Bezmiara Kadın


Bezmiara Kadın was the thirteenth wife of Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire.

Early life

Of Circassian origin, Bezmiara Kadın was the adoptive daughter of Fatma Zehra Hanım known as "Mısırlı Hanım," the daughter of Mehmed Arif Pasha, and granddaughter of grand vizier Halil Hamid Pasha. She was the wife of Ismail Kamil Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, After Ismail Pasha's death she moved to Istanbul, and settled in Halil Hamid Pasha's palace located in Akıntıburnu.

First marriage

One day, when Abdulmejid was in his twenties, he visited Mısırlı Hanım. Here he saw Bezmiara, and fell in love with her. He asked her hand in marriage, but Bezmiara flatly refused. However, she soon consented to his proposal. The marriage took place in 1847, and she was given the title of "Fifth Fortunate".
In 1848, she was elevated to the title of "Fourth Fortunate". On 22 February 1850, she gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Mükbile Sultan in the Çırağan Palace, who died at the of two months. In the same year she was elevated to the title of "Third Fortunate". In 1853, she was elevated to the title of "Senior Fortunate", and in 1854 to the title of "Sixth Consort".
Abdulmejid not only loved Bezmiara but esteemed her. He even placed a son of his in her care, a boy of about seven years old, who had lost his mother. However, she saw the prince an obstacle, and didn't treated him well. When Abdulmejid came to know about this, he had her moved to a pleasant galley which he had presented to her. Here she formed an intimate relationship with a certain Tevfik Pasha.

Second marriage

Bezmiara divorced Abdulmejid and married Tevfik Pasha on 2 June 1859. When Sultan Abdülaziz ascended the throne after the death of his brother in 1861, he relocated Tevfik and Bezmiara to Bursa. The two divorced soon after, and Tevfik was put to death in 1865.

Third marriage

After her divorce, Bezmiara married the director of Bursa Awqaf, Uzun Ahmed Bey. She returned to Istanbul, where she had a troubled life. The couple had a daughter named Emine Cavidan Hanım born on 28 October 1872 in Istanbul, after whose birth they separated.
Cavidan married Abdulmejid and Serfiraz Hanım's son, Şehzade Selim Süleyman in 1886. After the two divorced, she married Prince Hüseyin Bey of Egypt on 2 February 1891, and after his death in 1898, she married Osman Pasha.

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