Bezmiâlem Sultan

Bezmiâlem Sultan (fully Devletlu İsmetlu Bezmiâlem Valide Sultan Aliyyetü'ş-Şân Hazretleri; 1807 – 2 May 1853) (Bezm-î Âlem or Bazim-î Âlam, meaning "feast of the world") was the second wife of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, and the mother of Sultan Abdülmecid I of the Ottoman Empire.

Her origins

Dolmabahçe Mosque of Bezm-î Âlem Valide Sultan.

The theories about the origin of Bezmiâlem are:

• Majority of sources however note that she is either a Georgian Jew or Christian Georgian.^[1][2][3][4]
• Alan Palmer writes that she was Georgian (perhaps Georgian Jew) but gives no original name.^[5]
• Captain Charles White, a Briton who spent three years in Istanbul and knew Ottoman society well, in the 1840s mentioned that Besma Allem, mother to the reigning monarch Abdülmecid I, was a Georgian slave and was purchased and educated by Esma Sultan, a sister of Mahmud II.^[6] She was most probably an adoptive daughter of Esma Sultan like Rahime Perestu Sultan.

Life

She is said to have been buxom and a bath attendant before entering the imperial harem. She had a beautiful face and extraordinary white and beautiful hands. She was married to Mahmud in 1822. As mother of Sultan Abdülmecid I, she was Valide Sultan from 1839 to 1853.^[7][5] One source says Mahmud II died of alcoholism, rather than tuberculosis, and she is reported to have convinced Abdülmecid I to destroy his father's wine cellars.^[8] She was thirty one and was still young enough to despise and mistrust the elder non statesman who had made himeself minister. She advised her son to allow Husrev to incur the odium of seeking terms from Muhaamd Ali but urged him to resist the Grand Vizier's attempts to advance his nominees to important offices of the state. Abdülmecid duly played for time, awaiting Reșid's return from England before taking any major decisions on policy. His mother had given sound counsel. So shrewd was her judgement of men and their motives that the Valide Sultan continued to influence the choice of ministers until shortly before her death fourteen years later. Bezmialem also recommended Reşid to Abdülmecid because she believed he understood what Mahmud had been seeking to achieve in his reform programme.

She was popular and respected as Valide Sultan and she also exerted political influence: it is noted, that her son and his ministers consulted her on the affairs of state. Like other influential Ottoman women, she was a patron of arts and architecture. Among notable structures she commissioned are Kasr-i Dilkusa (Dilkusa Summer Palace) in the Yıldız Palace complex, Bezm-î-Âlem Valide Sultan Fountain, and Dolmabahçe Mosque in Istanbul. Her burial place is located at Divanyolu Street inside The tomb of Mahmud II in Istanbul.

See also

• Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman dynasty
• Ottoman family tree
• List of Valide Sultans
• List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire
• Line of succession to the Ottoman throne
• Ottoman Emperors family tree (simplified)
• List of consorts of the Ottoman Sultans

Further reading

• Peirce, Leslie P., The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-19-508677-5 (paperback).
• Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009, ISBN 978-975-269-299-2 (Hardcover).

References

Mothers of the Ottoman Sultans Halime Hatun Malhun Hatun Nilüfer Hatun Gülçiçek Hatun Devlet Hatun Emine Hatun Hüma Hatun Sittişah Hatun Gülbahar Hatun Ayşe Hafsa Sultan Hürrem Sultan Nurbanu Sultan Safiye Sultan Handan Sultan Halime Sultan Mahfiruz Hatice Sultan Kösem Sultan Turhan Hatice Sultan Saliha Dilaşub Sultan Hatice Muazzez Sultan Emetullah Rabia Gülnuş Sultan Saliha Sultan Şehsuvar Sultan Emine Mihrişah Kadınefendi Rabia Şermi Kadınefendi Mihrişah Sultan Nükhetsezâ Hanımefendi Nakşidil Sultan Bezmiâlem Sultan Pertevniyal Sultan Şevkefza Sultan Tirimüjgan Kadınefendi Gülcemal Kadınefendi Gülüstü Kadınefendi