Râziye Hatun is one of the women named in the learned and literary circle of Amasya in the mid-sixteenth century. In the tenth volume of his Amasya Tarihi, Hüseyin Hüsâmeddin Yasar lists her under the heading "Râziye Hâtun-Çelebi Kızı" (Râziye Hatun, the Çelebi's Daughter) and counts her among the "şâirât-ı nisâ", that is, the women poets. The same entry says she was one of the companions (musahibe) of Şehzade Mustafa (Prince Mustafa), governor of Amasya. What is known of her rests on this single entry, and no example of her poetry has survived.

In the same volume Hüsameddin gives space to other women named Râziye. Two Râziye Hatuns of the Gümüşlüzâde family belong to the Halveti circle, and "Râziye Hâtun-Kadın" is the daughter of Şehzade Mustafa. These must not be confused with the Çelebi's daughter.

Hüsameddin's Entry

The entry begins on page 197 of the e-book and ends on page 198. The original text reads:

Râziye Hâtun-Çelebi Kızı Amasyalıdır. Mehmed Çelebi kerîmesi olup Molla Cürcân demekle meşhûr olan Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi 955 senesi cumâdelûlâsında Amasya müftüsü olup geldikte bununla te'ehhül etdi. Hâtunîye Mahallesi'nde kâ'in hânesinde ikâmet etdi. 965 senesi evâhirinde Amasya vâlîsi Şehzâde Sultân Bâyezîd tarafından zevci Molla Muhyiddîn Efendi İcâdî Hayreddîn Efendiyle İstanbul'a kerhen i'zâm edilip Sultân Süleyman-ı Kânûnî nezdinde icrâ-i sefâret etdiklerinden dolayı Yedikule'de habs ve tevkîf edildiği esnâda vâsi' ve muhteşem olan hânesini Amasya müftülerine vakf edib sonra vefât etdi. Şâ'irât-ı nisâdan, gâyet afîf, edîb dânişli bir kadın olduğundan Amasya vâlîsi Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa musâhibelerinden olup zevc-i evveli ümerâdan idi. Mezkûr hâne Iydîzâde el-Hâc Mustafa Âkif Efendi'ye müftülüğünde intikâl edib sonra bunun ahfâdından Ürgübîzâde el-Hâc Ahmed Necîb Efendi'ye ve bundan sonra da Çaycızâdelere mülkiyetle intikâl etdi.

In English: Râziye Hatun was a native of Amasya, the daughter of Mehmed Çelebi. When Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi, known as "Molla Cürcân", came to Amasya as mufti in Jumada al-awwal 955 (1548), she married him, and they lived in his house in the Hatuniye quarter. At the end of 965, Şehzade Bayezid, governor of Amasya, sent her husband Molla Muhyiddîn Efendi to Istanbul by force together with İcâdî Hayreddîn Efendi; because they had acted as envoys to Süleyman the Magnificent, the two were imprisoned in the Yedikule fortress. In the meantime she endowed her spacious and magnificent house to the muftis of Amasya, and then she died. Because she was an extremely chaste, cultivated and learned woman among the women poets, she was one of the companions of Şehzade Mustafa, governor of Amasya; her first husband had been one of the emirs. The house passed to Iydîzâde el-Hâc Mustafa Âkif Efendi during his term as mufti, then to his descendant Ürgübîzâde el-Hâc Ahmed Necîb Efendi, and after him as private property to the Çaycızâdes.

Life and Surroundings

The entry gives neither her birth nor her death date. The documented dates concern her husband: Molla Cürcân Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi became mufti of Amasya in 955 (1548) and, at the end of 965 (1558), was imprisoned in Yedikule over an embassy sent by Şehzade Bayezid. Râziye's death falls in this period of imprisonment, after she made the endowment, but no date is given. Hüsameddin says her first husband was one of the "ümerâ" (emirs) without naming him. The identity of her father, Mehmed Çelebi, is likewise not explained in the entry.

The endowment of the house is the most concrete trace that ties Râziye to Amasya's institutional memory. Hüsameddin lists the later owners as a chain running from the office of the mufti to the Çaycızâdes. The source of this chain is again Hüsameddin; no endowment deed or court register has been found in this study.

Ties to Şehzade Mustafa's Amasya Circle

The literary circle of Şehzade Mustafa in Amasya is treated separately on the site in the article Şehzade Mustafa (Muhlisî). Râziye's connection to that circle rests on Hüsameddin's word "musahibe", used for a woman who took part in the conversation of a member of the dynasty and kept his company. The entry does not describe how the circle worked, at which gatherings Râziye was present, or whether she offered poems to the prince; no document is cited for these. Since Şehzade Mustafa was put to death in 960 (1553), the tie must have lasted at the latest until that date. Her husband's arrival in Amasya in 955 falls within the same years.

The sending of her husband by Bayezid belongs to a later period. Hüsameddin also calls Bayezid "Amasya vâlîsi" (governor of Amasya). In the entry, Râziye's personal relationship is stated only for Mustafa.

Her Poems Have Not Come Down to Us

No divan, no poem recorded in an anthology, and no couplet quoted in the tezkires is known for Râziye Hatun. Whether she used a pen name cannot be learned from the sources. Hüsameddin calls her a poet but cites no work as the basis of this judgment. This study found no record of the same person in Sehî, Latîfî, Âşık Çelebi or Kınalızâde, and our survey of Amasya's women poets turned up no entry in any other source. For this reason no poem is given here in Râziye's name.

For her place among the other women poets of Amasya, see the article The Women Poets of Amasya.

Chronology

955 (1548): Her husband Molla Cürcân Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi comes to Amasya as mufti; Râziye marries him.

960 (1553): Death of Şehzade Mustafa.

End of 965 (1558): Her husband is imprisoned in Yedikule; Râziye endows her house to the muftis of Amasya and dies soon afterwards.

Sources