Naciye Sultan

Naciye Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: امینه ناجیه سلطان‎; Turkish: Emine Naciye Sultan; 25 October 1896 – 4 December 1957) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Şehzade Selim Süleyman, son of Sultan Abdulmejid I.

Naciye Sultan
Born	(1896-10-25)25 October 1896 Feriye Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey)
Died	4 December 1957(1957-12-04) (aged 61) Nişantaşı, Istanbul, Turkey
Burial	Şehzade Ahmed Kemaleddin Mausoleum, Yahya Efendi Cemetery, Istanbul
Spouse	Ismail Enver Pasha ​ ( m. 1914; died 1922) Mehmed Kamil Pasha ( m. 1923⁠–⁠1957)
Issue	Mahpeyker Hanımsultan Türkan Hanımsultan Sultanzade Ali Bey Rana Hanımsultan
Full name Turkish: Emine Naciye Ottoman Turkish: امینه ناجیه‎
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Şehzade Selim Süleyman
Mother	Ayşe Tarziter Hanım
Religion	Sunni Islam

Early life

Naciye Sultan was born on 25 October 1896 in the Feriye Palace.[1] Her father was Şehzade Selim Süleyman, and her mother was Ayşe Tarziter Hanım, an Abkhazian lady from the Bargan-Ipa family.[2][3] She was the second child, and only daughter born to her father and the eldest child of her mother. She had a full brother, Şehzade Mehmed Şerefeddin, seven years younger than her. She was the paternal granddaughter of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Serfiraz Hanım.[4]

Her family used spent their winters in the Feriye Palace, and their summers in the Nisbetiyye Mansion located in Bebek.[5]

Education

Naciye was educated privately. Her first teacher was Aynîzâde Tahsin Efendi, who taught her alphabets. Her second teacher was Hafez Ihsan Efendi with whom she took her Turkish lessons for many years before he was replaced with Halid Ziya Bey (Uşaklıgil). She also took French and Turkish lessons from a German lady named Fraulein Funke, who was later named Adile when she converted to Islam.[5]

When Naciye got older, she also started taking music lessons. She took her piano and violin lessons from the saz teacher Udî Andon. She also took piano lessons from a German teacher named Braun, while her piano instructors were Lange and Hege. Naciye Sultan especially liked piano lessons and her piano teacher Hege. Hege was a piano teacher at Mekteb-i Harbiyye for a while and was one of the most famous pianists of Istanbul at that time.[5]

Engagement to Abdürrahim

When Şehzade Abdürrahim Hayri, son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II came of age of marriage, his father decided that he would marry Naciye Sultan. However, Naciye and her family were not immediately informed of this decision. But when they came to know about the decision, both her father and mother turned against to this because Naciye was only twelve years old at that time. However, her father couldn't opposed his brother, and was obliged to accept it. And so Naciye was engaged to Abdürrahim.[6]

First marriage

Engagement

Ismail Enver Pasha became the subject of gossip about an alleged romance between him and Princess Iffet of Egypt. When this story reached Istanbul, the grand vizier, Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha decided to exploit Enver's marital eligibility by arranging a rapprochement between the Committee for Union and Progress and the imperial family.[7]

After a careful search, the grand vizier chose Naciye Sultan as Enver's future bride. Both the grand vizier and Enver's mother then notified him of this decision. Enver had never seen Naciye Sultan, and he did not trust his mother's letters, since he suspected her of being enamored with the idea of having a princess as her daughter-in-law.[8]

Therefore, he asked a reliable friend, Ahmed Rıza Bey, who was a member of the Turkish Parliament to investigate. When the latter reported favorably on the prospective bride's education and beauty, as well as on the prospective dowry, Enver took a practical view of this marriage and accepted the arrangement.[9]

Naciye had been previously engaged to Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri, son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II for three years.[10] However, Sultan Mehmed V broke off the engagement,[11] and in April 1909,[12] when Naciye was just twelve years old, engaged her to Enver. Following the old Ottoman pattern of life and tradition, the engagement ceremony was celebrated in Enver's absence as he remained in Berlin. However, as Naciye was then still under age the marriage did not take place until 1914.[13]

Marriage

The marriage took place on 5 March 1914 in the Nişantaşı Palace.[14][15] The wedding celebrations took place on 10 May.[16] The couple were given one of the palaces of Kuruçeşme.[17]

In August 1916, 'The Society for Muslim Working Women' was setup in the capital. It had three branches in Istanbul, Pera, and Üsküdar. Its president was Naciye Sultan, while Enver himself served as its patron.[18] Naciye's leading role in this society was a clear sign of the committee's involvement in integrating women into a life beyond the household. The society regulated the working conditions of women and encouraged them to get married and form a family.[19]

On 17 May 1917, Naciye Sultan gave birth to the couple's eldest child, a daughter, Mahpeyker Hanımsultan. She was followed by a second daughter, Türkan Hanımsultan, born on 4 July 1919. Both of them were born in Istanbul.[4]

