Nakşidil Sultan

Mother of Sultan Mahmud II (B.? –D. September 6^th 1817, Beşiktaş / Istanbul). In the historical sources related to Ottoman Empire, her name is usually given as Nakşidil, but in some archival materials, in her signature, and in her epitaph, her name was accepted as Nakşî or Nakşî Kadın. From a new document, in contrast to the romantic narration of her story of coming to the palace, it is understood that she was one of the bondswoman of Esma Sultan, the sister of Sultan Abdülhamid I. It is known that Nakşidil Sultan caught the eye of Sultan Abdülhamid I in the palace of Esma Sultan where Abdülhamid I visited regularly, and then she was taken to the Topkapı Palace.

            The first child that Nakşî Kadın, the seventh kadınefendi of Abdülhamid I, gave birth to was the prince Murad Seyfullah, born on 22^nd October 1783. When the prince Murat died of smallpox on the 3^rd of March, 1784, the allowance belonging to him for food and drink was passed to Nakşî Kadın at the behest of Sultan Abdülhamid I. The second child of Nakşidil Sultan, prince Mahmut, was born on the 20^th of July, 1785, and her last child, Sâliha Sultan, was born on the 28^th of November, 1786, and lived for only seven months.

            The information related to the life of Nakşidil Sultan is quite limited. In a related correspondence, Sultan Abdülhamid I, because of the fact that she was the mother of a son, referred to her as “vâlide-i muhteremeleri” meaning the honorable mother.

            Nakşidil became Vâlide Sultan (sultana) “Mehd-i ulyâ-yı saltanat-ı seniyye” when her son Mahmud II succeeded to the throne on the 28^th of July, 1808. With the regiment of Valide, she was taken from the Eski Saray to the Topkapı Palace on the 8^th of August.

            Unlike some other sultanas in the history, there are no historical records stating that she was a side of the political developments of that period or she had an effect on the political decisions. It is understood that these members of the dynasty gave importance to the inner unity and stayed out of such debates.

            Nakşidil, who resided in the Beşiktaş Sahil Palace mostly, was infected with tuberculosis, and for a while, she was taken to the Gümrükçü Osman Paşa Mansion for treatment. While her treatment, that her son Sultan Mahmud II paid great attention to with concern, was continuing under the supervision of the sultan’s chief physician and a number of physicians, she died in the Beşiktaş Sahil Palace on the 6^th of September, 1817. Her funeral prayer was performed by Seyyit Mehmet Zeynelâbidîn Efen­di. She was fifty six years old when she died.

            Like the other sultanas, Nakşidil Valide Sultan had some pious foundations. At various dates, foundation certificate charters were established. Nakşidil Vâlide Sul­tan Complex, in the direction of the qibla of the Fatih Mosque and in front of Tabhane Medresesi, is composed of an Ottoman elementary-primary school, a public fountain, a fountain, a mausoleum and a few rooms. Today, at the large part of the complex there is Çırçır Kız Kur’an Kursu of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. At the Mausoleum of Nakşidil Sultan, there are fifteen symbolic coffins belonging to the sons of Sultan Mahmud II, whose names were Abdülhamid, and the members and relatives of the dynasty, like Çevri Kalfa.

            The fountain that Sultan Abdülhamid I built in the year when Nakşidil Sultan died is in the direction of the sea of the hotel that was once a prison, in Sultanahmet District. Besides, he rebuilt the Çınarlıçeşme Tekkesi Mescidi –later on it has been called as Nakşidil Vâlide Tekkesi Mescidi- which is built by Şehit Ali Paşa, in Ayvansaray / Karabaş Neighbourhood, next to the Zer el-Gıfârî Mausoleum by adding an Ottoman elementary-primary school (1812). The prayer room that was devastated was restored again in 1980s. According to its cost journal under the date of 6^th November 1814, in Üsküdar Sarıkadı / Dudullu, Nurbanu Sultan’s fountain was rebuilt, the waterways were renovated and the mosque in the same village was restored. The fountain in the direction of qibla of the Sarıgazi Köyü Mosque exists with its restoration inscription and known as Nakşidil Valide Sultan Fountain. Moreover, in the name of his mother, Mahmud II built a new pavilion instead of Cihanbağı Pavilion in Küçükçamlıca (1812). 

REFERENCE: İbrahim Alaeddin Gövsa / Türk Meşhurları (1946), M. Çağatay Uluçay / Padişahların Kadınları ve Kızları (1980), Fikret Sancaoğlu / “Nakşidil Valide Sultan” (MÛTAD, sayı: 9, 2001), Taylesanizâde Hafız Ab­dullah Efendi Tarihi: İstanbul’un Uzun Dört Yı­lı: 1785-1789 (Haz: Feridun M. Emecen, 2003), Câbî Ömer Efendi / Câbî Tarihi (Haz: Mehmet Ali Beyhan, 2003), Fîkret Saricaoğlu / Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi (cilt: 32, 2006), İhsan Işık / Ünlü Kadınlar (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 6, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).