# The Last Ottoman Caliph: Abdülmejid II's Exile

An episode of [The Story of Turkey: From Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire to Today — Fexingo History](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1895450461), 21 Sep 2026, 9:38.

Audio: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-story-of-turkey/episode-0241.mp3

Episode 241 moves past the violent dismantling of the Sultanate to explore the quiet tragedy of the Caliphate. After Mustafa Kemal Atatürk abolished the political office of the Sultan in November 1922, the Ottoman dynasty was not immediately erased from history. Instead, the Grand National Assembly installed his cousin, Abdülmejid II, as the ceremonial head of the Islamic Caliphate. This episode traces his brief, gilded existence in Istanbul before the abolition of the Caliphate itself in March 1924. We examine how a man stripped of all political power navigated the rise of the Turkish Republic, living in exile within his own country while preserving the ritual dignity of his ancestors. The story culminates in his sudden deportation alongside the rest of the House of Osman, a forced march into a European exile that ended in Paris and Nice. Through Abdülmejid’s eyes, we see the final emotional fracture between the imperial past and the secular future of Turkey. #AbdulmejidII #OttomanCaliphate #MustafaKemalAtatürk #TurkishRepublic #HouseOfOsman #GrandNationalAssembly #AbolitionOfCaliphate #1924Exile #IstanbulHistory #SecularTurkey #IslamicLeadership #PostOttomanEra #TurkishWarOfIndependence #ConstitutionalHistory #DiyarbakirExile #ParisExile #NiceFrance #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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