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 different 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 historical context and significance.
The women that I’m talking about are: Hurrem Sultan, Mihrimah Sultan, Nurbanu Sultan, Safiye Sultan, Kosem 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 Mihrimah Sultan. Of course, I’m not saying that this is all that exists in her name, I believe that she commissioned other buildings across Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire in which she lived.
MIHRIMAH SULTAN
Mihrimah Sultan was not a slave. As the only daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hurrem Sultan, she was the most powerful princess in history of the Ottoman Empire.
Her power came from two sides. She was Suleiman’s beloved daughter and also she had a very powerful mother. She lived at the time when the Ottoman Empire reached its peak and flourished under the Sultan Suleiman’s reign.
Mihrimah married Rustem Pasha when she was 17 years old. Rustem Pasha (Rustem-Paša Opuković) was devşirme, either a Serbian or Croatian slave, who eventually became Suleiman’s Grand Vizier.
Together with Hurrem and Rustem Pasha, she may have been involved in a demise of her half-brother, Şehzade Mustafa.
Mustafa was Suleiman’s oldest son, whom he had with Mahidevran Hatun. Mustafa was the first in line to become a sultan after Suleiman’s death. Had that happened, as per the established fratricide custom, all Mihrimah’s full-brothers would’ve been executed.
But Suleiman killed Mustafa in 1553, because he thought that Mustafa was going to rebel against him. In the end, her full-brother Selim became a new sultan and killed, at the time, her only other remaining full-brother Bayezid.
She commissioned two imperial mosques in Istanbul.
MIHRIMAH SULTAN MOSQUE IN USKUDAR
When you cross from the European to the Asian part of Istanbul, the first historic structure that you see when you arrive to Uskudar is the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque.
The chief imperial architect Mimar Sinan built this mosque in 1548. In fact, it’s a complex that also had a madrasa, a soup kitchen, a primary school and a hospital.
Apparently, Mimar Sinan was in love with Mihrimah Sultan. He asked to marry her, but Mihrimah’s father rejected his proposal.
If you go to Istanbul, make sure that you visit Uskudar. Use the ferry to cross Bosporus, it’s one of the best means of public transport that you can take anywhere. Views of Istanbul are magical while you are crossing the sea.
You can also see many other historic structures in that part of the city, some of them related to different women that ruled the Ottoman Empire within the same Sultanate of Women period.
FOUNTAIN
This beautiful Ottoman fountain is attached to the mosque. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working at the time when I took the photo below.
MIHRIMAH SULTAN MOSQUE IN EDIRNE GATE
The second mosque in her name is in the old part of Istanbul, near Edirne Gate. Mimar Sinan constructed this mosque around 1570, together with a madrasa and a hammam.
The mosque is near Chora Church and Tekfur Palace and right by the Theodosian Walls. It’s much bigger than the mosque in Uskudar, In fact, it’s a monumental imperial mosque.
However, because of its location, far from the most popular touristic areas of Istanbul, I doubt that many tourists visit this mosque.
Back in 2109 when I explored a lot of Ottoman heritage in the city, I didn’t know about this mosque. It never crossed my mind that there could be two mosques dedicated to Mihrimah Sultan.
Many centuries after her death, these two structures still point out at her elevated status, power and influence. Not many other people have two grandiose mosques in their name in Istanbul.
HAMMAM
The hammam is part of the Mihrimah Sultan Complex and, as you can see from the photo below, it’s still operational some 450 years after its construction.
MIHRIMAH SULTAN TOMB
It’s very likely that Mihrimah remained in the Topkapi Palace and shared power with new Valide Sultan – Nurbanu Sultan, the mother of Sultan Murad III.
Also, Mihrimah was certainly more powerful than Murad’s wife – Safiye Sultan.
The fate of women in the imperial palace changed when sultans died. So, Mihrimah was safe while her brother Sultan Selim II was alive. But he died in 1574.
She died 4 years later in 1578, and is buried next to her father Suleiman the Magnificent, in a mausoleum behind the Suleymaniye Mosque. She is the only one of his six children buried with him.
You can find many articles about Mihrimah Sultan on the internet. However, if you study or are just interested in this fascinating part of Ottoman history, hopefully this post will help you better understand Mihrimah’s life seen through her legacy in modern-day Istanbul.
With these two monumental mosques in her name, she will be remembered forever or, at least, for as long as these structures exist.
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