Abdülhamid Khan the second period sheikhulislams and their effects on his administration

The reign of Abdülhamid Han II, who is the last ruler of the three continents, was considered as one of the toughest and most turbulent years of the Ottoman Empire. Abdülhamid Han II struggled with traps and conspiracies of people who were enemies, whose aims were to divide and dismember the state. With the help of his foresighted governance, he managed to retrieve the prestige of the empire. We aimed to study the lives of Shaykh al-islam in the reign of Abdülhamid Han II and their effects on his statecraft, because we consider that this topic was a missing part and would contribute to the literature although there are many researches about Abdülhamid Han II. We studied on how the concept of Shaykh al-islam emerged in the history, its course in the Islamic states, its emerge, development and institutionalization in the Ottoman Empire, the duties of Shaykh al-islam and their effects on the statecraft. To understand this period deeply, we reviewed the life of Abdülhamid Han II; his education, his being a Sultan's son, and the character and events of the era when he succeeded to the throne. We also tried to show the manner and features of the rule identified with Abdülhamid Han II. We tried to review the lives of Shaykh al-islam objectively -who were assigned to the position of Shaykh al-islam from August 31, 1876, when Abdülhamid Han II succeeded to the throne to April 27, 1909, when he had to abdicate due to the Dethronement Fatwa which was adopted in the National General Assembly after suppressing the 31 March incident-, their effects on the statecraft and political events on which they had influence.