Ottoman Caliphate
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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 medieval and early modern era.
Commemorative plaque where the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed
Card issued in memory of Sultan Abdul Hamid II's accession to the Ottoman throne
Mehmed V's proclamation as sultan in 1909, from Le Petit Journal
Ottoman proclamation of jihad against the Entente in 1914, Constantinople
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the sultans of the Ottoman Empire laid claim to represent the legitimate Roman emperors. This claim was based on the right of conquest and mainly rested o
15th-century portrait of Mehmed II by Gentile Bellini
Mosaic depicting Sultan Mehmed II (left) and Patriarch Gennadios II (right)
Sultan Suleiman I wearing his Venetian Helmet, a four-tiered crown designed to stress that he outranked even the pope (who wore a three-tiered crown)
The 1876 Ottoman constitution (Kanun-i esasi). The official Greek translation established the sultan's Greek title as soultanos (σουλτάνος) and padisach (παδισαχ), rather than basileus (βασιλεύς).