Mehisti Hanım

Mehisti Hanım
Mehisti Hanım, with her husband Abdulmejid II, and daughter Dürrüşehvar Sultan
Calipha consort of the Ottoman Caliphate
Tenure 19 November 1922 – 3 March 1924
Born Atiye Akalsba
27 January 1892
Yongalık, Adapazarı, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died c. 1964 (aged 71–72)
Middlesex, London, England
Burial Brookwood Cemetery, London
Spouse Abdulmejid II
Issue Dürrüşehvar Sultan
House House of Osman (by marriage)
Father Hacımaf Akalsba
Mother Safiye Hanım
Religion Sunni Islam

Mehisti Hanım (Ottoman Turkish: مهستی خانم‎; 27 January 1892 – c. 1964) was the fourth wife of Abdulmejid II, the last Caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate.

Family

Mehisti Hanım was born on 27 January 1892 in Yongalık, Adapazarı, Istanbul. Born as Atiye Akalsba, she was member of Abkhazian noble family, Akalsba. Her father was Hacımaf Bey Akalsba and her mother was Safiye Hanım. She had two brothers Kamil Bey (1896 – 1963), and Fevzi Bey, and three sisters, Zahide Hanım (born 1894), Ayşe Mihridil Hanım (1898 – 1969), and Mihrivefa Hanım (born 1900). She was tall and had light brown hair and blue eyes.[1]

Marriage

"Beethoven in the Harem", 1915. Mehisti is thought to have been one of the two women listening with rapt attention.[2]

She married Abdulmejid on 16 April 1912 in the Bağlarbaşı Palace.[3][4] Dürrüşehvar Sultan, the couple's only daughter was born at Çamlica Palace on 26 January 1914. In 1924, she went into an exile along with the other members of the entourage. They moved firstly to Switzerland and then to France where they settled in Paris. During exile, her daughter, Dürrüşehvar married Prince Azam Jah, the eldest son and heir of the last Nizam of Hyderabad State, Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII, at Nice, on 12 November 1931, and went to live in British India.

After her marriage, Dürrüşehvar took Mehisti with her. But, when the family traveled from India to Europe, and came to France, she and her daughter stayed with Abulmejid. Neslişah notes that before Dürrüşehvar's marriage Mehisti was allowed to eat in the second sitting, along with Abdulmejid's wife Hayrünnisa Hanım, the secretaries Behruze and Ofelya and other Kalfas. However, after her marriage, Mehisti's position changed, and she was allowed to eat at the first sitting.[5]

Abdulmejid was interested in classical music. At times, he would perform with his wives, and the kalfas. He would be at the piano, Şehsuvar Hanım and Hayrünnisa Hanım would play the voilin, and Mehisti the cello.[6]

Death

After Abdulmejid's death in 1944, Mehisti settled in Middlesex, London. She died of stroke in 1964, and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery. After Dürrüşehvar's death in 2006, she was buried beside her.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ Açba 2007, p. 214-15.
  2. ↑ Wendy M. K. Shaw (March 15, 2011). Ottoman Painting: Reflections of Western Art from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic. I.B.Tauris. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-848-85288-4.
  3. 1 2 Açba 2007, p. 214.
  4. 1 2 Sakaoğlu 2007, p. 713.
  5. ↑ Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.
  6. ↑ Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.

Sources

  • Harun Açba (2007). Kadın efendiler: 1839-1924. Profil. ISBN 978-9-759-96109-1.
  • Necdet Sakaoğlu (2007). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları. Beyoğlu, İstanbul : Oğlak Yayıncılık ve Reklamcılık. ISBN 978-9-753-29299-3.
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