Gülbahar Hatun (mother of Mehmed III)

## Gülbahar Hatun

Tomb of Gülbahar Hatun located inside "Gülbahar Hatun Mosque" in Kütahya

**Gülbahar Hatun** (Ottoman Turkish: کل بهار خاتون, lit. 'flower of spring' or 'blooming spring'; died in 1505) also called **Ayşe Hatun**, was consort of Sultan Murad II and Valide Hatun of her son Sultan Mehmed III of the Ottoman Empire and the grandmother of Sultan Bayezid II. She was the first woman, not belonging to the imperial dynasty, to be addressed with the title of "Sultan" even if not officially (the first was Despina Sultan) but only as a nickname (Sultan i-Eski Saray), paving the way for the new title of Valide Sultan and closing an era of Valide Hatun

## Origin

Gülbahar Hatun is also known as Ayşe Hatun some historians especially in the past claimed that they were two different people but now it is firmly believed that they were the same person. The theory that Gülbahar Hatun was a different woman from Ayşe Hatun is not so certain. The only concubines of Murad II that we know are Gülbahar Hatun, only because she became Valide Hatun and Gülşah Hatun, only because she is named as Şehzade Kasim's mother in the marriage document between him and Princess Zilihan. No other concubines are known precisely because Sittişah Hatun prevented her from having any influence or status in the harem, in fact the name of Murad II's concubines have all been canceled from the registers of the harem and are named only as: Hātun binti (father's name).

Theories of her background are:

* The Ottoman inscription (vakfiye) describes her as *Hātun binti Abd-us-Samed (Daughter of Abd-us-Samed)*, which supports the view that she was a non Muslim who later converted to Islam. *Abd-us-Samed*, meaning *Servant of God*, was the anonym that was applied to many Balkan and Anatolian Christians who converted to Islam in the classical Ottoman period.
* According to another view, she was the daughter of *Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey*, the eleventh ruler of the Dulkadirids centered around Elbistan in *Kahramanmaraş*. Her real name was Ayşe and was renamed Gülbahar after her marriage.
* Others think she is Bosnian as during her tenure as Valide Hatun she built many aqueducts and other public works in Bosnia.

## Life

### In the harem of Murad

Nothing is known about Gülbahar in the sultan's harem. On 2 June 1461 her son was born, Şehzade Mehmed (future Mehmed III) she certainly had at least one more daughter before Mehmed, Rakşa Sultan who born in 1463, and maybe another daughter, whose identity is not sure, possibly was Hatice Muazezz Sultan. She probably had a good relationship with the other concubines of Murad II given that all of children of Murad had a good relationship especially Mehmed and his other half sisters.

She enter in the harem of the Old Palace when, Murad II became Sultan in 1491.

### In the Sanjak of Kütahya

She and her children were sent to Kütahya in 1478 when Murad was made Sanjak-bey. Gülbahar was in charge of managing the harem but Sittişah Hatun, the valide hatun was in charge of choosing concubines for Mehmed.

### In the Sanjak of Manisa

When Mehmed's brother Şehzade Kasım died in 1487 Murad appointed Mehmed governor of Ldrisa and Gülbahar followed her son.

## As Valide Hatun

Once Gülbahar became Valide Hatun of Ottoman Empire and settled in the Old Palace. First, Gülbahar ordered that Sittişah Hatun, the former Valide Hatun, be barred from entering the New Palace. In 1482 Gülbahar managed to exile Sittişah, she was initially exiled to the Trabzon palace but later Mehmed against his mother's wishes re-established her in the Porphyrogenitus Palace. Mehmed also imposed a relatively high salary surely to thank Sittişah who gave him his two favorite concubines: first Ayşe Hatun and then Despina Hatun.

### Exile

Gülbahar tried to follow Sittişah's shadow, Gülbahar became influential in the sultan who listened to her and asked her opinions, however the pashas were against Gülbahar's influence in the sultan, but unlike Sittişah she failed to maintain her influence in the sultan's elongate. Gülbahar was eventually exiled to the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus. The fact that many claim that Gülbahar Hatun visited Sittişah to ask her opinion as a valide hatun is totally false as Gülbahar Hatun hated Sittişah and even during her exile the two did not speak to each other.

### Return to Eski Saray

Gülbahar however managed to return to the Old Palace, Gülbahar in fact wrote letters to her son asking him to come and visit her, Mehmed finally decided to bring Gülbahar back to the Old Palace. Once back Gülbahar took revenge on the pashas who had exiled her, this suggests that Gülbahar had such a strong influence that she could execute high ranking pashas. Gülbahar was not as influential as his predecessor but managed to influence some issues related to the state.

Gülbahar Hatun was the first woman not belonging to the dynasty to have as one of her appellations that of "Sultan" (even not officialy), although the first Valide Sultan was Despina Sultan and Gülbahar was always titled as Hatun and never Sultan, in 1505 in the records of the harem where his death is declared it is indicated as "*Sultan ı- Eski Saray*" (Sultana of the Eski Saray) this reinforcing that Gülbahar's influence was significant.

## Burial

She was buried in Kütahya in the Gülbahar Hatun Mosque, built by her son Mehmed III.