Hanımefendi

Hanımefendi (Ottoman Turkish: خانم آفندی‎, also Hanım Efendi, Khanum Effendi, from Khanum + Effendi ) was the title given to the imperial consort of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who came below the rank of Kadınefendi. The title was given to the İkbâls and Gözdes of the Sultan, which appeared for the first time in the reign of Sultan Mustafa II. The title was also given to the official consorts of the Şehzades (Ottoman imperial princes), which was limited to only four, and were also called Gözde. The Sultans usually had three, four and six İkbâls, and four, five Gözdes with the title of Hanımefendi. The İkbâls were the women singled out as favorite companions of the Sultan who were in line for promotion to the rank of Kadınefendi, on the death or divorce of one of the latter. The Hanımefendis sometime became the mothers of the Sultans children and after their death their children were given to Kadınefendis to raise.

In modern Turkish, hanımefendi is a spoken form of address for a woman whose name is not known, much like madam in English. The male equivalent in this context is beyefendi.

The İkbâls of Sultans were ranked and styled as:

The Gözdes of Sultans and consorts of the şehzades were ranked and styled as:

Imperial consorts who were traditionally addressed as Hanımefendi include:

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