sara.ae

Yes, this is what I said a year ago.

I'm not entirely sure of this now, though, because when Peirce talked about the relationship between Mahidevran and Hatice, she considered Hatice to be Ibrahim's wife... but she was not. This is what she said:

In 1534 the grand vezir wrote to Mustafa acknowledging receipt of a letter the prince had sent regarding affairs in the Aegean and informing him of his father's victories in the Baghdad campaign. In the letter Ibrahim refers to himself as Mustafa's "sincere friend" and expresses presses the wish to see him soon, to "take profit from and be gladdened by [his] noble and blessed grace." Mahidevran, writing a note asking after the well-being of Hadije, makes long reference to the two families' "sisterhood and brotherhood, and the truly sincere kind friendship and tender compassion" that the princess and her husband have shown.'" — Leslie P. Peirce. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire

So, this is the problem: did Mahidevran write to Ibrahim? In this case, then, she was talking about his wife Muhsine. Did Mahidevran write to Hatice specifically? Then she was talking about Hatice and his second husband.

Çağatay M. Uluçay had erroneously assumed the identity of İbrahim's wife as Hatiçe Sultan (who upon further extensive research, I have deduced didn't even exist, just as a Fatma binti Sultan Selim I didn't exist either).

Hi! This was actually Sofu Fatma Sultan's letter to her father, Sultan Bayezid II (she had gotten misidentified in this letter featured in “Harem'den Mektuplar”)— the homosexual Mustafa Paşa in question was her second known husband— we know that Fatma Sultan binti Sultan Bayezid II was firstly married to Güzelce Hasan Paşa (for instance, check out Zehra Kandal's 2021 study titled, “II. Bayezid’in Ailesi ve Gülruh Hatun”). Anyways, I got to know about Mustafa Paşa actually having been the second husband of Fatma Sultan binti Sultan Bayezid II, with the aid of the amazing @darkblureer-sara!

The study by Mustafa Çağatay Uluçay titled, “II. Bayezit’in Kızı Fatma Sultan’ın Kocası Çapkın mıydı” demonstrated how Fatma Sultan was the most unfortunate of Sultan Bayezid II’s daughters. Uluçay had described Mustafa Paşa, the son of the Grand Vizier Davud Paşa as a debauched and immoral man—loud, lewd, and infamous for his inappropriate relations with young boys and men.

When her husband was appointed governor of Antalya, Fatma Sultan too moved there with him. However, over the course of time, his conduct exacerbated to the point that she could no longer tolerate the public scandal.

She ultimately wrote this aforementioned letter to her father, Sultan Bayezid II, revealing the shameful conduct she had been forced to endure for years, an excerpt of which delineates how desperate she was to leave her disgraceful husband and come back to her father:

“My sultan, dear father, let me wear cloth of coarse wool instead of the cloth of rudeness, let me eat barley bread, just let me live in your shadow!”

Furthermore, Eda Öner's study, “Maktûl Kara Ahmed Paşa'nın Siyasi ve Idari Kariyeri” also illustrated with contemporary Ottoman court records that the Fatma Sultan married to him wasn't a daughter of Sultan Selim I, but the daughter of a certain Mustafa Bey (hence, this Fatma Sultan was a grand-daughter of Sultan Bayezid II via one of his daughters who had her with a certain Mustafa Bey):

“Indeed, it is known that Kara Ahmed Ağa married Fatma Sultan. However, the widely held belief in the literature that Fatma Sultan was the daughter of Selim I and the sister of Sultan Suleiman is incorrect. For in two Sharia court records written after Kara Ahmed Ağa's execution, which show that he freed four of his slaves during his lifetime, his wife is referred to as 'Fatma Sultan bt. Mustafa Bey'. Based on this, it can be understood that Fatma Sultan's father was not a member of the dynasty, but she belonged to the dynasty through her mother.” —Pg 16 (translated from Turkish)

An Istanbul şeriye sicilleri (Legal registers) document, dating after the execution of Kara Ahmed Paşa (which happened on September 29, 1555, two days after his deposition from Grand Vizieriate as per Court Chronicler Koca Nişanci Celalzade Mustafa Çelebi) mentioned that "Fatma Sultan bint Mustafa Bey" filed a petition to manumit several of the deceased Paşa’s servants, identifying herself explicitly as his wife.

Besides, Hüseyin Ağa bin Abdurrahman (the brother of the late Grand Vizier Ahmed Paşa) and Fatma Sultan bint Mustafa Bey (the wife of the late Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha) — are identified in one of the two court documents as the legal heirs and authorized administrators of the estate and properties of the deceased Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha. — Numarali Sicil (H. 964-965 / M. 1557-1558)

Essentially, there's no credible historical basis for the existence of any Fatma Sultan binti Sultan Selim I.

Even prior to coming across this study (which was again recommended to me by @darkblureer-sara), I had my doubts because contemporary European accounts never mentioned Kara Ahmed Paşa as Brother-in-law, even when they clearly mentioned Lütfi Paşa and earlier Ferhad Paşa and Çoban Mustafa Paşa (see: Venetian ambassador, Pietro Bragadin's June 1526 report) as Brothers-in-lae as well! Additionally, even Safavid accounts don't mention Kara Ahmed Paşa or Makbul-Maktul İbrahim Paşa as Brothers-in-law either (which @mehrab-k kindly brought to my attention!)

Also, Sultan Selim I appears to have married only one daughter, Şahzâde Sultan (first of the two daughters born of Ayşe Hafsa) to the erstwhile Bostancibaşi, then Admiral Iskender Paşa off in 1509. She's consistently referred in some Archival orders and correspondence between Sultan Bayezid II and Sultan Selim I simply as “Hanım Sultan” (which means: “Madam Princess”— very standard manner of referring to an Ottoman Princess, and in fact, Mihrümah Sultan would be referred to by others and even sign herself off as “Hanım Sultan” too!)

We of course know that Gevherhan wasn't Sultan Selim I's daughter either. Sofu Fatma Sultan's son, Mehmed hadn't married any daughter of Yavuz Sultan Selim in 1509 as had been believed in popular historiography. The July 2025 academic dissertation titled, “İlme ve Eğlenceye düşkün bir Şehzâde'nin Hayati: II. Bayezid'in oğlu Alemşah” by Hamit Şafakcı meticulously proved via archival documents/registers that the aforementioned marriage was contracted with Hanzade Sultan binti Şehzâde Alemşah.

Also, while I've been researching more about it, evidently Selim held off marrying the rest of his two other daughters who survived to adulthood owing to still somewhat volatility of politics and well, the “betrayal” by his Damad Iskender Paşa, Şehzâde's husband who was executed by him in 1515 consequently.

[These two other daughters besides Şahzâde Sultan who made it to adulthood were Beyhan Sultan (the second of Ayşe Hafsa's daughters besides Şahzâde Sultan) and Şahihuban Sultan (born of an unknown concubine).]

This was the case until 1517 when Selim I remarried his daughter, Şahzâde Sultan to Çoban Mustafa Paşa (note that Şehzâde's first husband Iskender Paşa had been executed in 1515) and most probably, Beyhan Sultan (she had been unmarried as of the September-October 1513 register which I'd discussed and elaborated about here last month) must've been firstly married off at this time too, but I'm yet to find out to whom (I've found yet another overlooked report that mentioned that Selim had decided all of a sudden to marry off his daughters circa 1517— I'll state these reports properly some other time as I can't locate them presently).

Beyhan Sultan would be married off—for the second time (most probably) by her brother in February, 1522 to Ferhad Paşa (and well, he would execute him on November 1, 1524 in Edirne owing to treason and him drawing a weapon in the Divan in front of Süleyman!)

Şahihuban Sultan appears to have been born much later (c. 1505?), and it seems her marriage to Lütfi Paşa was her first marriage effected by her half-brother, Süleyman by March 10, 1523 (22 Rabi-ul-ahir, 929)— possibly she was married simultaneous to Süleyman's full-sister, Beyhan Sultan.

