Religion Sunni Islam Spouse Murad III | Died 1613, Istanbul, Turkey | |
Şemsiruhsar Hatun (Ottoman Turkish: شمس رخسار خاتون; ? - before 1613) was a concubine of Sultan Murad III of the Ottoman Empire.
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Etymology
When she entered court service she was given a Turkish and Persian name Şemsiruhsar (Shāms-î-Rûkhsâr) (Ottoman Turkish: شمس رخسار) which means "sun-faced" or "cheeks like sun". In Persian Şems (Shams) means "Sun" and Ruhsar (Rûkhsâr) means cheeks or face. Here the word "sun" (Shams) is used as an allegorist for the cheeks or face (Rukhsar).
Biography
Nothing is known of her family background. The Ottoman inscription (vakfiye) describes her as Hātun binti Abd-ül-Gaffar (Daughter of Abd-ül-Gaffar), which supports the widespread view that her father was a Pontic Greek who had "turned Turk", that is converted to Islam and joined the Turkish Millet, but gives no original name. It is also highly possible that she was a harem concubine who had converted to Islam. Abd-ül-Gaffar, meaning Servant of the All-forgiving, was the anonym that was applied to many Balkan and Anatolian Christians who converted to Islam in the classical Ottoman period.
Although relatively obscure, the concubines of non-Haseki rank were not completely deprived of status and power and enjoyed the prerogatives of a member of the royal family, as exemplified by the fact that Şemsiruhsar Hatun, mother of a daughter, is known to have created an endowment for the recitation of the Holy Qur'an in the mosque of the Prophet in Medina.
Deed of trust dated from 1022AH/1613CE gives information about Şemsiruhsar Hatun's endowment:
"...Merhum Hazret-i Murad Han tabe serahu evlâd-ı emcadından Rukiye Sultan Hazretlarinin valide-î macideleri olub bundan akdem takdir-î rabbanî birle veda-î âlem-î fânî eden merhum ve mebrure sahibetü'l-hayrat ve'l hasenet ve rağibatü's-sadaqat ve'l-meberrat Şemsiruhsar Hatun ibn Abdülgaffar nam müteveffiyenin..."