In this study, the life story of Saliha Sultan, daughter of Sultan Ahmed III, and the history of the foundations that she established between 1738–1778 are discussed based on the information found in the chronicles and archive sources of the period. For this purpose, the information in the chronicles and archive documents related to the subject have been translated and interpreted. Moreover, instead of evaluating the text of the foundation; a system based on the management of the foundation, following its sources of income and charitable benefits was followed.

In the Ottoman Empire, the daughters of the Sultans had a considerable amount of property thanks to the land income given to them as property, the mahr and inheritance they obtained from their marriage, and their commercial activities.

Their fathers, brothers, and sisters, who were also sultans when they were married or widowed, were rarely honored by later sultans who were close relatives. The mahr inherited from their spouses, pashas was the basis of their wealth as widows, and it was supplemented through inheritance or donation.

Saliha Sultan was first married at the age of 13 with 10000 gold mahr to Sari Mustafa Pasha in 1728. She was widowed for nine years after the death of her first husband, until she married a second time to Belgrade Guard Abdipashazade Ali Pasha in 1740. Later, she married a third time in 1747, after being a widow for the second time. She wed the Rumeli Governor Yahya Pasha, son of Eyüp Mosque’s Imam Mustafa Efendi; however, this marriage is not mentioned in the published sources, and is only indirectly described in the chronicles of the period.

Saliha Sultan lived as a widow for three years after the death of Yahya Pasha and then of her brother Ahmed III. Upon Mustafa’s accession to the throne, she married the Grand Vizier Ragıp Pasha on March 31, 1758 at his request. She was widowed again after Ragıp Pasha’s death in 1763, Saliha Sultan made her last marriage to Kaptan-ı Derya Mehmed Pasha in 1764.

As you can see, Saliha Sultan’s marriage journey, which began at the age of 13, ended when she was 56 years old with the death of her last husband, Mehmed Pasha. It is seen that almost all of these marriages were made by the sultans of the period in line with the marriage policies of the sultan’s daughters.

An important point to be mentioned in considering the marriages of Saliha Sultan is that the gifts or cash money, customarily given to the Sultan, personally or institutionally, on the marriage decision of the sultans or grand viziers has been announced, could be used in palace expenditures. In this way, the marriage of Saliha Sultan to Kaptanıderya Mehmed Pasha was made with the encouragement of Sultan Mustafa III. 

After the death of Saliha Sultan in 1778, 25.386,5 kuruş 44 money was obtained from her opposition and a deficit of 59 kuruş was found when the expenses were calculated as 25.446 kuruş.

The mukataa found on the Saliha Sultan were determined as follows: Aclun and Leccun 16.300 kurush, Biga 1.897.980 akçe, Cretan olive oil and soap 20.130 kuruş, Karahisar-i Şarki 3.800.700 akçe, a garden in Fatih Emir Buhari 50 kuruş, from Tobacco Customs 960 kuruş, and 11 kuruş per month from 40 coins per day at the inn where a picnic fair was set up on the Peloponnese. After the determination was made, these businesses, the accounts of which were detailed, were taken into custody to be sold to her suitor or one of the members of the dynasty as they were not the property of Saliha Sultan.

Saliha Sultan registered seven foundation certificates between 1738–1776. The first of these foundations is dated 1738 and remains in effect. In the following dates, she had additional foundation charters arranged by adding akar to the first charter thereby, changing the charitable condition or adding new charitable conditions. The last endowment registered in her name in the General Directorate of Foundations was dated February 25, 1778, and two of the akars in the earlier charter dated March 12, 1776 are not present. In addition, control of the spending of the revenue obtained in this foundation was left entirely to Saliha Sultan and her children.

Although there are no foundations devoted to books in Saliha Sultan’s endowments, the foundation seals on the books she donated to the Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha Library reveal that she donated books to this library.

In this study, the transcription and analysis of the foundation will not be done, but the subject is discussed with an approach that reveals the management of the foundation, its akars and charitable conditions, and the changes that have occurred in these fields from time of the Ottoman Empire to the present day. In terms of the management of a particular foundation, managers have been identified from the time of Saliha Sultan until 2021. However, it has not been determined whether the current trustee of the foundation is a descendant of Saliha Sultan.

The funds of the foundation changed both during Saliha Sultan’s life and after her death. In this respect, cadastral or ownership studies were carried out on the real estate in Beykoz Göksu. It was noted that the nature of the lands had changed to a large extent, especially in the second half of the 19th century. Likewise, although Küçükçekmece and its surrounding streams, as they are called in the charter, were preserved until the end of the Ottoman Empire,  all of these mites were abandoned by the foundation due to the intense construction in the region during the Republic of Turkey period. Further studies could be focused on restoring the mites in Küçükçekmece and its surroundings.

The charity conditions applicable to the foundation were continued in the first years of the Republic. However, because the revenues of the foundation have changed hands to a large extent and the mosque services counted in the charter are fulfilled by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, the original charity conditions cannot be fulfilled.