Abstract
Relying on primary documents from the Ottoman archives and relevant secondary sources, this article traces the destiny of late Ottoman sultan Abdulhamid II’s wealth in the aftermath of his removal from power in 1909. For centuries the Ottoman rules were never clear on the boundaries between the Ottoman dynasty’s and the state’s assets. The Ottoman dynasty ruled under a de facto understanding that all public lands and the state properties were of the property of sultan and his family. Without a challenge to this status quo, the sultans did not need to formalize this traditional idea. Legal ambiguity worked for the benefits of sultan but once sultans were side lined in the constitutional monarchy period, lack of legal coverage caused irreparable damages to deposed sultan and his heirs.
Highlights
The powers, responsibilities and property rights of Ottoman sultans evolved through inherited traditions from the earlier pre-Islamic Turkish and Islamic states
There was not any Ottoman law to regulate the boundaries of real estate or movable property ownership of Ottoman sultan nor any law regarding how they could be inherited to their closest kin
This legal ambiguity that benefited sultans earlier turned against Abdulhamid II once sultans were forced to take a back seat in the Ottoman rule after 1908
Summary
The powers, responsibilities and property rights of Ottoman sultans evolved through inherited traditions from the earlier pre-Islamic Turkish and Islamic states.
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