ota, نازک ادا قادین , spouse = , house = Tsanba (by birth)
Ottoman (by marriage) , father = Arzakan Tsanba , mother = Esma Hanim Klıç , birth_name = Mediha Tsanba , birth_date = 1848 , birth_place =

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Yıldız Palace Yıldız Palace ( tr, Yıldız Sarayı, ) is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas in Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the sultan and his court in the late 19th ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

(present day

, Turkey) , burial_place = Imperial ladies mausoleum, New Mosque,

, religion =

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

Nazikeda Kadın (; ota, نازك ادا قادین; born Mediha Tsanba; 1848 – 11 April 1895; meaning 'One of delicate manners') was the first consort and chief consort (BaşKadin) of Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

of the

Early life

Nazikeda Kadın was born in 1848 in

. Born as Mediha Tsanba, she was an Abkhazian princess. Her father was Prince Arzakan Bey, chief of the Tsanba family, and her mother was Esma Hanim of the Klıç family. She had a brother named Kazım Pasha. She had been brought to Istanbul as a young child, where her father entrusted her to the household of the wife of grand vizier

Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha, also spelled as Mehmed Emin Aali (March 5, 1815 – September 7, 1871) was a prominent Ottoman statesman during the Tanzimat period, best known as the architect of the Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856, and for his role in ...

. Here her name according to Ottoman custom was changed to Nazikeda. She then learned the court protocol, and to play the piano. In 1858, aged ten, when

Cemile Sultan Cemile Sultan ( ota, جمیله سلطان; "''beautiful, radiant''"; 17 August 1843 – 26 February 1915) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Düzdidil Hanım. She was the half sister of Sultans Murad V, Abdul Hami ...

, the daughter of Sultan

Abdulmejid I Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the ...

, married Mahmud Celaleddin Pasha, the son of Fethi Ahmed Pasha, the groom's mother took Nazikeda, and presented her to Cemile. Pleased by the well-bred manners of Nazikeda, Cemile made her a personal attendant who always accompanied her mistress. She was a good pianist and was described as tall, with long straight black hair and dark eyes.

Marriage

One day, Abdul Hamid visited his younger half-sister Cemile Sultan at her palace at Kandilli. Here he saw Nazikeda, and fell in love with her. He asked his sister to give him Nazikeda in marriage. In fact, Cemile also noticed that this young girl had pleased her brother, and she immediately presented her to him. The marriage took place in 1863 in the

Dolmabahçe Palace Dolmabahçe Palace ( tr, Dolmabahçe Sarayı, ) located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coast of the Bosporus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and from 1909 t ...

. In 1868 she gave birth to her only daughter, Ulviye Sultan. Ulviye Sultan Abdul Hamid II

On 5 October 1875, when Ulviye was seven, she was burned to death playing with matches, while Nazikeda, who tried to save her, also suffered severe burns. After her daughter died, Nazikeda fell into depression without ever recovering and ended up becoming obese and sickly. In his reflections, Abdul Hamid referred three times to the death of his first child. He considered it the first traumatic experience of his life curiously not mentioning the death of his mother when he was eleven or the death of his father when he was fourteen. After Abdul Hamid's accession to the throne on 31 August 1876, she was installed the principal consort with the title of "Senior Kadın". A lovely brunette with a perfect figure, according to

Leyla Saz Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanimefendi (1850–1936) was a Turkish composer, poet and writer. Biography Born in 1850, she was the daughter of İsmail Hakkı Pasha, (often called Hekim İsmail Pasha (İsmail Pasha the Doctor). She spent her ...

, she was in every way worthy of this position both with respect to her lofty spirit and because of her beauty. In 1877, Nazikeda and other members of the imperial family settled in the

, after Abdul Hamid moved there on 7 April 1877. She held the second highest position in the imperial harem after Perestu Kadın. Nazikeda, however, never forgot her first mistress, the wife of Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha. Deeply grateful to her for the training she received, Nazikeda obtained Abdul Hamid's permission to invite her to the palace. When according to the protocol the old lady bowed before her, Nazikeda persuaded her to sit beside her. After the death of

Peyveste Hanım ota, پیوسته خانم , house = Emuhvari (by birth) Ottoman (by marriage) , father = Osman Emkhaa , mother = Hesna Çaabalurhva , birth_name = Rabia Emuhvari , birth_date = 10 May 1873 , birth_place = Pitsunda, ...

's father, Nazikeda's paternal cousin Meryem Hanım presented her widowed mother Hesna Hanım and her sisters to Nazikeda. She won over Hesna, and adopted her daughters. Peyveste went onto marry Abdul Hamid in 1893, and became mother of the couple's only child, a son,

Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri ( ota, شهزاده عبدالرحيم خيرى ;14 August 1894 – 1 January 1952) was an Ottoman prince, son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Peyveste Hanım. Early life Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri was born on 14 August 18 ...

, born in 1894.

Death

Nazikeda Kadın died on 11 April 1895 in the

, and was buried in the mausoleum of imperial ladies in Yeni Mosque in

Issue

*Ulviye Sultan (1868 - 5 October 1875). Abdülhamid's eldest child. Born in

, she died at the age of seven in an extremely tragic way: while her mother played the piano and their servants were dismissed for the meal, Ulviye Sultan began to play with gods matches or candles. Her dress caught fire and her gold belt trapped her inside it, even though her mother burned her hands trying to unhook it. In panic, Nazikeda picked up her daughter and ran down the stairs, screaming for help, but the movement fueled the flames and Ulviye Sultan died burnt alive, leaving her mother in total despair, from which she never recovered. She was buried in the Yeni Cami.

References

Sources