Mehmed V

Mehmed V Reshad (1844–1918) was the 35th Ottoman Sultan, reigning from 1909-1918. Mehmed personally wielded very little actual authority in his country. His reign coincided with World War I, which his country entered on the side of the Central Powers. It is also during his reign that the Armenian genocide began.

Mehmed died months before the war ended, and he did not live to see his empire's collapse.

Mehmed V in Southern Victory
Mehmed V exercised little direct authority in the governance of the Ottoman Empire. The decision to enter the Great War on the side of the Central Powers was not his, but was made by several government officials. Nonetheless, the Ottoman Empire did emerge victorious, even if the actual benefit to the Ottomans was minor.

Mehmed died a year after the Great War ended. The Ottoman Empire had begun massacring Armenians in Mehmed's reign, a practice that continued into the end of the next decade.