ABD-UL-HAIVIID II. (1842—). Thirty fourth sultan of the Ottoman Empire; second son of Abd-ul-Medjid. Ile was born September 22, 1842, and succeeded to the throne August 31, 1876, on the deposition of his elder brother, Nurad V. Abd-ul-Ilamid came to power at a trying time. The insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovina was gaining strength, Servia had declared open war upon Turkey, and Russia was fomenting the spirit of dissatisfaction in the Slav states tributary to Turkey. The party of Young Turkey, led by "Alidhat Pasha, attempted to establish a parliamentary government and to escape European control just when the aid of Europe was needed against Russia. The savage measures taken to suppress the revolt in Bul garia and the failure of all Turkish promises of reform quickly alienated the Powers, who gave Russia a free hand. The Czar declared war in April, 1377, a Russian army at once invaded Turkey, and advanced almost to Constantinople. Turkey was saved only by European jealousy of Russia. The treaty of San Stefano between the belligerents was materially modified by the Congress of Berlin (q.v.), but even then Turkey lost its remaining claims to suzerainty over Montenegro, Servia, and Rumania, yielded all real sovereignty in Bulgaria, Bosnia, and Herze govina, and lost some of its territory in Asia Minor. The Sultan was bound by the treaty to introduce reforms in the Christian provinces, but be failed to do this, and adopted a distinctly reactionary policy. He took into his own hands
the direction of the council of ministers and made his government a personal one. The Arme nian outrages from 1895 to 1S96 at first aroused the signatory powers of the Berlin treaty to ac tion, but the international relations at the time were complicated, and Abd-ul-Hamid pursued the policy he has always so well understood of eluding all demands for redress or reform by means of promises and excuses, playing off the rival Powers against one another in the meantime. In 1897 a rising in Crete, brought on by Turk ish misgovernment, was assisted by Greece and led to war between that country and Turkey, in which Greece was defeated and forced to eon sent to a rectification of the Thessalian border in favor of Turkey and to pay an indemnity. Conditions which threatened to revive the East ern question in an acute form were, however, obscured by events in other parts of the world, and Turkish affairs remained quiet. Ahd-ul Ilamid stands as the representative of the con servative orthodox Mohammedan party, and has revived the pretension to the actual headship of lslam. Consult: Berard, La Turquie ct !Went% aisnie rontem porn in (Paris, 1893), and La poli lique du sultan (Paris, 1897) : E. Oilier, Cas sell's Illustrated History of the Russo-Turkish War (London, 1900), voluminous, hut not criti cal.