Sultanate of Women

WHAT IS SULTANATE OF WOMEN?

It was the time when wives and mothers of sultans ruled the empire. From 1566, when Sultan 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.

I find this fascinating for two main reasons:

– In a predominantly male Ottoman society, sultans ruled the empire, together with their viziers. Women were usually not seen in public.

– The second reason is far more impressive. Apart from Mihrimah Sultan, all other women arrived to the Topkapi Palace as young slaves. Then, through careful selection and with a bit of luck, they became sultan’s favourites, bore them children and in some cases became their legal wives. In other words, former slave women ruled the empire together with Grand Viziers, who were mostly slaves too.

It’s fascinating when you think about the Sultanate of Women in this way.

Most visitors to Istanbul  mainly 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.

There are many interesting angles that you can follow when you explore the city. I hope that this post will inspire you to visit the sites related to these women and that you will properly understand their historic context and significance.

The women that I am talking about are: Hürrem 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. Also, I couldn’t find anything in their name.

HÜRREM SULTAN

Hürrem’s life was, more or less, the life of a fairy-tale princess. Ottomans captured her at a young age and took her to the Topkapi Palace as a slave. But she became one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history.

Suleiman the Magnificent loved her so much that, because of her, he broke many established rules of the Ottoman dynasty. Hürrem Sultan derived her power from Suleiman’s love and played an active role in state affairs of the Ottoman Empire.

She died in 1558 and is buried in a mausoleum behind the Süleymaniye Mosque. If you visit the mosque, make sure that you also visit her beautifully decorated mausoleum.

MIHRIMAH SULTAN

Of all women that I mention in this article, Mihrimah Sultan was not a slave. As the only daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem Sultan, she was the most powerful princess in the history of the Ottoman empire.

Her power came from two sides. First, she was Suleiman’s beloved daughter and she had a very powerful mother. She lived at the time when the Ottoman Empire reached its peak and flourished under the Suleiman’s reign.

Next, Mihrimah married Rüstem Pasha when she was 17 years old. Rüstem Pasha (Rustem-Paša Opuković) was devşirme, either Serbian or Croatian slave, who became Suleiman’s Grand Vizier.

Mihrimah died in 1578. She is buried next to her father, in a mausoleum behind the Süleymaniye Mosque. She is the only one of his six children buried with him.

NURBANU SULTAN

One more slave girl that held the ultimate power in the Ottoman Empire was Nurbanu Sultan. She was the legal wife and Haseki Sultan of Sultan Selim II.

After Selim’s death, she became Valide Sultan, as the mother of Sultan Murad III.

There are different theories about her origin. Most likely, she was from the Venetian Republic and her original name may have been Cecilia Venier-Baffo. Interestingly, she was very pro-Venetian during her nine year regency. The Republic of Genoa hated her because of that. This fact also points at her probable Venetian origin.

Nurbanu Sultan is buried next to her husband Sultan Selim II. The mausoleum is next to Hagia Sophia. At the time of her death, Hagia Sophia was an imperial mosque.

SAFIYE SULTAN

The next powerful woman in the Sultanate of Women was Safiye Sultan. She was Haseki Sultan and chief consort of Sultan Murad III. She became very powerful after Nurbanu’s and especially after Murad’s death. Her son became the new sultan, Mehmed III, and she became Valide Sultan. It means that she also held two most powerful titles within the Ottoman Empire.

Safiye lived in the Topkapi Palace during the reign of seven sultans: Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, Murad III, Mehmed III, Ahmed I, Mustafa I and Osman II.

She held the ultimate power between 1595 and 1603 and ran the empire together with Gazanfer Ağa, the Chief White Eunuch.

Safiye Sultan is buried in the mausoleum of Sultan Murad III, next to Hagia Sophia.

KÖSEM SULTAN

Kösem Sultan or Mahpeyker Sultan, reigned with supreme control and was undoubtedly one of the most famous women in the history of the Ottoman empire.

She also arrived to the Topkapi Palace as a slave, but became Haseki Sultan as the favourite consort and later the legal wife of Sultan Ahmed I.

After his death, she became Valide Sultan, as the mother of Sultan Murad IV and Sultan Ibrahim.

Kösem is buried in the Sultan Ahmed I mausoleum, next to the Blue Mosque.

TURHAN HATICE SULTAN

After Kösem’s death, Turhan Hatice Sultan became Valide Sultan. Her son, Sultan Mehmed IV was 6 years old when he became the sultan, so Turhan ruled the empire as the official regent.

She had the supreme power. She was the only Valide Sultan that shared the running the empire with her son, in which she surpassed Kösem. Her son loved her, respected her and considered her his co-ruler.

She is buried in a mausoleum opposite the New Mosque, together with her son Sultan Mehmed IV.

This is a story of women that ruled the Ottoman Empire during the Sultanate of Women period. I will write a separate post featuring each of these historic characters in the future.

They have a lot of historic sites in their name that you can see in modern-day Istanbul. As I previously mentioned, with a bit of knowledge of Ottoman history, you can better understand and appreciate everything that you see in the former Ottoman capital city.

Sultanate of Women is certainly fascinating in that respect.