Şehzade Selim Süleyman was an Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I, and his sixteenth wife Serfiraz Hanım.
Early life
Şehzade Selim Süleyman was born on 25 July 1860 in the Dolmabahçe Palace. His father was Sultan Abdulmejid I, and his mother was Serfiraz Hanım, the daughter of Osman Liah and Zeliha Tapsın. He was the third child of his mother. He had a brother, Şehzade Osman Seyfeddin eight years elder then him, and a sister Bedia Sultan, two years elder then him, both of his siblings when they were young. When he was eleven months old his father died. Süleyman was circumcised in 1870. Other princes who were circumcised along with him included, his half-brother, Şehzade Mehmed Vahideddin, his nephew Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin, Şehzade Mahmud Celaleddin, sons of Sultan Abdulaziz, and Sultanzade Alaeddin Bey, son of Münire Sultan, daughter of Abdulmejid. Süleyman was fluent in Arabic and Persian. He used to read Persian and Arabic literature. He used to spend most of his time in Feriye Palace and his farmhouse in Balamuclu. He was of romantic nature and loved music and nature and loved to spend his time at his farmhouse. His family used to spend their summers at Nisbettiye Mansion at Bosporus and they used to spend their winters at Feriye Palace. He adored Western music, like his mother Serfiraz. His daughter Naciye Sultan writes about him: In 1878, he and his siblings including his brothers Prince Ahmed Kemaleddin, and sisters Seniha Sultan, Princess Fatma, were all involved in the Ali Suavi incident with the objective of restoring Murad to the throne.
Personal life
Selim's first wife was Filişan Hanım. She was born in Batumi, Georgia on 17 July 1869. They married in 1885. She remained childless. She died in 1947 in Bebek, Istanbul. It was known that Filişan cared about Naciye, like her own daughter, she writes the following: Selim's second wife was Emine Cavidan Hanım, the daughter of Uzun Ahmed Bey and Bezmiara Kadın who was the former wife of Abdulmejid I, whom she had divorced marry Tevfik Pasha. Cavidan was born on 28 October 1872. was raised by the Egyptian princess Zeynep Hanım, daughter of Muhammad Ali of Egypt. They married in 1886, with Zeynep Hanım's consent. She remained childless. The marriage didn't lasted long. After Abdul Hamid told Süleyman that she is not suitable for him, he divorced her, after which Abdul Hamid married her to Prince Husëyin Bey of Egypt. Selim's third wife was Fatma İkbal Hanım. She was born on 19 September 1871, in Adapazarı, Sakarya Province. They married in 1893. She was the mother of Şehzade Mehmed Abdülhalim born on 28 September 1894 in the Feriye Palace. She died on 20 November 1932 and the age of sixty-one in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Selim's fourth wife was Ayşe Tarziter Hanım. She was born on 4 February 1880 in Ganja, Azerbaijan. She was a member of Abkhazian family, Bargan-Ipa. They married in 1895. She was the mother of Naciye Sultan born on 25 October 1896, and Şehzade Mehmed Şerefeddin born on 19 May 1904. Following the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Tarziter moved to Beirut, Lebanon with her son and daughter-in-law Şükriye Sultan. His fifth and last wife was Ayşe Zatimelek Hanım. She was the daughter of Prince Nuri Bey Tapş-Ipa and Nazife Hanım Achba. She was a lady-in-waiting to Verdicenan Kadın, wife of Abdulmejid. After her death, she was sent to Dolmabahçe Palace, where she married Süleyman in 1899. After Süleyman's death she moved to Ortaköy. She was noted her charity. She also transformed the lower floor of her mansion into a tailor shop. In 1934, she took the surname Tapşın after the Surname Law was passed. She died in 1941.