Conclusion: Anyways, from my extensive research thus far on Yavuz Sultan Selim's family from both Ottoman and European primary sources, I've concluded that only 3 of Yavuz Sultan Selim's daughters had survived to adulthood: Şahzâde Sultan, Beyhan Sultan and Şahihuban Sultan.

The first two were born of Vâlide Sultan Ayşe Hafsa Hatun— yes, actually Ayşe Hafsa never received the title of “Sultan” as is popularly believed, about which I've talked here— and the latter was born of an unknown concubine who was alive as of November 1556. Selim also had at least one other daughter, Kamer or Kamerşah. who died in childhood in 1503.

In the In'âmât Register records, there are two entries dated March 8 & 10, 1523 (corresponding to 20 & 22 Rebiü’l-ahir/Rabi Al-Thani 929 as per the original Hijri Calendar) which establishes the existence of 3 sisters of Padişah Sultan Süleyman— all 3 of them are referred to as “hemşire-i hazret-i hallede mülkehu” :

Şahzâde Sultan: Her husband is identified as “Hazret-i Mustafa Paşa”— (since Çoban was a senior Vizier at the time, that's why the more exalted epithet of "Hazret" was prefixed to his name).

Beyhan Sultan: Her husband is identified simply as “Ferhad Paşa”.

Şah Sultan: Her husband is merely mentioned as “Lütfi Bey”:

"Şah Sultan hemşire-i hazret-i hallede mülkehu zevce-i Lütfi Bey miriliva 19 Rebiülâhir sene 929"

Interestingly, in the 1523 in'âm records it is stated that a gift bundle was given to the mother of Şah Sultan, who is stated as “Vâlide-i mezkûr (i.e., aforementioned) Şah Sultan”. Since her mother is identified separately, unlike the cases of Şahzâde and Beyhan, it is further established that Şah was a half-sister of Süleyman (also, note that Süleyman's two full-sisters had Paşas for husbands, who were also Kubbe Viziers).

Primary Source: Belediye Kütüphanesi, M. Cevdet Yazmaları No. O.71, s. 268a, 525 & 526 (sometimes abbreviated as İBAK.MC, İD)

Furthermore, I have stumbled across another interesting piece of information:

According to a record dated May 6, 1505 (2 Dhu al-Hijjah 910), Sultan Bayezid II sent his son, “Hazret-i Selim Bey”, 300,000 akçe in cash and valuable fabrics for the circumcision ceremony of his son; and various gifts were sent to 4 individuals: Selim's son [i.e., Süleyman], Selim's mother [i.e., Gülbahar Hatun], mother of his son and daughters [i.e., Ayşe Hafsa Hatun], and mother of [another] daughter [i.e., Selim's other consort who was the mother of a daughter].

Firstly, it's obvious that this son was none other than Süleyman (he was 9.5 years old at the time having been born in October/November, 1495 like Historian Kaya Şahin had elucidated), and it also establishes that Selim's other sons had died before May 1505 (including one named Salih who had died in 1499), otherwise they would've been acknowledged by these rather detailed documents.

Also, from available evidence, it appears that this other consort must've been Şah Sultan's mother and as such Şah Sultan must've been born before 1505. (Historians Hanefi Bostan and Feridun Emecen had mentioned these documents...)

It appears that Sultan Selim I had stopped fathering more children at least by 1505 (he was between 35-38 at the time) as primary Ottoman documents don't corroborate any further births or deaths of children after the death of a Princess named Kamerşah in 1503, as Bostan had observed:

“An archival record dated September 27, 1503 (5 Rabi' al-Akhir 909) indicates that Sultan Bayezid II extended his condolences to Selim and the young princess's mother upon Kamerşah's death and sent them various condolence presents.

The dispatch of Sinan—a physician from the Dergâh-ı Âli (Imperial Court)—to the side of Şehzâde Selim, the Governor of Trabzon, on July 23, 1503 (28 Muharram 909) suggests that either Selim himself or his children were suffering from a serious illness.”

