Gevheri Kadın


Gevheri Kadın was the fifth wife of Sultan Abdulaziz of the Ottoman Empire.

Early life

Gevheri Kadın was born on 8 July 1856 in Gudauta, Abkhazia. Born as Emine Svanba, she belonged to Abkhazian noble family, Svanba. Her father was Salih Bey Svatnba, and her mother was Princess Şaziye Hanım Tsamba, the daughter of Prince Osman Bey Tsamba. She had a younger sister named Fatma Hanım.
She had been brought to Istanbul as a young child, where her father entrusted her to the imperial harem. She was then place in the service of Sultan Abdülaziz's mother Pertevniyal Sultan, where her name according to the custom of the Ottoman court was changed to Gevheri.

Marriage

Gevheri married Abdulaziz 1872 in the Dolmabahçe Palace. People were impressed of her elegance and beauty. She was given the title of "First Fortunate". A year after the marriage, on 21 March 1873, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter, Esma Sultan. On 21 September 1874, she gave birth to her second child, a son, Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin.
In 1875, she was given the title of "Fourth Consort".
Abdulaziz was deposed by his ministers on 30 May 1876, his nephew Murad V became the Sultan. He was transferred to Feriye Palace the next day. Gevheri, and other women Abdulaziz's entourage didn't wanted to leave the Dolmabahçe Palace. So they were grabbed by hand and were send out to the Feriye Palace. In the process, they were searched from head to toe and everything of value was taken from them. On 4 June 1876, Abdulaziz died under mysterious circumstances.

Death

Gevheri died on 6 September 1884 in the Feriye Palace, Ortaköy, and was buried in the mausoleum of the imperial ladies at the New Mosque Istanbul.

Issue

Gevheri and Abdulaziz had two children: