Gülbahar Hatun (mother of Selim I)

Ayşe Gülbahar Hatun (گل بهار خاتون; c. 1453 – c.  1505), was a concubine of Sultan Bayezid II and the mother of Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire and the grandmother of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

Names
One of the oldest references Cenabî History gives her name as Ayşe Hatun. According to Sicill-i Osmanî her name is Gülbahar Hatun, while Alderson gives her name as Ayşe Hatun, as well.

Origins
Although long confused or mistaken with the namesake Ayşe Hatun, daughter of Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey, the eleventh ruler of the Dulkadirids, this version, based on tradition, has been debunked by archivals and documentals evidences, which has proved that the princess Ayşe Hatun and the concubine Ayşe Gülbahar Hatun were two different consorts of Bayezid II and that the second was Selim I's mother.

The discovery of inscriptions (vakfiye) and others documents where she was called Ayşe Gülbahar bint Abdüllah proves that she had christian slave origins, since this is the traditional formula by which slaves converted to Islam were indicated. However, there are multiple theories as to what her ethnic origin is.

She is occasionally referred to as Albanian, but is believed by most historians that she was a Pontic Greek from the village of Vayvara (south of Sumela Monastery).

Life
She entered in Bayezid's harem around 1469 at Amasya. When Bayezid was still a şehzade ("Ottoman prince") and the governor of Amasya sanjak when she gave birth to Selim I in 1470. When Mehmed the Conqueror died in 1481, Bayezid moved to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, along with his family to ascend the throne.

According to Turkish tradition, all princes were expected to work as provincial governors (Sanjak-bey) as a part of their training. Mothers of princes were responsible for the proper behaviour of their sons in their provincial posts. In 1495 was sent to Trabzon sanjak and then in 1511 to Samandıra, and Gülbahar accompanied him.

However, she herself never became recognized as a Valide Hatun because she died in 1505 before Selim's accession to the throne. Her tomb is located in Gülbahar Hatun Mosque, Trabzon. It was built in 1514 in honour of his mother and was restored in 1885.

Issue
By Bayezid II, Gülbahar had a son:


 * Selim I (1470 - 1520). He became sultan after dethroning his father and defeating his half-brothers Ahmed and Korkut.