Abdul-Hamid

Abdul-Hamid, name of 2 sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Abdul-Hamid I (1725–89) succeeded his brother Mustafa III in 1774. Throughout his reign the power of Turkey was on the wane, weakened by internal revolt and continuing war with Russia. Abdul-Hamid II (1842–1918) succeeded his brother Murad V in 1876. The following year he began a disastrous war with Russia that resulted in Turkey's loss of control over her European provinces of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Herzegovina, and Bosnia. After some initial gestures toward reform, he ruled harshly by decree. Sometimes called the Bloody Sultan, he roused world opinion against him and his government by the massacre of Armenians (1894–96). The Young Turks, a reform-minded political organization, forced him to accept a constitution and deposed him the following year after he attempted a counterrevolution.