Mihrimah Sultan مهر ماه سلطان |
|
---|---|
![]() Portrait by Cristofano dell'Altissimo titled Cameria Solimani, 16th century
|
|
Born |
c. 1522 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
Died | 25 January 1578 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
(aged 55–56)
Burial | Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul |
Spouse | Damat Rüstem Pasha |
Issue | Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan |
Dynasty | Ottoman |
Father | Suleiman the Magnificent |
Mother | Hürrem Sultan |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Mihrimah Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: مهر ماه سلطان, Turkish pronunciation: [mihɾiˈmah suɫˈtan]) (c. 1522 – 25 January 1578) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his legal wife, Hürrem Sultan. She was the most powerful imperial princess in Ottoman history and one of the prominent figures during the Sultanate of Women.
Mihrimah Sultan's name means "Sun (lit. clemency, compassion, endearment, affection) and Moon". To Westerners, she was known as Cameria. Her portrait by Cristofano dell’Altissimo entitled as Cameria Solimani.
Other Ottoman imperial princesses who also named “Mihrimah” and also Mihrimah Sultan's close relative were:
Mihrimah was born in Istanbul in 1522 during the reign of her father, Suleiman the Magnificent. Her mother was Hürrem Sultan, an Orthodox priest's daughter, who was the current Sultan's concubine at the time. In 1533 or 1534, her mother, Hürrem, was freed and became Suleiman's legal wife.
On 26 November 1539 in Istanbul at the age of seventeen, Mihrimah was married to Rüstem, a devshirme from Croatia who rose to become Governor of Diyarbakır and later, Suleiman's Grand Vizier. Her wedding ceremony and the celebration for her younger brother Bayezid's circumcision occurred on the same day. Five years later, her husband was selected by Suleiman to become Grand Vizier. Though the union was unhappy, Mihrimah flourished as a patroness of the arts and continued her travels with her father until her husband's death.