Fatma Pesend Hanım

Fatma Pesend Hanım was born on 13 February 1876 in Achba Mansion, Horhor, Istanbul. Born as Fatma Kadriye Achba, she was a member of Abkhazian princely family Anchabadze. Her father was Prince Ahmed Sami Bey (1839 – 1915),[1] the son of Prince Ahmed Bey and Patıma Hanım Eşba.[2] Her mother was Princess Fatıma Hanım Mamleeva (1844 – 1923), the daughter of Tatar prince Ismail Bey Mamleeva.[1] She had an elder sister Princess Ayşe Mahizer Hanım (1871 – 1948), and a younger brother Prince Şükrü Bey (1878 – 1940).[2]

Fatma was a painter by avocation.[3] She also had learned French, and Italian. She had a penchant for horse riding, and rode the family's Arabian horses. She had a broad knowledge of culture, and loved to read books.[1]

Fatma's father Sami Bey was in service to Sultan Abdulaziz's eldest son Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin, and later to Abdul Hamid's eldest son Şehzade Mehmed Selim.[4] One day in 1896 Abdul Hamid happened to see her, when the latter came along with her mother and elder sister to Yıldız Palace on an invitation of Prince Selim's mother, Bedrifelek Kadın. Abdul Hamid acquired about her, and came to know about her from his son Selim.[5]

Abdul Hamid asked her hand in marriage from her father. He consented to Abdul Hamid's proposal, and the marriage took place on 20 July 1896 at the Yıldız Palace.[5] She was given the name "Fatma Pesend",[6] and the title of "Fourth Fortunate".[7][8] On 10 June 1897, a year after the marriage, she gave birth to her only child, Hatice Sultan, who lived only eight months.[9]

Hatice's early death in 1898 prompted Abdul Hamid to order the construction of a modern hospital in Istanbul exclusively for the treatment of children and pregnant women.[10] The construction of the hospital started on 12 May 1898 and completed on 5 June 1899. It was called "Hamidiye Etfal Hastahane-i Âlisi", and was completely Abdul Hamid's creation and totally under his supervision.[11]

Ayşe Sultan, her step daughter, notes in her memoirs that whenever Dilber Cenan Hanım, Abdul Hamid's wetnurse, visited the palace, she would stay as a guest in Fatma Pesend's household.[12]

On 27 April 1909, Abdul Hamid was deposed, and sent into exile in Thessaloniki.[13] Fatma Pesend was closed to Abdul Hamid, and so accompanied him to exile.[3] However, in 1910, a year later, she returned to Istanbul.[7] After Thessaloniki fell to Greece in 1912, Abdul Hamid also returned to Istanbul, and settled in the Beylerbeyi Palace, where he died in 1918.[14]

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Fatma Pesend remained in Istanbul. She died in her villa at Vaniköy,[2][15][3] in April 1928,[8] and was buried at Karacaahmet Cemetery at Üsküdar.[7][8]

Fatma Pesend Hanım and Abdul Hamid had one daughter:

• Hatice Sultan (Constantinople, Yıldız Palace, 10 June 1897 – Constantinople, Yıldız Palace, 1898, buried in Yahya Efendi Cemetery).

• In the 2003 film Abdülhamid Düşerken, Fatma Pesend Hanım is portrayed by Turkish actress Mihrace Yeken.[16]
• In the 2017 TV series Payitaht: Abdülhamid, Fatma Pesend Hanım is portrayed by Turkish actress Zeynep Özder.[17]

• Ottoman Imperial Harem
• List of consorts of the Ottoman sultans

• Uluçay, M. Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ötüken. ISBN 978-9-754-37840-5.
• Açba, Harun (2007). Kadın efendiler: 1839-1924. Profil. ISBN 978-9-759-96109-1.
• Açba, Leyla (2004). Bir Çerkes prensesinin harem hatıraları. L & M. ISBN 978-9-756-49131-7.
• The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-292-78335-5.
• Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kandınefendiler, Sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-6-051-71079-2.