Hatun

Hatun is a Turkish name and used as an honorific for women during the Ottoman period.

Honorific

In the Ottoman period, the term hatun was used as an honorific for women, roughly equivalent to the English term lady and a variant spelling of khatun. Like most Turkish honorifics, it is used after the first name. Women traditionally addressed as hatun include:

• Melike Mama Hatun Saltukid female ruler (reigned between 1191-1200)
• Gürcü Hatun (fl. 1237–1286), Georgian royal princess, wife of sultan Kaykhusraw II
• Mal Hatun (died 1323), wife of Sultan Osman I
• Gülçiçek Hatun (fl. 14th century), wife of Sultan Murad I
• Devlet Hatun (died 1411), wife of Sultan Bayezid I
• Gülfem Hatun (died 1561-1562), consort of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
• Şemsiruhsar Hatun (died 1613), consort of Sultan Murad III
• Nene Hatun (1857–1955), Turkish folk heroine

Valide Hatun

Valide Hatun was the title held by the "legal mother" of a ruling Sultan of the Ottoman Empire before 16th century. Ottoman women who were traditionally addressed as Valide Hatun include:

• Nilüfer, Valide Hatun (1362 - 1383) for her son Murad I
• Emine, Valide Hatun (1421 - 1449) for her son Murad II
• Huma, Valide Hatun (1444 - 1446) for her son Mehmed II
• Emine Gülbahar, Valide Hatun (1481 - 1492) for Bayezid II

By the beginning of 16th century, the title hatun for sultan's mother, princesses, and sultan's main consort was replaced by "sultan" and they started to carry it after their given names. This usage underlines the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as family prerogative.^[1] Consequently, the title valide hatun also turned into valide sultan.

Given name

• Ayşe Hatun Önal, Turkish model
• Hatun Sürücü, German murder victim

References

1. Peirce, Leslie P. (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. ISBN 0-19-507673-7.