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Ismihan Sultan (c. 1544 – 7 August 1585) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Selim II (reign 1566-74) and Nurbanu Sultan. She was the granddaughter of Suleiman the Magnificent (reign 1520-66) and his favourite consort and legal wife Hürrem Sultan, sister of Sultan Murad III (reign 1574-95) and aunt of Sultan Mehmed III (reign 1595-1603).

Biography

In contrast, strong alliances were made for the daughters of Selim, the prince who would succeed Suleiman: Emahan married Sokollu Mehmed, Gevherhan the admiral Piyalen, and Şah the chief falconer Hasan Agha. On 1 August 1562 Suleiman celebrated the triple wedding of his heir Selim's daughters Esmahan, Gevherhan and Şah to Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Piyale Pasha and Hasan Agha respectively. In September 1566, upon the death of her grandfather Suleiman the Magnificent, she came to Istanbul with her mother and sisters, and enjoyed great power in Topkapı Palace. She was very influential in the harems of Selim II and of her brother Murad III, and was at the bottom of many palace schemes. After the death of the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, the princess's first choice for a new husband, Ösdemiroğlu Osman Pasha was not interested. Her next choice was Kalaylıkoz Ali Pasha, the governor of Buda, who agreed to the marriage, but when the imperial order came demanding his divorce, his wife's sorrow and suffering were said to have caused the city to revolt. Her marriage to Ali Pasha took place in 1584. Ismihan sultan died on 7 August 1585, and was buried in Hagia Sophia Mosque.

References

• "Turkey: The Imperial House of Osman". web.archive.org. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
• Narodna biblioteka "Sv. sv. Kiril i Metodiĭ. Orientalski otdel, International Centre for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations, Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and Culture (2003). Inventory of Ottoman Turkish documents about Waqf preserved in the Oriental Department at the St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library: Registers. Narodna biblioteka "Sv. sv. Kiril i Metodiĭ.
• 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).

Issue

From her first marriage, Ismihan had a daughter and three sons:[5]

• Safiye Hanımsultan (1562 - ?): Ismihan Sultan's eldest child. She was firstly married to her father's cousin Sokollu Mustafa Pasha, governor of Buda. After his execution in 1578, she married the new governor of Buda, Silahdar Cafer Pasha. After his death in 1587, she gave birth to their twin sons, Mehmed Bey and Cafer Bey, who died as children. She married thirdly to Sultanzade Abdülbaki Bey, son of her mother's cousin Hümaşah Sultan.
• Sultanzade Ahmed Bey (1563 - 1567). Died in infancy, probably of smallpox.
• Sultanzade Sokolluzâde Ibrahim Han Paşah (1565 - 1621). In 1924 an his descendant, Sokulluzade Abdülbâki Ihsân Bey, married another Ottoman princess, Rukiye Sultan, granddaughter of Sultan Mehmed V.
• Sultanzade Piri Mehmed Bey (1566 - 1567). Died in early infancy, probably of smallpox.

From her second marriage, Ismihan had a son:[5]

• Sultanzade Mahmud Bey (5 August 1585 - 24 September 1585): Ismihan died giving birth to him. He died 50 days after his mother.