Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin Efendi (; 26 August 1873 – 30 January 1938) was an Ottoman prince, firstborn of Sultan Mehmed V, born by his first consort Kamures Kadın.
Early life
Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin was born on 26 August 1873 in his father's villa in Ortaköy. His father was Mehmed V, son of Abdulmejid I and Gülcemal Kadın, and his mother was Kamures Kadın. When his father became heir to the throne in 1876, following the accession of his elder brother, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the family moved to the apartment of the crown prince located in the Dolmabahçe Palace.
His circumcision took place on 17 December 1883, together with Şehzade Mehmed Selim, eldest son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, Şehzade Ibrahim Tevfik, grandson of Sultan Abdulmejid I, and Abdulmejid II, Şehzade Mehmed Şevket and Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin, sons of Sultan Abdulaziz.
Education and career
Between 1911 and 1912, Ziyaeddin attended the Imperial War College. In February 1916, during the First World War he served as the honorary cavalry brigadier in the imperial army. He also served as honorary aide-de-camp to his father, Sultan Reşad.
After the death of Sultan Reşad in 1918, Ziyaeddin enrolled in Imperial Medical School. Safiye Ünüvar, tells in her memois that he used to bring his notebooks to her, and she would copy them out cleanly. He also took algebra lessons from her.
Public life
On 2 September 1909, Ziyaeddin travelled to Bursa with his father, Sultan Reşad, and brothers, Şehzade Mahmud Necmeddin and Şehzade Ömer Hilmi. On 13 June 1910, he and his brothers received Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin at the Sirkeci railway station, when he came from his first visit to Europe. Between 5 and 26 June 1911, Ziyaeddin travelled to Rumelia with his father and brothers.
On 11 November 1911, he traveled to Egypt to meet the King of United Kingdom George V and his wife Queen Mary of Teck, and stayed there until 29 November 1911. Between 4 and 5 November 1912, during the Balkan Wars, he visited the Çatalca front. Between 10 and 21 April 1917, during the First World War, he visited the German Empire.
On 15 October 1917, he met with the German emperor Wilhelm II, when the latter visited Istanbul in 1917. On 9 May 1918, he also met with the Emperor Charles I of Austria, when the latter visited Istanbul in 1918, with his wife Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma.
Personal life
When Ziyaeddin came of age, Sultan Abdülhamid II, his father's half-brother, decided that he should marry Abdülhamid's daughter Naime Sultan. The wedding never took place because Ziyaeddin and his father rejected the proposal, but, curiously, a daughter of Ziyaeddin, Dürriye Sultan, married Naime Sultan's son, Sultanzade Mehmed Cahid Osman Bey.
Ziyaeddin's first wife was Perniyan Hanım. She was born on 2 January 1880. They married on 5 January 1898, when she was eighteen. In 1900 she gave birth to Behiye Sultan. She was an accomplished calligrapher. When Sultan Reşad happened to notice a work of hers he showed it to one of the calligraphers of that time, who admired it greatly. She hoped to arrange for lessons in calligraphy through Sabit Bey, Sultan Reşad's Master of the Robes, however, court tradition proved an obstacle to her goals, and she had to remain content with having earned the sultan's admiration for her work. Later divorced, Perniyan died in 1947 at aged sixty seven.
Ziyaeddin's second wife was Ünsiyar Hanım. She was born in 1887. She was a Circassian. She was the daughter of Hüseyin Bey and Firdevs Hanım. She had one sister, Hacer Laverans Hanım (1900 – 1992). They married on 16 August 1903, when she was sixteen. Some two years later she gave birth to Dürriye Sultan, in 1905, followed by Rukiye Sultan in 1906 and Şehzade Mehmed Nazım in 1910. She was an intelligent and reasonable lady, and took a particular interest in the education of royal women. She died in 1934 in Alexandria, Egypt, aged forty seven.
Ziyaeddin's third wife was Perizad Hanım. She was born in 1889. A certain Vedat Bey was her paternal cousin. They married on 18 January 1907, when she was seventeen. In 1908 she gave birth to Hayriye Sultan, followed in 1910 by Lütfiye Sultan. She was known in the palace for her good nature and discretion. She died in the French Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1934, at the age of forty five, and was buried in the mausoleum of Prince Omar Tusun Pasha.