Yıldız Hanımefendi

Yıldız Hanımefendi (fully Yıldız İkinci Hanımefendi Hazretleri, 1842 - 1880) (Yıldız meaning "Star") was the Circassian wife of 31st Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I. She was the sister of Safinaz Nurefzun Kadınefendi the second wife of 34th Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, son of Abdülmecid I. The husband of "Yıldız Hanımefendi" Sultan Abdülmecid I.

Biography

Yıldız Hanımefendi was born as Zijan Şermat to Selim Şermat and his wife Princess Rebiye Hanım, who belonged to the Circassian tribe of Besleney. She had two sisters Vunay Hanım and Ayşe Hanım and a brother, Murat Şermat. Her father was murdered by the Russians and her mother was kidnapped. Her uncle Besleney Prince Cemal Efendi sought refuge in Istanbul and had guard in the palace. At a very young age she along with her sisters, Vunay Hanım and Ayşe Hanım were given in care of Valide Sultan Bezmiâlem Sultan by Cemal Efendi's wife Tergüzar Hanım.

In the palace they were given private education and training. When Bezmiâlem took Zijan, Vunay and Ayşe she changed their names, as palace tradition had it, calling Zijan Yıldız, Vunay Dilber Peyker and Ayşe Safinaz. Abdülmecid was captivated by the beauty of the young girl and they married in 1858 in the Dolmabahçe Palace. She was on of the beloved wives of Abdülmecid and he gifted her a mansion located in the Yıldız park which was named after her.

In 1688, Abdul Hamid II married her sister, Ayşe Safinaz and changed her name to Nurefzun, but the marriage didn't lasted long and they divorced in 1879. Years later Sultan Abdul Hamid II also built a palace and named it Yıldız after her. She died in 1880.

See also

  • Ottoman Dynasty
  • Ottoman Empire

Further reading

  • Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009, ISBN 978-975-269-299-2 (Hardcover).