Nükhetsezâ Hanım


Nükhetseza Hanım was the ninth wife of Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire.

Early life

Nükhetsezâ Hanım was born on 2 January 1827 in Abkhazia. Born as Hatice Baras, she belonged to the Abkhazian noble family, Baras. Her father was Hatuğ Bey Baras, an Abkhazian noble and her mother was Ferhunde Hanım, a Georgian. She had an elder sister named Şeklibar Hanım.
In 1835, at the age of eight, Hatice had been brought to Istanbul, where her father entrusted her in the care of Bezmiâlem Sultan. Here name according to the custom of the Ottoman court was changed to Nükhetsezâ.
Nükhetsezâ was interested in playing piano and oud.

Marriage

Nükhetseza married Abdulmejid in 1845. She was given the title of "Senior Fortunate". A year after the marriage, on 5 June 1846, she gave birth to her first child, a son, Şehzade Ahmed in the Old Çırağan Palace. The prince, died the next day on 6 June 1846.
A year later, on 26 November 1847, she gave birth to her second child, a daughter, Fatma Nazime Sultan in the Old Beylerbeyi Palace. The princess died five days later on 1 December 1847.
A year later, on 23 May 1849, she gave birth to her third child, a son, Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin in the Old Beylerbeyi Palace.

Death

Nükhetsezâ fall in the epidemic of tuberculosis which was raging in the nineteenth century, Nükhetsezâ died on 15 May 1850, at the Old Beşiktaş Palace, and was buried in the mausoleum of the imperial ladies at the Yeni Mosque, Istanbul.
She is the great-grandmother of Prince Bayezid Osman, who was the 44th Head of the Imperial House of Osman.

Issue

Together with Abdulmejid, Nükhetsezâ had three children: