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Spoke 17: The Biblewheel and The 17th Century
(Go back to main Menu)Kösem Sultan the Greek Queen Esther
Kösem Sultan
| Kösem Sultan | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire | |
| Tenure | 10 September 1623 – 2 September 1651 |
| Born | c. 1589[1] Tinos, Republic of Venice |
| Died | 2 September 1651 (aged 61–62) Constantinople, Ottoman Empire |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Sultan Ahmed I |
| Issue more... | |
| Religion | Sunni Islam (raised Greek Orthodox) |
Kösem Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: كوسم سلطان, IPA: [cœˈsæm suɫˈtan]) (c. 1589[1] – 2 September 1651[2]) – also known as Mahpeyker Sultan[3][4] (Turkish pronunciation: [mahpejˈkæɾ suɫˈtan]; from the Persian compound ماه پيكر Māh-peyker meaning "moon framed") – was one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history.[5] Kösem Sultan achieved power and influenced the politics of the Ottoman Empire when she became haseki sultan as favourite consort of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–1617) and valide sultan[3] as mother of Murad IV (r. 1623–1640) and Ibrahim (r. 1640–1648), and grandmother of Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687).
Kösem lived in the Ottoman Empire as a courtier during the reign of six sultans: Ahmed I, Mustafa I, Osman II, Murad IV, Ibrahim, and Mehmed IV. After her death, she was known by the names "Valide-i Muazzama" (magnificent mother), "Vālide-i Maḳtūle" (murdered mother), and "Vālide-i Şehīde" (martyred mother).[6]
Early life[edit]
Kösem is generally said to be of Greek origin,[7] the daughter of a priest on the island of Tinos whose maiden name was Anastasia,[8][9][10] but these views do not seem reliable.[1] She was bought as a slave by the Bosnian Beylerbey, and sent, at the age of fifteen, to the [harem] of Sultan Ahmed I. Upon her conversion to Islam, her name was changed to Mahpeyker ("Moon-Faced" in Persian, meaning "beautiful"),[11] and later by Sultan Ahmed I to Kösem,[12] meaning "leader of the herd", indicating Kösem's leadership and political intelligence.
Haseki Sultan, the Imperial Consort[edit]
Kösem rose to prominence early in Ahmed's reign as part of a series of changes to the hierarchy of the imperial harem. Safiye Sultan, Ahmed's once-powerful grandmother and manager of the harem, was deprived of power and banished to the Old Palace (Eski Saray) in January 1604, and Handan Sultan, Ahmed's mother and Valide Sultan, died in November of the following year. These two vacancies allowed Kösem to rise to the top of the imperial harem hierarchy from her previous position as the Sultan's second or third concubine.[4]
As a Haseki Sultan to Ahmed I Kösem was considered his favorite consort and gave birth to many of his children.[4] During her time as haseki sultan she received 1,000 aspers a day.[13] As the mother to a number of princesses she had the right to arrange their marriages which were of political use.[4] Venetian ambassador Simon Contarini mentions Kösem in his report in 1612 and portrays her as:
Contarini reported in 1612 that the Sultan ordered a woman to be beaten for having irritated Kösem. She may have been Kösem's fellow consort Mahfiruz, mother of Ahmed's eldest son Osman.[14] Kösem also made efforts to keep her brother-in-law Mustafa safe from execution, and may have regarded Mahfiruz as a rival intent on lobbying in favor of her own son.[14] After Mahfiruz's apparent expulsion from the palace, probably in the mid-1610s, Kösem and Osman grew fond of each other. She used to let him join her in carriage rides where he showed himself to the crowd, but once this came to Ahmed's attention he forbade any conversation between them.[15]
Kösem's influence over the Sultan increased in the following years and it is said that she acted as one of his advisers.[4] However, she refrained from involving herself constantly in serious issues as the Sultan refused to be overshadowed by his wife.[4] Kösem is sometimes accused of trying to save her own position and influence throughout her long career "rather than that of the sultan or of the dynasty".[16]
