Jeshm Afet Hanim (; ; died 11 November 1907) was the third wife of

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

Isma'il Pasha Isma'il Pasha ( ; 25 November 1830 or 31 December 1830 – 2 March 1895), also known as Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Egypt and ruler of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain and France. Shari ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. She was the adoptive mother of the future Sultana of Egypt, Melek Tourhan.

Life

Jeshm Afet was originally a concubine bought to the harem of the Muhammad Ali dynasty from the

Circassian slave trade The Black Sea slave trade trafficked people across the Black Sea from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus to slavery in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The Black Sea slave trade was a center of the slave trade between Europe and the rest of t ...

. She married Isma'il Pasha as his third wife just after his accession to the throne in 1863. She was given the title of "Third Princess", a position at which she remained throughout his entire reign, until his deposition in 1879. In Egypt she was known as ''Kutschuk Hanim'' or Little Lady. She mostly wore traditional Ottoman garments, featuring a few western details. She was a poet. In 1869, she met with the Princess of Wales

Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

, when the latter visited Istanbul with her husband Prince of Wales Edward (future

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

). Al-Tahtawi's book on the education of women, titled al-Murshid al-Amin lil Banat wa al-Banin (the faithful guide for girls and boys) published in 1873, was commissioned by Khedive Ismail after Jeshm Afet, used her own money to establish the first general public school for girls at al-Suyufiya in 1873, the Suyufiyya Girls' School, which claimed additional fame to her. The genealogy of the dynasty revealed that Jeshm Afet had no children of her own, which might explain her interest in the education of young girls. She had adopted a daughter, Faika Hanim. She was married to Mustafa Pasha, son of "Mufettish" Isma'il Pasha Sadyk. Immediately after the downfall of her father-in-law, she was divorced by her husband. Hasan Tourhan Pasha, a captain in the

Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...

offered an adoption of his daughter Melek, in order to improve her lot in life. Melek was adopted by Jeshm Afet, during the 1870s. While they lost touch with each other following the exile of Khedive Ismail, when Melek Hanim became the second wife of Prince Husein Kamel in 1887 returning to Egypt with him, she resumed her acquaintance and a relationship with Aisha Taymur. There was no doubt that the relationship between Jeshm Afet and Taymur was shaped by their mutual interest in women's education and poetry that reflected the changing interests and concerns of some royal and upper-class women beyond mothering and feminine crafts. Jeshm Afet was widowed at Isma'il's death in 1895. In 1897, she took an active part in the Greco-Turkish War by contributing to the donation collection efforts in Egypt.

Death

Jeshm Afet Hanim died on 11 November 1907, and was buried at the Khedival Mausoleum,

Al-Rifa'i Mosque Al-Rifa'i Mosque (, transliterated also as ''Al-Rifai'', Al-Refai, Al-Refa'i, locally known as El-Refa'i, and in English: the Refaai Mosque) is located in Citadel Square, adjacent to the Cairo Citadel. Its name is derived from the Ali Abu Shubb ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

In popular culture

In the 2014 Egyptian historical drama series

Saraya Abdeen Saraya Abdeen () is an Egyptian historical TV drama series, The first season was aired on MBC on 29 June 2014, written by Kuwaiti author Heba Meshari Hamada, directed by Amr Arafa, produced by Mahmood Shokri, and starring Qusai Khouli, Yousr ...

, Jeshm Afet is portrayed by Egyptian actress Sawsan Arshid.

Gallery

File:Pssetchachma.jpg, Jeshm Afet Hanim and her female orchestra, circa 1872 File:Tomb of Jeshem Afet Hanem.JPG, The tomb of Jeshm Afet Hanim

References

Source