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)