Zekiye Sultan

Zekiye Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: زکیه سلطان; 12 January 1872 – 13 July 1950) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Bedrifelek Kadın.

Zekiye Sultan was born on 12 January 1872 in the Dolmabahçe Palace. Her father was Abdul Hamid II, son of Abdulmejid I and Tirimüjgan Kadın. Her mother was Bedrifelek Kadın, daughter of Prince Mehmed Karzeg. She was the third child, and second daughter of her father and the second child of her mother. She had two brothers, Şehzade Mehmed Selim, two years elder than her, and Şehzade Ahmed Nuri, six years younger than her. She was one of Abdülhamid's favorite daughters, with Naime Sultan and Ayşe Sultan.

After Abdul Hamid's accession to the throne on 31 August 1876, the imperial family remained in the Dolmabahçe Palace. In 1877, Zekiye and other members of the imperial family settled in the Yıldız Palace, after Abdul Hamid moved there on 7 April 1877.

Zekiye began her education in 1879, age seven, at the Ihlamur Pavilion together with her brother Şehzade Mehmed Selim, and Sultan Abdul Aziz's children, Şehzade Mehmed Şevket, Esma Sultan and Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin. She studied geography, the Quran, and Turkish language. She also read English and French books. She was also taught music. She first took her music education from Lombardi Bey, and following her marriage from Madame Avisnad Bavis, a French. She learnt both Turkish and European music.

In 1887, Zekiye was engaged to Ali Nureddin Pasha, eldest son of Gazi Osman Pasha and Zatıgül Hanım, a lady formerly in harem of Sultan Abdulaziz, In 1889, aged seventeen, her father arranged her trousseaux and marriage together with three of Sultan Abdulaziz's daughters, princesses Saliha Sultan, Nazime Sultan, and Esma Sultan. The marriage contract was signed on 15 March 1889 in the Yıldız Palace. Zekiye's deputy was Mehmed Yavar Agha, and witness was Mehmed Cevher Agha. Ali Nureddin's deputy was Grand Vizier Mehmed Kamil Pasha. The wedding took place 20 April 1889 in the Yıldız Palace. Her husband became Damat through marriage.

It was a tradition that princesses were allocated palaces on their marriage. She was allocated the Ortaköy Palace. This palace once belonged to her aunt Mediha Sultan, half-sister of her father, where she resided with her first husband. Zekiye moved to Ortaköy Palace, on the second day after the marriage, where 80 men and 80 women were in their service. In 1898, Ali Nureddin's younger brother, Mehmed Kemaleddin Pasha, married her younger half-sister Naime Sultan. Her palace was constructed next to Zekiye's palace, and the two buildings used to be called "The Twin Mansions".

The two together had two daughters, Ulviye Şükriye Hanımsultan born in 1890, who died at the age of about three on 23 February 1893, and Fatma Aliye Hanımsultan, born in 1891. Fatma Aliye married Mehmed Muhsin Yeğen, member of the Egyptian Yeğen power family, in 1911. The couple had two sons, Osman Hayder Bey, born on 5 September 1912, and Salih Zeki Bey, born on 4 September 1921. By them, Zekiye had a great-granddaughter, Fatma Yasemin Yeğen (b. 18 September 1973) and a great-grandson, Muhsin Osman Yegen (b. 14 December 1977).

Zekiye Sultan and Ali Nureddin Pasha esteemed music, and she used to play piano at her mansion. She was also interested in arts. During the month of Ramadan, she fed the poor and provided financial aid to them. She also presented gifts to the guests who came to the Iftar. She participated in various donation campaigns, that made her known as a receptive and benevolent princess. Rumours had it that Nureddin Paşa had met a beautiful Greek Ottoman woman outside Bon Marché in Beyoğlu and that she later became his mistress. The rumours reached Abdülhamid II, who urged Zekiye Sultan to divorce her husband but she refused. Apparently, after a while, the Greek Ottoman woman was killed by the Sultan’s men.