Düzdidil Hanım was born in about 1825. She was of half Abkhaz and half Circassian Ubykh descent.[1] She was presented to Abdulmejid by his mother, Bezmiâlem Sultan.[2] She grew up at the court under the supervision of the chief treasurer of the harem. Abdülmecid one day noticed her while she played the piano and decided to marry her. They married in 1840, and Düzdidil was given the title of "Senior Ikbal" (BaşIkbal).[3]
On 13 October 1841, she gave birth to twins daughters, Neyire Sultan[4] and Münire Sultan in the Old Beşiktaş Palace. The princesses died one as newborn and the other at age of two.[5]
On 17 August 1843, she gave birth to her third child, a daughter, Cemile Sultan in the Old Beylerbeyi Palace.[6]
On 23 February 1845, she gave birth to her fourth child, a daughter, Samiye Sultan[4] in the Topkapı Palace. The princess died two months later on 15 April 1845.[7]
Charles White, who visited Istanbul in 1843, wrote following about her:
The third...is cited as remarkable for her beauty, and not less so for her haughty and wayward disposition.[2]
Death
Düzdidil had fallen victim to the epidemic of tuberculosis then raging in Istanbul. A luxuriously decorated prayer book was commissioned around 1844 for her. As was fitting for her position, the prayer book was lavishly ornate. Düzdidil was separated from her alive daughter and isolated, entrusted to the care of her maternal cousin Cican Hanim.[8]
She died on 18 August 1845, and was buried in the mausoleum of the imperial ladies at the New MosqueIstanbul.[3][1] Cemile Sultan was only two years old when Düzdidil died. She was adopted by another of Sultan Abdulmejid's wives, Perestu Kadın,[4] who was also the adoptive mother one of her half brothers, Sultan Abdul Hamid II.[9]
^Rebhan, Helga (2010). Die Wunder der Schöpfung: Handschriften der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek aus dem islamischen Kulturkreis. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 79. ISBN978-3-880-08005-8.
Uluçay, M. Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ötüken. ISBN978-9-754-37840-5.
Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kadınefendiler, Sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN978-6-051-71079-2.
Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. ISBN978-0-292-78335-5.
Paşa, Ahmed Cevdet (1960). Tezâkir. [2]. 13 - 20, Volume 2. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi.