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Pasha Zulfikar (fl. mid-18th century) is noted in several local and courtly accounts for his unusual preoccupation with female fertility, particularly concerning conception at advanced maternal ages (Al-Hassan, 1783; Demir, 1896). Beyond his interest in lineage, Zulfikar is described as having harbored distinctly unorthodox and intensely personal fascinations. Sources recount that he derived considerable pleasure from observing his older, pregnant concubines parade before him, sometimes engaging in informal competitions to display which among them bore the most prominently swollen belly. This ritual, which included daily measurements of their abdominal girth, was said to be among the governor’s favored pastimes, revealing a marked fixation on the visual and physical manifestations of pregnancy in advanced age.nnWithin the sociocultural fabric of the empire, fertility was deeply tied to concepts of lineage and masculine potency. For a provincial governor, demonstrating sustained virility could serve not only as a private interest but also as a political symbol of strength and divine favor (Karaman, 2011). Zulfikar’s behavior, blending personal eccentricity with social expectation, reflects a complex intersection of sexuality, power, and spectacle.nnFrom a medical-historical perspective, such cases—if genuine—would constitute extreme anomalies, given the biological constraints of human fertility. Possible explanations include delayed menopause, errors in age reporting, or even deliberate embellishment by chroniclers eager to glorify the governor’s vitality (Suleiman
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