Hoşyar Kadın
Hoşyar Kadın (; died 1859) was an Ottoman aristocrat. She was the fifth wife of Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire. Early life. Hoşyar Kadın was the adopted daughter of Beyhan Sultan, daughter of Sultan Mustafa III, and cousin of the Sultan Mahmud. Marriage. In 1810, Beyhan Sultan gave a grand banquet to Mahmud. During this time, he offered Hoşyar's hand in marriage to him. Beyhan consented to his offer and, after some days, sent her to the imperial harem, with a grand ceremony, and with magnificent presents, which she gave her as her dower. For ten  days, the Sultan was most assiduous in his attentions; after that period. She was given the title of Fourth Consort. Two years later, on 29 June 1812, she gave birth to her first daughter, Mihrimah Sultan. She was followed two years later by another daughter, Şah Sultan, born on 14 October 1814, who died at the age of two on 13 April 1817. Hoşyar was then elevated to Third Consort, and later to Second Consort. When the time came to get Mihrimah Sultan a husband, Hoşyar resolved that she should make her choice. She showed her the portraits of several  young men, each worthy of her hand. Mihrimah chose Said Pasha, and the two married in 1835. Shortly after his marriage to her daughter, Said Pasha incurred Mahmud's displeasure and was exiled to the provinces, to his wife's and mother-in-law's distress. At this time, Hoşyar was sufficiently sure of her influence to petition Mahmud directly and did so in a letter. She followed this up with two letters of thanks, one when Mahmud granted her request and ordered Said Pasha brought back to Istanbul, the other when he arrived. Mihrimah died in 1838 in childbirth , and with her, Hoşyar's last solace disappeared. With the death of Mahmud in 1839, she lost her influence at court. Widowhood. In later years she settled in her palace, situated at Tarlabaşı, facing Dolmabahçe Palace. She met Melek Hanim, wife of grand vizier Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha. Melek described her as tall and fair-haired, and her skin, exceedingly white, set off the freshness of her complexion. Knowing that Melek had been in Europe, Hoşyar interrogated her as to the manners and customs of the Christians, the way the towns were built, the balls, theatres, systems of lighting by  gas, the architecture of the palaces, and a thousand other matters. Bezmiâlem Sultan, the mother of Sultan Abdulmejid I always regarded her with a jealous eye. She scarcely allowed her to receive, once a month, a visit from Said Pasha when he was in Istanbul. Moreover, she was never allowed to hear of her daughter. In 1840, she commissioned a fountain in Elhac, Kasımpaşa. In 1844, she commissioned a school in Burgaz. She also commissioned a mosque. Death. In 1859, Hoşyar went for a pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, where she died. Issue. Together with Mahmud, Hoşyar had two children: Hoşyar