Mezidimestan Kadın

Mezidimestan Kadın was born on 3 March 1869 in Gagra, Abkhazia.[1] Born as Merve Mikanba,[2] she was a member of Abkhazian noble family Mikanba. Her father was Kaymat Bey Mikanba,[2] and her mother was Princess Feryal Hanım Marshan, also an Abkhazian. She was the first cousin of Nazikeda Kadın.[1]

She had been brought to Istanbul when she was young, where she was entrusted to the entourage of Sultan Murad V. Here her name according to the custom of the Ottoman court was changed to Mezidimestan.[3]

Mezidimestan married Abdul Hamid on 2 February 1885 at the Yıldız Palace.[1] She was given the title of "Fifth Consort". On 19 December 1885, after ten months of the wedding, she gave birth to her only son, Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin.[4] Mehmed Burhaneddin was the most favourite son of Abdul Hamid.[5]

In 1895, she was elevated to the title of "Fourth Consort",[4] and in 1901, she was elevated to the title of "Third Consort". Abdul Hamid had presented her a villa located on the grounds of Yıldız Palace.[5]

She was beautiful, had black eyes, black eyebrows, and thick black hair.[3]

Mezidimestan died of stomach cancer,[3] on 21 January 1909, just three months before the deposition of Abdul Hamid, at the age of thirty-nine in the Yıldız Palace, and was buried in Yahya Efendi Cemetery, Istanbul.[5][4]

• Kadın (title)
• Ottoman Imperial Harem
• List of consorts of the Ottoman sultans

• Açba, Harun (2007). Kadın efendiler: 1839–1924. Profil. ISBN 978-975-996-109-1.
• Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78335-5.
• Uluçay, M. Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ötüken. ISBN 978-975-437-840-5.
• Osmanoğlu, Ayşe (2000). Babam Sultan Abdülhamid. Mona Kitap Yayinlari. ISBN 978-6-050-81202-2.
• Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kandınefendiler, Sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-6-051-71079-2.