Kösem also had a long career as a guardian of şehzades. It is possible that the significant modifications in the pattern of succession to the throne during Ahmed's time owed something to her efforts. She must have realized the personal gain that might stem from the transition to seniority coupled with the fact that she was no longer haseki but had a son "in waiting". According to the Venetian ambassador, Kösem "lobbied to spare Mustafa the fate of fratricide with the ulterior goal of saving her own son from the same fate."[17]
Retirement at the Old Palace[edit]
Like his parents, Ahmed died at a young age (27 years) on 22 November 1617. This made Kösem lose her position in Topkapi Palace and she retired in the Old Palace during the reign of her brother-in-law Mustafa I and step-son Osman II.[citation needed]
Due to the emergence of seniority as the principle of succession, which meant that a prince's mother might mark time in the Old Palace between the death of her master and the accession of her son, Kösem was able to maintain her Haseki status and daily stipend of 1,000 aspers during her retirement there;[18] still, after the end of Kösem's tenure as haseki, the position lost its prominence.[16]
In 1619, her step-son Osman II paid her a three-day visit at the Old Palace, thus manifesting his special fondness for her. Even if their relation was cultivated, though, it did not yield consequential results for the young sultan, whose most exceptional weakness was the lack of a valide sultan to lobby in his favour.[15]
Valide sultan and regent[edit]
First tenure[edit]
Kösem came back in power when her son ascended to the throne on 10 September 1623 as Murad IV. Since her son was a minor, she was appointed not only as a valide sultan but also as an official regent (naib-i-sultanat) during his minority, from her son's ascension on 10 September 1623 until 18 May 1632.[citation needed] During most of Murad IV's reign, she essentially ruled through him and effectively ran the empire, attending meetings of the divan (cabinet) from behind a curtain, even after 1632, when she was no longer regent.
During the early years, the Empire fell into anarchy; the Safavid Empire invaded Iraq almost immediately, Northern Anatolia erupted in revolts, and in 1631 the Janissaries stormed the palace and killed the grand vizier, among others. Murad feared suffering the same fate as his elder brother, Osman II, and decided to assert his power. He later tried to quell the corruption that had grown during the reigns of previous sultans, and that had not been checked while his mother was ruling through proxy. His absolute rule started around 1632, when he took the authority and repressed all the tyrants, and he re-established the supremacy of sultan.[citation needed]
Second tenure[edit]
Kösem's other son, Ibrahim, lived in terror of being the next of his brothers to be executed by Murad's order. His life was only saved by the intercession of his mother Kösem Sultan.[1] After Murad's death, Ibrahim was left the sole surviving prince of the dynasty. Upon being asked by the Grand Vizier Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha to assume the sultanate, Ibrahim suspected Murad was still alive and plotting to trap him. It took the combined persuasion of Kösem and the grand vizier, and personal examination of his brother's dead body, to make Ibrahim accept the throne. When Ibrahim succeeded his brother in 1640, he proved too mentally unstable to rule. This enabled Kösem to continue in power. He was encouraged by his mother to distract himself with harem girls. The distractions of the harem allowed Kösem to gain power and rule in his name, yet even she fell victim to the sultan's disfavor and left the Imperial Palace.[1]
Ibrahim's behaviour sparked talks of deposing the sultan. In 1647, Grand Vizier Salih Pasha, Kösem Sultan, and the şeyhülislam Abdürrahim Efendi unsuccessfully plotted to depose the sultan and replace him with one of his sons. Salih Pasha was executed and Kösem Sultan was exiled from the harem.[19] The next year the Janissaries and members of the ulema revolted. On 8 August 1648, Ibrahim was dethroned, seized and imprisoned in Topkapı Palace.[1][20] Kösem gave consent to her son's fall, saying "In the end he will leave neither you nor me alive. We will lose control of the government. The whole society is in ruins. Have him removed from the throne immediately."[21] The new grand vizier, Sofu Mehmed Pasha, petitioned the Sheikh ul-Islam for a fatwā sanctioning Ibrahim's execution. It was granted, with the message "if there are two caliphs, kill one of them." Kösem also gave her consent. Two executioners were sent.[22] Ibrahim was strangled on 18 August 1648.[23]
