Sazkar Hanım


Sazkar Hanım was the ninth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire.

Early life

Sazkar Hanım was born on 8 May 1873 in Kayalar, Adapazarı, Istanbul. Born as Zekiye Maan, she was a member of Abkhazian noble family, Maan. Her father was Recep Bata Bey Maan, the son of Osman Bey Maan, and grandson of Kats Bey Maan. Her mother was Rukiye Havva Hanım Mikanba, an Abkhazian. She was the first cousin of Behice Hanım, twelfth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
She was presented in the imperial harem by Çorlulizade Mahmud Celaleddin Pasha's Abkhazian wife, Bidar Hanım.

Marriage

Sazkar Hanım married Abdul Hamid on 31 August 1890 in the Yıldız Palace. She was given the title of "Third Fortunate". On 15 June 1891, a year after the marriage, she gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Refia Sultan.
On 27 April 1909, Abdul Hamid was deposed, and sent into exile in Thessaloniki. Sazkar was closed to Abdul Hamid, and accompanied him for some time, and returned to Istanbul in 1910.
Here she first settled with her daughter, and later with Peyveste Hanım, another of Abdul Hamid's wives, at her mansion in Şişli. Sazkar and Peyveste's rooms were located on the same floor. Their daily routine was to drink coffee with each other, and to talk about old times.
After Thessaloniki fell to Greece in 1912, Abdul Hamid also returned to Istanbul, and settled in the Beylerbeyi Palace, where he died in 1918.

Widowhood and death

As a widow, Sazkar Hanım's stipend consisted of 5,000 aspers. In 1920, her stipend was increased to 10,000. However, in 1923, she was completely deprived of her it.
In 1924, the imperial family was sent into exile. Sazkar went to Beirut, Lebanon with her daughter, where she died in 1945, outliving her daughter by seven years. She was buried in Sultan Selim Mosque, Damascus, Syria.

Issue

Sazkar Hanım and Abdul Hamid had one daughter: