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Melike Mama Hatun, or simply Mama Hatun or Mamakhatun (fl. 1200), was a female ruler of the Saltukids, with its capital in Erzurum, for an estimated nine years between 1191 and 1200.
During her reign she had a caravanserai, a mosque, a bridge, and a hammam built in the town of Tercan, located midway between Erzincan and Erzurum, which are still standing and are named after her.T.A. Sinclair, Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, II, London, 1989, p. 282.
In 1200, she wrote to the Ayyubid dynasty ruler and asked for a husband from the Mamluk nobility in order to secure support for her position against her nephews. She was dethroned by the Beys and replaced by her son Malik-Shah.
Her tomb, built by masters from Ahlat, is also in Tercan,O. Pancaroğlu, The House of Mengüjek in Divriği: Constructions of Dynastic Identity in the Late Twelfth Century, in A. Peacock - S. Nur Yildiz (edd.), The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East, London - New York, 2013, p. 57, D. Darke, Eastern Turkey, Chalfont St. Peter - Guilford, 2014², p. 137. although the attribution to Mama Hatun is only the result of a strong oral tradition. One of the secondary tombs is dated 1203, which tends to corroborate the general date of the building. An inscription mentions the builder of the structure:
The town itself was called Mamahatun until recently, and is still referred to as such locally. During her reign she built , a medrese, several mekteps, , , and other types of Islamic architecture. She also built many throughout her rule.
Mama Hatun also remains a vivacious figure in Turkish folk literature to this day.
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