#aynulhayat kadin

[ottomanladies]

Wedded wives of the Ottoman Sultans

“[I]t is unclear whether an Ottoman prince underwent a wedding ceremony with a woman he took as a concubine or, if he acceded to the throne, whom he elevated to the rank of Kadın. The subject of weddings with imperial concubines requires further study, but given the present state of our knowledge we can say that until the mid-nineteenth century, such marriages formed the exceedingly rare exception in the House of Osman. [...] After the mid-nineteenth century, however, marriages with concubines became more frequent as part of the Ottoman monarchy’s increasing adoption of European royal practice.” -- Douglas Scott Brookes, The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem

*I stopped at Abdülmecid I, as it is not clear if subsequent weddings had the same value as these above or if they were just ceremonies to welcome the new concubine in the harem

[ottomanladies]

Mustafa III + harem and children

Consorts

Aynü’l-Hayât Baş-Kadınefendi (1726?-1.8.1764): she is sometimes considered Mustafa III's official wife. She was Mihrimah Sultan's mother, though Öztuna claims she was also mother to Mihr-i Şâh Sultan, Hibetullah Sultan and Hatice Sultan (the princess that died young). Esad Efendi, in Teşrifat-ı Kadime, claims that she died on 1 August 1764 and that she was Third Imperial Consort to "Allah's Shadow on Earth". Öztuna, on the other hand, claims that she was Mustafa III's first Baş-Kadınefendi. She was buried in Laleli, the plaque on her tomb clearly identifying her as the mother of Mihrimah Sultan (there is no mention of possible other daughters). She had built the Katırcıham Mescid Mosque in 1760.

Mihr-i Şâh Baş-Kadınefendi, later Vâlide-Sultân (1745?-16.10.1805): mother of Selim III, Fatma Sultan, and Hibetullah Sultan. Some historians say that she was mother to Şâh Sultan as well, but she was born only 8 months before Selim III. According to a legend, she was Genoese, but it's more likely that she was Georgian instead. Sakaoğlu claims that she was appointed Senior Consort because she was the mother to Mustafa III's only son. There is not much information about her tenure as Senior Consort, only that she was immediately sent to the Old Palace on the death of her husband. A document preserved in the Topkapi Palace Archives states that Mustafa III had borrowed money from Mihr-i Şâh; since the document wasn't torn, it means that the debt was never paid back (most probably because of Mustafa III's sudden death). On the death of his uncle Abdülhamid I on 7 April 1789, Selim III ascended the throne and Mihr-i Şâh was ceremoniously crowned Valide Sultan through the procession of the Valide Sultan, at which dignitaries, members of the ulema and the military participated. The next day the Valide Sultan assumed office with a written decree that was read to everyone present at the ceremony. At this point, gifts were sent to her. During her 15-years tenure, Mihr-i Şâh Sultan supported her son's innovations and was personally behind the renovations in the Topkapi Palace harem. According to a palace rumour, Selim III would go greet his mother in her apartments every single morning. Mihr-i Şâh Valide Sultan died on 16 October 1805, around 10 in the morning. During her tenure, she oversaw philanthropic projects, such as two fountains in memory of her two daughters - Hibetullah and Fatma - who had died young, and the Mihr-i Şâh Sultân Mosque with two minarets.

Fehîme 2. Kadınefendi (?? - 1761): she died while giving birth and, according to Sicill-i Osmani, Mustafa III called her "şehide" (martyr). Sakaoğlu claims that she was a Hanım, and not the Second Imperial Consort. She's not mentioned in Uluçay.

Rifat 2. Kadınefendi (1744?-12.1803): apparently a free woman whom Mustafa III met during an incognito tour of Istanbul, she was kept outside of the harem for a long time, then trusted into the care of the Grand Vizier and his wife who educated her in the harem ways, and finally admitted to the Imperial harem as Fourth Imperial Consort. In 1764, she eventually rose to the rank of Second Imperial Consort. From her burial place in Haydarpaşa Cemetery, it has been suggested that after Mustafa III's death, she returned to her own family instead of being sent to the Old Palace. Öztuna claims that she was Şâh Sultan's mother.

(Ayşe) Â’dil-Şâh 3. Kadınefendi (1748?-19.12.1803): of Circassian origin, she was the mother of Beyhan and Hatice Sultan. She died during the Ramadan month, supposedly around or on the same day of Rifat Kadınefendi. She was buried in the garden of Mustafa III's tomb, where an old plaque identified her as the mother of Beyhan and Hatice Sultan, which did not survive to present day. In her honour, her daughter Beyhan built a school around Yeşillioğlu Palace in the same year she died. In 1805, her other daughter, Hatice, built the Adilşah Kadın Mescidi Mosque. That she was also called Ayşe is present only in Alderson and Öztuna.

Binnâz 3. Kadınefendi (?? - 5.1823): not mentioned in Uluçay or Sakaoğlu, she was a childless consort who, after Mustafa III's death, married Çayır-zâde İbrahim Ağa. She had been Fourth Imperial Consort until Aynü’l-Hayât Kadınefendi's death in 1764, when she was promoted. At the time of her death, she was about 80 years old. She was buried in the Hamidiye Mausoleum.

Gülman: no information about her. Alderson suggests that she might have been called Gülnar instead.

