Behice Hanımefendi
| Behice Hanım | |||||
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| Born | Behiye Maan 10 October 1882 Adapazarı, Ottoman Empire |
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| Died | 25 October 1969 (aged 87) Istanbul, Turkey |
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| Burial | Yahya Efendi cemetery | ||||
| Spouse | Abdul Hamid II | ||||
| Issue | Şehzade Ahmed Nureddin Efendi Şehzade Mehmed Badreddin Efendi |
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| House | House of Margania (by birth) House of Osman (by marriage) |
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| Father | Albus Maan | ||||
| Mother | Nazli Kucba | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
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Turkish: Behice English: Bahija Ottoman Turkish: بھیجه |
Behice Hanım (Ottoman Turkish: بھیجه خانم; born Behiye Maan; 10 October 1882 – 22 October 1969) was a consort the Ottoman Empire as the twelfth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Behice was the most extravagant and wasteful wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Her spending and debt contributed to the overthrow of the Sultan. Behice Hanımefendi tripled the spending of the court within five years and thus became a symbol of wealth and extravagance.
Behice Hanım was born on 10 October 1882 in the Beynevid village, Adapazarı. Born as Behiye Maan, she was the daughter of an Abkhazian noble, Albus Bey Maan and his Abkhazian wife Nazli Hanım Kucba. She was the great grand daughter of the famous companion of the last ruler of Abkhazia Mikhail Shervashidze, Lieutenant General Katz Bey Maan. She was a relative of the wife of Halil Kut Pasha, uncle of Ismail Enver Pasha. She was the eldest among the six children. Her father received through his cousin Sazkar Hanım, who was also married to Sultan Abdul Hamid, a job on the farm. When he heard that Abdul Hamid was seeking a bride for his son Burhaneddin, he brought his daughter to the court, and presented her to the Sultan. But Abdul Hamid was so taken by the beauty of the young girl that he married her himself.
At the age of about eighteen, Behice married Abdul Hamid on 10 May 1900 in the Yıldız Palace, Istanbul. Upon the birth of her children, Behice increased her spending. She began to bring her relatives at the court and begged the Sultan for more pensions for them. In 1902 her father moved into an annual pension of 300,000 pounds and received a mansion near the Yildiz Palace. The wedding of her sister Tasvire Hanım was arranged in the Yıldız Palace. She received a dowry of 90,000 pounds and her husband was given a job on the farm. Her unmarried sisters received a pension of 50,000 pounds a year and got their weddings, each of them still £50,000 dowry. Her mother had her own courtly society in the sultan's palace, consisting of 20 servants. Only her wardrobe surpassed everything. Constantly new dresses were ordered from abroad. Not even the principal consort of the Sultan herself led an extravagant life so as Behice Hanım.
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Wikipedia