Third tenure[edit]
Eventually Kösem presented her seven-year-old grandson Mehmed IV to the divan with the words "Here he is!, see what you can do with him!" Thus, she declared herself regent for the third time, and ruled openly again between 1648 and 1651. At the head of the Ottoman Empire stood the child sultan, Mehmed IV. With Mehmed's ascendancy, the position of valide sultan ("mother of the reigning sultan") should have gone to his mother Turhan Sultan. However, Turhan was overlooked due to her youth and inexperience. Instead Kösem Sultan was reinstated to this high position. Kösem Sultan was a valide (mother) under two sons, thus having the more experience of the two women.[24]
Death[edit]
It was Mehmed IV's mother, Turhan, who proved to be Kösem's nemesis. When she was about 12 years old, Turhan was sent to the Topkapı Palace as a gift from the khan of Crimea to Kösem Sultan.[25][26] It was probably Kösem Sultan who gave Turhan to Ibrahim as a concubine. Turhan turned out to be too ambitious a woman to lose such a high position without a fight. In her struggle to become valide sultan, Turhan was supported by the chief black eunuch in her household and the grand vizier, while Kösem was supported by the Janissary Corps. Although Kösem's position as valide was seen as the best for the government, the people resented the influence of the Janissaries on the government.[27]
In this power struggle, Kösem planned to dethrone Mehmed and replace him with another young grandson. According to one historian, this switching had more to do with replacing an ambitious daughter-in-law with one who was more easily controlled. The plan was unsuccessful as it was reported to Turhan by Meleki Hatun, one of Kösem's slaves, that Kösem was said to be plotting Mehmed's removal and replacement by another grandson with a more pliant mother.[27] Whether Turhan sanctioned it or not, Kösem Sultan was murdered three years after becoming regent for her young grandson. It is rumoured that Turhan ordered Kösem's assassination. Furthermore, some have speculated that Kösem was strangled with a curtain by the chief black eunuch of the harem, Tall Suleiman. The Ottoman renegade Bobovi, relying on an informant in the harem, states that Kösem was strangled with her own hair.[28]
After her death her body was taken from Topkapi to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) and then buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmed I.[29]
Charities[edit]
Kösem made charities and donations both for people and ruling class in the state. She visited the prisons every year, paid the debts of imprisoned people, supplied the trousseaus of daughters of poor families and servant girls trained by her, wedded them and won their confidence. She had Çinili Mosque (tr) and a school near it constructed in Üsküdar in 1640 and she also had the small mosques and fountain of the Valide madrasa of Anadolu Kavağı, fountain in Yenikapı, Valide Han mosques, fountains in Beşiktaş and Eyüp and Valide Caravanserai in Çakmakçilar Yokuşu built. It is also known that she had also laid fountains built outside the city of Istanbul.[30]
She financed irrigation works in Egypt and provided relief for the poor people of Mecca. Kösem was renowned for her charity work and for freeing her slaves after 3 years of service. When she died the people of Constantinople observed three days of mourning.
Issue[edit]
Kösem's sons were:
- Murad IV[31][32] (26/27 July 1612 – 8 February 1640), sultan from 20 January 1623 until his death
- Şehzade Süleyman[31][4] (1613 – murdered 27 July 1635).
- Şehzade Kasım[31][32] (early 1614 – 17 February 1638), heir apparent since 1635
- Ibrahim[31][32] (5 November 1615 – 18 August 1648), sultan from 9 February 1640 until 12 August 1648
She may also have been the mother of Şehzade Mehmed (8 March 1605 – murdered 12 January 1621, according to Baki Tezcan,[33] though he is generally not believed to have been Kösem's son.
Kösem's daughters were:[31][32]
In popular culture[edit]
- Genç Osman ve Sultan Murat Han (1962) movie, starring Muhterem Nur as Kösem Sultan
- IV. Murat (1980) TV series, starring Ayten Gökçer as Kösem Sultan
- Istanbul Kanatlarımın Altında (1996) movie, starring Zuhal Olcay as Kösem Sultan
- Ankara Theatre (2013–2014 season) Özlem Ersönmez as Kösem Sultan.
