Hatice Sultan: An Invisible Ottoman Turkish Princess

Who is the Hatice Sultan, the Daughter of Selim the 1st, the Ottoman Princess who becomes famous with the TV series Magnificent Century (حريم السلتان)? In this post, we will answer questions like who is Hatice Sultan, what happened to Hatice Sultan, why Hatice Sultan died, and how Hatice Sultan died.

The Ottoman Empire has given a number of figures to history to remember, cherish, and recall. Not only men but women are also looked up to understand their lifestyles and ruling mannerisms. One such historical figure from the Ottoman family was Hatice Sultan. Her life was an embodiment of courage and love. She has been treated like all the other princesses but her life had tests for her. Very little has been documented about this royal family member and the little information that is available to us, is conflicted over by historians of all times.

Hatice Sultan was born to Sultan Selim I and his favorite and most beloved concubine Ayse Hafsa Sultan. Her exact birth date is unknown, historians have disagreements about it and they range her birth to have taken place sometime between 1494 to 1496 in Trabzon, Turkey. Sultan loved his daughter; she was an apple of his eye. She pleased her father by learning the art of sword fighting and knife playing while making her mother happy by being a graceful lady and mastering everything that is required of a princess. She knew the ways of court as well as those of a knight.

Her brother, in later life, was surprised at her sword skills; he had not expected a woman, especially a princess to be so good at it. Hatice Sultan shared her blood with eight siblings. Sultan Selim I’s children, other than Hatice Sultan, were Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Fatma Sultan, Hafsa Sultan, Sah Sultan, Beyhan Sultan, Orchanas, Musa, and Korkutas.

Hatice Sultan was only 15 years old when her father handed her over to Iskender Pasha in marriage. Iskender Pasha was a member of the advisory council of Sultan’s court. The marriage was an arranged one and, sources say, it was a marriage she consented to only out of her love and duty to her father. When she was 21 years old, Hatice Sultan’s husband passed away, leaving her to be a widow at such a young age. When she became a widow, Hatice Sultan moved in with her brother, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Sultan Suleiman was the crown prince. He tried his best to give her the best protection possible. They had immense love and respect for each other. It was at his court that Hatice Sultan found the man she fell for and, later, married.

Hatice Sultan married the Grand Vizier of her brother’s court who was known by the name Pargali Ibrahim Pasha. Her new husband was also her brother’s best childhood friend and most trusted courtier. Hatice Sultan was a widow again a few years later when Ibrahim Pasha was executed on Sultan Suleiman’s orders for his disloyalty and vain nature. Sultan had also confiscated all his property. The princess had two children of her own. Her daughter was named Fulan Sultan, while her son was Hanim Sultan. Historians do not say much about Hatice Sultan’s children; nothing about their lives or even their deaths. Hatice Sultan died in 1582, a couple of years after her second husband’s death. Sources say that she ended her own life out of grief at the loss of her beloved husband and her brother’s wife was said to be with her when she took her last breath. Her tomb is in Yavuz Selim Mosque, Constantinople.

Today, her tomb and the mosque is a tourist attractions and people go there to pay their respects to the sorrowful Ottoman princess. A Turkish TV series by the name “The Magnificent Century” (الحريم السلطان) was aired on a private TV channel, based on the lives of this Ottoman family. The role of Hatice Sultan was played by the Turkish-German actress Selma Ergec. (Another famous Turkish TV series: Dirilis Ertugrul).