Mahidevran Gülbahar Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: ماه دوران سلطان, c. 1500 – 3 February 1581) was haseki sultan to Suleiman the Magnificent and mother of Şehzade Mustafa, Şehzade Ahmed and Raziye Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Etymology

Mahidevran’s name (Turkish pronunciation: [ˌmaːhidevˈɾan ɟylbaˈhaɾ], Ottoman Turkish: ماه دوران) means "one who is always beautiful", "one whose beauty never fades" or "beauty of the times." Another meaning of her name is "Moon of Fortune."

It was Suleiman who named her Mahidevran Gülbahar, with gül meaning 'rose' and bahar meaning 'spring' in Turkish.

Biography

Little is known of Mahidevran’s early life. Suleiman was still a şehzade or Ottoman prince and governor of Manisa sanjak (then known as Saruhan) when she gave birth to her first son in 1515. When Selim I died in 1520, Suleiman moved to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, along with his family to ascend the throne.

In the İstanbul harem, Mahidevran had a very influential rival, Hürrem, who soon proved to be Suleiman’s favorite consort as well as his legal wife. Hürrem gave birth to her first son Mehmet in 1521 (who died in 1543) and then Selim (future sultan Selim II) in 1524, destroying Mahidevran’s status of being the mother of the sultan’s only son. The rivalry between the two women was partially suppressed by Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, Suleiman’s mother, but after her death in 1534, the bitter rivalry was evident. The situation was made worse when a fight between the two women broke out, with Mahidevran beating Hürrem. This angered Suleiman, who subsequently sent Mahidevran to live with her son.

According to Turkish tradition, all princes were expected to work as provincial governors (Sanjak-bey) as a part of their training. Mustafa was sent to Amasya and Mahidevran accompanied him.

Towards the end of Suleiman’s long reign, the rivalry between his sons became evident. Furthermore, both Hürrem and the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha turned him against Mustafa and Mustafa was accused of causing unrest. During the campaign against Safavid Persia in 1553, Suleiman ordered the execution of Mustafa.

For several years after her son’s execution, Mahidevran lived a troubled life. She moved to Bursa where her son’s tomb lay, but lived in poverty for she had almost no income of her own. Her last years, however, were not in poverty, for Selim II, the new sultan after 1566 as well as her stepson, put her on a salary. She died in 1581.

Depictions in literature and popular culture

In the TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Mahidevran Sultan is played by Turkish actress Nur Fettahoğlu.