Mediha Sultan

Mediha Sultan was born on 30 July 1856 at the Dolmabahçe Palace. Her father was Sultan Abdulmejid I, and her mother was Gülüstü Hanım,[1] the daughter of Prince Tahir Bey Chachba and Afise Lakerba. She was the sister of Mehmed VI and the half-sister of the Sultans Murad V, Abdul Hamid II and Mehmed V.

After the death of her mother, she was entrusted to the care of Verdicenan Kadın the seventh wife and the third Consort of her father Abdulmejid I.[2][3] The relationship between Mediha and Verdicenan was like mother and daughter, as Verdicenan lost her daughter Münire Sultan in 1862, she kept Mediha under close surveillance, and always helped Mediha whenever she had problems. [4]

When she grew up, Mediha Sultan fell in love with Necip Pasha, son of Sheikh Necipzade Sami Bey, whom she had happened to see. The wedding preparations of the wedding of Mediha Sultan started in the period of Abdulaziz but the marriage took place in the reign of Abdul Hamid. [5] Abdul Hamid who had frowned on Necip's family because they had connections with Ali Suavi, sent Necip to Paris. It was only when Verdicenan Kadın appealed to Perestu Kadın that Necip was recalled. He was made a pasha and the marriage was arranged.[6] Her dowry was prepared in 1876, along with her half-sisters Behice Sultan, Seniha Sultan and Naile Sultan. [7] The total amount spent on the dowry and wedding ceremonies of Mediha Sultan and Naile Sultan was 120,0000 cents. [8]

The marriage contract was concluded on 22 January 1879 and the wedding took place on 8 June at the Yıldız Palace.[9] After her first she was allocated Tarlabaşı Palace, where she lived with her first husband until his death. [7] The repair costs of the palaces prepared for the dowry of the sultans were transferred from the treasury to the Tarlabaşı palace, which was allocated for Mediha Sultan. [10]

The two together had a son, Sultanzade Sami Bey born on 5 April 1880, [11] who later became personal aide-de-camp to Abdul Hamid and served in the Ertuğrul Regiment. As a member of the entourage of Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir, he participated in ceremonial occasions and at the Royal Mosque Processions each Friday, following on horseback behind Abdul Hamid.[12] Like his mother, Sami Bey lived a long life and died in 1961. [13]

Mediha Sultan had spent up to four years in Tarlabaşı Palace with her first husband, Necib Pasha. Necip Pasha had been in this palace in Tarlabaşı, and after ten days of illness his dead body was removed from there with a wide regiment. Mediha Sultan, who was able to wait patiently and meet him in this Palace, experienced the biggest pain of her life in Tarlabaşı Palace. After moving to another palace, her palace was allocated to Zekiye Sultan, daughter of Abdul Hamid II who lived at Tarlabaşı Palace after her marriage. [14]

After Necib Pasha died Abdul Hamid betrothed her to Ferid Pasha, in 1885. The marriage took place on 30 April 1886,[15] but no children came of this marriage.[12]

After marrying Ferid Bey, Mediha Sultan continued her life in Tarlabaşı Palace, where she lived with her first husband, Necib Pasha. Starting a new life with the memories of his ex-husband in this palace will have given the her a pain that she wanted to settle in Baltalimanı Water Front Palace, which was left empty after Fatma Sultan's death shortly after marrying Ferit Bey. [16]

After some years of her second marriage she settled in Baltalimani Palace with her second husband, the palace belonged to her half-sister Fatma Sultan. [17] In 1899, she met with the German Empress Augusta Victoria.[18]

Mediha Sultan and her husband Damat Ferid Pasha, who would later be called a traitor, lived in this beach house for long years. Damat Ferid, who after his marriage with Mediha Sultan, lived a secluded life in his palace in Baltalimanı, hoping to take advantage of the opportunities to be a member of the dynasty, to be a great civil servant, Damat Ferid was appointed by the Sultan to the Embassy of London through the Sultan. [19]

Mediha was fond of European ways. She dressed beautifully and with great dignity appearing splendidly regal in her gowns with their long trains. She was petite with white skin and gorgeous black eyes, and she resembled her father. In manner, she was gracious, attractive, and wonderfully kind. Everyone in the palace loved this princess. As did Princess Seniha Sultan, she too spoke laughingly, with an air of good humour in her voice. When these two sisters were together chatting with their brother Sultan Abdul Hamid II, they would both laugh and try to amuse him and get him to smile as though they were in competition with one another.[12]

At the exile of the imperial family in 1924, Mediha Sultan went to live in Nice, France, where she died on 3 December 1928. [20][21][22]

The troubled process that started for Mediha Sultan and her family continued as time passed. Mediha Sultan, who was in a better condition than the other dynasty members who were sent into exile, had a hard time in the last stages of her life, which started with great wealth and comfort, and passed away in a state that lost her mental balance. [23]

Together with Necib Pasha, Mediha had one son:

• Sultanzade Abdurrahman Sami Bey (Tarlabaşı Palace, 5 April 1880 - London, England, 15 August 1961), firstly married Peyveste Hanım in 1909, secondly married Rümeysa Hanım and had nine children in which there were six sons and three daughters; [11]

• List of Ottoman princesses

• 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, kadınefendiler, sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-9-753-29623-6.
• Uluçay, Mustafa Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ankara, Ötüken.
• Kahya, Özge (2012). Sultan Abdülmecid’in kızı Mediha Sultan’ın hayatı (1856-1928).