Mihrumâh Sultan
 The
only daughter of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent by Hürrem Sultan, Mihrumâh Sultan was born around 1522.
Süleyman adored his daughter, and complained with her every wish. Mihrumâh Sultan was
well educated. She married Rüstem Paşa, Governor-General of Diyarbakır, who was shortly afterwards appointed grand vizier.
According to Ottoman historians, Hürrem, Mihrumâh and Rüstem Paşa conspired to bring
about the death of Şehzade Mustafa, who stood in the way of Mihrumâh
Sultan’s influence over her father continued. Indeed her letters and other sources
demonstrate that she took over her mother’s tomb in Süleymaniye.
The fact that Mihrumâh encouraged her father to launch the campaign against Malta,
promising to build 400 galleys at her own expense; that like her mother she wrote letters
to the King of Poland; and that on her father’s death she lent 50.000 gold sovereigns to
Sultan Selim to meet his immediate needs, illustrate the political power which she
wielded. She possessed a vast fortune, and the complex which master architect Sinan built
for her on the waterfront at Üsküdar in 1540-48 is one of İstanbul’s foremost
monuments and is a reflection of her charitable personality. The complex originally
consisted of a mosque, medrese, primary school, mental hospital, and imaret, but the
latter two buildings are not standing today. The endowments to provide revenue for the
imaret give a good idea of its capacity. Mihrumâh Sultan also had a palace built for
herself near the complex in Üsküdar. Another mosque built for Mihrumâh Sultan by Mimar
Sinan at Edirne kapı represents the culmination of Ottoman single-domed mosques. With its
abundant windows and graceful decoration, this mosque is reminiscent of a palace or köşk
(pavilion). A fountain, medrese and hamam complete this mosque’s complex. Another of
Mihrumâh’s social works was for repairs to the Ayn Zubayda water system at Mecca, its
extension into the city, and the construction of cisterns and reservoirs. Her power and
influence make Mihrumâh Sultan the most famous of all Ottoman princesses.
|
