Saliha Sultan (daughter of Mahmud II)

Saliha Sultan
Born	16 June 1811 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died	19 February 1843(1843-02-19) (aged 31) Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Spouse	Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha
Issue	Sultanzade Abdülhamid Ayşe Sıdıkka Hanımsultan Sultanzade Cavid
Dynasty	Ottoman
Father	Mahmud II
Mother	Aşubcan Kadın
Religion	Islam

Saliha Sultan (16 June 1811 – 19 February 1843) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II (reign 1808–39) and his consort Aşubcan Kadın. She was the half-sister of sultans Abdülmecid I (reign 1839–61) and Abdülaziz (reign 1861–76).

Biography

Saliha Sultan was born as the daughter of Sultan Mahmud II and his consort Așubcan Kadın. At the age of twenty three, on 24 May 1834, she was married to Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha, as his first wife, Ambassador to Russia from 1829-1830, Kapudan Pasha from 1830-1832, 1843-1845, 1847-1848 and 1854-1855 and Governor-General of Anatolia from 1852. Upon her marriage, Julia Pardoe, from a caique on the Bosphorus watched the illumination of the shore palace (sahil sarayı) of Esma Sultan on the occasion of the marriage:

There must have been many hundred caiques wedged together in front of her terrace, and less than fifty of them contained musicians.

The ladies of the marriage procession rode in carriages and coaches decorated with stars. She died on 19 February 1843.

Children and descendants

Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha and Saliha Sultan's daughter, Ayşe Sıdıka Hanımsultan, was born on 22 March 1835 together with her twin brother Sultanzade Abdülhamid. Her brother died two years later in 1837. She was the first grandchild of Mahmud II. As a young girl she lost her mother and grew up in the household of her maternal uncle Abdülmecid I. At the age of 16 she married Server Pasha, the son of Mehmed Servet Efendi and bore three daughters, Ayşe, Azize and Fatma. Her daughter Azize became the mother of Ziya Songülen.

• Sultanzade Abdülhamid born 22 March 1835, died as an infant in 1837.
• Ayşe Sıdıka Hanımsultan married Server Paşa, the son of Said Servet Efendi, and had issue
  • Ayşe Hanım married Hakkı Bey and had issue
  • Azize Hanım married Suad Bey, the son of Asim Paşa, and had issue
  • Fatma Hanım married Fehim Bey and had issue
• Sultanzade Cavid died after birth in 1837

References

• Fanny Davis (1986). The Ottoman Lady: A Social History from 1718 to 1918. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-24811-5.