Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan

Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan[2] was born 1541 in Constantinople.[3] Her father was Rüstem Pasha, a devshirme from Croatia,[4] and her mother was Mihrimah Sultan, daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hurrem Sultan. She was the first child of her parents, and the first granddaughter of her maternal grandparents.[3] Later, she had a younger brother, Sultanzade Osman Bey. Like her cousin Hümaşah Sultan, she was reportedly beloved by their grandfather. A sign of her grandfather's favour towards her can be seen from her title: Ayşe Hümaşah was in fact titled Sultan as the daughters of the male members of the dynasty, rather than with the inferior title of Hanımsultan as the daughter of the female members. Consequently, her sons and daughters, who as great-grandchildren in the female line of a Sultan should have neither titles nor be considered members of the imperial family, were instead entitled to the titles of Sultanzade for males and Hanımsultan for females, as was rule for the children of a Sultana.[5] Ayşe Hümaşah, her mother, and her cousin would all imitate the communication style ushered in by her grandmother Hurrem, whose letters to the Sultan were known for their colourfulness, charm, and smoothness.[6]

Ayşe Hümaşah married three times. On 27 November 1557, at the age of sixteen, she married the sixty-five year old future Grand Vizier, Semiz Ahmed Pasha,[7][8][9][10] with whom she had ten children, of which five sons and five daughters.[10][3] Her mother used to send two thousand ducats to the couple every week.[3] Her husband, Semiz Ahmed Pasha[7][8][9][10] became grand vizier in 1579, and died in 1580.[7][8]

After Ahmed's death, Ayşe Hümaşah married Feridun Ahmed Bey, who had served twice as the head scribe of the imperial chancery.[11] The marriage took place on 7 April 1582.[12] Kizlar Agha Mehmed Agha, served as her agent, while Miralem Mahmud Agha served as Feridun Pasha's agent. The marriage was performed by Sheikh-ul-Islam Çivizade Hacı Mehmet Efendi. Her dowry was thirty five thousand gold coins.[13][14] The marriage, however, lasted only eleven months because the pasha died on 16 March 1583.[15]

In 1590 Ayşe Hümaşah married Mahmud Hudayi Pasha. This marriage ended with her own death in 1598.

After her mother's death in 1578, the Ragusans turned to her, with a petition to act in their favour and support them in a manner her mother did, whose death they mourned deeply. In fact, all of this they reported to Behram Kethüda, who by sultan's order was to attend to Ayşe Hümaşah after Mihrimah's death. She and her husband Şemiz Ahmed Pasha[7] shared a disposition towards the Ragusans. When her son Mehmed Bey was installed as sancakbey of Herzegovina on 1592, she soon wrote him a letter of recommendation for the Ragusans.[16] In 1591, she proposed to pay the expenses of one hundred galleys for six months, if her son-in-law Çiğalazade Sinan Pasha was made Kapudan Pasha.[17] According to the French ambassador Jacques de Germigny, Ayşe Hümaşah formed a political faction with Safiye Sultan to oppose Nurbanu Sultan and her allies.[18]

In 1595, Ayşe Hümaşah went for a pilgrimage.[19] In 1598, she commissioned a fountain in Üsküdar.[20] When she died, she was buried in the complex of Şeyh ‘Azîz Mahmûd Hüdâyî Efendi, Üsküdar.[10]

• Sultanzade Mahmud Pasha (died 1602 buried in the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque) Sanjak-bey of Kastamonu and Nakhchivan[10] sanjak-bey of Şebinkarahisar;[7].
• Sultanzade Mehmed Bey[10][21] (died 1593), sanjak-bey of Herzegovina;[16]
• Sultanzade Şehid Mustafa Pasha[10][21] (died 1593), sanjak-bey of Klis;[21]
• Sultanzade Osman Bey (died 1590/1591, buried in Mihrimah Sultan Mosque),[10] sanjak-bey of Şebinkarahisar;[7]
• Sultanzade Abdurrahman Bey,[10] (died 1596/1597),[19] buried in Mihrimah Sultan Mosque),[10] married his niece Ayşe Hanım, daughter of his sister Saliha and Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha, and had a son, Semiz Mehmed Pasha;[10]

• Saliha Hanımsultan[3] (1561–1580)[16] married in October 1576 to Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha.[22][3] Mihrimah Sultan spent 70.000 gold coins for her wedding. She had a son, Mahmud Pasha (who in 1612 married Hatice Sultan, daughter of Sultan Mehmed III), and a daughter, Ayşe Hanım (who married her maternal uncle Sultanzade Abdurrahman Bey).
• Safiye Hanımsultan, married in March 1581 to Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha[17] after her sister's death in 1580.[22] She had two sons, Mehmed Bey and an other, and a daughter.
• Hatice Hanımsultan, married Kapıcıbaşı Mahmud Bey in December 1584.
• Ayşe Hanımsultan.
• Fatma Hanımsultan, married in March 1596 to Yemenli Hasan Pasha.