Inşirah Hanım

Inşirah Hanım (Ottoman Turkish: انشراح خانم‎; born Seniye Voçibe; 10 July 1887 - 10 June 1930) was the second wife of Sultan Mehmed VI of the Ottoman Empire.[1]

In this Ottoman Turkish style name, the given name is Inşirah, the title is Hanım, and there is no family name.
Inşirah Hanım
BornSeniye Voçibe
(1887-07-10)10 July 1887
Maşukiye, İzmit, Ottoman Empire
Died10 June 1930(1930-06-10) (aged 42)
Cairo, Egypt
Burial
Eyüp Sultan Cemetery, Istanbul
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1905; div. 1909)​
Full name
Turkish: Inşirah Hanım
Ottoman Turkish: انشراح خانم‎
HouseVoçibe (by birth)
Ottoman (by marriage)
FatherAziz Voçibe
ReligionSunni Islam

Early life

Inşirah Hanım was born on 10 July 1887[1] in Maşukiye, İzmit. Born as Seniye Voçibe, she was a member of Ubykh noble family, Voçibe. Her father was Aziz Bey Voçibe. She had an elder brother named Zeki Bey (1885 – 1932). She was the paternal niece of Dürrüaden Kadın, wife of Sultan Mehmed V.[2]

She was taken into palace by her aunt Dürrüaden. At the age of sixteen, she became a lady-in-waiting to Şayeste Hanım, wife of Sultan Abdulmejid I. She was tall, had slender figure, long chestnut hair, and faint blue eyes. She was interested in painting.[3]

Marriage

One day, when Mehmed was in his forties, he visited his adoptive mother Şayeste Hanım at her palace. Here he saw Inşirah, then seventeen years old, and fell in love with her. He asked Şayeste to give him Inşirah in marriage.[4] Inşirah refused to this proposal. However, at her brother's insistence, she agreed. The marriage took place on 8 July 1905[5] in the Çengelköy Palace.[1][6] No issue came of this marriage.[4] After her marriage, her brother, Zeki Bey became aide-de-camp to Mehmed.[7]

Inşirah was said to be a jealous lady. One day, she caught Mehmed in the bedroom with a servant girl named Periru. She immediately abandoned him, and went back to her family.[8] Mehmed divorced her on 17 November 1909.[9][6]

Later years and death

After her divorce, she moved in her aunt's Validebağı Palace. When the imperial family went into exile in 1924, she went to Cairo.[9] Her brother, however, remained with Mehmed, even after her divorce, and followed him into exile.[7]

In Cairo she was miserable, and thought of going to Sanremo, where Mehmed now lived. Her brother Zeki Bey refused to let her meet her former husband. After much crying from her part, he told her: "Go back where you came from, what are you doing here? You left this man before, you have no right to ask for his help." He gave her a pouch of money, set her up in a hotel room and then sent her to Cairo the following day. Mehmed never found out that his former wife had been in Sanremo.[9]

Back in Cairo, Inşirah became even more unhappy, and attempted suicide, but her lady-in-waiting Zernigül Hanım was able to save her. But the situation did not improve; she couldn't stand her life anymore, and threw herself in the Nile[9] on 10 June 1930,[1][6] and drowned. Her family brought her body back to Istanbul and buried her in the Eyüp cemetery.[9]

See also

References
  1. Uluçay 2011, p. 263.
  2. Açba 2007, p. 188, n. 88.
  3. Açba 2007, p. 188.
  4. Açba 2004, p. 70.
  5. Açba 2007, p. 188-9.
  6. Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 706.
  7. Bardakçı 2017, p. 87.
  8. Açba 2004, p. 71-2.
  9. Açba 2007, p. 189.

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.
  • Açba, Leyla (2004). Bir Çerkes prensesinin harem hatıraları. L & M. ISBN 978-9-756-49131-7.
  • Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.
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