Malhun Hatun

Biography

According to some historians, she was the daughter of the Anatolian Turkish Bey, Ömer Bey. In the past there have been many speculations that she was the daughter of Sheikh Edebali, as most of the historians during the Ottoman period accept that she was indeed his daughter, although her name has been a subject of conflict to this date, but now it is known that Edebali's daughter was Rabia Bala. Other sources say that she was the daughter of Ömer Abdülaziz Bey, Seljuk Vizier of Anatolia.

The 1324 endowment deed for a Dervish Monastery built by Sultan Orhan suggests that his mother was not, as popular historical tradition maintains, Edebali's daughter but rather Mal Hatun, the daughter of one "Umar Bey or Ömer Bey". The title "Bey", used by the princely dynasties of Anatolia, suggests that Mal Hatun's father was a person of some status and authority. One possibility is that he was the eponymous ruler of an "Amouri" (Umeri) Principality, which was located northeast of the emerging Ottoman State and disappeared in the late 13th or the early 14th century.

The Amouri are described by the 13th century Byzantine historian George Pachymeres, who says that a son of Umar fought with Osman in one of his first raids against local Byzantine lords (the victory of Baphaion). The Ottomans, according to Pachymeres, went on to assume the role played by Amouri until their demise as the principal aggressor against the Byzantines in the northwest Anatolia. If Pachymeres's report is correct, the timing and the political context are appropriate for a marriage between Osman and Umar Bey's daughter.

Mal Hatun**,who likely lived into the late 1320s, possibly dying after his accession in 1326,**was laid to rest in the family mausoleum that eventually formed around Osman’s grave in Bursa and is probably buried in one of the unidentified sarcophagi.

In popular culture

• In the Turkish historical drama series Kuruluş Osman, Malhun Hatun is portrayed by the Turkish actress Yıldız Çağrı Atiksoy.

References

References

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3. (23 February 2021). "Osman Bey Malhunla Ne Zaman Evlendi? Osman Bey Malhun Hatun İle Nasıl Tanıştı?".
4. Akram, Uzair. "Real History of Bala Hatun in Kurulus Osman Season".
5. Sheppard, Si. (2025-02-27). "Crescent Dawn: The Rise of the Ottoman Empire and the Making of the Modern Age". Bloomsbury Publishing.
6. Özdemir, Ali. (2025-08-09). "Osmanlı Padişahları". Ali Özdemir.
7. "Consorts Of Ottoman Sultans (in Turkish)". Ottoman Web Page.
8. Emecen, Feridun. (2019). "Mal Hatun".
9. Said Öztürk, and Ahmet Akgündüz. "Ottoman History - Misperceptions and Truths". IUR Press.
10. (1993). "The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire". Oxford University Press.
11. Peirce, Leslie P.. (1994). "Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire". Oxford University Press.
12. (2022-10-03). "Top 10 Amazing Facts about Tombs Of Osman".
13. (2023-06-22). "Kuruluş Osman'ın Malhun Hatun'u Yıldız Çağrı Atiksoy'un son hali çok konuşuldu! Yeni imajı olay oldu".