WHAT IS SULTANATE OF WOMEN?
It was the time when wives and mothers of sultans ruled the empire. From 1566, when Suleiman the Magnificent died, until 1683 – there were nine Ottoman sultans. But several of them were children when they came to the throne. So, their mothers ruled from the harem, as regents with absolute power.
Most visitors to Istanbul only see the most famous historic buildings: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar. But Ottoman Istanbul is much more than just these iconic sites.
However, there are many interesting angles that you can follow when you explore the city. I hope that this post will inspire you to visit structures that I’m going to mention and that you will properly understand their historic context and significance.
The women that I am talking about are: Hurrem Sultan, Mihrimah Sultan, Nurbanu Sultan, Safiye Sultan, Kösem Sultan and Turhan Hatice Sultan.
Two more women – Handan Sultan and Halime Sultan – appeared in that period too, but they had less influence. Additionally, I couldn’t find anything in their name.
In this post, you will find out about historic sites in Istanbul related to Hurrem Sultan. Of course, I’m not saying that this is all that exists in her name, I believe that she commissioned many buildings across the Ottoman Empire in which she lived.
HURREM SULTAN
Hurrem’s life was, more or less, the life of a fairy-tale princess. Ottomans captured her at a young age and took her as a slave to the Topkapi Palace. But she became one of the most powerful women in the history of the Ottoman Empire.
Suleiman the Magnificent loved her so much that, because of her, he broke many established rules of the Ottoman dynasty. Hurrem Sultan derived her power from Suleiman’s love and played an active role in the state affairs.
So, which rules of the Ottoman dynasty did Suleiman break?
Suleiman married her in a magnificent ceremony in either 1553 or 1534. The marriage broke the 200-year old custom according to which the sultans should not marry their concubines. Thus, Hurrem became Suleiman’s legal wife.
Interestingly, Orhan Gazi was the last Ottoman sultan that married and he ruled the empire 200 years earlier.
Additionally, Hurrem was the first sultan’s favourite to receive the Haseki Sultan title. That title elevated her to the status higher than that of the Ottoman princesses, equal to the Empress title in the European courts.
Ottomans used this title for further 100 years, primarily during the Sultanate of Women era. In addition to being freed from slavery, the Haseki Sultan title elevated Hurrem, the former slave, to one of the highest societal positions.
Next, Hurrem had six children with Suleiman and one of her sons, Selim, became the sultan after his father’s death. But she never held the Valide Sultan title, because she died much earlier.
This broke another rule of the Ottoman harem: one concubine mother – one son. Suleiman allowed Hurrem to have more than one son, in fact she gave him five sons.
One more tradition that Suleiman broke because of Hurrem was that she remained in the imperial palace in Istanbul all her life. Traditionally, the sultan’s sons would leave the harem and the palace at the age of 16 or 17, to govern faraway provinces in preparation of becoming sultans one day.
The mothers would also leave with them and would come back to the Topkapi Palace only if their son became the new sultan. But Hurrem stayed in the palace with her youngest hunchback son Cihangir.
Finally, Hurrem moved from the Old Palace to the Topkapi Palace. Fatih Sultan Mehmed issued a decree that specifically banned women from living in the Topkapi Palace, because it was the place for government business.
HASEKI HURREM SULTAN HAMMAM
Haseki Hurrem Sultan Hammam is between Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. It means that everyone walking between these two historic structures passes by her hammam. But I don’t think that many people know what it is. Its spectacular location underlines Hurrem’s power, significance and influence.
Mimar Sinan built it in 1556. The hammam has preserved its original structure for 468 years. It is the first bath that had both men and women sections symmetrically built on the same axis.
At the time of its construction, the Blue Mosque didn’t exist. Sultan Ahmed I built it approximately 60 years later.
The hammam worked until 1910. Then it housed prisoners from the nearby Sultanahmet prison. Later, it served as the carpet exhibition hall until 2007.
But it is an operation hammam once again.

HASEKI HURREM SULTAN FOUNTAIN
The beautiful Haseki Hurrem Sultan fountain is attached to the hammam.

HASEKI SULTAN COMPLEX
The second major historic site in Hurrem’s name is the Haseki Sultan Complex, consisting of a mosque, a madrasa, a hospital (darüşşifa), an elementary school (mektep) and a soup kitchen (imaret).
Back in 2019 when I went to see this historic building, it was closed for restoration. So, it was one of the first things on my list when I was in Istanbul earlier this year.

As you can see from these photos, they’ve finished the restoration works. However, I visited the mosque, but not the nearby complex because it was closed. I’ll go back to see everything when I’m in Istanbul next time.

Hurrem commissioned and financed construction of this complex soon after her marriage to Suleiman, by using her dowry.

What’s very special about this complex is that it was the first of Mimar Sinan’s many imperial projects. He completed the works in stages. So, the mosque was finished in 1539, the madrasa in 1540, the soup-kitchen in 1541. Finally, the hospital opened in 1551.

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had his first son, Mustafa, with another woman – Mahidevran. To my knowledge you can’t see anything in Mahidevran’s name, although you can see her tomb within the Muradiye complex in Bursa where she is buried next to her son.

The existence of the hammam next to Hagia Sophia, this complex and Hurrem’s mausoleum show that Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent loved her. All this also firmly points at her great status.

HURREM SULTAN MAUSOLEUM
She died in 1558 and is buried in a mausoleum behind the Suleymaniye Mosque.

Interestingly, she is not in the same mausoleum with Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent like some other powerful women from the same Sultanate of Women period that were buried next to their husbands. That’s probably because she died before Suleiman and therefore had a completely separate structure constructed as her resting place.

If you visit the mosque, make sure that you also visit her lavishly decorated tomb.

You can find many articles about Hurrem Sultan on the internet. However, if you are interested or study this fascinating part of the Ottoman history, hopefully this post will help you better understand Hurrem’s life seen through her legacy in modern-day Istanbul.
With all these historic buildings in her name, Hurrem will be remembered forever or, at least, for as long as these structures exist.
You have to agree that it’s a formidable achievement by what initially was a slave girl.
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