Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin (Ottoman Turkish: شهزاده محمد سیف الدین‎; 21 September 1874 – 19 October 1927) was an Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdulaziz and Gevheri Kadın.

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin
Born	21 September 1874 Çırağan Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey)
Died	19 October 1927 (aged 53) Nice, France
Burial	Sultan Selim Mosque, Damascus, Syria
Spouse	Neşefelek Hanım ​ ​ (m. 1899; his d. 1927)​ Nervaliter Hanım ​ ​ (m. 1902; his d. 1927)​
Issue	Mehmed Abdulaziz Şehzade Mahmud Şevket Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid Gevheri Sultan
Full name Turkish: Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin Ottoman Turkish: شهزاده محمد سیف الدین‎
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Abdulaziz
Mother	Gevheri Kadın
Religion	Sunni Islam
Military career
Allegiance	Ottoman Empire
Service/branch	Ottoman Navy
Years of service	1916–1922 (active service)
Rank	See list

Early life

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin was born on 21 September 1874[1][2][3] in the Çırağan Palace.[4] His father was Sultan Abdulaziz and his mother was Gevheri Kadın,[5] the daughter of Salih Svanba and Şaziye Tsamba.[6] He was the youngest son of his father and the second child of his mother. He was the younger full brother of Esma Sultan.[7]

Abdulaziz was deposed on 30 May 1876 and was succeeded by his nephew Murad V. However Abdulaziz's entourage didn't wanted to leave the Dolmabahçe Palace. He was transferred to Feriye Palace the next day. On 4 June 1876,[8] Abdulaziz died under mysterious circumstances.[9]

Seyfeddin began his education at Ilhamur Mansion, in 1879, along with his sister Esma Sultan and brother Şehzade Mehmed Şevket and cousins Şehzade Mehmed Selim and Zekiye Sultan. [10] He spent his childhood and early youth in Feriye Palace along with his sister and mother. He took art and painting lessons at a young age, and was known to be a great composer. [11] His music teachers were Tanbûrî Cemil Bey and Santûrî Edhem Efendi. Besides music he was known for his paintings, poetry and revelation.[11] He spend his summers in Saudiye Mansion and winters in Feriye Palace.

Personal life

Seyfeddin owned a mansion in Camlıça. This mansion once belonged to Necip Molla (died 1890), father of Vahit Bey, a member of the former Council of the State. Seyfeddin first rented the mansion, and bought it in 1894.[12]

Seyfeddin's first wife was Neşefelek Hanım,[13] also known as Necmifelek.[12] She was born on 5 January 1880. They married on 4 December 1899. She was the mother of Şehzade Mehmed Abdulaziz, born on 26 September 1901. She died in 1930 in Nice, France.[14]

His second wife was Nervaliter Hanım.[13][12] She was born on 27 March 1885 in Poti, Georgia. They married on 23 February 1902. On 30 July 1903, she gave birth to her first child, a son, Şehzade Mahmud Şevket, followed by twins, Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid and Gevheri Sultan, born on 30 November 1904. She died in 1935 in Nice, France.[14]

As musician

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin was a proficient composer. He used to play piano, fiddle, drums and composed them with a adequate tune. His sons Mehmed Abdulaziz, Şehzade Mahmud Şevket and Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid were master drummers.[11]

His daughter Gevheri Sultan was a master violinist and drummer with many compositions. He taught his daughter how to compose music from different instruments Among these were the oud (a lyre), the tanbur (a guitar-like instrument), and the lavta (an ancient lute).[15] He composed classical religious and non-religious songs.[11]

Instead of music, he also set ridge of the minarets of the great mosques of Istanbul in Ramadan. He personally measured the minarets and but above all, he was an important musician. Today, only two reeds of Seyfeddin, the Khuzzam and Bayati rhymes and a few of them are known. Both musical instruments are one of the most illustrious works of Turkish Music in terms of their melodies and technical structures.[16]

His father Abdulaziz and his elder half-brother Abdulmejid II were professional artists. His another elder-half brother Şehzade Mehmed Şevket was a accomplished pianist. Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin considered one of the most foremost musicians during his youth. He also dealt with painting and sculpture, but he was a master in field music.[1] Besides being a musician, he was also a accomplished pianist and organist.[17]

Military career

Mehmed Seyfeddin was enlisted in the imperial Ottoman Navy during the reign of his cousin, Sultan Mehmed V. He was given the rank of honourary captain on 7 February 1916. Two years later, on 28 July 1918, he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral,[18] and later to the rank of vice-admiral.[19]

After the Armistice of Mudros was concluded in October 1918, chaos and invasions emerged in Anatolia. The government sent counseling committees to Anatolia under the leadership of princes and invited the people to peace. For this purpose, two delegations with princes serving head were formed. One of them was sent to Anatolia and the other to Thrace. In April 1919, Seyfeddin serving as the head of one ofthe delegations, went to Thrace. In the delegation, there were former Minister of War Ferik Cevad Pasha, Chief of the General Staff Ferik Fevzi Pasha and two lieutenants. Scholar Ziyaeddin Efendi a representative from the Foreign Translation Office was also included in the delegation.[20]

For the purpose of bringing the Ottoman navy to a good level during the campaign carried out by the Naval Society during the First World War, Seyfeddin donated 60,000 kurus to the society.[19] Seyfeddin who was keen on maritime and shipbuilding, went to Vienna and Karsbald thermal springs for treatment in 1918.[19]

