Şayeste Hanım (; ; "''the best''"; 1838 – 11 February 1912) was a consort of Sultan

Abdulmejid I ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Early life

Of Abkhazian origin and a member of a princely family of Inalipa, Şayeste Hanım was born in 1838. She had one sister, Hüsnidil Hanım, who was the wife of a certain Safvet Pasha. She was also related to Kabasalal Çerkes Mehmed Pasha.

Marriage

Şayeste married Abdulmejid in 1851, and was given the title of "Sixth Ikbal". A year after the marriage, on 3 February 1853, she gave birth to her first child, a son, Şehzade Abdüllah, stillborn. In 1853, she was elevated to the title of "Fifth Ikbal", in 1854, she was elevated to the title of "Fourth Ikbal", and in 1856, she was elevated to the title of "Third Ikbal". On 30 September 1856, she gave birth to her second child, a daughter, Naile Sultan (called also Nadile Sultan). In 1858–59, she commissioned a mosque in Üsküdar. She was known for living beyond her means, and was sued for non-payment of a debt. She was widowed at Abdulmejid's death on 25 June 1861.

Widowhood

After Gülistü Kadın's death in 1861, a newborn Şehzade Mehmed Vahideddin (future

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as ''Şahbaba'' () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the penultimate Ottoman Cal ...

) was entrusted in her care. The prince had a rough time with his overbearing stepmother, and at the age of 16 he left his stepmother's mansion with the three servants who had been serving him since childhood. In 1876, She had her daughter, Naile Sultan, married to her relative Kabasakal Çerkeş Mehmed Paşa. Naile died four years later on 7 January 1882 at the age of 25. After Naile's death, Mehmed Pasha married

Esma Sultan Esma or ESMA may refer to: Acronyms * ''Escuela Superior Militar de Aviación "Cosme Rennella B."'', Ecuadorian Air Force * Former ''Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada'', used as a detention centre in Argentina 1976–1983, now Navy Petty- ...

, the daughter of Sultan

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861. Ab ...

in 1889. During the reign of

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

, Mehmed was given a mansion in Çengelköy. On this estate, Mehmed had another house built for Şayeste, with whom he had spent his childhood. Even though he had not got along with his stepmother in the past, he could not forget the struggle she had gone through while bringing him up. In March 1898, Şayeste attended the wedding of Naime Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Kemaleddin Pasha, the son of

Gazi Osman Pasha Osman Nuri Pasha (‎; 1832, Tokat, Ottoman Empire – 4 to 5 April 1900, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire), also known as Gazi Osman Pasha (), was an Ottoman Turkish field marshal. Being one of the most respected and decorated Ottoman pa ...

. Among her ladies-in-waiting was Inşirah Hanım, who would later become a consort her adopted son Mehmed. Ayşe Sultan, daughter of Abdul Hamid II, notes in her memoirs that during her father's reign, Şayeste would attend Ramadan celebrations, and would always sit next to

Perestu Kadın Rahime Perestu Sultan ( and 'swallow'; 1830 – 1904), also known as Rahime Perestu Kadın, was the first legal wife of Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire. She was given the title and position of Valide sultan (Queen mother) when Abdul ...

. In 1912 she wrote to the sultan to obtain the money to renovate her rooms at Feriye Palace, but she died before receiving a reply.

Death

Among the longest living consorts of Abdulmejid, Şayeste died on 11 February 1912 in the Çengelköy Palace at the age of about seventy-four outliving her daughter by thirty years. She was buried in the mausoleum of Şehzade Ahmed Kemaleddin in Yahya Efendi Cemetery,

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, today known as

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Issue

In literature

*Şayeste is a character in

Hıfzı Topuz Hıfzı Topuz (25 January 1923 – 26 September 2023) was a Turkish journalist, travel writer and novelist. He also served as a lecturer on journalism at several universities. Early life Topuz was born on 25 January 1923 in Istanbul. After fini ...

's historical novel ''Abdülmecit: İmparatorluk Çökerken Sarayda 22 Yıl: Roman'' (2009).

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sayeste Hanim 1830s births 1912 deaths People from the Ottoman Empire of Circassian descent Ottoman Sunni Muslims Consorts of Abdulmejid I