Rana Hanımsultan, also known as Rana Eldem, (25 February 1926 – 14 April 2008) was an Ottoman princess and a French teacher. She was the daughter of Naciye Sultan, and Mehmet Kamil Killigil.

Early life and education

Rana Hanımsultan was born in Paris, France, on 25 February 1926. Her parents were Naciye Sultan, daughter of

Şehzade Selim Süleyman Şehzade Selim Süleyman (; 25 July 1860 – 16 July 1909) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I, and one of his consorts Serfiraz Hanım. Early life Şehzade Selim Süleyman was born on 25 July 1860 in the Do ...

and granddaughter of Ottoman Sultan

Abdulmejid I ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...

, and Mehmet Kamil Killigil, younger brother of Naciye Sultan's former husband

Enver Pasha İsmâil Enver (; ; 23 November 1881 – 4 August 1922), better known as Enver Pasha, was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish military officer, revolutionary, and Istanbul trials of 1919–1920, convicted war criminal who was a p ...

. They married in 1923, one year after the death of Enver Pasha, and settled in Paris. She had three older maternal half-siblings: Mahpeyker Hanımsultan, Türkan Hanimsultan and Sultanzade Ali Bey. A special law was passed for her and her half-siblings to return to Turkey on 25 May 1939. They all became a citizen of the Republic of Turkey through a law dated 5 July 1939. Rana's parents divorced in 1949, and her father returned to Turkey and became a Turkish citizen through a law dated 22 September 1949. He died in Istanbul on 7 August 1962. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Rana Hanımsultan and her older sisters stayed with their mother in Switzerland until 1943. She completed her high secondary education there. In 1946 Rana and her parents returned to Paris. She was educated at

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

receiving a degree in French language and literature.

Career and activities

Rana Hanımsultan worked as a French language teacher. She taught at

Lycée Saint-Joseph In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

in Istanbul between 1985 and 1986.

Death

Rana Hanımsultan died in Istanbul on 14 April 2008 shortly after she had fallen down the stairs at her Istanbul home on 13 April and had experienced a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

. Funeral prayers for her were performed at

Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque () is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque t ...

on 17 April with the attendance of the members of the

Ottoman dynasty The Ottoman dynasty () consisted of the members of the imperial House of Osman (), also known as the Ottomans (). According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, under the leadership of Os ...

. She was buried next to her mother, Naciye Sultan, her husband, her daughter, Necla, and other relatives in Yahya Efendi Mausoleum in Beşiktaş, Istanbul.

Issue

Rana Hanımsultan married a Turkish diplomat, Sadi Eldem, on 25 July 1949. Her mother, Naciye Sultan, could return to Turkey on 4 August 1952 and stayed at their home in Istanbul for a while. Sadi Eldem died on 15 January 1995. They had three children, two daughters and a son: * Ceyda Eldem (1 March 1952 - August 2014) * Necla Eldem (24 March 1954 - 24 August 1964). She died in an accident at age ten. * Edhem Eldem (born 2 March 1960) who works as historian and faculty member at

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

. On 2 September 1983 he married Zeynep Sedef Torunoglu, and they have a daughter, Simin Eldem.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkan Hanimsultan 20th-century Ottoman princesses 21st-century Turkish women 1926 births 2008 deaths Royalty from Istanbul Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3 alumni Turkish women educators Educators from Paris Turkish schoolteachers