Emine Nazikedâ Kadınefendi

Nazikedâ Kadınefendi نازك ادا فادين افندی
Baş Kadın of the Ottoman Empire
Tenure	3 July 1918 – 1 November 1922
Predecessor	Kamures Kadınefendi
Successor	Empire abolished, Şehsuvar Kadınefendi as Baş Kadın of the Ottoman Caliphate
Born	Emine Marshan 9 October 1866 Tsebelda, Abkhazia, Russian Empire
Died	April 4, 1941 (aged 74) Cairo, Egypt
Burial	Abbasiye Cemetery
Spouse	Mehmed VI
Issue	Münire Sultan Fatma Ulviye Sultan Rukiye Sabiha Sultan
Full name Turkish: Nazikedâ English: Nazuk Ada Ottoman Turkish: نازك ادا‎
House	House of Marshania (by birth) House of Osman (by marriage)
Father	Hasan Ali Marshania
Mother	Fatma Horecan Aredba
Religion	Sunni Islam

Emine Nazikedâ Kadınefendi (October 9, 1866 – 4 April 1941; born Princess Emine Marshan; Ottoman Turkish: نازك ادا فادين افندی‎) was the first wife and chief consort of Sultan Mehmed VI. She was the last Baş Kadın of the Ottoman Empire.

Biography

Emine Nazikeda Kadınefendi was born on 9 October 1866 in Tsebelda, when Abkhazia came under Russian Empire. Born as Emine Marshan, she was a member of Abkhazian princely family Marshan. Her father was Prince Hassan Bey Marshan (1836-1877) and her mother was Princess Fatma Horecan Hanım Aredba, an Abkhazian.^[1][2] She was the paternal granddaughter of Prince Ismail Bey. In 1877, Emine along with her sisters, Daryal and Naciye Hanım and cousins, Amine, Rumeysa, Pakize, Fatma and Kamile Hanım left their city of birth and arrived at Istanbul, where they were delivered at the palace of Cemile Sultan. Her aunt, Suzidil Hanım was a Lady-in-waiting to Cemile Sultan. She had two elder brothers Prince Mehmed Bey and Prince Abdülkadir Bey,^{[note 1]}

She spent her childhood in the palace of Cemile Sultan where she took private lessons of piano. She was also interested in horse riding and used to ride horse at the park of Cemile Sultan's palace. She was a Lady-in-waiting to Cemile Sultan's daughter Fatma Hanımsultan. In 1884 she was noticed by Şehzade Vahideddin Efendi (future Mehmed VI) and he fell in love with her. He asked Cemile Sultan for her hand in marriage. She was married to Şehzade Vahideddin Efendi in the Ortaköy Palace, Constantinople, on 8 June 1885. She was declared as his principal consort. Three years after marriage, she gave birth to Münire Sultan, the in 1892 and 1894 to Fatma Ulviye Sultan and Rukiye Sabiha Sultan respectively.^[1]

During the Turkish War of Independence which occurred between 19 May 1919 to 24 July 1923, she supported charity organisations, schools, hospitals and mosques. In 1922, Mehmed was deposed and exiled. She, together with other members of his family, was kept in house arrest at the Feriye Palace by order of the new parliament until 10 March 1924, when they were also sent into exile. She lived in San Remo in Italy until the death of her spouse in 1926, thereafter in France and from 1929 in Cairo, where she died in poverty on 4 April 1941 and was buried in Abbasiye Cemetery.^[1][3][4]

Issue

Together with Mehmed, Emine Nazikedâ had three children:

• Münire Sultan (1888 - 1888);
• Fatma Ulviye Sultan (11 September 1892, Ortaköy Palace, Ortaköy, Istanbul – 25 January 1967, Izmir, buried at Çengelköy, Üsküdar, Istanbul);
• Rukiye Sabiha Sultan Hanım Efendi (Ortaköy Palace, Ortaköy, Istanbul, 2 April 1894 – 26 August 1971, Istanbul, buried at Çengelköy, Üsküdar, Istanbul).^[5]

Titles and styles

• 3 July 1918 – 1 November 1922:
  Devletlu İsmetlu Nazikedâ Baș Kadınefendi Hazretleri (Her Highness The Chief Imperial Lady Consort Nazikedâ)

Notes

1. Also Abdulkadir Marschania of Tzebelda, turkish Name: Marşania Abdülkadir Bey, lived from 1862 to 1928.

References

1. Harun Açba (2007). Kadın efendiler: 1839-1924. Profil. ISBN 978-9-759-96109-1.
2. Bir Çerkes prensesinin harem hatıraları. L & M. 2004. ISBN 978-9-756-49131-7.
3. Yılmaz Öztuna (1989). İslâm devletleri: devletler ve hanedanlar. Kültür Bakanlığı. ISBN 978-9-751-70469-6.
4. M. Çağatay Uluçay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ötüken. ISBN 978-9-754-37840-5.
5. Genealogy Of The Imperial Ottoman Family (2005)

Succession