Meylişah Hatun

Meyl-i Şah Hatun (1608 - 1631 other names Meleksima, Meylikaya) was, according to some sources, a consort to Ottoman Sultan Osman II (reign 1618 - 1622) and the mother of Şehzade Ömer of the Ottoman Empire.

Meylişah Hatun, whose original name was Marica, was considered to be of Serbian origin.

Birth of Şehzade Ömer

On 20 October 1621 she gave birth to a son, Şehzade Ömer. On Osman's way back he had received the news that he had a son born. Now as a father, he had a successor and posed a threat against his brothers. He called her to Edirne where the two met and Osman had the chance to see his son, Ömer. To celebrate the auspicious moment and possibly to impress her, he ordered a festivity to be held. In the celebrations, imitation of the battle scenes was a part of the show. Yet the unimaginable happened and the baby suddenly died. Some history writers explain this event by the shock the infant had due to noises of the fired cannons. Hammer gives a more striking reason for the baby's death: "To increase her joy festivities were held and some scenes of the Polish war were staged. The prince was present in these games and by the sudden shot from a rifle [by coincidence] he was wounded and died."

After Osman's death, she was sent to Edirne where she died in 1631.

In the Turkish series Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Meylişah Hatun is given the name of "Meleksima Sultan" and is portrayed by Turkish actress Beste Kökdemir.