Gevher Nesibe

Gevher Nesibe

Gevher Nesibe was an early-13th century Seljuk princess, the daughter of Kilij Arslan II and sister of Kaykhusraw I, and the namesake of a magnificent complex comprising a hospital, an adjoining medrese devoted primarily to medical studies, and a mosque in Kayseri, Turkey. The complex ("külliye" in Turkish) that she endowed is considered one of the pre-eminent monuments of Seljuk architecture.

The hospital was built between 1204 and 1206, and the medrese, whose construction started immediately after Gevher Nesibe's death in 1206, was finished in 1210.

The complex as a whole takes its name from the princess. The medrese within is known under a variety of names: the Gevher Nesibe Medrese; the Çifte Medrese (Twin Medrese); or as the Gıyasiye Medrese, after Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw I, who was responsible for its construction. The tomb within the medrese is said to belong to Gevher Nesibe.

Legends and the legacy

According to legend, Gevher Nesibe fell in love with a cavalry officer defending the palace of the Seljuk sultan at Konya. Her brother Kaykhusraw I opposed a marriage between his sister and an officer and sent the young man on a variety of dangerous assignments and campaigns, during the last of which he died.Overcome with grief at her lover's death, Gevher Nesibe Sultan fell ill with tuberculosis.Fact|date=September 2007 The remorseful Kaykhusraw visited her on her deathbed, asked her forgiveness and offered to fulfill any last wish she had. Gevher Nesibe Sultan is reported to have replied: "I am very ill. There is no way for me to recover. None of these doctors can deliver me from my illness. I will eventually pass away. My wish is that you use my property to build a hospital in my honor. In this hospital, sick people should be treated with no charge and at the same time, incurable illnesses researched."Fact|date=September 2007

Historical record shows that Kaykhusraw carried out his sister's last wish, beginning the hospital in Kayseri in 1204. The buildings were designed and built by an architect named Üstad Ömer. The entryway inscription, a common feature of Islamic architecture that usually records the architect's name, is missing, but the information is preserved in written sources elsewhere. The institution was reportedly the first hospital in the world that treated patients with mental disorders. The complex as a whole represents the earliest surviving Seljuk medrese and hospital in Anatolia.

Gevher Nesibe's Darüşşifa, or Şifahane, now functions as a public museum dedicated to medicine. The university hospital in Kayseri's Erciyes University was also named in memory of Gevher Nesibe.

ources


*
*
*
*

External links


*
*
*

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kayseri — Caesarea Mazaca redirects here. For other locations with similar names, see Caesarea (disambiguation). Kayseri   City   …   Wikipedia

  • Kayseri Province — Infobox Province TR region = Central Anatolian name = Kayseri licence = 38 total population = 1,096,088 area code = 352 area = 16,917|The Kayseri Province, in central Turkey, is an area that has been linked with mythological stories as well as… …   Wikipedia

  • Sultanate of Rûm — Infobox Former Country common name = Sultanate of Rûm native name = Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm continent = Eurasia region = Middle East status = Empire year start = 1077 year end = 1307 event start = Division from the Great Seljuq Empire event end …   Wikipedia

  • Danishmends — Danishmend ← 1071–1178 …   Wikipedia

  • Erciyes University — Infobox University name = Erciyes University native name = Erciyes Üniversitesi established = 1978 type = Public head label = Rector head = Cengiz UTAŞ city = Kayseri state = country = Turkey undergrad = 26,887 (within 4th April 2006) postgrad =… …   Wikipedia

  • Menteşe — The Beylik of Mentes (blue) in 1300. The Anatolian beylik of Menteş (1260 1424), with capital in Milas in southwest Anatolia and headquartered in Beçin castle near that city, was one of the frontier principalities established by Oghuz Turkish… …   Wikipedia

  • Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey — This article is about Bey of Karaman. For Ottoman grand vizier, see Karamani Mehmed Pasha. Statue depicting Mehmed Beg declaring Turkish language as the official language of the state and all its institutions. Mehmed Beg or Mehmed Bey of Karaman… …   Wikipedia

  • Dar al-Shifa — Dar Al Shifaa (Arabic: دار الشفاء ‎), literally house of health or house of cure , is the term used in the historical context of Islamic architecture to designate a building constructed for medical purposes, equivalent of a hospital or a clinic… …   Wikipedia

  • Artuklu Palace — General information Type Palace Location Diyarbakır, Turkey Coordinates …   Wikipedia

  • Tzachas — (Greek: Τζαχᾶς, Tzachas), also known as Chaka Bey (Turkish: Çaka Bey)[dn 1] or Emmir Chaka of Smyrna,[1] was an 11th century Seljuk Turkish emir who ruled an independent state based in Smyrna (present day Izmir). Chaka was taken as a prisoner… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”