Shahinde Marshania of Tzebelda

Kezziban Schahinde Marschania von Tzebelda (Turkish Prenses Kezziban Şahinde Marşania-Tzebelda ; born September 23, 1895 in the Marschania Palace in Kadirköy zu Sivas ; † March 15, 1924 in Istanbul ) was a lady-in-waiting at the court of Sultan Mehmed VI.

Kezziban Schahinde was the daughter of the Abkhazian prince Abdülkadir Marschania of Tzebelda and the princess Mavlude Inalpa of Gulisti. At the age of five, Schahinde was sent to her aunt Emine Nazikeda , who was married to the Ottoman prince Mehmed Vahdettin, in order to receive a good education from her. Since Abkhazian noble daughters were in great demand at the Sultan's court, not only because of their beauty but also because of their adaptability to the harem, the parents wanted to see Shahinde married to an Ottoman prince or even to the Sultan himself.

The aunt raised her niece liberally and when Shahinde was ready for marriage, she turned down all applicants, even the popular Prince Burhaneddin, who already had two wives, she did not want. From that point on she withdrew into a literary world. Schahinde had books specially ordered from France, England and Germany so that he could practically learn them all by heart . At court she was nicknamed "Mademoiselle l'Europe", which seriously damaged her reputation.

When Emine Nazikeda was declared empress with her husband's accession to the throne in 1918, she quickly made her niece maiden of honor . From now on all the hatred of the court was directed towards the young princess, who still did not want to marry. Finally, her aunt had to send her to a remote palace in the Harem Park , where she was supposed to eke out a living far from court life.

But when Sultan Mehmed VI. In 1922, when he went into exile and left his family in Istanbul, the revolutionaries locked Emine Nazikeda and her ladies-in- waiting , including Princess Marschania, in the Feriye Palace .

Shahinde suffered greatly from the despotic guards of the Feriye Palace, which is why she often fell ill. When the sultan's family was also sent into exile in 1924, the princess was held for another five days. Eventually she was acquitted by the Turkish parliament. On the day of her release, Princess Shahinde was stabbed to death by a fanatical revolutionary in the street and died a short time later in hospital from her serious injury.

literature

• Leylâ Gülefşan Acba-Ancabadze: Bir Çerkes Prensesinin Harem Hatıraları . L&M Yayıncılık, Istanbul 2004.