In this cartoon postcard, John Bull, and personifications of France, Austria, Germany, Italy and Russia watch on, as Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842 - 1918) wields a knife in a dispute over Crete. The Sultan oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire, ruling from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed on 27 April 1909. He was the last Ottoman Sultan to rule with absolute power. Following Christian uprisings throughout the 19th century, Crete, a complex autonomous Cretan State under Ottoman suzerainty, was garrisoned by an international military force.