Ikbal (title)

Ikbal () was the title given to the imperial consort of the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who came below the rank of ''kadın''.

Etymology

The word  () is an Arabic word, which means good fortune, or lucky. Historians have translated it either 'fortunate one' or 'favorite'.

Ranks and titles

An was a titled consort, and recognised as such by the sultan. The number of s varied. They were ranked as ('senior , senior favourite, senior fortunate one'), ('second , second favourite, second fortunate one'), ('third , third favourite, third fortunate one'), ('fourth , fourth favourite, fourth fortunate one'), and so on, according to the order in which they had caught the sultan's eye, and elevated to that position.

The s usually held the prefix titles of ('honest, virtuous'), and ('the virtuous'), and the suffix titles of , , and .

Status

Eighteenth century

The rank first appeared toward the end of the seventeenth century, during the reign of Sultan Mustafa II (reigned 1695 — 1703). Two eighteenth century sultans Mahmud I (reigned 1730 — 1754), and Mustafa III (reigned 1757 — 1773), also had s.

However, in the eighteenth century, the s held the title '' kalfa'' which means 'assistant master, mistress'. This suggests that at that time they were eligible for both kinds of high level harem career. They also appeared in the list of '' cariyes'', which did not include the sultan's , or the , or , emphasizes their identity as part of the household rather than family in the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century the term appears to have been used exclusively for members of the household staff.

In the eighteenth century, the s had personal servants, and were paid 250 every three months.

Nineteenth century

This tradition of taking s continued until the nineteenth century. The s were chosen from among the ''s''. Each had her "night turn" (). Their stipend was 20,000 . They had personal servants. As clothing reflected a woman's positions in the harem hierarchy, the s wore rich fabrics and in winter they wore stuffed dresses, which was indicative of their high status.

Each resided in her own apartment, or sometimes isolated kiosks. In the nineteenth century, they had two rooms on the second floor of the palace, one facing the Bosphorus Strait and serving as a saloon, and the other facing the palace gardens and serving as a bedroom. The sultans came to visit an namely if she was sick or if she had children.

Although previously it was thought that after an became pregnant she was promoted to the rank of , this was not the case. ''(Eric Newby states that after an gave birth she was elevated to the title of , and that the were 4 favourites who had each given birth to a male heir.)'' She could only take the position of the s if one of the s had died or was divorced. If a vacancy arose among the s, the senior was moved up to status. Upon the death of a sultan, any of his s who had either not borne a child or who had borne a child who had then died, was married to a statesman. The others retired to the Old Palace.

The s were subjected to the same law of inheritance as the other women in the harem. However, they were usually buried in places of honour.

Honorific

Imperial consorts who were traditionally addressed as include:
* Nükhetsezâ Hanım (1827–1850), wife of sultan Abdulmejid I
* Navekmisal Hanım (1827–1854), wife of sultan Abdulmejid I
* Şayeste Hanım (1836–1912), wife of sultan Abdulmejid I
* Serfiraz Hanım (1837–1905), wife of sultan Abdulmejid I
* Müşfika Kadın (1867–1961), wife of sultan Abdul Hamid II
* Peyveste Hanım (1873–1943), wife of sultan Abdul Hamid II
* Fatma Pesend Hanım (1876–1928), wife of sultan Abdul Hamid II
* Behice Hanım (1882–1969), wife of sultan Abdul Hamid II
* Nevvare Hanım (1901–1992), wife of sultan Mehmed VI
*Nevzad Hanım (1902–1992), wife of sultan Mehmed VI

See also

* List of Ottoman titles and appellations
* Hatun
* Haseki Sultan
* Kadın (title)
* Valide Sultan
* Cariye

References

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikbal (title)
Ottoman titles
Concubines from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman imperial harem
Slavery in the Ottoman Empire