Ayşe Safinaz Nurefsun Kadın (Ottoman Turkish: نورافسون قادین; "womanly", "the pure one" and "light charm"; c. 1850 – c. 1915), called also Nurefzun Kadın, was the second consort of Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire.[1]

Nurefsun Kadın
BornAyşe Hanim
c. 1850
Died1915 (aged 64–65)
Spouse
(m. 1868; div. 1879)

İkinci Esvapçı Saffet Bey
IssueSecond marriage
Fülan Bey
Names
Turkish: Ayşe Safinaz Nurefsun Kadın
Ottoman Turkish: نورافسون قادین
HouseŞermet (by birth)
Ottoman (by marriage)
FatherŞermet Selim Bey
ReligionSunni Islam

Early life edit

Safinaz Nurefsun Kadın was born in 1850.[2] Her real name was Ayşe Hanım. Her father was Şermet Selim Bey, who died while fighting the Russians. She had a elder sister, Yıldız Hanim, last consort of Ottoman Sultan Abdülmejid I.[3] She had been a servant in the household of Isma'il Pasha, the khedive of Egypt, who presented her to Sultan Abdulaziz. She had blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes, and was described a beautiful woman. She was fond of playing violin.[4]

Marriages edit

Nurefsun married Abdul Hamid as his second consort when he was a prince.

When her sister Yıldız Hanım married Abdülmejid I, Ayşe was sent to the household of Şehzade Abdülaziz (the future Sultan Abdülaziz), where she take name Safinaz. According to Harun Açba, Abdülaziz was fascinated by her beauty and wanted to marry her but she declined because she was in love with Şehzade Abdülhamid (the future Sultan Abdülhamid II). The feeling was mutual and the young prince asked his adoptive mother Rahime Perestu Kadın’s help. She told Abdülaziz that Safinaz was ill and that she needed a change of air; later, Abdülaziz was informed that she had passed away. Abdülhamid therefore married in secret Safinaz, now renamed Nurefsun, in October 1868.

She did not have any children. After Abdul Hamid's accession to the throne in 1876, she was given the title of "Second Consort".[5] In 1877, Nurefsun and other members of the imperial family settled in the Yıldız Palace,[6] after Abdul Hamid moved there on 7 April 1877.[7]

However, Nurefsun could not get used to life in the harem, though, and wanted to be Abdülhamid’s only wife. She therefore asked for a divorce. Abdul Hamid fulfilled her request, and she was granted a divorce in 1879.[8] She afterwards married İkinci Esvapçı Saffet Bey, with whom she had a son,[9] who towards the end of Abdul Hamid's reign became a secretary (mabeyn katibi) in the palace.[8]

Death edit

Ayşe Safinaz Nurefsun Kadın died in 1915.[8]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Bey, Âtıf Hüseyin (2003). Sultan II. Abdülhamid'in sürgün günleri (1909-1918): Hususi Doktoru Âtıf Hüseyin Bey'in hatıratı. Pan Yayıncılık. p. 32. ISBN 978-9-758-43455-8.
  2. ^ Osmanoğlu 2000, p. 278.
  3. ^ Akyıldız, Ali (2019). Son Dönem Osmanlı Padişahlarının Nikâh Meselesi. p. 696.
  4. ^ Tansu, Samih Nafiz; Paşa, Celâleddin (1970). Madalyonun Tersi. Gür Kitabevi. p. 31.
  5. ^ Osmanoğlu 2000, p. 261.
  6. ^ Oriental Gardens: An Illustrated History. Chronicle Books. 1992. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-811-80132-4.
  7. ^ NewSpot, Volumes 13-24. General Directorate of Press and Information. 1999.
  8. ^ a b c Örik, Nahid Sırrı (2002). Bilinmeyen yaşamlarıyla saraylılar. Türkiye İş Bankası. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-9-754-58383-0.
  9. ^ Örik, Nahid Sırrı (1989). Abdülhamid'in haremi. Arba. p. 19.

Sources edit