Nakşidil Sultan

Nakşidil Sultan

Nakşidil Sultan
Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Tenure 28 July 1808 - 22 August 1817
Predecessor Ayşe Seniyeperver Sultan
Successor Bezmiâlem Sultan
Born possibly Aimée du Buc de Rivéry
(1768-12-19)19 December 1768
Caucasus
Died 22 August 1817(1817-08-22) (aged 48)
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Burial Constantinople
Spouse Abdul Hamid I
Issue Adoptive son Mahmud II
Religion Islam or Roman Catholic

Nakşidil Valide Sultan (fully Devletli, İsmetli, Nakşidil Valide Sultan Aliyyetü'ş-şân Hazretleri; 19 December 1768 – 22 August 1817; meaning "Embroidered on the Heart"[1])[2] was the consort of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid I and Valide Sultan to her adoptive son Mahmud II.

Controversy over identity

The husband of Nakş-î Dil Sultân, Caliph of Islam, Ghazi Sultan Abdul Hamid I, Abd Al-Ḥamīd-i evvel I, عبد الحميد اول, Khan in his royal robes.

There is a legend that she was the same person as Aimée du Buc de Rivéry, cousin of Empress Josephine, who went missing at sea at a young age: according to this legend, Aimée du Buc de Rivéry was captured by Barbary pirates and sold as a harem concubine, though there is no evidence of this.

Further information: Aimée du Buc de Rivéry

Several older myths, dating back even to the early 16th century, already purported to identify connections between the French and the Ottoman monarchy, but have been found to be politically motivated fabrications, intended to justify alliances between the two (supposedly related) monarchies. The Aimée-Nakşidil tale shows several distinct parallels to these older tales. When in times of monarchy, the stories about abducted French princesses weren't repudiated to maintain good relations, in later times this and similar harem tales have been used to perpetuate a view of Turkey, the Middle East and the Islam in general as mysterious and despotic in nature, despite more accurate accounts available.[3]

Supposed facts

According to the Ottoman Chronicles, the mother of Mahmud II was known by the Turkish name Nakşidil (Nakshidil) and died in 1817; all the women of the sultan were given Turkish names when they entered the harem.

The woman who was valide sultan during the period from 1808 to 1817 was supposedly very western and French-influenced; she was said to have given the Sultan French lessons, sent an embassy to Paris, and reformed the harem by giving the women permission to go on picnics and boat travels along the coasts outside the palace.

She also was not, as is often stated, the 13th wife of Abdul Hamid I and recorded mother of Mahmud II.[4] According to a Turkish historian, though "Sultan Mahmud II's mother Nakşidil Sultan, whose life has been the subject of 174 historical novels in the world as well as the film The Favorite... was believed to be Aimée du Buc de Rivéry, the cousin of Napoleon's wife Josephine... she [actually] came from a family that had its origins in the Caucasus region. Dr. Fikret Saraçoğlu has found in the archives of the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul documents pertaining to her death and funeral."[5]

Ibrahim Pazan writes that she was actually a Georgian and was born in Caucasus. She was raised in the Ottoman palace and was given thoroughly Turkish Islamic education.[6]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Harem: The Favourites
  2. ↑ "Images du patrimoine". Manioc. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Christine Isom-Verhaaren: Royal French Women in the Ottoman Sultans' Harem
  4. ↑ Turkish Sultanic Family Genealogy
  5. ↑ Turkish Daily News
  6. ↑ İbrahim Pazan (2007). Padişah anneleri. Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı. ISBN 978-9-944-11831-6.

External links

Ottoman royalty
Preceded by
Ayşe Seniyeperver Sultan		 Valide Sultan
28 July 1808 - 22 August 1817 		Succeeded by
Bezmiâlem Sultan
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