Overview
Mehmed V, son of Abdülmecid I, reigned as a constitutional monarch while real power lay with the Young Turk leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress.
Rise to Power
He was raised to the throne in April 1909, after the Young Turks deposed his brother Abdülhamid II.
Rule and Achievements
- Lost Libya to Italy in 1912 and nearly all of the remaining European lands in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913
- Saw the empire enter the First World War on the side of Germany in November 1914, and proclaimed a holy war against the Allies
- His reign saw the deportations and massacres of the Armenians from 1915
Legacy
He died on 3 July 1918, months before the empire's defeat, and was succeeded by his brother Mehmed VI, the last sultan.