Mehmed VI

Mehmed VI acceded to the throne on 4 July 1918 as the empire collapsed in defeat at the end of World War I. The Armistice of Mudros brought Allied occupation of Istanbul and incursions across Turkish territory. Turning to Damat Ferid Pasha for diplomatic appeasement against Greek territorial demands proved futile. When the Greek occupation of Smyrna on 15 May 1919 ignited the Turkish War of Independence, Mehmed told the Turks not to resist - while Mustafa Kemal's provisional government in Ankara rallied the nation against partition. The Sultan condemned the nationalist leaders as infidels and signed the Treaty of Sèvres, which would have carved up what remained of the empire. After Ankara's victory, the Grand National Assembly abolished the Sultanate on 1 November 1922. Mehmed VI fled into exile, dying in San Remo in 1926, never acknowledging his deposition.