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Yıldız Hanımefendi

Yıldız Hanımefendi
İkinci Gözde of the Ottoman Empire
Reign 1858 - 2 June 1861
Born Zijan Şermat
c. 1842
North Caucasus
Died c. 1880
Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Spouse Abdülmecid I
House House of Osman (by marriage)
Father Selim Şermat
Mother Rebiye Hanım
Religion Islam

Yıldız Hanımefendi (fully Devletlu İkinci Ikbal Yıldız Hanımefendi Hazretleri, c. 1842 - c. 1880) (Yıldız meaning "Star") was the Circassian wife of 31st Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I. She was the sister of Safinaz Nurefzun Kadınefendi the second wife of 34th Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, son of Abdülmecid I.

Yıldız Hanımefendi was born as Zijan Şermat to Selim Şermat and his wife Princess Rebiye Hanım, who belonged to the Circassian tribe of Besleney. She had two sisters Vunay Hanım and Ayşe Hanım and a brother, Murat Şermat. Her father was murdered by the Russians and her mother was kidnapped. Her uncle Besleney Prince Cemal Efendi sought refuge in Istanbul and had guard in the palace.

With her sisters, Vunay Hanim and Ayşe Hanım, young Zijan were given in care of Valide Sultan Bezmiâlem Sultan by Cemal Efendi's wife Tergüzar Hanım. In the palace they were given private education and training. When Bezmiâlem took Zijan, Vunay, and Ayşe, she changed their names, as palace tradition had it, calling Zijan Yıldız, Vunay Dilber Peyker and Ayşe Safinaz. Abdülmecid was captivated by the beauty of the young girl and they married in 1858 in the Dolmabahçe Palace. She was one of the beloved wives of Abdülmecid and he gifted her a mansion located in the Yıldız park which was named after her.

In 1868, Abdul Hamid II married her sister, Ayşe Safinaz and changed her name to Nurefzun, but the marriage didn't lasted long and they divorced in 1879. Years later Sultan Abdul Hamid II also built a palace and named it Yıldız after her. She died in 1880.

1858 - 2 June 1861: Yildiz İkinci Hanımefendi Hazretleri (Her Highness The Second Lady Consort Yildiz) or Yildiz İkinci Gözde (The Second Favour Yildiz)


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