She pities me now even more than she once did. And there I was, the happiest woman in England but she could only see tragedy.

“Bayezid bendeniz, Cihangir bendeniz, Mihrimah cariyeniz ayak topraklarınıza yüzlerini sürerler… Gülfem cariyeniz ve dayeniz mübarek ayağınız topraklarına yüz sürerler…”

The use of the term “dayeniz” is especially significant. While it is often translated as “nurse” or “wet nurse,” it more accurately conveys the meaning of a foster mother or caretaker, implying a deeply intimate, almost maternal role in the sultan’s early life.

Had Gülfem been a governess, she would've been referred to as such—as Süleyman's Daye Hatun was a distinct person altogether and mentioned by her title unlike Gülfem who doesn't appear with any title (Süleyman's actual Daye Hatun appears in the records for the first time in the September-October, 1511 Kaffa register alongside his mother, Hafsa).

In fact, we can discern this distinction between Gülfem and Daye Hatun by reading the letters of Hürrem to Süleyman, wherein she mentioned greetings from Gülfem Hatun and Daye Hatun separately (at least until the 1530s), like in the letter abstract you mentioned in the post, it actually translates to:

“Bayezid, your servant, Cihangir, your servant and your maidservant Mihrümah, prostrate themselves before your feet…Your maidservant Gülfem and your governess prostrate themselves before your blessed feet.”

--------------------------------------------------Furthermore, while I'll post elaborately about this later (most probably by next month when I'm more free), I've come across a harem record from late 1520s, which separately lists these 4 ladies: Hafsa Hatun (who was of course, listed first), Dayize Hatun, Daye Hatun and Gülfem Hatun.

They even had different allowances: Dayize and Daye were paid the same, and Gülfem was paid the lowest amongst these ladies, nearly 1/4th of the former duo's allowance; and since Dayize was listed earlier, she must've been considered more senior and both Dayize and Daye were undoubtedly crucial to Süleyman's upbringing alongside his mom, Hafsa Hatun.

Anyhow, these are distinct persons and I understand how it can be confusing, so no worries! Also, I so agree with this:

Gülfem Hatun can be regarded as a form of spiritual mother, not only to Hurrem but also to her children.

Gülfem was undoubtedly a god-mother to Hürrem as well as her children— and she really emerged to assume her god-mother role after Hürrem's death and during the Şehzâde Bayezid affair.

I had anticipated your contribution to this discussion, knowing your deep fascination with the history of Suleiman the Magnificent and the figures who surrounded him.

I originally wrote this post before delving more thoroughly into the case of Gülfem Hatun. At the time, my focus was limited to examining a number of documents related to her during the early years of Suleiman’s reign, particularly after both she and Hürrem had moved to Topkapı Palace. I did not, however, engage deeply with her earlier life during Suleiman’s princely years, largely due to the scarcity and fragmentation of available information from that period.

In my view, Gülfem was neither a governess nor a wet nurse in the formal sense, nor did she hold such an official position. Rather, she appears to have been a figure in close proximity—someone who may have undertaken certain responsibilities toward the young prince without being institutionally defined by them.

This brings to mind how Mehmed IV referred to Meleki Hatun as a “second mother” or even as an aunt, owing not to formal designation but to her intimate closeness to both him and his mother. It is possible that Gülfem occupied a similar role—one shaped by proximity and trust, especially through her connection to Hafsa Sultan.

Considering the relationship between Hürrem and Gülfem, I am inclined to believe that Gülfem was among those who guided and perhaps subtly directed Hürrem toward Suleiman. She likely possessed a perceptive understanding of his temperament and may have been privy to the evolving dynamics between them. If this was indeed the case, then Gülfem must have been a woman of discernment and wisdom—one whom Hürrem could have regarded as a model, particularly in matters of approaching Suleiman or composing her letters to him.

I do hope you might be available at your earliest convenience, as I would truly value the opportunity to revisit and refine my interpretations before presenting anything new. More than anything, I would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts and discussions on Tumblr, as I rarely find myself returning to Reddit and often lose track of it altogether.

“As mentioned earlier, a large amount of the site for the Sehzade complex was taken from the Old Chambers belonging to the elite janissary corps. It is also know from the “Customs of Janissaries” written in the early 17th century by an old janissary that the novices worked with great effort in the construction of the Sehzade complex. Furthermore, during a visit to the building site by Hürrem, the Sultan’s legal wife and the mother of the deceased prince, she was so moved by the plight of the novices carrying building materials with “bare head and feet” that she financed the raise of their monthly wages by herself. Imperial decrees issued in 1544 and 1545 by the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha’s cabinet for the construction of the mosque complex show that the agha of janissaries, Pertev Mehmed Agha, was ingeniously co-opted into the building process. These documents disclose the tight cooperation between the chief architect Sinan, the agha of janissaries who served as the building overseer, and the building supervisor, Hüseyin Çelebi, who would hold the same job during the early years of the Süleymaniye’s construction. Pertev Agha’s involvement with the construction of Sehzade mosque seems to have been prompted not only by its site at the centre of the janissary barracks, but also by his personal connection with the deceased prince’s family. Married to the widow of Sehzade Mehmed, he was the stepfather of the late prince’s royal children.” — Mehmed Kerem Özel; "An interpretation of Sinan’s Sehzade complex in Istanbul"

Multiple contemporary accounts like that of Flemish-origin Austrian Ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (1554-62) and Venetian Relazione mention that the mother of Hümaşah Sultan was married to Pertev Paşa sometime after the death of Şehzâde Sultan Mehmed in November, 1543, interalia.

Pertev later became Paşa and when he was the Fourth Vizier was actually deployed to Şehzâde Sultan Bayezid when he wasn't obeying Padişah Sultan Süleyman's command to go to his new Sanjak at Amasya (from Kütahya) around October/November 1558— Süleyman had changed their sanjaks on September 8, 1558 in view of the rising tensions and discord between the princes in the immediate aftermath of their mother, Hürrem Sultan's death (this was also mentioned in a letter by Bayezid to his dad that "the greatest calamity had befallen our family as the death of my mother, and you couldn't wait even for a year before transferring me from my Sanjak!").

Bayezid had displayed much tantrums and grievances (sometimes very rudely to his father), and consequently, Pertev Paşa was sent to him in order to provide him sound advice in order to obey his father's wish at the earliest and also, to reassure him of the fact that his father loved both himself and Selim equally and wasn't favouring anyone over the other— simultaneously, the then Third Vizier, Sokollu Mehmed Paşa was sent to Şehzâde Sultan Selim who was transferred from Manisa to Konya, even though he had been obedient, it was an ostensible decision so Bayezid didn't feel like he was the only one getting "chided").

Hümaşah's step father was very politically influential (even during Sultan Selim II's reign) and undeniably, his patroness was Hürrem Sultan —as was also implied in European accounts, aforementioned quote, multiple circumstancial pieces of evidence and in the memoirs of Sharifian Meccan Envoy, Al-Nahrawali upon his visit to Constantinople between March-June, 1558, he also noted that Hümaşah Sultan had two step-brothers:

“Next I betook myself to the fourth Vizier, Pertev Paşa, and had a meeting with him. In my judgement, he is a good-natured and quite modest and sincere man [...] Then he showed me into his house, where he provided victuals and summoned his two sons from the sultana, the [widow] of Prince Mehmed. "Pray for them!", the Vizier said. I could see that they were like two gems, the one approaching adolescence and the other younger, and that their father was very fond of them. So I invoked God in their favour and then we ate. Over food the pasha was at ease with us and showed pleasure at our having come to him. Then we prayed for him and for his children before taking our leave...”

By virtue of his royal step-daughter, he was also related to Ferhad Paşa —off the top of my head, this relation was noted in the "Relazione of Jacoppo Raggazoni (1571)" or an earlier relazione— Ferhad, Hümaşah's first husband to whom she was married by 1557, subsequent to which the erstwhile Janissary Ağa, Ferhad was made a Pasha as the Fifth Vizier (this was a special case as there used to be atmost 4 Viziers) — this is noted in the "Relazione of Michiel Nicolò (1558)".

Pertev Mehmed Paşa was born around 1520 and he died on September 7, 1572— also, he was mentioned as "the oldest Bassa and very rich" in the "Relazione by anonymous in the retinue of the bailo Marcantonio Barbaro".

While İbrahim Pazan in “Seyyid Lokman'in Osmanli Hanedanina dair verdigi dogum, olum ve dugun tarihlerinin (1566-1595) Osmanli kroniklerindeki kayitlarla karşilastirilmaşi” would mention that Hümaşah Sultan passed away after May 25, 1577, he didn't mention any estimate of her date of death, however in another of his works, he noted that:

“And the late Hümâ Sultan passed away and was laid to rest in the dome of her father, Prince Sultan Mehemmed -may their souls rest in peace.” — Pazan, İbrahim; Seyyid Lokmân, Zübdetü't-Tevârîh: Osmanlı Tarihi (1299 - 1595)

Furthermore, upon more research on the endowment deed of Pertev Mehmed Paşa (Hümaşah Sultan's step-dad), we can finally establish Hümaşah's mother's name:

Fütûhâ Hatun

She rests in the same tomb as her husband and the headstone of Fütûhâ's sarcophagus gives the date of her death: the year 1571. Her husband, Pertev Mehmed Paşa would soon join her for an eternity when he died on September 7, 1572 as per an anonymous Venetian report.

Fun Facts:

The famous Ottoman historian Mustafa Ali of Gelibolu, in his biography of this vizier (Pertev Mehmed Pasha), states that Sultan Süleyman bestowed upon him the nickname 'Pertev' (light, brightness) because of the 'light emanating from the lantern of his nature' in dispelling the darkness of disbelief.

Second to the "virtual emperor" and "Padişah-i Manevi” Sokollu Mehmed Paşa, he was the only other politically remarkable Paşa and at the time of his death, the Venetians would report him to be “the oldest Bassa and very rich.”

Besides the two sons that are aforementioned in Al-Nahrawali's account, that she had with Pertev as of March, 1558, they had more kids: two other sons and two daughters who are in the same mausoleum as well, so in toto, they had 4 sons and 2 daughters whose names were: Mahmud, Mustafa, Mehmed, Ahmed, Safiyye and Hatice—Hümaşah thus, had an extended family!

According to the study, Şah Sultan was initially married to Câkirci Hasan Ağa, an Enderun-trained palace official. His ability to commission a mosque in Doğancılar, Üsküdar, while still holding the office of Câkirci Başı, indicates that he enjoyed a distinguished status among the Enderun elite. Like Sokollu Mehmed Paşa, Câkirci Hasan Ağa was chosen as an imperial son-in-law on the basis of merit and loyal service. After leaving the palace, he was dispatched as an ambassador to Iran in connection with the Şehzade Bayezid affair, where he played a successful role in resolving the matter. In recognition of his services, and following his marriage to Şah Sultan with a dowry of 100,000 gold coins, he was appointed governor of Bosnia in 1563 and later promoted to Beylerbeyi of Rumeli in 1570. Contemporary sources describe Hasan Paşa as an accomplished horseman, prudent, and generous. He is known to have died in 1574.

Nevertheless, Şah Sultan’s marriage to Câkirci Hasan Paşa did not last long. Given that she married Zal Mahmud Paşa in 1566, her first marriage could not have exceeded three years at most. Just as her elder aunt Şah Huban Sultan had divorced Lütfi Paşa, Şah Sultan likewise divorced Hasan Paşa. After this unsuccessful union, she was married to Zal Mahmud Paşa, with whom she remained until the end of her life.

