Müşfika Kadın Efendi

Müşfika Kadın ([myʃfikʰa kʰadɯn]; Ottoman Turkish: مشفقه قادين‎; born Ayşe Ağırba; 10 December 1867 – 18 July 1961; meaning "the compassionate one"; after the Surname Law of 1934: Müşfika Kayısoy) was the eighth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire.

Müşfika Kadın was born on 10 December 1867 in Hopa, Caucasus, Ottoman Empire. Born as Ayşe Ağırba, she was a member of Abkhazian noble family, Ağır. Her father was Gazi Şehid Ağır Mahmud Bey, and her mother was Emine Hanım. She had a sister named Fatma Hanım one year younger than her, as well as a brother named Şahin Bey seven years older than her. Mahmud Bey volunteered for service in the Ottoman-Russian war of 1877–78, entrusting his wife and children to the care of Hüseyin Vasfi Pasha, an army officer posted in the area.

Hüseyin Vasfi Pasha's wife Bezminigar Hanım was Mahmud Bey's cousin, hence a close relative, and moreover had been in service to valide sultan Pertevniyal Sultan before her marriage, so for these reasons the pasha sent Mahmud Bey's family to live with his wife in Istanbul. At that time Ayşe was eight years old, Fatma was seven and Şahin Bey fifteen. In those days Pertevniyal Sultan was despondent over the death of her son Sultan Abdulaziz. Her only pleasure and distraction lay in passing time by training young children, gathering them about her and finding consolation in their behavior.

Knowing these things Bezminigar Hanım decided to present Mahmud Bey's family to Pertevniyal Sultan. With difficulty she won over Emine Hanım, then she took the two girls round. Pertevniyal Sultan was enchanted by Emine Hanım's beautiful face, blue eyes and blonde hair and by the sweet aspects of Fatma's head of curls. She adopted the two girls and ordered Navekyar Kalfa to look after Ayşe and Şevkidide Kalfa to look after Fatma, under the protection of her own high Hazinedar Şemsicemal Kalfa, and changed their names, as palace tradition had it, calling her Destizer (Ottoman Turkish: دست زر‎), and her sister Destiper. Their mother Emine Hanım and older brother Şahin Bey remained in the home of Bezminigar Hanım, but when the word arrived that Mahmud Bey had been killed in the war, despite all attempts to dissuade them they returned to the palace which they had come. After this nothing further was heard of them.

When Pertevniyal Sultan died in 1884, as custom dictated all the servants in villa, headed by the High Hazinedar, were transferred to Dolmabahçe Palace.

Destizer grew into a young lady in Dolmabahçe Palace, and when she entered her eighteenth year she was noticed by Abdul Hamid II, who in those days was in the habit of going to the harem after the ceremony of receiving felicitations on festival days. She was taken to the Yıldız Palace straightaway.

The marriage took place on 12 February 1886, and was performed by the Deputy of the Noble Sweeper, Seyid Esad Efendi and witnessed by the Superintendent of Departures, Hacı Mahmud Efendi, by the Imam of Kağıthane, Ali Efendi and by the Senior Equerry, Şerafeddin Ağa. As his first gift to her, Abdul Hamid presented her with an exquisite copy of the Quran, which was made in nesih talik by Kazasker Mustafa İzzet (died 1876) in 1871. He gave her the name "Müşfikâ", and the title of "Senior Fortunate".

As had been the case with Abdul Hamid's other wives, once Müşfika joined their ranks the apartments known as the Lesser Chancellery were then made ready. A household staff was delegated, with Dilesrar Kalfa appointed mistress of the household. She was well known in the palace because she had been in service since the latter days of the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid I and had served Sultan Abdulaziz.

Abdul Hamid made Müşfika's sister, Destiper hazinedar with the name of Şükriye Hanım. When Şükriye Hanım came of age, she was given in marriage to Halid Pasha, the second son of Abdul Hamid's Master of the Robes Ismet Bey, whose mother was Abdul Hamid's wet nurse. In 1917, some five months before Abdul Hamid's death, Şükriye Hanım died of typhoid. Abdul Hamid was in Beylerbeyi Palace when he was informed of her death, and it was Abdul Hamid who paid the expenses for her shroud and for laying out her corpse. She lies in the cemetery at Rumeli Hisarı.

On 31 October 1887,year after the marriage, she gave birth to her only daughter, Ayşe Sultan. Abdul Hamid presented a brooch to Filürye Kalfa, who had brought the news of Ayşe's birth to him. Ebezade Kamile Hanım, who served as midwife at Ayşe's birth was presented with three hundred liras, and Dr. Triandafilidis, the specialist in women's diseases of that era who had examined and treated Müşfika every week during her pregnancy was conferred with a decoration.

Before Ayşe's birth Abdul Hamid had ordered the construction of a villa known as the New Villa on the grounds of Yıldız Palace. In 1888, when Ayşe was seven months old Abdul Hamid relocated her to this villa. Müşfika was Abdul Hamid's favourite wife and Ayşe was his favourite daughter. Until the end of his reign, Abdul Hamid used to have dinner with Müşfika in her apartments.

On 27 April 1909, Abdul Hamid was deposed, and sent into exile in Thessaloniki, and Müşfika and Ayşe accompanied him. Ayşe returned to Istanbul in 1910, however, Müşfika remained with him. But after Thessaloniki fell to Greece in 1912, she returned to Istanbul with Abdul Hamid, and settled in the Beylerbeyi Palace. Truly Müşfika did prove to be a felicitous, exceedingly compassionate life's comparison for Abdul Hamid, as until the end of his days she shared in all the tragedies that befell him, and when Abdul Hamid died in 1918, she was holding him in her arms.

After Abdul Hamid's death, she moved firstly to Yıldız Palace, and after sometime moved in with her daughter Ayşe Sultan. She donated the Quran, that Abdul Hamid had presented to her at the time of her marriage, to the pious foundation that maintained Abdul Hamid's mausoleum and had her name inscribed in it.

In 1924, Ayşe, together with other members of his family were sent into exile. As being an adjunct member of the imperial family Müşfika was not exiled, and chose to remain in Turkey. She moved to a mansion in Serencebey. In 1934, in accordance to the Surname Law, she took the surname "Kayısoy" pertaining to Abdul Hamid's descendance from the Kayıhan tribe.

In 1936, she petitioned to the Turkish government for restitution of property because she had become destitute. However, the Foreign Office noted that she had never been placed in effective ownership and possession of her share of Abdul Hamid's properties and revenues in Turkey at the time of Abdul Hamid’s death or at any subsequent date. Also previously in 1925 and 1928 respectively, she and Şevket Mehmet Ali Bey, a banker representing her had given the power of attorney to Sami Günzberg, a well-known Turkish Jewish lawyer, authorizing him to regain from usurpers buildings, lands, mines, concessions left by Abdul Hamid situated in Turkish territory and elsewhere.

In 1944, she applied to the government for financial assistance, after which in 1949, President İsmet İnönü fixed her monthly allowance to two hundred liras. Unable to get along with this amount of allowance, she wrote to the then President Adnan Menderes in 1954, after which fifty liras were added to her allowance.

Ayşe returned to Istanbul in 1952, after some twenty eight years, and wrote her memoir, completing it by 1955. For large portions of the memoir she relied on Müşfika, as the two lived together after the princess's return to Turkey. The work originally appeared in the serial format in the Turkish popular magazine Hayat in the late 1950s, followed by its publication as a book in Istanbul in 1960, shortly before the princess's death.

Müşfika Kadın died of pleurisy on 18 July 1961 at the age of ninety-three, at Serencebey mansion no. 53, Yıldız, Istanbul, Turkey, nearly a year after her daughter's death. Her time of death was announced to be 22:00. She is buried in the royal mausoleum of Yahya Efendi Cemetery.

Müşfika Kadın and Abdul Hamid had one daughter:

• Ayşe Sultan (Constantinople, Yıldız Palace, 31 October 1887 – 10 August 1960, Istanbul, buried in Yahya Efendi Cemetery), married and had issue.

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