Gülüstü Hanım

Gülüstü Hanım (Turkish pronunciation: [ɟylysˈty]; Ottoman Turkish: کلستو خانم‎; born Princess Fatma Chachba; c. 1831 – c. 1865) was the nineteenth consort of Sultan Abdulmejid I, and the mother of Sultan Mehmed VI, the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Gülüstü Hanım
Born	Princess Fatma Chachba or Henriet c. 1831 Sukhum, Abkhazia
Died	c. 1865 (aged 33–34) Eyüp Palace, Eyüp, Constantinople (now Istanbul), Ottoman Empire
Burial	Gülüstü Hanım Mausoleum, Fatih Mosque, Fatih, Istanbul
Spouse	Abdulmejid I ​ ​ (m. 1854; died 1861)​
Issue	Mediha Sultan Mehmed VI
Full name Turkish: Gülüstü Hanım Ottoman Turkish: کلستو خانم‎
House	Shervashidze (by birth) Ottoman (by marriage)
Father	Tahir Chachba
Mother	Afişe Lakerba
Religion	Sunni Islam

Life

Gülüstü Hanım was born in 1831 in Sukhum, Abkhazia. Born as Fatma (or Fatima) Chachba, or Henriet Chachba she was a member of the Abkhazian princely family, Shervashidze. Her father was Prince Tahir Bey Chachba,[1] and her mother was Afişe Hanım Lakerba.[2] She was the granddaughter of Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Shervashidze, head of state of the Principality of Abkhazia.[3]

Fatma came to Constantinople (now known as Istanbul) with her family in 1831, where her father died in 1832. At the age of ten, she was entrusted to the imperial harem, where her name according to the custom of the Ottoman court was changed to Gülüstü. She became the lady-in-waiting to Bezmiâlem Sultan.[2]

Gülüstü married Abdulmejid in August 1854.[2] She was elevated to the title of "Fifth Fortunate". In 1856, she was given the title of "Fourth Fortunate". On 30 July 1856, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter, Mediha Sultan.[4][5] Five years later on 14 January 1861, she gave birth to her second child, a son, Şehzade Mehmed Vahideddin (future Mehmed VI).[6]

Death

After Abdulmejid's death in 1861, Gülüstü Hanım moved to a waterfront palace located at Eyüp, where she died in 1865, in an outbreak of cholera.[7] She was buried in her own mausoleum located in Fatih Mosque, Fatih, Constantinople, today in Istanbul.[8][9]

After her death, her daughter Mediha Sultan was entrusted in the care of Verdicenan Kadın,[4][10][5] and her son Mehmed was entrusted in the care of Şayeste Hanım. [7]

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes	References
Mediha Sultan	31 July 1856	7 November 1928	• Married twice, and had issue, a son.	[11][12][13]
Mehmed VI	14 January 1861	16 May 1926	• Married five times, and had issue, one son and three daughters.	[12][14]

See also

• Ikbal (title)
• Ottoman Imperial Harem
• List of consorts of the Ottoman sultans

References

1. Aredba, Rumeysa; Açba, Edadil (2009). Sultan Vahdeddin'in San Remo günleri. Timaş Yayınları. p. 73. ISBN 978-9-752-63955-3.
2. Açba 2007, p. 43.
3. Tuna, Mahinur (2007). İlk Türk kadın ressam: Mihri Rasim (Müşfik) Açba : 1886 İstanbul-1954 New-York. As Yayın. p. 28. ISBN 978-9-750-17250-2.
4. Uluçay 2011, p. 229.
5. Kahya 2012, p. 4.
6. Tucker, Spencer (2005). World War I: Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 779. ISBN 978-1-851-09420-2.
7. Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. pp. 5, 6. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.
8. Açba 2007, p. 44.
9. Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 602-3.
10. Sakaoğlu 2009, p. 630. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSakaoğlu2009 (help)
11. Uluçay 2011, p. 220-31.
12. Paşa 1960, p. 146.
13. Brookes 2010, p. 284.
14. Brookes 2010, p. 291.

Sources

• 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.
• Kahya, Özge (2012). Sultan Abdülmecid’in kızı Mediha Sultan’ın hayatı (1856–1928).
• 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.
• Paşa, Ahmed Cevdet (1960). Tezâkir. [2]. 13 - 20, Volume 2. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi.