Bezmiara Kadın

Bezmiara Kadın[a] (Ottoman Turkish: بزم آرا قادین‎; fl. 1847 – fl. 1872) was the thirteenth and legal wife of Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire, along with Perestu Kadın. She was the sixth consort of Sultan Abdulmejid, and was given the title of Kadinefendi, which literally means wife in Persian.

Bezmiara Kadın
BornCircassia or Egypt
DiedConstantinople, Ottoman Empire (present day Istanbul, Turkey)
SpouseAbdulmejid I
Tevfik Pasha
Ahmed Bey
Prince Huseyn Bey
Osman Pasha
IssueMükbile Sultan
Emine Cavidan Hanım
Full name
Turkish: Bezmiara Kadın
Ottoman Turkish: بزم آرا قادین‎
HouseHouse of Osman (by marriage)
MotherFatma Zehra Hanım (adoptive)
ReligionSunni Islam

Early life

Of Circassian or Egyptian origin, Bezmiara Kadın was the adoptive daughter of Fatma Zehra Hanım known as "Mısırlı Hanım," the daughter of Mehmed Arif Pasha, and granddaughter of grand vizier Halil Hamid Pasha.[1][2] She was the wife of Ismail Kamil Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali of Egypt,[3][4][5] After Ismail Pasha's death she moved to Istanbul,[3] and settled in Halil Hamid Pasha's palace located in Akıntıburnu.[1]

First marriage

One day, when Abdulmejid was in his twenties, he visited Mısırlı Hanım. Here he saw Bezmiara, and fell in love with her. He asked her hand in marriage, she had a very good education in the palace of Kavalalı, and knew how to play piano and 3 foreign languages. Since Bezmiara was a free woman and not a slave, Mısırlı Hanım only accepted this proposal under the marriage bond.[6] The marriage took place in 1847, and both Bezmiara Kadın and Perestu Kadın had official marraige ceremonies , and were legal wives to Sultan Abdulmejid. [7][8] and she was given the title of "Fifth Fortunate."

In 1848, she was elevated to the title of "Fourth Fortunate." On 22 February 1850, she gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Mükbile Sultan in the Çırağan Palace, who died at the of two months. From the Paris exhibition, Abdülmecit bought her a piano, which was a masterpiece.[9] In the same year she was elevated to the title of "Third Fortunate." In 1853, she was elevated to the title of "Senior Fortunate,"[10] and in 1854 to the title of "Sixth Consort."[3]

Abdulmejid not only loved Bezmiara but also held her in great esteem. He even placed a son of his in her care, a boy of about seven years old, who had lost his mother. Bezmiara took care of the boy, and as Abdulmecits wished, she gave him an education like herself, which Abdulmecid prized a lot. One time, when he had bitten her hand, she slapped him in the face. This marked the end of their relationship. Also, the harem lifestyle was very difficult for Bezmiara, as she wasn't suited to it. Meantime, with the westernization efforts of Abdulmecit, he called young painter Tevfik Paşa to the palace. She fell in love with Tevfik Paşa and asked for a divorce from Abdulmecit, which he sadly accepted.[11][12]

Second marriage

Bezmiara divorced Abdulmejid and married Tevfik Pasha on 2 June 1859.[13] When Sultan Abdülaziz ascended the throne after the death of his brother in 1861, he relocated Tevfik and Bezmiara to Bursa. The two divorced soon after, and Tevfik was put to death[14] in 1865.[15]

Third marriage

After her divorce, Bezmiara married the director of Bursa Awqaf, Uzun Ahmed Bey. She returned to Istanbul, where she had a troubled life.[14][16] The couple had a daughter named Emine Cavidan Hanım born on 28 October 1872 in Istanbul,[17] after whose birth they separated.[18]

Cavidan married Abdulmejid and Serfiraz Hanım's son, Şehzade Selim Süleyman in 1886.[17][14] After the two divorced, she married Prince Hüseyin Bey of Egypt on 2 February 1891, and after his death in 1898, she married Osman Pasha.[18]

Annotations
  1. ^
    She is also called Bezmican,[3] and Bezmi.[4]

See also

References
  1. Muradoğlu, Abdullah (2001). Reformun Dervişleri. Bakış. p. 76.
  2. Topuz, Hıfzı (2009). Abdülmecit: İmparatorluk Çökerken Sarayda 22 Yıl. Remzi Kitabevi. p. 102. ISBN 978-9-751-41357-4.
  3. Uluçay 2011, p. 210.
  4. Hanim 1872, p. 47.
  5. Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 591.
  6. Hanim 1872, p. 48.
  7. İrtem, Süleyman Kâni; Kocahanoğlu, Osman S. (2003). Bilinmeyen Abdülhamid. Temel. p. 127. ISBN 978-9-754-10060-0.
  8. Arslan, Mehmet (2008). Osmanlı saray düğünleri ve şenlikleri: Manzum sûrnâmeler. Sarayburnu Kitaplığı. p. 329. ISBN 978-9-944-90563-3.
  9. Uluçay 2011, p. 227.
  10. Uluçay 2011, p. 212 n. 24.
  11. Hanim 1872, p. 48-50.
  12. Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 593.
  13. Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 593-4.
  14. Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 594.
  15. Haskan, Mehmet Nermi (2001). Yüzyıllar boyunca Üsküdar - Volume 2. Üsküdar Belediyesi. p. 709. ISBN 978-9-759-76062-5.
  16. Uluçay 2011, p. 211.
  17. Adra, Jamil (2005). Genealogy of the Imperial Ottoman Family 2005. pp. 12.
  18. Burak, Ertuğrul (November 8, 2011). Cariyeler Saltanatı. artcivic. ISBN 978-6-054-33716-3.

Sources
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