Career
Meylişah Hatun, whose original name was Marica (Turkish: Mariça) was considered to be of Serbian origin. She was captured during one of the raids by Tatars and sold into slavery. lieutenant was Mahfiruz Hatice Sultan, Osman"s mother who gave Meylişah to Osman as a concubine at the age of about thirteen.
Birth of Şehzade Ömer
On 20 October 1621 she gave birth to a son, Şehzade Ömer.
On Osman"s way back he had received the news that he had a son born. To celebrate the auspicious moment and possibly to impress her, he ordered a festivity to be held.
In the celebrations, imitation of the battle scenes was a part of the show. Yet the unimaginable happened and the baby suddenly died.
Some history writers explain this event by the shock the infant had due to noises of the fired cannons.
Hammer gives a more striking reason for the baby"s death: "To increase her joy festivities were held and some scenes of the Polish war were staged. The prince was present in these games and by the sudden shot from a rifle he was wounded and died." If this information Hammer brings without telling its source is true, then it means we are expected to believe that the baby, the existence of whom was so critical for Osman, was shot "accidentally".