Exile and death

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Mehmed Seyfeddin and his family moved to Cimiez, Nice, France. They bought a villa near the Villa Carabacel which belonged to his cousin Seniha Sultan.[21]

Seyfeddin died on 19 October 1927 at the age of fifty-three and was buried in Sultan Selim Mosque, Damascus, Syria.[14][11]

Titles, styles and honours

Styles of Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin
Reference style	His Imperial Highness
Spoken style	Your Imperial Highness

Titles and styles

• 21 September 1874 – 1 November 1922: His Imperial Highness Prince Mehmed Seyfeddin

Military appointments

Honorary military appointments

• 7 February 1916: Captain, Ottoman Navy
• 28 July 1918: Rear-Admiral, Ottoman Navy
• Vice-Admiral, Ottoman Navy

Honours

Ottoman honours

• Order of the House of Osman, Jeweled[22]
• Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class, 27 July 1884;[23] Jeweled;[22]
• Order of the Medjidie, Jeweled[22]

Foreign honours

•  Austria-Hungary: Grand-Cross Order of Leopold, 6 June 1918[24]

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
By Neşefelek Hanım (married 4 December 1899; 5 January 1880 – 1930)
Mehmed Abdulaziz	26 September 1901	19 January 1977	born in Ortaköy Palace; married once, and had issue, a daughter; died in Nice, France, and buried there
By Nervaliter Hanım (married 23 February 1902; 27 March 1885 – 1935)
Şehzade Mahmud Şevket	30 July 1903	1 February 1973	born in Çamlıca Palace; married in 1922 and divorced in 1928 Adile Hanımsultan, daughter of Naime Sultan, and had issue, a daughter; died in exile in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Gard, France, and buried there
Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid	30 November 1904	24 April 1966	born in Çamlıca Palace; died unmarried in exile in Beirut, Lebanon
Gevheri Sultan	30 November 1904	10 December 1980	born in Çamlıca Palace; died unmarried in Taksim Square, Istanbul, and buried in tomb of Sultan Mahmud II

Ancestry

Ancestors of Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin
16. Ahmed III 8. Abdul Hamid I 17. Şermi Kadın 4. Mahmud II 9. Nakşidil Sultan 2. Abdulaziz 5. Pertevniyal Sultan 1. Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin 6. Salih Svanba 3. Gevheri Kadın 14. Osman Tsamba 7. Şaziye Tsamba

References

1. "Murat Bardakçı yazdı". Habertürk. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
2. Bey, Mehmet Sürreya (1969). Osmanlı devletinde kim kimdi, Volume 1. Küğ Yayını. p. 269.
3. Bardakçı 2017, p. 116.
4. Uçan, Lâle (2019). Dolmabahçe Sarayı’nda Çocuk Olmak: Sultan Abdülaziz’in Şehzâdelerinin ve Sultanefendilerinin Çocukluk Yaşantılarından Kesitler. FSM İlmî Araştırmalar İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Dergisi. p. 233.
5. Brookes 2010, p. 281.
6. Açba, Harun (2007). Kadın efendiler: 1839-1924. Profil. p. 94. ISBN 978-9-759-96109-1.
7. Uluçay 2011, p. 233.
8. Davison, Roderic H. (December 8, 2015). Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1856-1876. Princeton University Press. p. 341. ISBN 978-1-400-87876-5.
9. Brookes 2010, p. 43.
10. Uru, Cevriye (2010). Sultan Abdülhamid'in kızı Zekiye Sultan'in Hayati (1872-1950). p. 6.
11. "SEYFEDDİN EFENDİ, Şehzade (1874-1927) Hânende ve bestekâr". İslam Ansiklopedisi. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
12. Haskan, Mehmet Nermi (2001). Yüzyıllar boyunca Üsküdar - Volume 3. Üsküdar Belediyesi. p. 1426. ISBN 978-9-759-76063-2.
13. Vâsıb, Ali; Osmanoğlu, Osman Selaheddin (2004). Bir şehzadenin hâtırâtı: vatan ve menfâda gördüklerim ve işittiklerim. YKY. p. 168. ISBN 978-9-750-80878-4.
14. Adra, Jamil (2005). Genealogy of the Imperial Ottoman Family 2005. p. 17.
15. "Osmanoglu, Gevher (1904—)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
16. "Osmanoğulları'nın en önemli bestekárı Seyfeddin Efendi'nin kayıp besteleri bendedir". Hürriyet. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
17. Brookes, Douglas S. (February 4, 2020). On the Sultan's Service: Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil's Memoir of the Ottoman Palace, 1909–1912. Indiana University Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-253-04553-9.
18. Korkmaz 2019, p. 52.
19. Korkmaz 2019, p. 53.
20. Korkmaz 2019, p. 52-3.
21. Bardakçı 2017, p. 117.
22. Yılmaz Öztuna (1978). Başlangıcından zamanımıza kadar büyük Türkiye tarihi: Türkiye'nin siyasî, medenî, kültür, teşkilât ve san'at tarihi. Ötüken Yayınevi. p. 164.
23. Korkmaz 2019, p. 52 n. 40.
24. Uçan, Lâle (2019). Son Halife Abdülmecid Efendi'nin Hayatı - Şehzâlik, Veliahtlık ve Halifelik Yılları (PDF) (PhD Thesis). Istanbul University Institute of Social Sciences. p. 59.

Sources

• Uluçay, Mustafa Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ankara, Ötüken.
• Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78335-5.
• Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.
• Korkmaz, Mehmet (2019). Denizin Saraylıları: Bahriye’de Osmanlı Şehzadeleri.