One of the most striking aspects of Şah Sultan’s life is her pilgrimage to Mecca in 1572. Imperial orders were issued to the governors of Anatolia, Karaman, Aleppo, and Damascus, as well as to the beys of Niğde and Adana, to ensure the safety of her journey. The amir al-hajj was likewise instructed to take all necessary precautions to secure her passage between Damascus and Mecca. Records in the Mühimme registers further indicate that she also visited Jerusalem. Undertaking the pilgrimage in this period stands as a clear indication of Şah Sultan’s pronounced religious inclination and piety.

I'd jotted some relevant quotes and did a deep digging in this context, I'll put the European and Ottoman sources as part of a proper historiographical exercise as I found the answer only much later, haha! :

Şah Sultan had already been married to Zal Mahmud Paşa at least before April 26, 1571— when Jacopo Raggazoni had arrived at Constantinople (he left on June 18, 1571 whilst he delivered his relazione on August 16, 1571 to the Venetian Senate) :

“[Sultan Selim] has five daughters, all born of different/diverse mothers*; three of whom are married, one to Mehmed Pasha, another to Piali Pasha, and the other to Mehmed, nicknamed Azal Pasha. Of the other two, one is of a good age [to marry], the other is still young.”

*this being one of the multiple pieces of evidence I've found that undeniably establish confidently that only İsmihan Sultan, Selim II's oldest daughter born at Uşak in 1544 was Nurbanu's own daughter (and essentially, that Nurbanu had borne only two children: İsmihan in early 1544 and Murad in July, 1546)— but that's for another post.

We, of course, are acquainted, as @kehribar-sultan had also rather recently mentioned that the aforementioned two youngest surviving daughters in 1571 were Ayşe and Fatma, respectively —Ayşe (born of Vasfiye Hatun), won't survive past 1575 at the latest, as only Fatma Sultan would be married to Kanijeli Siyavuş Paşa in June 1575 by her half-brother, Murad III— actually, this had been the intention of Selim II but he died before he could effect the marriage to finally take place.

(There's also no mention of any other daughter after the 1571 relazione, except for the four popularly known: Gevherhan, Şah, Fatma and of course, Nurbanu's İsmihan in the later immediate Relaziones).

I also stumbled across an excerpt in the Relazione of Constantino Garzoni (1573), which made me question Çakırcıbaşı Hasan Paşa's popularly accepted death date of January 13, 1574 and it being even evidently erroneous (Garzoni had been in Constantinople since September 1572) :

“Tal-Pasha, the third vizier, of German nationality, is about forty years old; tall, well-proportioned, and with a very pleasant appearance. He is also the son-in-law of the Grand Sultan, and his wife was previously married to Hassan Pasha, a vizier who died some years ago. He has not been employed by the Grand Sultan in any state or military affairs, and therefore has not yet demonstrated his abilities. Tal-Pasha is neutral among the other pashas; consequently, he is neither loved nor hated by them.** He is quite poor compared to the other pashas related to the Grand Sultan, and he also*** spends a great deal because of his wife, the sultana.”

**It should be noted that this point is also mentioned in the cited study by Betül Kahraman, however she hasn't quoted any primary or secondary source for the claim that Selim II had married his daughter Şah to Zal Mahmud in 1566 itself, immediately after his accession.

***Garzoni had mentioned that Piyale Paşa spent a lot on maintaining his wife, Gevherhan as well in the immediately previous para, that's why the 'also' here.

Anyways, circling back to our subject, so the case in point is: Şah Sultan would've been married to Zal Mahmud Paşa before April, 1571 at the latest— I tried to go through some relevant contemporary European sources but found no mention of such a marriage in, for instance, the report of Alvise Buonrizzo (which was presented to the Senate on March 27, 1570) only featured the mentions of Sokollu Mehmed, Pertev, Lala Mustafa and Piali Paşas— which made me question that perhaps Hasan Paşa, Şah's husband was dead by 1569 at the very latest?

In the cited study, Ms. Betül mentioned him becoming the Beylerbeyi of Rumelia in 1570— she sadly didn't source this, and I could only find that Şemsi Ahmed Paşa served as the governor between 1564-69 as per the Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi article on him— nonetheless, nothing further is known about Hasan, ending with the erroneous mention of 1574 as his death year, like I'd debunked partly above and the rest of it as will be done below by Ottoman sources.