During Enver's stay in Berlin, Naciye Sultan and her daughters Mahpeyker and Türkan joined him. When Enver left for Soviet Russia his family remained there.[20] His son, Sultanzade Ali Bey was born in Berlin on 29 September 1921,[4] after Enver's departure and he never saw him.[20] Naciye was widowed at Enver's death on 4 August 1922.[4]

Naciye Sultan could not bear the longing of her son. Therefore, Nuri Pasha brought the daughters of Naciye Sultan, Mahpeyker, Türkan and Rana to Switzerland. Ali did not come because he continued his education in Istanbul. The girls remained in Switzerland until 1943. After this date, Mahpeyker and Türkan, the eldest daughters of Naciye Sultan, returned to Istanbul and continued their education there. [21]

Second marriage

After Enver Pasha's death, Naciye Sultan married his younger brother, Mehmed Kamil Pasha on 30 October 1923 in Berlin.[4]

Following the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Naciye and her husband settled in Paris. Here Naciye gave birth to the couple's only child, a daughter, Rana Hanımsultan on 25 February 1926.[4] In 1933, she met with her brother Şehzade Mehmed Şerefeddin in Nice, she met her brother nine years after the exile of the imperial family in 1924. [22]

In 1952, Naciye Sultan and her family returned to Istanbul after the revocation of the law of exile for princesses. Here she settled in Nişantaşı.[4]

Death

Naciye Sultan died on 4 December 1957 due to liver cancer and was buried beside her father due to her last will in mausoleum of Şehzade Ahmed Kemaleddin, Yahya Efendi cemetery. [23][24]

Issue

Together with Enver Pasha, Naciye had three children:

• Mahpeyker Hanımsultan (Kuruçeşme Palace, 17 May 1917 - Istanbul, Turkey, 3 April 2000, buried there), married with issue;[4][25]
• Türkan Hanımsultan (Kuruçeşme Palace, 4 July 1919 - Ankara, Turkey, 25 December 1989), married with issue;[4][25]
• Sultanzade Ali Bey (Berlin, Germany, 29 September 1921 - Australia, 2 December 1971), married with issue;[25]

Together with Mehmed Kâmil Pasha, Naciye had one daughter:

• Rana Hanımsultan (Paris, France, 25 February 1926 - Haydarpasha, 14 April 2008), married with issue;[25]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Naciye Sultan
16. Abdul Hamid I 8. Mahmud II 17. Nakşidil Sultan 4. Abdulmejid I 9. Bezmiâlem Sultan 2. Şehzade Selim Süleyman 10. Osman Liah 5. Serfiraz Hanım 11. Zeliha Tapsın 1. Naciye Sultan 3. Ayşe Terziter Hanım

References

1. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 3.
2. Woronzow, Salome (September 20, 2016). Şehzade Zevceleri. Osmanlı Hanedanı Gelinleri 1850 - 1923. GRIN Verlag. p. 5. ISBN 978-3-668-30031-6.
3. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 7.
4. Adra, Jamil (2005). Genealogy of the Imperial Ottoman Family 2005. pp. 12–13.
5. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 14.
6. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 19-20.
7. Rorlich 1972, p. 9-10.
8. Rorlich 1972, p. 10.
9. Rorlich 1972, p. 10-11.
10. Suad, Adem (April 6, 2015). 100 Meşhur Aşk. Az Kitap. ISBN 978-6-054-81261-5.
11. Altındal, Meral (1993). Osmanlı'da harem. Altın Kitaplar Yayınevi. p. 138.
12. Akmeşe, Handan Nezir (November 12, 2005). The Birth of Modern Turkey: The Ottoman Military and the March to WWI. I.B.Tauris. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-850-43797-0.
13. Rorlich 1972, p. 11.
14. Fortna, Benjamin C. (2014). The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent. Oxford University Press. pp. 293 n. 16. ISBN 978-0-190-49244-1.
15. Tarih ve toplum: aylık ansiklopedik dergi, Volume 26. İletişim Yayınları/Perka A. Ş. 1934. p. 171.
16. Müftüoğlu, Mustafa (1946). Yalan söyleyen tarih utansini, Volume 2. Çile Yayinevi. p. 146.
17. Bey, Yaver Suphi (November 16, 2011). Enven Paşa'nın Son Günleri. artcivic. ISBN 978-6-054-33739-2.
18. Hourani, Albert; Khoury, Philip Shukry; Wilson, Mary Christina (January 1, 1993). The Modern Middle East: A Reader. University of California Press. pp. 137. ISBN 978-0-520-08241-0.
19. Rabo, Annika; Utas, Bo (2005). The Role of the State in West Asia. Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. p. 21. ISBN 978-9-186-88413-0.
20. Rorlich 1972, p. 79.
21. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 130.
22. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 129.
23. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. iv.
24. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 140-41.
25. Milanlıoğlu 2011, p. 153.

Sources

• Rorlich, Azade-Ayse (1972). Enver Pasha and the Bolshevik Revolution. University of Wisconsin--Madison.
• Milanlıoğlu, Neval (2011). Emine Naciye Sultan’ın Hayatı (1896-1957).