Behice Maan

Baroness Behice Maan (born October 10, 1882 in Altindere Beynevit near Adapazarı / Turkey ; † October 22, 1969 in Suadiye near Istanbul ) was the 12th wife of Sultan Abdülhamid II.

Behice Maan was the most extravagant and lavish wife of Sultan Abdulhamid II. Her expenses and debts contributed to the overthrow of the Sultan. Behice Maan had tripled the court's expenses in five years, becoming a symbol of wealth and extravagance.

Behice was the daughter of Baron Elbruz Maan and Baroness Nazli Koc. She was the oldest of six other children. Her father had got a job at the court through his sister Sazkar, who was married to the Sultan. When he heard that Abdülhamid was looking for a bride for his son Prince Burhaneddin, he brought his daughter to the court and introduced her to the Sultan.

But Abdülhamid was so impressed by the young girl's beauty that he married her himself. Since the aunt was already one of the sultan's wives, Behice insisted on a marriage contract. This was recorded on the day of the wedding, May 10, 1900.

One year after the marriage, Behice gave birth to twins (Prince Bedreddin and Prince Nureddin). After giving birth to her children, Behice was able to afford more and increase her expenses. She began to install her relatives at court and to beg more pensions from the Sultan for them. In 1902, the father received an annual pension of 300,000 Ottoman pounds and received a mansion near the Yildiz Palace. Her sister Baroness Tasvire Maan's wedding took place in Yıldız Palace , she received a trousseau of £ 90,000 and her husband was employed at the court. Her unmarried sisters received a pension of £ 50,000 a year, and at their weddings each of them received £ 50,000 trousseau. The mother had her own court in the sultan's palace, where 20 servants were subordinate to her. Her wardrobe alone exceeded everything. New clothes were constantly being ordered from abroad. Not even the main wife of the sultan herself led such an extravagant life as Behice Maan.

The spending finally reached such a high level that the finance minister complained about it and the Sultan Abdülhamid himself began to criticize Behice publicly. However, this was unsuccessful and spending continued to rise, so debts had to be incurred with Armenian bankers. The expenditure only decreased temporarily when Prince Bedreddin suddenly died in 1903. Between 1901 and 1903 alone, Behice Maan had cost the Ottoman Empire over £ 2,000,000. A year after the son's death, expenses began to rise again. Behice bought three mansions at the same time on the Bosphorus , had himself painted by the personal artist of Sultan Zonaro, and ordered jewelry worth 150,000 pounds from jewelers for herself and her relatives.

Abdülhamid turned away from her after the death of his son. After the fall of her husband in 1909, Behice Maan did not accompany him into exile in Saloniki . Instead, she stayed in Istanbul, where she lived with her son in the Maçka Palas Hotel until the Sultan's family was expelled . In 1924 she went to Naples with her son . She was only allowed to return to Turkey in 1969 and died seven months after her return in Suadiye.

literature

• Leyla Achba-Anchabadze, Princess: Harem Hatiralari , Istanbul 2004
• Öztuna, Yilmaz: Devletler ve Hanedanlar , Ankara 1989
• Ulucay, Cagatay: Padisahlarin Kadinlari ve Kizlari , Ankara 1992