Interestingly, there's another Hassan Paşa, who welcomed the ambassadorial retinue (of which Jacopo Raggazoni was part of) in April, 1571— this Hassan was remarked upon by Raggazoni as to have been 70 years old and very rich—could it be that perhaps this Hasan's death was misconstrued as Şah's husband, Hasan's death?

Now, the final answer which I found weeks after making the original draft, thanks to the awesome Ahmet Önal's very recently published study, “The Life, Political And Military Activities Of Zâl Mahmud Paşa”:

“Zal Mahmud Paşa's experience as the governor of Buda had ended in failure. However, the death of Damad Hasan Pasha, the governor of Rumelia, on 29 Dhu al-Qi'dah 971/July 9, 1564, or the following day, and the appointment of Şemsi Ahmed Pasha, the governor of Anatolia, in his place, became a turning point in Mahmud Pasha's career. Because when Hasan Pasha died, Şah Sultan, who had been widowed since her marriage on 26 Dhu al-Hijjah 969/August 27, 1562, to one of Prince Selim's [Damads], was left a widow.

Historical records state that Şah Sultan, "the widow of Hasan Paşa, the governor of Rumelia," married Mahmud Pasha on 9 Rabi' al-Awwal 972/October 15, 1564. Seyyid Lokman writes that after Hasan Paşa's death, "the Sultan's daughter there married Mahmud Paşa," and Mustafa Ali writes that Mahmud Paşa married Şah Sultan, Hasan Paşa's "widow." Nev'i-zâde Atayi records that Şah Sultan and Mahmud Pasha married in Jumada al-Akhir 972/January 4-February 1, 1565, which means the wedding ceremony must have taken place on this date. These records reveal that the information claiming Şah Sultan divorced Hasan Paşa and married Zal Mahmud in 1566 or 1574 is incorrect.”

The date of the marriage clearly indicates that the marriage had taken place under Padişah Sultan Süleyman's reign itself. (Süleyman died on the night or rather, early morning hours of September 6/7, 1566).

It is understood that Damad Hasan Pasha left behind no heir other than Şah Sultan. It cannot be determined whether he had married another woman before the daughter of Sultan Selim II, nor whether he had any children.

Considering that Şah Sultan remarried Zâl Mahmud Pasha shortly after her husband’s death, following the completion of her waiting period (ʿidda), it may be concluded that Hasan Pasha did not have any children from this marriage either.

The claim that Şah Sultan divorced Hasan Pasha stems from a misreading of the phrase “Hasan Paşa’nun muhallefesi” used by Gelibolulu Mustafa Âli in reference to Şah Sultan upon her marriage to Zâl Mahmud Pasha. This expression, meaning “his surviving widow,” was mistakenly read as “mutallâkası” (“his divorced wife”).

Thank you very much for your kind words. In fact, this is stated on her tombstone. The inscription on the footstone of Şah Sultan reads:

“The owner of this grave, the founder of the lodge-mosque (khanqah), Şah Sultan, daughter of Sultan Selim the Victorious (Yavuz Sultan Selim Khan).”

On the inner side of the headstone’s turban it is written:

the deadly plague.”

There is in fact no firmly established date for Şah Sultan’s death. One of the inscriptions on her tombstone gives:

“At the beginning of Dhu’l-Qa‘da, in the year nine hundred and sixty-seven” (1–10 Dhu’l-Qa‘da 967 AH / 24 July–2 August 1556),

yet this clearly contradicts the documentary record. Her waqf was drawn up between 18 and 28 January 1570 (mid-Sha‘ban 977 AH), and in 1569 (AH 977) she submitted a petition requesting assistance in a dispute concerning a fountain belonging to her father, Sultan Selim I.

Finally, in a lease contract dated 25 February 1572 (10 Shawwal 979 AH), her name is preceded by the title “the late (merhume),” showing that she had already died by that point.