Hüma Hatun (; 1410 – September 1449) was a concubine of Ottoman Sultan Murad II and the mother of

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

Life

Although, some Turkish sources claim that she was of Turkic origin, Hüma Hatun was a slave girl of European origin. Nothing is known of her family background, apart from the fact that an Ottoman inscription (vakfiye) describes her as ''Hātun binti Abdullah'' (daughter of Abdullah); at that time, people who converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

were given the slave name ''Abdullah'' meaning ''Servant of God'', which is evidence of her non-Muslim origin. According to the tradition, she was of Italian and/or Jewish origin and her previous name may have been Stella or Esther. According to another view, she was of Greek or Slavic origin. Based on the fact that Mehmed II was fluent in the

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...

, it was concluded that she may have been of south Slavic origin, most likely Serbian. Finally, it has also been claimed that she may have been Greek. Her name, ''hüma'', means "bird of paradise/phoenix", after the Persian legend. Hüma Hatun entered in Murad II's harem around 1424. By him she had firstly two daughters, Hatice Hatun in 1425 and Fatma Hatun in 1430, and finally, on 30 March 1432, she gave birth to her only son, the future Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. In 1438, Mehmed was circumcised along with his elder half-brother, Şehzade Alaeddin. When Mehmed was 11 years old, he was sent to Manisa as a prince governor. Hüma followed her son to Manisa. Her children's wet nurses were Hundi Hatun (d. 14 February 1486): usually styled ''Daye Hatun'' (lady governess), who became very wealthy and influential enough during the reign of Mehmed II, enough to fund several charitable foundations and commission prayers for her soul, and Gülbahar Hatun, called also Ebe Hatun (lady midwife), buried in her own türbe in the

Muradiye Complex The Muradiye Complex () or the Complex of Sultan Murad II, the Ottoman sultan (reigned 1421–1451, with interruption 1444–46), is located in Bursa, Turkey. It is part of the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The mosque complex com ...

, Bursa. In 1444, after the death of Mehmed's elder half-brother, Şehzade Alaeddin, who died in 1443, Mehmed was the only heir left to the throne. In that same year, Murad II abdicated the throne due to depression over the death of his son, Şehzade Alaeddin Ali Çelebi, and retreated to Manisa. Her son Şehzade Mehmed succeeded the throne as Mehmed II. She held the Vâlide Hatun position for two years. In 1446, Murad took over the throne again, and Hüma and her son returned to Bursa. However, Mehmed succeeded the throne in 1451, after the death of his father, but she never became a Valide Hatun as she died before the accession. She was not alive to see the conquest of Constantinople, which became the capital of

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 ...

for nearly five centuries, before the Empire was abolished in 1922 and Turkey was officially declared as a republic.

Death

She died in September 1449 in Bursa, two years before her son's second accession to the throne. Her tomb is located at the site known as "Hatuniye Kümbedi" (Hatuniye Tomb) to the east of

, which was built by her son Mehmed. The quarter where her tomb lies has been known thus far as Hüma Hatun Quarter.

Issue

By Murad II, Hüma Hatun had two daughters and a son: * Hatice Hatun (1425 – after 1470). She married Candaroğlu İsmail Kemaleddin Bey and had three sons: Hasan Bey (who married is cousin Kamerhan Hatun, daughter of Mehmed II, and had a daughter, Hanzade Hatun), Yahya Bey and Mahmud Bey. Her descendants were still alive during the reign of Abdulmejid I, in the 19th century. In August 1470, she remarried with Isa Bey. * Fatma Hatun (1430 – after 1464). She married Zaganos Pasha and had two sons: Hamza Bey and Ahmed Çelebi, who would become an important adviser to his cousin Bayezid II. Following her divorce in 1462, she married Mahmud Çelebi. *

(1432–1481). Sultan of the

after his father and conqueror of Constantinople in 1453.

In popular culture

* Hüma Hatun was portrayed by Leyla Feray in the docuseries '' Rise of Empires: Ottoman'' (2020). * Açelya Akkoyun portrayed Hüma Hatun in '' Mehmed: Fetihler Sultanı'' (2024).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huma Hatun 15th-century consorts of Ottoman sultans 1449 deaths People from the Ottoman Empire of Italian descent Valide hatuns 15th-century slaves in the Ottoman Empire Concubines of Ottoman sultans