Kaya Ismihan Sultan was an Ottoman princess and daughter of Murad IV. She was born in 1633 in Istanbul, the identity of her mother is unknown. In the early 1640s, Kaya’s mother clashed with the princess’ grandmother Kösem Sultan on the subject of her future husband. The concubine wanted for her daughter Murad IV’s sword-bearer, one of her own political allies, and even used her beauty, charms and shrewdness to win the new sultan Ibrahim’s love. Nevertheless, Kösem Sultan won and Kaya Sultan married Melek Ahmed Paşa in August 1644; the princess was only 11 years old and her husband in his fourties.
On their wedding night, Kaya struck Melek Ahmed Paşa with a dagger and refused to be touched by him for 7 years. It is said that a fortune-teller had told her that she would die if she had a daughter by her husband. In the end, her grandmother Kösem Sultan put a stop to this and forced the two to consummate the marriage. Kaya became pregnant quickly and gave birth to a daughter, momentarily putting aside what the fortune-teller had told her.
Her marriage was a happy one, with Melek Paşa showering her with gifts and Kaya Sultan helping him with both strategic and financial assistance. She was also a generous patron and a pious woman. In 1657/58, Kaya became pregnant again and the entire household celebrated. The princess, though, had ominous dreams in which it was hinted that she would soon join her grandfather Ahmed I and his brother Mustafa I. The birth of her second child was a difficult one and her placenta remained stuck in her womb. The midwives tried every method to remove it, even going as fas as sticking their hands in the princess’ uterus and pulling out pieces of skin. After four days of torture, Kaya Sultan died. It is supposed that her second child died with her.
Her funeral prayers were said in the mosque of Ebu Eyüb Ansari, and Kaya Sultan was ultimately buried next to her uncle Ibrahim. – requested by anon
sources: Leslie Peirce - The Imperial Harem, Necdet Sakaoğlu - Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları, Robert Dankoff - The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman, Robert Dankoff - An Ottoman Mentality, Du Loir - Les voyages du sieur Du Loir
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