Rabia Bala Hatun

Râbi'a Bâlâ Hâtun  (died January 1324 birth name Rabia) was the wife of Ottoman Sultan Osman I. She was the daughter of the famous Sheikh Edebali and the mother of Alaeddin Pasha of the Ottoman Empire. Her identity is being frequently confused with the mother of Orhan Bey, Malhun Hatun.

Names
Edebali's daughter is called by different names in the sources, Rabia and Bala, suggesting that these may have been the names of other wives. Sheikh Edebali's daughter is referred to as "Rabia" in the history of Uruc, and as "Malhun" in those of Aşıkpaşazade and Neşri. The latter tradition has proved dominant, and Orhan's mother Mal Hatun, the daughter of Ömer Abdülaziz Bey, is commonly thought to be Sheikh Edebali's daughter.

Marriage to Osman
The marriage of Osman and Rabia Bala Hatun occurred in 1289. From the central government records regarding the property she received at the time of her marriage; the village of Kozağaç in the district of Belicik, where the dervish hospice of her father was located. Edebali was an influential religious leader in the Ottoman territories.

Death and burial
She died in 1324. Although, she preceded her husband, Osman, she was buried with her father in Bilecik.

See also

Ottoman Empire
Ottoman dynasty

Further reading

Peirce, Leslie P., The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1993,  (paperback).
Bahadıroğlu, Yavuz, "Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları" (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009,  (Hardcover).

References

Category:Wives of Ottoman Sultans
Category:Ottoman dynasty
Category:1342 deaths
Category:People from Istanbul