Şebsefa Kadın


Şebsefa Kadın was the eighth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid I of the Ottoman Empire.

As imperial consort

Şebsefa Kadın married Abdul Hamid, and was given the title of "Sixth Consort". On 20 September 1782, she gave birth to her first child, a son, Şehzade Sultan Mehmed Nusret, who died at the age of three on 23 October 1785.
Two years later on 11 October 1784, she gave birth to her second child, a daughter, Alemşah Sultan, who died at the age of one, on 10 March 1786. Three years later on 4 February 1788, she gave birth to her third child, a daughter, Emine Sultan, who died at the age of about three on 9 March 1791.
In 1788, Şebsefa became pregnant with her fourth child. In January 1789, Captain David G. Sutherland noted following about her:
On 16 March 1789, she gave birth to a daughter, Hibetullah Sultan. She was widowed after Abdul Hamid's death a month later, after which she settled in the Old Palace.

Properties

In 1798, Şebsefa acquired the Depecik çiftlık of Cihanzade Hüseyin
Bey in Aydın Güzelhisar for 33,500 kuruş, and also owned agricultural land in the vicinity of Salonica, apart from a pension out of the funds of the Istanbul customs. After her death, all the çiftlıks were assigned to her daughter Hibetullah Sultan.

Charities

Şebsefa is noted for the foundation bearing her name in the Istanbul area of Zeyrek, established in 1787 according to the inscription over the entrance to the mosque. Originally built on different levels, the foundation consists of mosque, primary school and fountain, along with the grave of the foundress. An endowment, dated 1805, specifies that the school was also to be open to girls, a provision which has earned Şebsefa the reputation of a pioneer in Ottoman female education. She contrived the mosque in the memory of her son Şehzade Mehmed Nusret who died as a child.

Death

Şebsefa Kadın died in 1805, and was buried in her own mosque located in Zeyrek, Istanbul.

Issue

Together with Abdul Hamid, Şebsefa had four children: