Hümaşah married Ibrahim in 1647,[1][2] and was given the title of "Eighth Haseki".[3] After her marriage she became known as "Telli Haseki"[4] because of the silver and gold threads (tels) that are traditionally used to adorn a bride's hair.[5] Her marriage was described by the historian Mustafa Naima:
In accordance with imperial command, the viziers of the imperial council each gave the gift of moon faced slave girl bedecked with jewels. Then they escorted (the bride) in a well ordered procession from the gardens of Davud pasha to the imperial palace. The ceremony was performed by the chief black eunuch acting as proxy for the bride and the grand vizier for the sultan. Robes of honour were bestowed on the viziers and the ulema and others received honours according to custom.[5][1][6]
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.[7]
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.[8] Because of what he believed was failure to serve her properly, the Sultan then banished them to Edirne Palace.[9]
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.[10][11] Two months later, in October 1648, she gave birth to a son named Şehzade Orhan,[12][3] who died at the age of one in January 1650.[13][14]
Death
The records of the Old Palace record 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, except for 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. The 1672 was therefore probably the year in which the wedding was held and she 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.
^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.
Sources
Kaya, Nevzat (1990). Kara Çelebi-zade Abdülaziz Efendi'nin Zeyl-i Ravzatü'l-Ebrar'ı : tahlil ve metin.
Peirce, Leslie Penn (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Studies in Middle Eastern History. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-507673-8.
Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kandınefendiler, Sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN978-6-051-71079-2.
Uluçay, M. Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ötüken. ISBN978-9-754-37840-5.
.svg)