Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir Efendi (Ottoman Turkish: شہزادہ محمد عبدالقادر; 16 January 1878 – 16 March 1944) was an Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and his consort Bidar Kadın.
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Early life
Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir was born on 16 January 1878 in the Yıldız Palace. His father was Sultan Abdul Hamid II, son of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Tirimüjgan Kadın. His mother was Bidar Kadın, paternal Circassian and maternal Georgian, belonging to Lortkipanidze family. He was the second child of his mother, and had a sister Naime Sultan, who was two years older than him.
Abdülkadir's circumcision took place in 1891, together with his younger half-brothers, Şehzade Ahmed Nuri, and Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin.
Education and career
His early education took place in the Prince's School, Yıldız Palace, together with his elder brother, Şehzade Mehmed Selim, and Sultan Abdulaziz's second son, Abdulmejid II. His tutor was Halil Agha. He spoke several languages, and was a pianist, violinist, and kemenche player. He was taught to play the violin by violinist Vondra Bey, and his classical music teacher was Aranda Pasha.
After graduating from the Prince's School, he was sent to Germany for his military education. He held the rank of major of cavalry regiment in the imperial Ottoman army. He was then promoted to colonel, and later to brigadier.
Personal life
When Abdülkadir came of age, his father arranged his marriage to Emine Sultan, daughter of Sultan Abdulaziz and Neşerek Kadın. However, Emine abominated this decision and repudiated it as she didn't want to marry a man younger than her, although the Sultan considered this pertinent. The engagement was annulated by Mehmed V after Abdülhamid'II deposition.
Abdülkadir's first consort was Mislimelek Hanım. She was born in 1883. Her real name was Pakize Marshania. Her father was Prince Abdülkadir Hasan Bey Marshania (1862–1917), an Abkhazian officer in the Imperial Ottoman Army, whose family had migrated from the Caucasus, and her mother was Mevlüde Hanım. In 1890, aged seven, she was given to the palace, in order to become companion of her cousin princess Nemika Sultan. She married Abdülkadir on 10 June 1898. The marriage was performed by the Sultan's Senior Imam, Hafız Raşid Efendi and witnessed by Cevher Ağa, Esvabcıbaşı İsmet Bey, Imam of Sinan Paşa Mosque, Mustafa Asım Efendi, and the imperial harem departure manager, Ali Rıza Efendi. The wedding took place on 21 June 1898. She was the mother of Şehzade Ahmed Orhan who died in 1901. Upon the exile of the imperial family in 1924, Mislimelek went to Hungary, then in 1933 to Bulgaria and later to Albania in 1943, where she was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp in 1944 and 1945. At the end of World War II, she went to Beirut in 1946. She penned her memoirs in the 1950s, and died in Tripoli in 1955.
His second consort was Suhendan Hanım. She was born in 1882. She was an Abkhazian from Tokat. They married in 1902. She didn't have any children. They divorced in 1908. She died in 1929. His third consort was Mihriban Hanım. She was born in 1890. She was an Abkhazian born in Kayalar Memduhiye neighbourhood of Adapazarı. She had one brother. She was a slender, and beautiful woman, and had blonde hair. They married in 1907. She was the mother of Șehzade Mehmed Orhan, born in 1909. After the two divorced in 1913, she went to live with her brother. She died in Egypt in 1955 or 1956. His fourth consort was Pervin Hanım. She was born in 1880. They married in 1908 and divorced the same year. She died in 1917.
His fifth consort was Hatice Macide Hanım. She was born in 1899. She was the daughter of Mustafa Şerif Bey, a colonel in the Imperial Ottoman Army. In 1913, Abdülkadir showed his intentions to marry Macide. However, the parliament rejected the match on the basis of her family's social status. The prince married Macide Hanım despite the refusal. As a result, Abdülkadir and Macide were deprived of their status. Abdülkadir's salary was halved, and the children born of this marriage were deprived of titles and inheritance. She was the mother of Şehzade Ertuğrul Necib, born in 1914, and Şehzade Alaeddin Kadir, born in 1917. Upon the exile of the imperial family, Macide went to Hungary, where the couple divorced in 1925. She died in Vienna, Austria, in 1934.
Later life and death
On 27 April 1909, Abdul Hamid was deposed, and sent into exile in Thessaloniki. Abdülkadir, however, remained in Istanbul. After Thessaloniki fell to Greece in 1912, Abdul Hamid returned to Istanbul, and settled in the Beylerbeyi Palace, where he died in 1918. He had been allocated a villa on the grounds of the Yıldız Palace. Between 1909 and 1924, he lived in the Kızıltoprak Palace and Büyükdere waterfront Palace.
At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Abdülkadir and his family settled in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary. On 14 January 1925, he gave the power of attorney to Sami Günzberg, a well-known Turkish Jewish lawyer, authorising him to regain from usurpers buildings, lands, mines, concessions left by Abdul Hamid situated in Turkish territory and elsewhere. After which, he sold Abdülkadir's mansion in Feneryolu to the former Khediva Ikbal Hanim. However, he didn't send money to the prince. Günzberg also transferred the prince's stake in Mosul oil to the American Oil Company, and sent a small amount of money to the prince for ten years.
Abdülkadir and his family later went to Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1933. In 1943, he renovated the mausoleum of Bali Efendi in Sofia. The prince suffered a heart attack in the bunker during an air raid of American aircraft on 16 March 1944. He died by being crushed during the stampede. He was buried in Sofia.
Honours
Order of the House of Osman, Jeweled
Order of Glory, Jeweled
Order of Distinction, Jeweled
Order of Osmanieh, Jeweled
Order of the Medjidie, Jeweled
Imtiyaz Medal in Silver
Imtiyaz Medal in Gold
Liakat War Medal in Gold
Hicaz Demiryolu Medal in Gold
Iftikhar Sanayi Medal in Gold
Greek War Medal in Gold
Outstanding Navy Medal in Gold
Military appointments
Military ranks and army appointments
Major of the Cavalry Regiment, Ottoman Army
Colonel of the Cavalry Regiment, Ottoman Army
Brigadier of the Cavalry Regiment, Ottoman Army
In popular culture
In the 2017 TV series Payitaht: Abdülhamid, Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir is portrayed by Turkish actor Can Sipahi.