Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar
Encyclopedia
Her Imperial Highness The Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar Sultan, (Khadija Khayriya Ayesha Dürrühsehvar, خدیجہ خیریہ عائشہ در شہوار or Turkish
: Hatice Hayriye Ayşe Dürrüşehvar), also known as HIH Princess Durru Shevar (26 January 1914, Çamlıca Palace, Üsküdar
, Istanbul
, Turkey
– 7 February 2006) was the daughter of the third marriage of His Imperial Majesty Sultan Abdul Mejid Efendi of the Ottoman Empire
, son of His Imperial Majesty The Sultan
Abdülâziz
, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe, Emperor of the Ottomans and the last heir apparent
to the Imperial Ottoman throne and the last Caliph
of the Muslim world
. She held the titles of Princess of Berar
and Imperial Princess of the Ottoman Empire
.
when the Ottoman Empire
was passing through its last phase. Her father, Caliph Abdülmecid II, went into exile in Paris
, France
after the abolition of the Caliphate
by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
in 1924.
in 1924, she was sought by the Shah of Persia and King Fuad I of Egypt as a bride for their respective heirs, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Farouk, and by Prince Azam Jah
(1907–1970), the eldest son and heir of the last Nizam
of Hyderabad State
, Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII
, whom she married in Nice
, France, on 12 November 1931. Her first cousin Princess Niloufer
, was married to Prince Moazzam Jah
, the second son of the Nizam.
The marriage of the princess was performed, in the south of France, by the good offices of Maulana Shaukat Ali
, brother of Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar, the leader of the Khilafat Movement
in India
.
It was believed at that time that the matrimonial alliance between the Nizam, the richest ruler in the world of his time, and the deposed Caliph would lead to the emergence of a Muslim ruler who could be acceptable to the world powers in place of the Ottoman sultans. Princess Durru Shahvar, whose father was raised by a branch of the Ottoman monarchy deeply interested in modernizing reforms and believed in modern education for women including his wives and daughter, became a popular public figure after her arrival in Hyderabad
. She believed that women should earn their own living, and helped to remove the practice of purdah
.
in 1936, she took charge of their upbringing, the two princes being educated in Britain and also marrying Turkish ladies. The last Nizam later bypassed his own son and nominated her first son and his grandson, as his successor.
The Princess became the first woman to inaugurate an airport when she inaugurated the airport in Hyderabad in the 1940s. She is also credited with inaugurating the Osmania General Hospital
. She set up the Durru Shehvar Children's & General Hospital
for women and children in the old city of Hyderabad. Her last public appearance in the city was when she presided over the opening ceremony of the Nizam’s Silver Jubilee Museum in 2000. She last visited Hyderabad in 2004.
She divided her time principally between Hyderabad and London
, where she died, attended by her two sons.
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
: Hatice Hayriye Ayşe Dürrüşehvar), also known as HIH Princess Durru Shevar (26 January 1914, Çamlıca Palace, Üsküdar
Üsküdar
Üsküdar is a large and densely populated municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered on the north by Beykoz, on the east by Ümraniye, on the southeast by Ataşehir, on the south by Kadıköy, and on the west by the Bosphorus, with the areas of Beşiktaş,...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
– 7 February 2006) was the daughter of the third marriage of His Imperial Majesty Sultan Abdul Mejid Efendi of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, son of His Imperial Majesty The Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Abdülâziz
Abdülâziz
Abdülaziz I or Abd Al-Aziz, His Imperial Majesty was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876...
, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe, Emperor of the Ottomans and the last heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the Imperial Ottoman throne and the last Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
of the Muslim world
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. She held the titles of Princess of Berar
Berar Province
Berar Province, known also as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province of British India. The province, formerly ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, was administered by the British after 1853, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the province...
and Imperial Princess of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Youth
The princess was born in TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
when the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
was passing through its last phase. Her father, Caliph Abdülmecid II, went into exile in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
after the abolition of the Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
in 1924.
Marriage
Upon the family's exile to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1924, she was sought by the Shah of Persia and King Fuad I of Egypt as a bride for their respective heirs, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Farouk, and by Prince Azam Jah
Azam Jah
Azam Jah, Damat Walashan Sahebzada Nawab Sir Mir Himayat Ali Khan Bahadur Bey Effendi was the eldest son of the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan Asif Jah VII; In 1936 he was given the courtesy title of Prince of Berar, a territory of the Nizam then leased in perpetuity to...
(1907–1970), the eldest son and heir of the last Nizam
Nizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
of Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII
Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII
Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi MP, GCSI, GBE Asaf Jah VII , born Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur , was the last Nizam of the Princely State of Hyderabad and of Berar. He ruled Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until it was merged into India...
, whom she married in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France, on 12 November 1931. Her first cousin Princess Niloufer
Princess Niloufer
Niloufer Farhat Begum Sahiba was one of the last princesses of the Ottoman Empire. She was married to the second son of the last Nizam of Hyderabad in India.-Birth:...
, was married to Prince Moazzam Jah
Moazzam Jah
Muazzam Jah, Walasham Sahebzada Nawab Mir Shuja’at ‘Ali Khan Bahadur , was the son of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII and his first wife Dulhan Pasha Begum....
, the second son of the Nizam.
The marriage of the princess was performed, in the south of France, by the good offices of Maulana Shaukat Ali
Maulana Shaukat Ali
Maulana Shaukat Ali was an Indian Muslim nationalist and leader of the Khilafat movement. He was the brother of Maulana Mohammad Ali.-Early life:...
, brother of Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar, the leader of the Khilafat Movement
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
It was believed at that time that the matrimonial alliance between the Nizam, the richest ruler in the world of his time, and the deposed Caliph would lead to the emergence of a Muslim ruler who could be acceptable to the world powers in place of the Ottoman sultans. Princess Durru Shahvar, whose father was raised by a branch of the Ottoman monarchy deeply interested in modernizing reforms and believed in modern education for women including his wives and daughter, became a popular public figure after her arrival in Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
. She believed that women should earn their own living, and helped to remove the practice of purdah
Purdah
Purdah or pardeh is the practice of concealing women from men. According to one definition:This takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes, and the requirement for women to cover their bodies and conceal their form....
.
Later life
Following the birth of her sons Prince Mukarram Jah in 1933 and Prince Muffakham JahMuffakham Jah
Muffakham Jah, HH Prince, Beyefendi, was born to Azam Jah and Durru Shehvar in 1935/1936. He belongs to the Nizam family of Hyderabad.A popular Engineering College, Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology, is named after him....
in 1936, she took charge of their upbringing, the two princes being educated in Britain and also marrying Turkish ladies. The last Nizam later bypassed his own son and nominated her first son and his grandson, as his successor.
The Princess became the first woman to inaugurate an airport when she inaugurated the airport in Hyderabad in the 1940s. She is also credited with inaugurating the Osmania General Hospital
Osmania General Hospital
Osmania General Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in India located at Afzal Gunj, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. It was built during the time of the Last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, and is named after him....
. She set up the Durru Shehvar Children's & General Hospital
Durru Shehvar Children's & General Hospital
Durru Shehvar Children's & General Hospital is a non-government and non-profit hospital in Hyderabad, India. The hospital, which is named after Her Imperial Highness Princess Durru Shehvar, Princess of Berar and Imperial Princess of the Ottoman Empire, was established in 1989 to provide medical...
for women and children in the old city of Hyderabad. Her last public appearance in the city was when she presided over the opening ceremony of the Nizam’s Silver Jubilee Museum in 2000. She last visited Hyderabad in 2004.
She divided her time principally between Hyderabad and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where she died, attended by her two sons.