottoman to come home at last
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (22 July 1992). * Ertuğrul Osman, 43rd Head of the House of Osman (1994–2009), grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.Bernstein, Fred. �
Ertugrul Osman, Link to Ottoman Dynasty, Dies at 97
��, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (24 September 2009). He is known in Turkey as "the Last Ottoman". * Bayezid Osman, 44th Head of the House of Osman (2009–2017), great-grandson of Sultan Abdulmejid I.'Osmanoğulları'na insanlık şehadet edecek'
", '' Zaman'' (27 September 2009). * Dündar Ali Osman, 45th Head of the House of Osman (2017–2021), great-grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. * Harun Osman, 46th Head of the House of Osman (2021–present), great-grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Current head

Harun Osman Osmanoğlu (born 22 January 1932) is the current Head of the House of Osman. Osman's father was Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkerim, the only son of Şehzade Mehmed Selim, the eldest son of

. In 1924, when members of the Ottoman dynasty were expelled, they left for

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. Mehmed Abdülkerim died in 1935 in Damascus and left his two children, born in 1930 and 1932 orphans at a young age. Osman's grandfather Mehmed Selim died in 1937. The family returned to Istanbul from exile in Damascus in 1974, just after the dynasty members were allowed to return to their homeland. Osman became the Head of the Ottoman dynasty in 2021 upon the death of his older brother, Dündar Osmanoğlu. He lives in Istanbul and has nine grandchildren. Harun is married to Farizet Hanım, by whom he has two sons and one daughter: * ''Şehzade'' Orhan Osmanoğlu (born

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 ...

, 25 August 1963), married on 22 December 1985 to Nuran Yıldız Hanım (born 1967), and has one son and four daughters: ** Nilhan Osmanoğlu ''Sultan'' (born

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, 25 April 1987), married in

on 22 September 2012 to Damat Mehmet Behlül Vatansever, and has one daughter and one son: *** Hanzade ''Hanımsultan'' Vatansever (born 2 July 2013) *** ''Sultanzade'' Mehmet Vahdettin Vatansever (born 14 October 2014) ** ''Şehzade'' Yavuz Selim Osmanoğlu (born

, 22 February 1989), married on 4 July 2021 to Damla Işık; and has one son: *** ''Şehzade'' Mehmed Selimhan Osmanoğlu (born 17 July 2024) ** Nilüfer Osmanoğlu ''Sultan'' (born

, 5 May 1995), married on 12 June 2021 to Melih Baştuğ; ** Berna Osmanoğlu ''Sultan'' (born

, 1 October 1998) ** Asyahan Osmanoğlu ''Sultan'' (born

, ... ... 2004) * Nurhan Osmanoğlu ''Sultan'' (born

, 20 November 1973), married firstly in

on 15 April 1994 and later divorced Damat Samir Hashem Bey (born 24 January 1959), without issue, and married secondly to Damat Muhammed Ammar Sagherji Bey (born 1972), and has one son and one daughter: ** ''Sultanzade'' Muhammed Halil Sagherji ''Bey'' (born 2002) ** Sarah Sagherci ''Hanımsultan'' (born 2004) * ''Şehzade'' Abdulhamid Kayıhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (born 4 August 1979), married Walaa Osmanoğlu, and has two sons: ** ''Şehzade'' Harun Osmanoğlu Efendi (born 1 December 2007) ** ''Şehzade'' Abdülaziz Osmanoğlu Efendi (born 12 August 2016)

Resurgence of interest in the Ottoman family

Since the turn of the 21st century there has been a growing interest in the living members of the Ottoman family, both within Turkey and abroad. In 2006, family members met at Dolmabahçe Palace for the presentation of the documentary ''Osmanoğlu'nun Sürgünü'' (''The Ottomans' Exile'') produced by TRT (

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish: ) is the national public broadcasting, public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio broadcaster in Turkey. Before the introductio ...

). This documentary followed the stories of the members of the Ottoman family who went into exile in 1924, following the establishment of the Turkish Republic and the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. It then follows the stories of their descendants, who now live in Turkey, Europe, India, and North America, and throughout the Middle East. Extensive coverage of this event, and the success of the documentary series has dramatically raised the profile of the Imperial Family. According to ''The New York Times'', historians said that the show of reverence at the funeral of Imperial Prince Ertuğrul Osman in September 2009 was a "seminal moment in the rehabilitation of the Ottoman Empire". The popularity of the historical television series Payitaht Abdulhamid about the Ottoman Empire has grown significantly in recent years in Turkey, and the Turkish government under Erdoğan has encouraged a nostalgia for the greatness of the former empire, which is sometimes referred to as ' Neo-Ottomanism'. An interview with Imperial Prince Mahmud by the Anatolian News Agency was published in several publications in Turkey and the UK.

