Nilüfer Hatun

**Nilüfer Hatun** (Ottoman Turkish: نیلوفر خاتون, birth name *Holifere (Holophira) / Olivera, other names Bayalun, Beylun, Beyalun, Bilun, Suyun, Suylun*) was a Valide Hatun; the first wife of Orhan, the second Ottoman Sultan. She was the mother of the next sultan, Murad I.

## Nilüfer Hatun

### Relatives

Orhan Ghazi (husband), Murad I (son), Osman Ghazi (father-in-law), Malhun Hatun (mother-in-law), Alaeddin Pasha (brother-in-law), Fatma Hatun (sister-in-law)

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Sema Yunak (Kuruluş Osmancık)Duru Yazici (Childhood),Ecem Sena Bayır(adult) (Kuruluş Osman)

### Appears in

Kuruluş Osmancık Kuruluş Osman (season 3 +5)

## In Kuruluş Osman

### Season 3

In Kuruluṣ Osman, Holofira was shown as a young girl around 10-11 years old, who was trying to escape from a group of Byzantine soldiers of Yarhisar, who were after her. Osman Bey's sons Alaeddin Ali and Orhan, who were training with their father's soldiers, stray away from the group and accidentally come across Holofira who was pleading for help. They try saving her but are soon outnumbered. Fortunately, their companions come to their rescue and sent the Byzantine fleeing away. They take her to their tribe and enquiry the reason for her trying to escape from the byzantine. She reveals herself to be a byzantine princess called Holofira, the step-daughter of the Yarhisar Tekfur Basileus. She confides to Osman, that her father and the Bilecik Tekfur Justinianus, want to come together in union by having Justinian marry Holofira, Basileus' stepdaughter. But still a child, Holofira was against this and tried to run away which led to her coming across Osman's sons.

## Biography

### Historical Background

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, 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.

Other historians make her a daughter of the Prince of Yarhisar or a Byzantine Princess Helen (Nilüfer), who was of ethnic Greek descent.

According to a source, in the spring of 1299, the Bilecik magistrate who was to marry the daughter of Yarhisar invited Osman Ghazi and his men to his wedding festivity. In the spring the Söğüt people migrated to Domaniς plateau until autumn. Osman Ghazi asked to leave all his belongings at the Bilecik castle before coming to the wedding. It was the usual practice in those years to entrust the heavy goods of encampment to neighbouring castles. The magistrate accepted gladly. The wedding would be in Chakirpinar, two hours away from Bilecik. On the way to the wedding, the magistrate of Yarhisar was encircled by Osman's soldiers. They turned back toward Yarhisar. When the people saw their magistrate, they opened the gates and Osman's soldiers got in. The conquest of the castle did not take long. At the Bilecik castle, one of the bales left by Osman Ghazi was opened. A soldier got out of it and informed others. Armed soldiers stepping out of the bales captured everyone in the castle. Bilecik had fallen to the Ottomans. While the guests were waiting for the bride, the horsemen of the Ottomans appeared. There was a big ceremony in Karacahisar. Orhan Ghazi would marry Holofira, the daughter of the Yarhisar magistrate. The young bride converted to Islam and became Nilüfer Hatun.

### Death

She died at the age of 100, during her son Murad I's rule. 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.

## Gallery

Orhan and HolofiraHolofira with her mother in law Malhun and husband Orhan