Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin (Ottoman Turkish: شهزاده محمد سیف الدین‎; 21 September 1874 – 19 October 1927) was an Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdulaziz and Gevheri Kadın.

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin
Born	(1874-09-21)21 September 1874 Dolmabahçe Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (present day Istanbul, Turkey)
Died	19 October 1927(1927-10-19) (aged 53) Cimiez, Nice, France
Burial	Sultan Selim Mosque, Damascus, Syria
Spouse	Neşefelek Hanım ( m. 1899) Nervaliter Hanım ( m. 1902)
Issue	Mehmed Abdulaziz Şehzade Mahmud Şevket Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid Gevheri Sultan
Full name Turkish: Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin Ottoman Turkish: شهزاده محمد سیف الدین‎
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Abdulaziz
Mother	Gevheri Kadın
Religion	Sunni Islam

Early life

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin was born on 21 September 1874 in the Dolmabahçe Palace.[1][2][3] His father was Sultan Abdulaziz and his mother was Gevheri Kadın,[4] the daughter of Salih Svanba and Şaziye Tsamba.[5] He was the youngest son of his father and the second child of his mother. He was the younger full brother of Esma Sultan.[6]

Abdulaziz was deposed on 30 May 1876 and was succeeded by his nephew Murad V. However Abdulaziz's entourage didn't wanted to leave the Dolmabahçe Palace. He was transferred to Feriye Palace the next day. On 4 June 1876,[7] Abdulaziz died under mysterious circumstances.[8]

Seyfeddin began his education at Ilhamur Mansion, in 1879, along with his sister Esma Sultan and brother Şehzade Mehmed Şevket and cousins Şehzade Mehmed Selim and Zekiye Sultan. [9] He spent his childhood and early youth in Feriye Palace along with his sister and mother. He took art and painting lessons at a young age, and was known to be a great composer. [10] His music teachers were Tanbûrî Cemil Bey and Santûrî Edhem Efendi. Besides music he was known for his paintings, poetry and revelation.[10] He spend his summers in Saudiye Mansion and winters in Feriye Palace.

Personal life

Seyfeddin's first wife was Neşefelek Hanım. She was born on 5 January 1880. They married on 4 December 1899 in the Ortaköy Palace. She was the mother of Şehzade Mehmed Abdulaziz, born on 26 September 1901. She died in 1930 in Nice, France.[11]

His second wife was Nervaliter Hanım. She was born on 27 March 1885 in Poti, Georgia. They married on 23 February 1902 in the Ortaköy Palace. Seyfeddin and his family later settled in the Camlıça Palace, where on 30 July 1903, she gave birth to Şehzade Mahmud Şevket, followed by twins, Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid and Gevheri Sultan, born on 30 November 1904. She died in 1935 in Nice, France.[11]

As musician

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin was known as great composer after Selim III. He was a great composer. He used to play piano, fiddle, drums and composed them with a good tune. His sons Mehmed Abdulaziz, Şehzade Mahmud Şevket and Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid were master drummers.[10]

His daughter Gevheri Sultan was a master violinist and drummer with many compositions. He taught his daughter how to compose music from different instruments Among these were the oud (a lyre), the tanbur (a guitar-like instrument), and the lavta (an ancient lute). She played the tanbur, kemençe, ud, lavta and piano.[12] She composed vocal and instrumental pieces in various makams. He composed classical religious and non-religious songs.[10]

Instead of music, he also set ridge of the minarets of the great mosques of Istanbul in Ramadan. He personally measured the minarets and but above all, he was an important musician. Today, only two reeds of Seyfeddin, the Khuzzam and Bayati rhymes and a few of them are known. Both musical instruments are one of the most brilliant works of Turkish Music in terms of their melodies and technical structures.[13]