Children

Hibetullah Sultan (17.3.1759 - 6.1762): she was the first birth in the Dynasty in 29 years. Her birth was therefore celebrated for ten days and ten nights by rich and poor alike. Her name is sometimes written as Heybetullah or Heyyibetullah. On the fountain dedicated to her, it is written that her mother was Mihr-i Şâh Sultan, and not Aynü’l-Hayât Kadınefendi as Öztuna believes. Her nurse seems to have been Emine Hanım, Aynü’l-Hayât Kadınefendi's sister. When she was three months old, Hibetullah was engaged to Hamid Hamza Paşa in another pompous ceremony; on this occasion, her father bestowed the Gümrükçü farms to her. Unfortunately, she died at the age of three either of smallpox or another disease. She was buried in her father's mausoleum.

Şâh Sultan (21.4.1761 - 11.3.1803): mother unknown, she was born during the month of Ramadan and therefore the celebrations in her honour were postponed on the day next to Eid. She was engaged at the age of three to Grand Vizier Köse Bahir Mustafa Paşa but, at the engagement ceremony, Mustafa III exiled his Grand Vizier to Lesbo and later had him executed. At the age of seven, she was engaged to Nişancı Yağlıkçızade Mehmed Emin Paşa (later Grand Vizier); a year later, though, he was exiled to Edirne and executed there. Finally, during the reign of her uncle Abdülhamid I, she was married to Nişancı Seyyid Mustafa Paşa on 6 November 1778. The couple had two daughters: Şerife Havvâ Hanım-Sultân and Âliye Hanım-Sultân, both died at six months old. Şâh Sultan and her husband adopted a girl, New Hanım, who died at the age of 18. Şâh Sultan may have suffered from health problems because she lived in a mansion on the seaside and was definitely less active than her other two sisters, Beyhan and Hatice. Selim III used to visit her very often, even staying for days and summoning the Grand Vizier there to discuss affairs of state. In Tarih-i Cevdet it is stated that she was an impeccable Muslim, who protected and helped the poor. In 1792, she built the Şâh Sultan fountain in Yeşildirek; in 1800, she built her tomb, a school and a public fountain near the Zal Mahmud Paşa Mosque in Eyüp. She died at the age of 42 years old and was buried in the tomb she had built for herself.

Selim III (24.12.1761 - 28.7.1808): 28th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, he reigned for 18 years before being deposed in favour of his cousin Mustafa IV. He had several consorts but no children.

Mihr-i Mâh Sultan (5.2.1762 - 3.1764): Alderson claimed she was born in 1760 but documents in Topkapi Palace Archives found by Uluçay reveal that she was born in 1762 and died in 1764. Her mother was Aynü’l-Hayât Kadınefendi. For her birth, celebrations were held for five days. She, unfortunately, died young and was buried next to her sister Hibetullah.

Mihr-i Şâh Sultan (9.1.1763 - 21.2.1769): mother unknown, Mustafa III ordered celebrations for three days and three nights to be held. She died at the young age of 6 and was buried in her father's mausoleum.

Beyhan Sultan (13.1.1766 - 7.11.1824): elder daughter of Â’dil-Şâh Kadınefendi, she is sometimes called Big-han Sultan. She was nine years old when her father died, and moved to the Old Palace with her mother and younger sister. In a note sent to the Grand Vizier, the new sultan Abdülhamid I said that Beyhan fainted often inside the Old Palace and had bouts of screaming and shouting. Her mother thought that it was time for her to get married. The sultan selected Silahdar Çelik/Perişan Mustafa Paşa for Beyhan; the wedding was celebrated on 22 April 1784 and the couple had a child together, Hatice Hanım-Sultân, who lived into adulthood, as she got married in 1814. Beyhan was the sister that Selim III met most often during his reign; he would visit her on her seaside palace on the Bosphorus and listen to musical performances together. She was most active in the innovations of the empire and even organised parties for foreign ambassadors' wives. She built twin palaces in Yeşillioğlu, giving the other to her sister Hatice. In 1791, she demolished the old Çırağan Palace with Selim III's approval and started the construction of a European-style mansion. The mansion was ready in 1795, just when her sister Hatice was busy with the construction of her seaside mansion with Melling's help. Her husband died around 1798 but Beyhan did not remarry though she lived for 26 more years. She died during the reign of Mahmud II at the age of 59.

Hatice Sultan (15.6.1766 -1767): according to Alderson and Öztuna. There is no information about her.

Şehzade Mehmed (10.1.1767-12.10.1772): died of smallpox, his tutor had been Küçük Hüseyn Ağa (later Damad and Paşa). He was buried in the mausoleum of his father.

Hatice Sultan (13/14.6.1768 - 17.7.1822): younger daughter of Â’dil-Şâh Kadınefendi, she was six years old when her father died and she had to move to the Old Palace with her mother and elder sister. She was educated by the other concubines living there. Like her sister, Hatice Sultan developed depression, according to her mother, who wrote to the new sultan, Abdülhamid I, asking him to find a husband for her younger daughter. According to Hatice Sultan's deputy, Ahmed Vasıf Efendi, the princess' depression was due to the environment in which she was forced to live. Ahmed Vasıf Efendi would later write a history of the period, providing valuable information on Hatice Sultan's life. At the age of 18, the princess married Seyyid Ahmed Paşa; the marriage lasted till 1799 when the pasha died, but the couple had no children. After being widowed, Hatice Sultan chose not to remarry. In 1806, she built the Hatice Sultan Fountain in the Spice Bazaar. In 1809, she bought a large plot of land in Arnavutköyü and had the Hatice Sultan Palace built there. She died in 1822, during the reign of Mahmud II, and as she had no children, she left everything to her elder sister Beyhan. Her staggering debt was paid off by Mahmud II. She was buried in the mausoleum of Mihr-i Şâh Valide Sultan.

Fatma Sultan (9.1.1770 - 26.5.1772): she was buried in the mausoleum of her father

Reyhan Sultan (?-?): she was very young when she died.