Fatma Sultan ( 1559 – October 1580; ota, فاطمہ سلطان, "''One who abstains''") was an Ottoman

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, daughter of

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Selim II Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى ''Selīm-i sānī'', tr, II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( tr, Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunk ( tr, Sarhoş Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire ...

(reign 1566–74) of the

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) ...

and his favorite

Nurbanu Sultan Nurbanu Sultan ( ota, نور بانو سلطان; "''Queen of light''", 1525 – 7 December 1583) was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the principal consort of Sultan Selim II (reign 1566–1574), his legal wife, as well Valide Sultan (Su ...

(but her maternity is disputed). She was the granddaughter of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

(reign 1520–66) and

Hurrem Sultan Hurrem Sultan (, ota, خُرّم سلطان, translit=Ḫurrem Sulṭān, tr, Hürrem Sultan, label= Modern Turkish; 1500 – 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana ( uk, Роксолана}; ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottom ...

, sister of Sultan Murad III (reign 1574–95) and aunt of Sultan

Mehmed III Mehmed III (, ''Meḥmed-i sālis''; tr, III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the L ...

(reign 1595–1603).

Early life

Fatma was born circa 1559 during Selim's princedom, at

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

Karaman Karaman, historically known as Laranda (Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. According t ...

where he served as

sanjakbey ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' ( ota, سنجاق بك) () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak' ...

, or provincial governor, at the time. She was her father's youngest daughter. Her mother's identity is uncertain; it is suggested that she was the fourth daughter of

, however the claim remains disputed. She had three older sister, Şah Sultan, Gevherhan Sultan and

Ismihan Sultan ota, اسمیخان سلطان , house = Ottoman , house-type = Dynasty , father = Selim II , mother = Nurbanu Sultan , birth_date = 1545 , birth_place = Manisa, Ottoman Empire , death_date = , death_place = ...

, an older brother, Murad III, and six younger half-brother who died infants when Murad became Sultan and he applicated the Law of Fraticide.

Marriage

In 1573, she married

Kanijeli Siyavuş Pasha Kanijeli Siyavuş Pasha ( ota, کانیجلی سیاوش پاشا, sh, Sijavuš-paša Kanjižanin, died 1602, Istanbul) was an Ottoman statesman from the Sanjak of Bosnia. He was Grand Vizier between 24 December 1582 and 28 July 1584, 15 Apr ...

(died 1602), then

Beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

(governor-general) of

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

, and eventually

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

1582–1584, 1586–1589, 1592–1593. Stephan Gerlach, first assistant and clergyman to the ambassador of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

at Istanbul from 1573 to 1578, recorded word that the Beylerbey was originally a slave whom Fatma's father Selim bought as a boy for 500 ducats and came to regard as his own son. It was in Sultan Selim's will that this marriage be arranged. Fatma's dowry amounted to approximately 5000 ducats. The marriage was happy, as indicated by the fact that she pleaded with her brother Murad to spare Siyavuş Pasha's life when at some point the latter fell out of favour. Siyavuş Pasha's physician, Moses Benveniste was often at dinner with the couple. She bore her husband four sons and a stillbirth daughter.

Charities

Fatma had an elementary school, or ''mektep'', as well as a religious college, or ''medrese'', constructed at Edirnekapı.

Death

Fatma Sultan died in October 1580, at

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, ...

, in childbirth as a result of her daughter being born prematurely. The latter reportedly died too. She was entombed in her father Sultan Selim II's mausoleum in

Hagia Sophia Mosque Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

. She had a provision made, supported by ''vakfs'', that is, charitable foundations, so that the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

would be read every morning, for the sake of her soul.

Issue

By her marriage, Fatma had four sons and a daughter. Only a son survived after infancy. *Sultanzade Ahmed Bey (1573 - 1582) *Sultanzade Mustafa Paşah (1575 - April 1599) *Sultanzade Abdulkaadir Bey (1577 - 1583) *Sultanzade Süleyman Bey (1579 - 1583) *''Fülane'' Hanımsultan (October 1580 - October 1580). Stillbirth. Fatma died in childbirth.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fatma Sultan People from Konya Deaths in childbirth 1550s births 1580 deaths 16th-century Ottoman princesses