At a glance
Era 12- Dates
- 1868-1944 CE; caliph 1922-1924 CE
- Who
- Ottoman prince who was the last caliph, holding the office without political power
- Era
- The Modern Ummah
ProfileAbdulmejid II
Abdulmejid was a son of the Ottoman sultan Abdulaziz. Like other princes of his time, he spent most of his life inside the palace. He was a talented painter and a cultured, scholarly man.
When the Grand National Assembly in Ankara abolished the sultanate in November 1922 and the last sultan left the country, it chose Abdulmejid as caliph. He was to be a religious figure only, with no political power. Muslims abroad, especially in India, still looked to him with respect, and some in Turkey hoped he might become a rallying point for opposition.
On 3 March 1924 the Assembly abolished the caliphate. The next day Abdulmejid and his family were sent into exile. He lived in Switzerland and then in France, and died in Paris in 1944. He was buried in Madinah.
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