Mama Hatun

Kervansarai of Mama Hatun, Tercan
Tomb of Mama Hatun, in Tercan
Gate of the enclosure for the tomb of Mama Hatun, with Muqarnas decoration, 1190-1200 CE, Tercan. This design is similar to that of the zhamatun at the Church of the Holy Apostoles in Ani.[1]

Melike Mama Hatun, or simply Mama Hatun or Mamakhatun (fl. 1200), was a female ruler of the Saltukids, with its capital in Erzurum, for an estimated nine years between 1191 and 1200.

Life

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Melike Mama Hatun was the daughter of Saltuk II and the sister of Nasiruddin Muhammed. She succeeded her brother on the throne.

During her reign she had a caravanserai, a mosque, a bridge, and a hammam built in the town of Tercan, located midway between Erzincan and Erzurum, which are still standing and are named after her.[2]

In 1200, she wrote to the Ayyubid ruler and asked for a husband from the Mamluk nobility in order to secure support for her position against her nephews. She was dethroned by the Beys and replaced by her son Malik-Shah.

Her tomb, built by masters from Ahlat, is also in Tercan,[3] although the attribution to Mama Hatun is only the result of a strong oral tradition.[1] One of the secondary tombs is dated 1203, which tends to corroborate the general date of the building.[1] An inscription mentions the builder of the structure:[1]

The work of Abu’l Muna bin Mufaddal al-Awhal ... al-Khilati, the builder, may God pardon him, as well as his father and his mother.[1]

The town itself was called Mamahatun until recently, and is still referred to as such locally. During her reign she built mosques, a medrese, several mekteps, shadirvans, caravanserais, and other types of Islamic architecture. She also built many hammams throughout her rule.

Mama Hatun also remains a vivacious figure in Turkish folk literature to this day.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Eastmond, Antony (1 January 2017). Tamta's World: The Life and Encounters of a Medieval Noblewoman from the Middle East to Mongolia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 290–294. doi:10.1017/9781316711774.011. The only parallels to them come from the Christian monuments of the Caucasus, such as the zhamatun of the church of the Holy Apostles in Ani, and the Akhlati-built Sitte Melik in Divrigi.
  2. ^ T.A. Sinclair, Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, II, London, 1989, p. 282.
  3. ^ O. Pancaroğlu, The House of Mengüjek in Divriği: Constructions of Dynastic Identity in the Late Twelfth Century, in A. Peacock - S. Nur Yildiz (edd.), The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East, London - New York, 2013, p. 57, D. Darke, Eastern Turkey, Chalfont St. Peter - Guilford, 2014², p. 137.

Sources

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