His father Abdulaziz and his elder half-brother Abdulmejid II were professional artists. His another elder-half brother Şehzade Mehmed Şevket was accomplished a pianist. Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin considered one of the most leading musicians during his youth. He also dealt with painting and sculpture, but he was a master in field music.[1] Besides being a musician, he was also a pianist, organist, Lutfi and Simavi.[14]

Navy

Mehmed Seyfeddin was one of the princes registered in the navy, the registration of Seyfeddin took place late, due to his father death when he was not yet two years old, Upon the approval of Sultan Mehmed V, Seyfeddin was promoted to the rank of honorary galleon captain, on 28 July 1918, he was promoted to the rank of liva admiral. During the First World War Mehmed Seyfeddin accorded 60,000 kuruş to the Ottoman Naval Army.[15]

Exile and death

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Mehmed Seyfeddin and his family moved to Cimiez, Nice, France. They bought a villa near the Villa Carabacel which belonged to his cousin Seniha Sultan.[16]

Seyfeddin died on 19 October 1927 at the age of fifty-three and was buried in Sultan Selim Mosque, Damascus, Syria.[11][10]

Issue

Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin had four children:

• Mehmed Abdulaziz (Ortaköy Palace, 26 September 1901 - Nice, France, 19 January 1977, buried there), married with issue;
• Şehzade Mahmud Şevket (Çamlıca Palace, 30 July 1903 - Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Gard, France, 1 February 1973 , buried there), married Adile Hanımsultan in 1922, the marriage was annulled in 1928, with issue;
• Şehzade Ahmed Tevhid (Çamlıca Palace, 30 November 1904 - Beirut, Lebanon, 24 April 1966) unmarried without issue;
• Gevheri Sultan (Çamlıca Palace, 30 November 1904 - Taksim Square, Istanbul, 10 December 1980, buried in Mahmud II Mausoleum, Divanyolu), married without issue;

Ancestry

Ancestors of Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin
16. Ahmed III 8. Abdul Hamid I 17. Şermi Kadın 4. Mahmud II 9. Nakşidil Sultan 2. Abdulaziz 5. Pertevniyal Sultan 1. Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin 6. Salih Svanba 3. Gevheri Kadın 14. Osman Tsamba 7. Şaziye Tsamba

References

1. "Murat Bardakçı yazdı". Habertürk. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
2. Bey, Mehmet Sürreya (1969). Osmanlı devletinde kim kimdi, Volume 1. Küğ Yayını. p. 269.
3. Bardakçı 2017, p. 116.
4. Brookes 2010, p. 281.
5. Açba, Harun (2007). Kadın efendiler: 1839-1924. Profil. p. 94. ISBN 978-9-759-96109-1.
6. Uluçay 2011, p. 233.
7. Davison, Roderic H. (December 8, 2015). Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1856-1876. Princeton University Press. p. 341. ISBN 978-1-400-87876-5.
8. Brookes 2010, p. 43.
9. Uru, Cevriye (2010). Sultan Abdülhamid'in kızı Zekiye Sultan'in Hayati (1872-1950). p. 6.
10. "SEYFEDDİN EFENDİ, Şehzade (1874-1927) Hânende ve bestekâr". İslam Ansiklopedisi. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
11. Adra, Jamil (2005). Genealogy of the Imperial Ottoman Family 2005. p. 17.
12. "Osmanoglu, Gevher (1904—)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
13. "Osmanoğulları'nın en önemli bestekárı Seyfeddin Efendi'nin kayıp besteleri bendedir". Hürriyet. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
14. Brookes, Douglas S. (February 4, 2020). On the Sultan's Service: Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil's Memoir of the Ottoman Palace, 1909–1912. Indiana University Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-253-04553-9.
15. Korkmaz, Mehmet (2019). Denizin Saraylıları: Bahriye’de Osmanlı Şehzadeleri. pp. 52–53.
16. Bardakçı 2017, p. 117.

Sources

• Uluçay, Mustafa Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ankara, Ötüken.
• Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78335-5.
• Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.