A Patron from the Seljuk: Fatma Khatun and her Social Complex

Abstract

Fatma Khatun is the daughter of ‘Izz al-Dîn Kay Kâwus II, one of the last Seljuk sultans of Türkiye. During the Mongol domination, his father, and Turkmens, searched for various ways to protect the independence of the Seljuk state, the dynasty, and the people against his brother and the Mongols, but when he failed, he had to take refuge with his family first in Byzantium and then in the Golden Horde Khanate. The life of Fatma Hatun, who probably went to Crimea from Konya with her father or was born in Crimea, is full of many unknowns. Nevertheless, it is obvious that she returned to the Seljuk country and had a waqf built there for herself, her mother, and her wet nurse. The fact that the dynastic women in the Seljukid state determined the types, locations, materials, inscriptions, and decorations of the waqfs they established, clearly shows where and how they wanted to represent themselves. It is incorrect to evaluate the works of women waqf founders only as meeting a social need of the society, as an architectural and artistic value or as legitimacy of reputation. These waqfs are very important for transferring the social values of women during the Seljuk period to the next generations. Therefore, this waqf complex not only continued its economic functioning until the beginning of the 20^th century with the income donated by Fatma Khatun and ensured the cultural continuity of a civilization, but also enabled the emergence of a lot of information about the Seljukid dynasty.