He was born on 14 January 1861 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, a son of Sultan Abdülmecid I and Gülüstü. He became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (and Caliph of Islam) upon the death of his older half-brother, Mehmed V, on 3 or 4 July 1918, and reigned until his death on 16 May 1926. He died in Constantinople. He was succeeded by his first cousin Abdülmecid II.