Can I be:Ottoman Empire? ; well, not anymore.

[saskganesh]

I remember this guy; there was a big profile on him in the Times 5 years or so ago.  He lived in a rent-controlled walkup apartment in a brownstone in the east 70s.  As I recall, he was having some issues with his landlord (not surprsing; he had occupied the apartment for 50-60 years and was paying virtually no rent).  very well-mannered, modest sort of guy.

I remember that profile.

Yeah. I think we had a thread on that.

[Caliga]

I may have been the one that started it, now that I think about it. 

[saskganesh]

we're getting old. we are recycling threads we can't remember.

[Alexandru H.]

Weird thing:

First Roman ruler - Romulus
Last Roman ruler - Romulus
First Roman emperor - Augustus
Last Roman Emperor - Augustus
First Eastern Empire Emperor - Constantine
Last Eastern Empire Emperor - Constantine
First Ottoman - Ertugrul
Last Ottoman - Ertugrul

[Sheilbh]

I love Ataturk

[The Minsky Moment]

He obviously is not the last Ottoman or even the last pretender.  I think he may be the last who was actually alive at the time the dynasty was still ruling.

[Jaron]

Throw the gates of Constantinople open!

[Agelastus]

There are no scion from cadet branches of the House of Osman alive today, either? Seems unlikely.

There's no cadets. TheSultans killed all their brothers.

As posted above, the Ottomans changed to a "seniority" system rather than "kill all your kin". This may not have been a good idea - at least in the "kill all your kin" days you had a good chance of a competent ruler, in the "seniority" days you ended up with a chain of rulers who in this day and age could legitimately apply for their pensions.

Apparently, this is the current line of Ottoman succession, from 1 to 25:

HIH Prince Şehzade Dündar Aliosman Efendi (b. 1930) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Harun Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1932) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Cengiz Nazim Efendi (b. 1939) (descendant of Mehmed V)
HIH Prince Şehzade Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1940) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
HIH Prince Şehzade Ömer Abdülmecid Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1941) (descendant of Mehmed V)
HIH Prince Şehzade Mehmed Selim Orhan Efendi (b. 1943) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II through Mehmed VII)
HIH Prince Şehzade Hasan Orhan Efendi (b. 1946) (descendant of Mehmed V)
HIH Prince Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin Efendi (b. 1947) (descendant of Mehmed V)
HIH Prince Şehzade Roland Selim Kadir Efendi (b. 1949) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Selim Djem Efendi (b. 1955) (descendant of Abdülmecid I)
HIH Prince Şehzade Orhan İbrahim Suleiman Saadeddin Efendi (b. 1959) (descendant of Abdülaziz I)
HIH Prince Şehzade Orhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1963) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Eric Mehmed Ziyaeddin Nazim Efendi (b. 1966) (descendant of Mehmed V)
HIH Prince Şehzade Orhan Murad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1972) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
HIH Prince Şehzade Mahmud Francis Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Mehmed V)
HIH Prince Şehzade René Osman Abdul Kadir Efendi (b. 1975) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Daniel Adrian Hamid Kadir Efendi (b. 1977) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Abdulhamid Kayıhan Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1979) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
HIH Prince Şehzade Nazım Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1985) (descendant of Mehmed V)
HIH Prince Şehzade Yavuz Selim Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 1989) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Turan Cem Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2004) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
HIH Prince Şehzade Tamer Nihad Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2006) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)
HIH Prince Şehzade Harun Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2007) (descendant of Abdul Hamid II)
HIH Prince Şehzade Batu Bayezid Osmanoğlu Efendi (b. 2008) (descendant of Murad V through Ahmed IV and Ali I)

[FunkMonk]

No prisoners!

[Agelastus]

No prisoners!

Please change your avatar - I keep thinking you are Grumbler...

[katmai]

No prisoners!

Please change your avatar - I keep thinking you are Grumbler...

Grumbler was the one who did the copying.

[Agelastus]

No prisoners!

Please change your avatar - I keep thinking you are Grumbler...

Grumbler was the one who did the copying.

Must have missed it during one of my long absences.

[Jaron]

Funkmunk marched off to war (Hurrah, Hurrah), and grumbler changed it as an homage.

[Grey Fox]

No prisoners!

Please change your avatar - I keep thinking you are Grumbler...

Grumbler uses his avatar in honor of Funkie when he's overseas.

[Agelastus]

Thanks for the explanation guys.