Abdulhamid II, also known as the Red Sultan, ruled the Ottoman Empire with an iron fist from 1876 to 1909. Several people, including Native Americans, have emerged claiming to be the legal inheritors of the Red Sultan. In the most recent case, a United States court requested that the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul clarify the identity of the inheritor of Samiye Hatun, a grandson of the Red Sultan, who had moved to the U.S. after the Ottoman Empire collapsed and there married a Native American. The consulate has yet to respond to the request.
See Ozge Egrikar, Native Americans Among Those Claiming Ottoman Sultan’s Inheritance, Hurriyet Daily News, May 11, 2015.
