Mahfiruz Hatun

Hatice Mahfiruz Hatun or Mahfiruze Hatun (Ottoman Turkish: ماه فروز خاتون, "Glorious moon" or "Daytime moon" or "Turquoise Moon"; c. 1590 - c. 1610) was a consort of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–17) and the mother of his firstborn son, Sultan Osman II (r. 1618–22). She died before her son became sultan, so she never was Valide Sultan.

Biography
Due to the preeminence of Kösem Sultan during Ahmed's reign, there aren't many records about her life, but she may have been of Circassian origin, while in the past it was thought she could be Greek. She was Ahmed's first concubine, and on 3 November 1604 she gave birth to his firstborn, the future Osman II, making Ahmed I the youngest Ottoman sultan to have fathered a child.

Despite this, she was not given the title of Haseki Sultan, which instead was given to Kösem, the most beloved consort of Ahmed and mother of at least four sons and three or more daughters, which deprived Mahfiruz of all power. However, she received the title of Başkadin (mother of the Sultan's eldest living son).

She disappears from the harem records shortly after Osman was born. While it was initially believed that she was disgraced and exiled, it is now believed that she died between 1608 and 1613, and therefore she was never Valide Sultan, because her son ascended the throne only in 1618.

Indeed, records indicate that, during Osman's reign, she was not in any of the Imperial Palaces, not even in the provinces, and that the duties and salary of the Valide Sultan were instead attributed to Osman's wet nurse, the Daye Hatun.

Mahfiruze was buried in the Eyüp Cemetery, in a mausoleum built around 1610, which reinforces the theory that she died prematurely.

Issue
By Ahmed I, Mahfiruze had only one known child, the Sultan's firstborn and first son: In addition to Osman, many historians speculate that she may have had a second child with Ahmed, even if they disagree on its identity and there is no certain proof for this.
 * Osman II (3 November 1604, Istanbul, Topkapı Palace – murdered during a janissary revolt on 20 May 1622, Istanbul, Topkapı Palace, buried in the Ahmed I Mausoleum, Sultan Ahmed Mosque).  16th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

So, Mahfiruze may also have been the mother of one of the following children:
 * Gevherhan Sultan (born in 1605 or 1608, generally believed to be a daughter of Kösem Sultan).
 * Hatice Sultan (born in 1608, died in 1610; unknown motherhood).
 * Şehzade Bayezid (born in December 1612, unknown motherhood).
 * Şehzade Süleyman (born in 1613 or 1615, generally believed to be a son of Kösem Sultan).
 * Şehzade Hüseyin (born on 14 December 1613, unknown motherhood).

In popular culture
In the 2015 Turkish television series Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Mahfiruze was portrayed by actress Ceyda Olguner. Historical advisors to the series noted that Mahfiruze was a Circassian by birth. In the fifth episode of the first series, the character was recast with actress Dilara Aksüyek and introduced as "Çerkes güzeli Raşa" (Circassian beauty Rasha) before being renamed to Mahfiruze.