She is one of the wives of Fatih Sultan Mehmet and the mother of Bayezid the 2nd. (B. ? - D. 1492, Istanbul). It is estimated that she had Georgian, Sirbian or French origins. She shouldn’t be confused with the same named wife of Bayezid II., as well as the mother of Yavuz Sultan Selim. During those years, the title of “sultana” wasn’t started to be used. However, her position in the palace was the same as the sultanas. It is supposed that she started to live in the Ottoman Palace located in the capital city, Edirne in 1446. Possibly, she was married to Fatih Sultan Mehmed (alias Prince Mehmet) following Fatih Sultan Mehmet’s leaving the crown for his father Murat II after his first crowning. After nearly one year, on 3rd December 1447, she gave birth to Bayezid in Dimetoka Palace, near Edirne. Besides Bayezid II., she was the mother of Gevherhan Sultan who was married in the dynasty family of Akkoyunlu State.

In 1450, Prince Mehmet was married for the second time to the daughter of Dulkadiroğlu Süleyman Bey, Sitti Mükrime Hatun in Edirne in 1450. He was sent to Manisa together with his wife as a flag officer customarily by the Sultan Murat II. As Fatih Sultan Mehmet succeeded to the crown in 1453, he made Istanbul the new capital of the Ottoman State. But, Gülbahar Hatun stayed in Edirne together with her small child Bayezit for a while. When Bayezid was six, he was again assigned as the flag officer of Amasya in 1456, customarily. Gülbahar Hatun moved to Amasya together with his son and she lived there until his son succeeded to the crown in 1481. She stayed in Istanbul until her death.

During the reign of his son, she had the authority in the Ottoman Palace. She died nearly in 1492. She was buried in the tomb, named after her, which is located in the courtyard of Fatih Mosque, Istanbul. After her death, Bayezit II. built a school and the Hatuniye Mosque in Tokat in commemoration of his mother. As we learn from its inscription, the social complex located in Meydan Mahallesi of Tokat was built by Sultan Bayezit with the mosque, school, and charity in 1484 and then the hazire (protected cemetery) was added. This complex is also important for being a social center. The mosque located at the center of the complex is colloquially known as ‘Meydan’, ‘Zincirli’, ‘Hatuniye’ and ‘Gülbahar Hatun’. Evliya Çelebi mentioned of this mosque as the “Pazar Meydanı’ndaki Zincirli Cami” (Chained Mosque in the Bazaar Area) in his notes. There is also a fountain in the yard of the mosque. The school building couldn’t survive till today and the mission building was destroyed.

REFERENCE: İslâm Ansiklopedisi (1944-1951), Büyük Larousse Ansiklopedisi (1986),Yavuz Bahadıroğlu / Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi (2009), İhsan Işık /  Ünlü Kadınlar (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 4, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013)

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