Sultan Murad V was the 33rd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Born in 1840, he was the eldest son of Sultan Abdulmecid I and the nephew of his immediate predecessor, Sultan Abdulaziz. This made him the older brother of Sultan Abdulhamid II, who would succeed him. Murad was known to be well-educated, intelligent, liberal-minded, and interested in Western culture, literature, and music (he was an accomplished pianist and composer). He corresponded with figures like Britain's Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). His liberal views made him popular with the reformist constitutionalist movement within the Ottoman bureaucracy, particularly the group often associated with the "Young Ottomans" and led by figures like Midhat Pasha. They saw him as the ideal candidate to usher in a constitutional monarchy and limit the Sultan's absolute power, something they felt was necessary after the perceived autocratic tendencies and financial mismanagement of Abdulaziz.
Murad V came to the throne on May 30, 1876, immediately following the deposition of his uncle, Sultan Abdulaziz, in a coup orchestrated by Midhat Pasha and other leading ministers and military figures. There were high hopes among the reformers that he would quickly promulgate a constitution. But Murad V's reign lasted only 93 days, from May 30 to August 31, 1876, making it one of the shortest in Ottoman history. Almost immediately after ascending the throne, he began showing signs of severe mental distress and breakdown. He reportedly suffered from paranoia, anxiety attacks, and became incapable of making decisions or performing the basic duties of a Sultan.
It quickly became apparent that Murad V was unfit to rule. A fatwa (Islamic legal ruling) was obtained, confirming his mental incapacity. On August 31, 1876, he was formally deposed on grounds of mental illness and he was succeeded by his younger brother, Abdulhamid II. Murad V was confined to the Ciragan Palace on the Bosphorus where he remained isolated from public life and lived under strict confinement for almost 28 years until his death in 1904.