Perestu Kadın

Perestu Kadın was born in 1830[2] in Sochi, Russia. Born as Rahime Gogen,[3] she was a member of Ubykh noble family,[4] Gogen. She had three brothers, Mustafa Bey, Hüseyin Bey, and Hasan Bey, and two sisters, Gülcemal Hanım,[3] and Mihrifidan Hanım (died 1865).[5]

Esma Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Abdul Hamid I lived in luxury in her magnificent villa in Istanbul, but still her life passed in sadness because she could not have the one thing she wished for most; a child. At length she decided to adopt a child. After reaching satisfactory terms with the mother and father, she adopted Rahime, one year of age.[6][5]

Rahime was particularly diminutive, delicate and graceful, so she renamed her Perestu, the Persian word for swallow.[5] All the kalfas in Esma Sultan's villa behaved toward this child as though she were a daughter of an Ottoman imperial princess, and indeed her disposition and manners were so lovely that they became devoted to her.[6]

One spring day in 1844, Abdulmejid came to visit his aunt and was passing through the harem gardens when he saw Perestu, then fourteen years old. He asked his aunt to give her hand in marriage to him. Firstly, Esma Sultan refused to give Perestu's hand in marriage but consented on the condition that the Sultan legally marries Perestu and not consider her a concubine , which he did. One week after that, Perestu was sent off to Topkapı Palace to the harem.[7]

She was given the title of "Senior Fortunate".[8] In 1845, she was elevated to "Sixth Consort", in 1851, to "Fifth Consort", and in 1852, to "Fourth Consort".[4]

Perestu had no children of her own. In 1845, when Cemile Sultan's mother Düzdidil Kadın died leaving her motherless at the age of two. Abdulmejid took her to Perestu, and entrusted her into her care.[9] She also became the adoptive mother of Abdul Hamid II after the death of his own mother, Tirimüjgan Kadın in 1852. Thus, the two siblings grew up together in the same household and spent their childhoods with one another.[10]

After Abdulmejid's death in 1861, she settled in her villa in Maçka, Nişantaşı, which had been a gift presented to her by Sultan Abdülaziz.[11]

After Abdul Hamid II ascended the throne in 1876, she was given the position of Valide Sultan by him, and headed the harem. Abdul Hamid told her categorically not to involve herself in politics.[12] Thus, unlike many of her predecessors, she was not active in politics.[13]

Three days before Abdul Hamid became Sultan, he went to Perestu Kadın's villa, and it was from there that he proceeded to Topkapı Palace for the ceremony of homage at his accession. Perestu loved this house. Now and again she would want to go there, but because Abdul Hamid absolutely wanted her present in the palace he would withhold permission.[14]

In 1885, during the visit of King Oscar II and Queen Sophia of Sweden to the Ottoman Empire, she received the Swedish queen, who was allowed to visit the Imperial harem.[15]

The internal matters of the palace were in her charge. But she did not want to hurt anyone's feelings in the least, did not interfere in the matters, sought justice and equity, and because she was firmly religious she passed a good deal of time in prayers. She possessed good, high moral standards, which led her to help the poor and needy.[16]

Abdul Hamid particularly wanted Perestu to attend the Royal Mosque Procession every Friday. Sometimes after the ceremony she would secretly slip out to her villa, but when Abdul Hamid learned of it, he immediately aided set off from the palace with a carriage and brought her back.[6].

In 1891, Perestu commissioned a fountain (sebil) in Bala Tekkesi, Silivrikapı and another fountain (çeşme) in the same place in 1895.[17]

Perestu died in 1904[2] in her villa located at Maçka, Istanbul. The traditional service at which the Prophet's Nativity Poem is recited was held in her memory at the Shaziliya Dervish Convent and at the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque.[6] She lies at rest in the mausoleum of Mihrişah Valide Sultan in Eyüp, Istanbul.[18]

• Order of Osmanieh.[16]
• Order of the Medjidie.[16]
• Order of Charity.[16]

Perestu Kadın is a character in Tim Symonds' historical novel Sherlock Holmes and The Sword of Osman (2015).[19]

In the 2017 TV series Payitaht: Abdülhamid, Perestu Kadın is portrayed by Turkish actress Şefika Ümit Tolun.[20]

• 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.
• Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kandınefendiler, Sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-6-051-71079-2.
• The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-292-78335-5.

• Osmanoğlu, Ayşe (2000). Babam Sultan Abdülhamid. Mona Kitap Yayinlari. ISBN 978-6-050-81202-2.

• WOMEN IN POWER 1870-1900