Şah Sultan (daughter of Selim II)

Şah Sultan was born in 1544 in Manisa,[1] when her father was still a prince. Her mother was Nurbanu Sultan. She was the eldest child of her parents.[2][3]

In 1562, strong alliances were made for the daughters of Şehzade Selim, the prince who would succeed Suleiman as Selim II, on 17 August 1562 Ismihan married Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Gevherhan the admiral Piyale Pasha, and Şah the chief falconer Hasan Agha.[4] The State Treasury covered the expenses for the imperial wedding and granted 15,000 florins as a wedding gift to the imperial son-in-law.[5][6]

After the death of Hasan Agha in 1574, without child, Şah Sultan married Zal Mahmud Pasha in 1575, apparently a love marriage chose by Şah.[7] This union is said to be a very happy one. They were suited to each another. They had a daughter and a son.[5]

The tombs of Şah Sultan and her husband Zal Mahmud Pasha in Eyüpsultan

Şah Sultan died on 3 November 1580, and was buried in her mosque of her husband, that she and her husband built.[1] It was said that Şah and her husband fell ill at the same time, lay in their deathbeds together, and expired at the same very moment. In reality, he died 12 days after, and was buried with Şah.[5]

Şah had a daughter and a son from her second marriage:

• Fülane Hanımsultan (1576 - ?). She married Abdâl Hân.
• Sultanzade Köse Husrev Paşah, who died in war versus the Persians.

• Uluçay, Mustafa Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ankara, Ötüken.
• Peirce, Leslie P. (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-195-08677-5.
• Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu mülkün kadın sultanları: Vâlide sultanlar, hâtunlar, hasekiler, kadınefendiler, sultanefendiler. Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-9-753-29623-6.