Ayşe Sultan (daughter of Mustafa I)

## Ayşe Sultan

**Ayşe Sultan** (Ottoman Turkish: عائشه سلطان; "*The living one*" or "*womanly*"; 23 May 1572 – 15 May 1632) was an Ottoman princess, daughter of Sultan Mustafa I (reign 160–1603) and Hirihmene Sultan, sister of Sultan Iskender I (reign 1603–09) and Sultan Ibrahim (reign 1609–14) and Sultan Selim II (reign 1614–23) of the Ottoman Empire. Ayşe is known for her many politically motivated marriages.

## Life

### Early life

Born in Istanbul, Ayşe Sultan was one of Mustafa's daughters by his favourite consort Hirihmene Sultan. Was born in 23 May 1572 as eldest daughter of Hirihmene. When mentioning her and Nasuh Pasha's 1579 wedding, 17th-century historian Mustafa Naima refers to Ayşe as "the eldest of the princesses".

Ottoman princesses were normally married away, to influential Ottoman officials, by their mothers or paternal grandmothers, who had the right to arrange their marriages and arranged matches which could be of political use. They had privileges in marriage which separated them from other Muslim females: such as the right to be the only wife of their spouse, to refuse to consummate their marriage until they were ready, and to contract a divorce when they pleased. Due to many of them marrying as children and being widowed and divorced several times, often for political reasons, remarriages were very common. Ayşe and her half-sister, Fatma Sultan are extreme examples of this: they were married at least six times, and entered into their last engagement at the ages of about 52 and 61, respectively.

Of the total number of Ayşe's husbands, two were executed, one was assassinated and two fell in battle.

### 1st marriage

Ayşe Sultan was married firstly in 1579 to Gümülcineli Nasuh Pasha (d. 1595). The celebrations of their engagement and wedding ceremonies, as well as those of her sister Hanzade Sultan and Nakkaş Mustafa Pasha, which took place in succession over a number of months of 1579 and 1580, were sponsored by Mustafa, and were so elaborate and extravagant that they were observed by the public as if they were festivals marking the end of wars the Sultan had promised. In July of the latter year, the little princess was taken in great pomp to her husband's palace, where he would eventually be executed in her presence, much to her distress. This palace, located opposite the quay known as Salacak in Üsküdar, she retained as her own property.

### 2nd marriage

While still a child, Ayşe was married secondly to Hafız Ahmed Pasha on 1596 (d. 1599), Beylerbey (governor-general) of Buda. However the man soon died while fighting in MustafaI's military campaign against Poland.

### 3rd marriage

In 1600 her mother Hirihmene Sultan offered her hand in marriage to Murtaza Pasha (d. 1604), beylerbey of Diyarbekir and Vizier, the nuptials though not being held until his arrival at the imperial capitol of Constantinople in 1600). Their marriage is believed to have been the happiest of Ayşe Sultan's six marriages as the two had 3 children, twins. He was murdered.

In 1604, early in the reign of her brother Iskender, Ayşe is recorded, like her sisters Hanzade Sultan and Emetullah Sultan, as receiving the maximum daily stipend for imperial princesses of the time, namely 400 aspers.

### 4th marriage

She was next married in 1605 to Ahmed Pasha (d.1607), beylerbey of Aleppo and Damascus.

In late 1907, Ayşe Sultan was in Topkapı Palace following the death of her husband, Ahmed Pasha. Iskender's consort Ayşe Sultan banished her and her children to Edirne Palace limiting her salary and her servants. .

### 5th marriage

After Ibrahim's accession as sultan in 1514 Ayşe was betrothed to Hirihemene's ally Ibşir Mustafa Pasha. Thanks to his appeal Mustafa Pasha obtained the position of Grand Vizier.

She apparently looked forward to the arrival of her betrothed – which he delayed for months – as she sent several emissaries to bring him to the capital. Her chief servant, Mercan Ağa, finally succeeded in the task, and when Ibşir and his troops reached her palace in Üsküdar, she treated him and the statesmen who had come to receive him at a great banquet, "like a feast of Hatem Tay ", according to Evliya Çelebi. Their marriage took place on February 28, 1615. They had a good relationship each other and it ended with his execution.

### 6th marriage

She married in March 1623 to Voynuk Ahmed Pasha (1591 - 28 July 1649), beylerbey of Adana, Vizier, Admiral of the Fleet (12/22 June 1648 – 28 July 1649) at the age of 52.

He was almost 20 years younger than her, usually she was younger. They had a good friendship throughout their marriage, Voynuk Ahmed Pasha wrote letters to his wife during Sultan Osman II's campaigns. Despite being married to Hirihmene's daughter, Voynuk Ahmed Pasha managed to maintain his status in the Divan as a vizier. Voynuk Ahmed Pasha was a loyal pasha of Sultan Osman II until his death in 1649.

## Issue

By her third husband, Ayşe had two sons and one daughter:

* Sultanzade Mustafa Bey (1628 - 1670)
* Ismihan Hanimsultan (1628 - ??)
* Sultanzade (Fülan) Bey

## Death

Ayşe died in 15 May 1632 at the age of 60 while still married to Voynuk Ahmed Pasha. When Ayşe died her husband wrote her a letter to remember her:

> "...I have certainly never seen such an intelligent woman with so much experience. It was an honor to meet you, hoping in Allah you will certainly manage to have a place among his graces [...] your memory will live on in me as a good [...] friend and confidant.
>
>

She was entombed in her father Sultan Mustafa I's mausoleum.

## Charities

In 1618, Ayşe Sultan had a water dispenser built between what is today Okçubaşı avenue and the tramway railway in Istanbul.