Selma Hanımsultan (; 13 April 1916 – 13 January 1942) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Rauf Hayri Bey and Hatice Sultan.

Early life

Selma Hanımsultan was born on 13 April 1916 in her mother's villa in

Ortaköy Ortaköy (, ''Middle Village)'' is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Beşiktaş, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 9,121 (2024). It is on the European shore of the Bosphorus. it was originally a small fishing villag ...

. Her father was Rauf Hayri Bey (1871 – 1936), son of Hayri Bey and Belkis Hanım, and her mother was Hatice Sultan (1870 – 1938), daughter of Sultan

Murad V Murad V (; ; 21 September 1840 – 29 August 1904) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 30 May to 31 August 1876. The son of Abdulmejid I, he supported the conversion of the government to a constitutional monarchy. His uncle Abdulaziz ...

and

Şayan Kadın Safiye Şayan Kadın (; "''pure''" and "''Worthy; deserving''"; 4 January 1853 – 15 March 1945) was the third Consort of Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire. Biography Şayan Kadın was born on January 4, 1853, in Anapa. Her birth name w ...

. At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Selma and her family settled in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Her parents had divorced in 1918, and in exile they lived on the alimony sent by her father. However, when he was mixed up in a smuggling plot, dismissed from his job and put in prison, they were left with no money. Despite the family's limited means, she blossomed into a fashionable young woman.

Marriage

In 1932, a double match was made for two Princesses of the Ottoman family living in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the Princesses

Dürrüşehvar Sultan Hatice Hayriye Ayşe Dürrüşehvar Sultan (; 26 January 1914 – 7 February 2006), after marriage named Durru Shehvar Durdana Begum Sahiba, Princess of Berar; was an Ottoman princess by birth and an Indian princess by marriage. She was the on ...

and

Nilufer Hanımsultan Nilüfer Hanımsultan; (, married: Princess Niloufer Khanum Sultan Farhat Begum Sahiba ; 4 January 1916 – 12 June 1989), nicknamed '' Kohinoor of Hyderabad'', was an Ottoman princess by birth and an Indian princess by marriage. She was the fi ...

. The

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, at the time considered the richest man in the world, had won their hand in marriage for his two sons. After a simple wedding in the

South of France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

, the two brides went off to live in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In her straitened circumstances, Hatice was under a lot of pressure to get her daughter married, the sooner the better. But it had become very hard to find suitable marriage partners for impoverished Turkish royalty. About five years later, a husband for Selma was found in India. Selma traveled to India to marry Syed Sajid Husain Ali,

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

of Kotwara, in 1937. In India, Selma take the title of Princess Selma,

Rani ''Rani'' () is a female title, equivalent to queen, for royal or princely rulers in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It translates to 'queen' in English. It is also a Sanskrit Hindu feminine given name. The term applies equally to a ...

of Kotwara and Princess of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. However, after growing up first in the splendor of imperial

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and then in cosmopolitan Beirut, Selma had great trouble adjusting to her new environment. The marriage was not a happy one. In the summer of 1939, pregnant with her first child, Selma traveled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, under the pretext of the upcoming royal delivery. She was accompanied only by a faithful retainer of her birth family, a

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

named Zeynel Agha, who had come to India with her. With the

Second World War 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 ...

fast approaching, she ran out of money. Her daughter Kenizé was born on 11 November of that year. Selma did not inform her husband, leading her in-laws to believe the child was stillborn.

Death

In 1942, a World War was raging. Cut off from all resources, Selma lived in dire poverty. That Winter, she became very ill and finally succumbed to

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

on 13 January 1942. She was buried in Bobigny cemetery, Paris.

Issue

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selma Hanimsultan 1914 births 1941 deaths Royalty from Istanbul 20th-century Ottoman princesses Deaths from sepsis