10 Facts About Amina Hanim

Amina Hanim was the first princess consort of Muhammad Ali, a former Ottoman Wali of Egypt and later the first monarch of the Muhammad Ali dynasty.

Amina Hanim was the daughter of Nusretli Ali Agha, the governor of Kavala, and relative of the Chorbashi.

Amina Hanim had two brothers, Mustafa Pasha, and Ali Pasha, and three sisters, Meryem Hanim, Pakiza Hanim, and Ifet Hanim.

Amina Hanim married Muhammad Ali in 1787, long before he became the Viceroy of Egypt, and rising to the rank of Pasha.

Amina Hanim gave birth to four sons who survived to adulthood, Ibrahim Pasha, Ahmad Tusun Pasha, Isma'il Kamil Pasha, Abd al-Halim Bey, and two daughters, Tawhida Hanim, and Khadija Nazli Hanim.

Amina Hanim did not accompany Muhammd Ali to Egypt, and after his appointment as viceroy in 1805, she and her daughters resided for a period of some two years in Istanbul, where they became thoroughly acquainted with imperial palace culture.

In 1814, Amina Hanim made a pilgrimage, moving from Jeddah to Mecca with a train of 500 camels carrying her servants, entourage and goods.

Amina Hanim was met by Muhammad Ali at Mina, a stage in the pilgrimage, in a public acknowledgment of her status as first consort.

When her son Tusun Pasha died of plague at the age of 23 in 1816, Amina Hanim took his wife, Bamba Qadin, and her son Abbas, to live with her, and refused to be parted from him.

Amina Hanim died in 1824, and was buried at Hosh al-Basha, the mausoleum of Imam-i Shafi'i in Cairo.