Turkish citizenship

Without exception, all high-ranking members of the Imperial Ottoman family were exiled in 1924. Most had never left their homeland before, and all were forced to make a new life abroad. The family departed from Sirkeci railway station, and would disperse across Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. In exile, the family lived in poverty. As the former Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI Vahideddin had settled in San Remo, many members of the family congregated in the South of France. After living in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

for a short time, the last Caliph of Islam, Imperial Prince (''

Şehzade ''Şehzade'' () is the Ottoman form of the Persian title ''Shah#Shahzadeh, Shahzadeh'', and refers to the male Osmanoğlu family, descendants of an Ottoman sovereign in the male line. This title is equivalent to "prince du sang, prince of the bloo ...

'') Abdulmecid II, also moved to the French Riviera, settling in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Şehzade ''Şehzade'' () is the Ottoman form of the Persian title ''Shah#Shahzadeh, Shahzadeh'', and refers to the male Osmanoğlu family, descendants of an Ottoman sovereign in the male line. This title is equivalent to "prince du sang, prince of the bloo ...

'') Ali Vâsib Efendi appealed to the French Government and succeeded in obtaining courtesy passports for them. The French Government also issued passports to the children of the members of the family who were born in exile. In the years since the exile was lifted in 1973, many members of the Ottoman family have obtained Turkish citizenship and hold Turkish passports.

Imperial Princes (''Şehzades'') of the House of Osman

The formal way of addressing the male descendants of the Ottoman Sultans is ''Devletlu Necabetlu

Sultan'' (given name) ''Hazretleri Efendi'', i.e. Sultan Imperial Prince (given name). According to genealogies of the House of Osman, had the Sultanate not been abolished, there would be twenty-seven Imperial Princes in the line of succession after Dundar Ali Osman (2017-2021), the late head of the family. The succession law used is

agnatic seniority Agnatic seniority is a patrilineality, patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only ...

, with the succession passing to eldest male dynast. #Şehzade Harun Osman Efendi (b. 1932) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II) #Şehzade Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1940) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I, and of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi) #Şehzade Ömer Abdülmecid Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1941) (descendant of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi and Mahmud Namık) #Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin Efendi (b. 1947) (descendant of Mehmed V) #Şehzade Roland Selim Kadir Efendi (b. 1949) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II) #Şehzade Selim Djem Efendi (b. 1955) (descendant of Abdülmecid I) #Şehzade Orhan İbrahim Suleiman Saadeddin Efendi (b. 1959) (descendant of Abdulaziz) #Şehzade Mustafa Kemal Stockley Efendi (b. 1961) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II) #Şehzade Orhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1963) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II) #Şehzade Eric Mehmed Ziyaeddin Nazim Efendi (b. 1966) (descendant of Mehmed V) #Şehzade Orhan Murad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1972) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I, and of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi) #Şehzade Francis Mahmud Namık Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi and Mahmud Namık) #Şehzade René Osman Abdul Kadir Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II) #Şehzade Daniel Adrian Abdulhamid Kadir Efendi (b. 1977) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)p #Şehzade Abdulhamid Kayıhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II) #Şehzade Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV , and of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi) #Şehzade Nazım Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1985) (descendant of Mehmed V) #Şehzade Yavuz Selim Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1989) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II) #Şehzade Turan Cem Osmanoglu Efendi (b. 2004) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV ) #Şehzade Tamer Nihad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2006) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV ) #Şehzade Ziyaeddin Reşad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2012) (descendant of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi and Mahmud Namık) #Şehzade Cem Ömer Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2015) (descendant of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi and Mahmud Namık) #Şehzade Abdülaziz Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2016) (grandson of Harun Osman and descendant of Abdul Hamid II)

Imperial Princesses (''Sultanas'') of the House of Osman

The formal way of addressing the female descendants of the Ottoman Sultans is ''Devletlû İsmetlu'' (given name) ''Sultân Aliyyetü'ş-Şân Hazretleri'', i.e. Sultana (given name). According to genealogies of the House of Osman, had the Sultanate not been abolished, there would be fifteen Sultanas: #Margot Miriam Leyla Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1947,

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 ...

) (descendant of

) #Nilüfer Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1953,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

) (descendant of Abdülmecid I) #Perihan Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1963,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

) (descendant of

Abdülaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 1876 Ottoman coup d'état, overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother ...

) #Ayşe Louise Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1964,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) (descendant of Mehmed V) #Gülhan Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1968,

) (descendant of

) #Ayşe Gülnev Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1969,

) (descendant of Murad V) #Nurhan Evanthia Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1970,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) (descendant of

) #Nilhan Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1987,

) (descendant of

) #Zoe Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1988,

) (descendant of Mehmed V) #Emma Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1992,

) (descendant of

) #Suzan Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1997,

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

) (descendant of

) #Ridwan Osmanoglu Sultan (b. 1998) (descendant of

) #Berna Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 1999) (descendant of

) #Asyahan Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 2004) (descendant of

) #Esma Emira Osmanoğlu Sultan (b. 2015) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I, and of Mehmed V through Ömer Hilmi)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osmanoglu Family Turkish families Hanafis Maturidis

Heads of the Osmanoğlu family since 1922

Current head

Resurgence of interest in the Ottoman family

Turkish citizenship

Imperial Princes (''Şehzades'') of the House of Osman

Imperial Princesses (''Sultanas'') of the House of Osman

See also

References