Hümaşah Zeynep Sultan (; "Şah's phoenix"; 1630 – after 1678Merve Çakır (2024) - IV. Mehmed'in Ailesi ve Hanedan Politikası p.81) was the Eighth Haseki and the only legal wife of Sultan Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire.
Marriage Hümaşah married Ibrahim in 1647, and was given the title of "Eighth Haseki". After her marriage she became known as "Telli Haseki" because of the silver and gold threads (tels) that are traditionally used to adorn a bride's hair. Her marriage was described by the historian Mustafa Naima:
After marrying her, Ibrahim gave her the treasury of Egypt as dowry and ordered the palace of Ibrahim Pasha to be carpeted in sable furs and given to her.
Ibrahim subjected his sisters, Kösem's daughters Ayşe, Fatma and Hanzade, and his niece Kaya to the indignity of subordination of his concubines. He took away their lands and jewels, and made them serve Hümaşah, by standing at attention like servants while she ate and by fetching and holding the soap, basin and the pitcher of water with which she washed her hands. The Sultan then banished them to Edirne Palace over what he considered their failure to serve her properly.
She was described as intelligent and smart, but also sweet and caring.
Hümaşah while pregnant, settled in the Old Palace, after Ibrahim's deposition and death in August 1648. Two months later, in October 1648, she gave birth to a son named Şehzade Orhan, who died at the age of one in January 1650.Other historians, however, report that the child was born between the end of 1647 and the first half of 1648 and died between December 1648 and January 1649. It is however likely that they mistake Orhan for Cihangir, son of Şivekar Sultan, who was born and died in the period reported.
Death The records of the Old Palace document the presence of Hümaşah for the last time in 1672.
It was initially believed that she died in that year, but the discovery of the report, dated 1676, by the Venetian ambassador Giacomo Querini, proves instead that Hümaşah, contrary to the normal harem protocol for the consort of deceased sultans, especially if they were mothers of children, she had remarried, with the Kaymakam (vice governor) of Constantinople, Ibrahim Paşah. 1672 was therefore probably the year when she remarried and left the Palace. "... Ibrahim Pasha, Caimacan [governor] of Constantinople for the fifth time, a man of considerable presence, of sweet genius and placid costume. He holds in marriage the Telì Sultana, the King’s stepmother...", Giacomo Querini, Venetian ambassador, 1676 It is therefore not known when she died or where she was buried.
In popular culture In the Turkish series, Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Hümaşah is portrayed by actress Müge Boz.
See also
Ottoman Empire Ottoman family tree Ottoman dynasty Ottoman Emperors family tree (simplified) List of consorts of the Ottoman Sultans
References
Sources