| Nilüfer Hatun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Valide Hatun of the Ottoman Beylik | |
| Tenure | 1362 – 1363 |
| Successor | Gülçiçek Hatun |
| Died | c. 1363 Bursa, Ottoman Sultanate |
| Burial | Orhan Gazi Tomb, Bursa |
| Spouse | Orhan |
| Issue | Süleyman Pasha Kasım Bey Murad I |
Nilüfer Hatun (Ottoman Turkish: نیلوفر خاتون, water lily, died c.1363[1]), was a concubine of Orhan, the second Ottoman sultan, and the mother of Murad I, Orhan's successor. She was the first slave origin woman to became the mother of an Ottoman Sultan.
Biography
The traditional stories about her origin, traced back to the 15th century, are that she was daughter of the Byzantine ruler (Tekfur) of Bilecik, called Holofira. As some stories go,[2] Orhan's father Osman raided Bilecik at the time of Holofira's wedding arriving there with rich presents and disguised and hidden soldiers. Holofira was among the loot and given to Orhan.
However modern researchers doubt this story, admitting that it may have been based on real events. Doubts are based on a lack of direct evidence from the time. In addition there is secondary evidence of an alternate origin, in particular her Ottoman name Nilüfer meaning water lily in the Persian language, and believed Nilüfer was a Greek slave concubine, while Holofira changed her name and became Bayalun Hatun, an other Orhan's consort.[3][4][5][6]
Nilüfer Hatun Imareti ("Nilüfer Hatun Soup Kitchen"), a convent annex hospice for dervishes, now housing the Iznik Museum in İznik, Bursa Province, was built by Sultan Murad in 1388 to honor his mother after her death.[7]
In March 1362, Orhan dead and Nilüfer's son Murad I became Sultan, and she became Valide Hatun. Nilüfer died in Bursa around 1363, and is buried in Orhan's tomb, Bursa[1].
The narrative around Nilüfer is extremely confusing, with sources and legends attributing her name to stories that conflict with each other and with documentary sources. The reason, probably, is that being the mother of Orhan's successor, contemporary and subsequent historians simply attributed to her every fact relating to a consort of Orhan, without verifying whether it actually concerned her or not. This was probably also done to "ennoble" the sultan's slave mother, attributing her noble origins, often "merging" her or exchanging her with an other noble consort present in the sultan's harem at that moment, a process that would often be repeated at least until Hafsa Sultan, the mother of Suleiman I[3].
Issue
By Orhan, Nilüfer had three sons:
- Süleyman Pasha (1316-1357)[8]. Eldest Orhan's son, he was at the head of the expansion campaigns in Thrace. He died of wounds sustained after a fall from his horse.
- Kasım Bey (? - 1346).
- Murad I (1326-1389). Sultan of the Ottoman Empire after his father.
See also
Notes and references
- 1 2 Pazan, İbrahim (2007). "Nilüfer Hatun". Padişah anneleri (in Turkish). Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı. ISBN 978-9944-118-31-6.
- ↑ "Diccionario histórico, ó Biografia universal compendiada" (1832) article Holofira
- 1 2 Leslie P. Peirce (1993) "The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire", ISBN 0-19-508677-5.
- ↑ The Fall of Constantinople, Steven Runciman, Cambridge University Press, p.36
- ↑ The Nature of the Early Ottoman State, Heath W. Lowry, 2003 SUNY Press, p.153
- ↑ History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Stanford Jay Shaw, Cambridge University Press, p.24
- ↑ ""Nilüfer Hatun Soup Kitchen"". Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ↑ Disputed: some modern historians believe that his mother was rather Efendi/Efendize Hatun, an other Orhan's consort. According to this version, Nilüfer arrived in the harem only after 1324 and was mother of Murad and, maybe, Kasım.
Further reading
- Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009, ISBN 978-975-269-299-2 (Hardcover).
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