Rabia Sultan

Rabia Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: رابعه سلطان‎; died 14 January 1712^[1]) was a consort to Sultan Ahmed II of the Ottoman Empire.

Biography

Rabia Sultan, whose original name is unknown, was captured during one of the raids by Tatars and sold into slavery. It were probably one of Ahmed's sisters, who gave Rabia to Ahmed as a concubine, as his own mother, Hatice Muazzez Sultan, had died before his accession to the throne. The women of the Ottoman sultan lived in the Imperial Harem, one of the most important elements of the Ottoman court. According to Ottoman tradition, she was given an Arabic name. Very little is known about Rabia Sultan, principally because neither sultans left sons who survived their father's death to reach the throne, thereby bringing their mothers to public attention as Valide Sultan.

On 6 October 1692, she gave birth to twin sons, Şehzade Ibrahim and Şehzade Selim^[2], followed by two daughter, Asiye Sultan on 24 December 1693 and Atike Sultan on October 1694. After Ahmed's death in 1695, Rabia along with her daughters Asiye Sultan, Atike Sultan and other members of Ahmed's entourage were permanently exiled to the Old Palace. Her only surviving child, Şehzade Ibrahim, was given to the new Valide Emetullah Rabia Gülnuş Sultan.

She died on 14 January 1712 and was buried along with her husband. Her resting place is located inside the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent in Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul.

Titles

Rabia's titles include: Sultanü'l-muhadderat, umdetü'l-muvahhirat, tacü'l-mesturat, dürre-i dürr-i ismet, gurre-i bürci'l-iffet, sahibü'd-devleti'l-kariyye, Fatimatü'z-zaman, Ayişetü'd-devran, el-mahfufe bir sınuf-ı avatıfı'l-meliki'l-mennan cenab-ı haseki Rabia Sultan Hazretlerinin

References