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THE LIFE OF NEFISE HATUN

The one who is considered the first imperial princess to intervene in politics; Nefise Melek Hatun. She, who was given various honorific titles such as Sultan Hatun, and Mirhiali Hatun.

She was born as the daughter of Murad I, and sister of Bayezid I around 1355 and 1360 in Bursa. Not much is known about her early life, we do not have proven information about the identity of her mother.

The first time Nefise Hatun is noticed is during her political betrothal to Alaeddin Bey.

The wedding, which took place around 1377-1381 consisted of a large bride price of; 100 thousand coins, 100 horses, 10 balls of silk, Turkish velvet, gold jewelry, corals, diamonds, red rubies, turquoises, ten thousand camels and many more. - ( Necdet Sakaoğlu, Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları, pg 69)

Together the couple had three sons, though only two survived past infancy; Mehmed and Bengi Ali.

Even though the goal of this political marriage was to bring peace between the Ottomans and Karamans, it barely worked out. She first acted as a mediator between her father and husband in 1386. Upon learning that Alaeddin Bey was massacring Ottoman lands, Murad I went to Anatolia seeking his son-in-law, refusing to acknowledge Alaeddin's ambassadors he continued his march to Konya.

Alaeddin was hiding in the Konya fortress that was being besieged. Knowing he would not win he sent his wife; Nefise to seek peace from her father; Murad.

Nesri; who chose to narrate these events says as followed;

He ( Alaeddin) sent a message to her ( Nefise ) and said: - If you do not ask for me from your father, he will take Konya and destroy me. You should be kind to me and kiss the sultan's hand and beg for me. He said to forgive my sin. Sultan Hatun even came and fell at the feet of her father and begged."

The narration ends with Murad forgiving Aleaddin and the Karamans out of piety for his daughter; who obtained peace through loud cries.

The second time she acted as a mediator between her husband and the Ottomans was through her brother; Bayezid I. When Bayezid besieged Konya in 1390, Nefise once again acted in the defense of her husband and was able to obtain forgiveness for him and the people of Konya.

This unfortunately did not work a second time, for soon after the two battled in 1397, Alaeddin was captured and beheaded. Though it seems the command was not given by Bayezid himself, he felt enough piety to behead whoever it was who beheaded his brother-in-law but in the end, he saw this as an advantage to make the Karamans surrender to him by parading his brother-in-law's head around with a spear. ( Christian Slaves of the Ottoman Empire/ An analysis of the fifteenth-century - pg 67 )

Soon after, Nefise and her sons were sent to Bursa by Bayezid's command, but seemed to have been separated, as it is noted the Sultan assigned one of his lord to raise his nephews. ( Christian Slaves of the Ottoman Empire/ An analysis of the fifteenth-century - pg 67 )

Not much is known about her captivity in the Bursa palace. It is possible she was possible she was given charge of the residence containing retired concubines, but then again she is described as a captive so there is no way to be certain.

After the plunder of Bursa in 1402 by the command of Timur, Nefise and her sons were taken to Kutahya to stay with some family members, and later on made their way back to the Kamaranid Principality where it believed she passed away around the year 1402 and 1403.

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