Ayşe Sultan (; 30 April 1696 – 26 September 1752), nicknamed Büyük Ayşe (''Ayşe the Elder''), was an Ottoman princess, daughter of

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...

Mustafa II Mustafa II (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703. Early life He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sultan Mehmed IV (1648–87 ...

and the half-sister of Sultans

Mahmud I Mahmud I (, ; 2 August 1696 13 December 1754), known as Mahmud the Hunchback, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754. He took over the throne after the quelling of the Patrona Halil rebellion. His reign was marked by wars in P ...

and

Osman III Osman III ( ''Osmān-i sālis'';‎ 2 January 1699 – 30 October 1757) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757. He was succeeded by his cousin Mustafa III. Early life Osman III was born on 2 January 1699 in the Edirne Palace ...

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 ...

Life

Birth

Ayşe Sultan was born on 30 April 1696 at the

Edirne Palace Edirne Palace (), or formerly New Imperial Palace (), is a former palace of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultans in Edirne (then known in English as Adrianople), built during the era when the city was the capital of the empire. Few of the palace bu ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. At the time of her birth her father was traveling to Austria and part of his harem awaited him in Belgrade, while the rest remained in Edirne. Therefore Ayşe could have been born in Belgrade or Edirne. She was the eldest daughter and child of Sultan

. She was then nicknamed Büyük Ayşe, who meaning Ayşe "the elder", to distinguish her from her cousin, Ayşe "the younger" (Küçük Ayşe), daughter of

Ahmed III Ahmed III (, ''Aḥmed-i sālis''; was sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at Hacıoğlu Pazarcık, ...

. In 1703 her father was deposed in favor of his younger brother Ahmed III and she, with her half-sisters, was locked up in the Old Palace until her marriage.

Marriages

In 8 April 1708, Ayşe Sultan was married to Fazıl Mustafa Pasha's son Köprülüzade Numan Pasha, then the governor of Belgrade, to whom she had remained betrothed since she was seven. Her dowry was 20,000 ducats. The wedding was held together with that of his half-sister Emine Sultan. A month later, after sending on her trousseau, Ayşe and her equally magnificent procession left for the Zeyrek Palace that had been allocated to her. But instead of accompanying Ayşe Sultan all the way to Zeyrek, a neighbourhood to the northwest of the Valens Aqueduct, the dignitaries went only as far as the grand vezir's palace. From this point onwards, the more functional core of the procession, comprising the princess and her trousseau, was taken to the Zeyrek palace in a relatively quiet and unostentatious way. The marriage was consummated on March 1710. Numan Pasha became the grand vizier in 1710, and some months after he became the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, where he died in 1719. After Numan Pasha's death, Ayşe on 6 February 1720 was married secondly to Silahdar Tezkireci Ibrahim Pasha, previously a sword-bearer of Sultan

Ahmed II Ahmed II (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1691 to 1695. Early life Ahmed II was born on 25 February 1643 or 1 August 1642, the son of Sultan Ibrahim and Muazzez Sultan. On 21 October 1649, Ahmed, along with his brothers Mehmed ...

. The marriage was consummated on 20 August 1720. Ayşe became widow in 1722. Following Ibrahim Pasha's death, she married Koca Mustafa Pasha on 18 August 1725. Mustafa Pasha died in 1728. There are no known children born from these marriages. After the death of her third husband, Ayşe decided not to marry again and spent the rest of her life in her palace in

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 ...

Death

Ayşe Sultan died on 26 September 1752 at the age of fifty-six, and was buried next to father in her great-grandmother Turhan Sultan's mausoleum, located at New Mosque at

Eminönü Eminönü, historically known as Pérama, is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is l ...

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 ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Following her death, her palace was allocated to her cousin Ayşe "The Younger" Sultan.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayşe Sultan 1696 births 1752 deaths 17th-century Ottoman princesses 18th-century Ottoman princesses