Remzşinas Hanım

Remzşinas Hanım[2] (Ottoman Turkish: رمزشناس خانم‎; born Fehime Topcu; c. 1864 – fl. 1934; meaning "Knower of Signs"[3]) was the seventh wife of Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire.[2]

In this Ottoman Turkish style name, the given name is Remzşinas, the title is Hanım, and there is no family name.
Remzşinas Hanım
BornFehime Topcu
c. 1864
Batumi, Georgia
Diedfl. 1934[1]
Istanbul, Turkey
Spouse
​
​
(died 1904)​
Full name
Turkish: Remzşinas Hanım
Ottoman Turkish: رمزشناس خانم‎
HouseTopcu (by birth)
Ottoman (by marriage)
FatherTopcu Hasan Bey
ReligionSunni Islam

Early life

Remzşinas Hanım was born in North Caucasus in about 1864. Born as Fehime Topcu, she was a member of Circassian noble family from Bıjeduğ tribe, Topcu. Her father was Topcu Hasan Bey.[1]

She had been brought to Istanbul, where she was entrusted to the imperial harem. Here her name according to the custom of the Ottoman court was changed to Remzşinas. She then became a lady-in-waiting to Şevkefza Kadın.[1]

Marriage

Remzşinas married Murad in 1870s before his accession to the throne. She remained childless.[2] After Murad ascended the throne on 30 May 1876, after the deposition of his uncle Sultan Abdulaziz,[4] she was given the title of "Third Fortunate".[2] After reigning for three months, Murad was deposed on 30 August 1876,[5] due to mental instability and was imprisoned in the Çırağan Palace. Remzşinas also followed Murad into confinement.[6]

Widowhood

Remzşinas was widowed at Murad's death in 1904, after which her ordeal in the Çırağan Palace came to an end.[7] In widowhood, her stipend consisted of 1500 kuruş. However, later, during the reign of Sultan Mehmed V, it was reduced to only 500 kuruş.[2] After which her step-daughter, Hatice Sultan, wrote to Mehmet Cavit Bey, member of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP),[8] asking him to raise her stipend at least to 800 kuruş.[2]

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Remzşinas as being the adjunct member of the family decided to stay in Istanbul.[1]

See also

References
  1. Açba, Harun (2007). Kadın Efendiler:1839–1924. Profil. p. 112. ISBN 978-9-759-96109-1.
  2. Bardakçı 1998, p. 614.
  3. Brookes 2010, p. 65 n. 37.
  4. Roudometof, Victor (2001). Nationalism, Globalization, and Orthodoxy: The Social Origins of Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 86–7. ISBN 978-0-313-31949-5.
  5. Williams, Augustus Warner; Gabriel, Mgrditch Simbad (1896). Bleeding Armedia: Its History and Horrors Under the Curse of Islam. Publishers union. p. 214.
  6. Brookes 2010, p. 65.
  7. Brookes 2010, p. 17.
  8. Bardakçı 1998, p. 55.

Sources
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