- Mahpeyker: Kösem Sultan (2010), starring Damla Sönmez (as young Kösem) and Selda Alkor (as old Kösem)[35]
- Tims Production produced a historical fiction television series following Muhteşem Yüzyıl, titled Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, starring Anastasia Tsilimpiou as young Kösem and Beren Saat[36] as adult Kösem in season one. In season two, middle aged Kösem was portrayed by Nurgül Yeşilçay.[37]
See also[edit]
Sultanate of Women
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| Historiography (Ghaza, Decline) |
The Sultanate of Women (Turkish: Kadınlar saltanatı) was a period of extraordinary political influence exerted by wives and mothers of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. This phenomenon in the early modern period, approximately between the years 1533 and 1656, began during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent with his marriage to Hürrem Sultan (also known as Roxelana).[1] These sultanas were either the wives of the Sultan, referred to as Haseki Sultans, or the mothers of the Sultan, known as Valide Sultans. Many of these women were of slave origins, as was expected of the sultanate, since traditional marriage roles were considered too large a risk for the Sultan, who was expected to have no personal allegiances outside his title.[1] During this time, Haseki and Valide Sultans held political and social power, which allowed them to influence the daily running of the empire, as well as requesting the construction of buildings, and philanthropic works, such as Valide Sultan Mosque.[1]
Historical precedents
The period commonly known as the Sultanate of Women was novel for the Ottoman Empire, but not without precedent. The Seljuks, predecessors to the Ottoman Empire, often had women of nobility playing an active role in public policy and affairs, despite the concern of other male officials.[2][page needed]
However, during the fourteenth century, the agency of women in government began to shrink considerably. This was the age of Ottoman expansion where most Sultans elected to "lead from the horse", moving with a court of advisors, viziers, and religious leaders as the army conquered new lands.[3][page needed] In addition, Ottoman policy from the fifteenth century onward was to send young princes and their mothers to provincial governorships in Anatolia. In effect, this kept all of the women with connection to the higher levels of government far away from any place where they could hold meaningful power. Additionally, the practice of fratricide—in which an ascendant sultan would execute all his brothers to secure his throne—made the mothers and wives of princes even more dependent on their men.[3][page needed]
Early years
Fortunes began to change, however, with the beginning of the 16th century, and the concurrence of two significant events: the end of Ottoman expansion, and the emergence of the imperial harem into the palace proper. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, it became clear that the empire had reached its outer limits, with borders stretching thousands of miles in nearly every direction. The sultan simply could no longer afford to go on extended military campaigns, especially after the failure of the Siege of Vienna.[3][page needed]
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In addition, Suleiman's reign famously marked the emergence of the imperial harem into the palace and political sphere, as he became the first sultan to be officially married, to the woman later known as Hurrem Sultan.[4] Prior to the Sultanate of Women, the sultan did not marry, but had a harem of concubines who produced him heirs, with each concubine producing one son only and following her son to the provinces they were assigned to lead instead of remaining in Istanbul.[1]
The first Haseki Sultan was the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent, Roxelana, who later became known as Hurrem Sultan after her conversion to Islam. Hurrem was mistakenly assumed to be of Russian descent, likely due to a mistranslation of her name. European visitors thus treated her as Russian; however, her ancestry was Ruthenian (Kingdom of Poland)[5] The name by which the Turks referred to her, Hürrem, meant "Laughing One", or "Joyful", a testament to her character.[5] Scholars are unsure of the date of her arrival to the Imperial Harem. There was no data recorded in the record of concubines held by the Ottoman Sultan, but documents on the birth of her first son acknowledge her presence in 1521.[6] Her significance was established with her marriage to Suleiman after the death of his mother, becoming the first wife of a sultan in more than two hundred years.[1] Since technically all concubines were slaves, Hurrem was first freed from slavery. Then a new title Haseki Sultan (Imperial Consort) was created for her, which continued to be attributed to later wives of sultans. She primarily engaged in philanthropy, particularly in the building of communal spaces where subjects could spend time.[1] The most prominent was the Haseki Sultan Complex in Istanbul, including a women's medical center, school, mosque, and kitchen to feed the poor, which was built in the 1530s. She died in 1558 in Istanbul, after the passing of her eldest and youngest sons.[1] Nearly five hundred years after her death, the false claim of Russian heritage was removed from Hurrem's tomb in January 2019.[7]
Political significance
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By the middle of the 17th century, six sultans had reigned, several of whom were children when they came to the throne. As such, the valide sultan ruled virtually unopposed, both during their sons' rule, and during interregnum.[8][page needed] However, such radical prominence was not easily accepted by all. Even with a direct connection to the sultan, the valide sultan often faced opposition from the viziers of the sultan, as well as from public opinion. Where their male predecessors had won favor with the public through military conquest and charisma, female leaders had to rely on imperial ceremonies and the construction of monuments and public works. These public works, known as hayrat or works of piety, were often built extravagantly in the name of the sultana, as had been tradition for imperial Islamic women.[9]
Other imperial women, such as Turhan Sultan contributed to the empire's defense, spending large amounts of money on the reconstruction and fortification of key military strongholds. Some even symbolically participated in warfare as well. When her son Mehmed IV returned from a successful military campaign, she had a royal procession arranged to retrace his warpath, and share in the glory of his victory.[3][page needed]
Weddings were also a common cause for celebration, and an opportunity for imperial women to promote charity while displaying their wealth and power. At one wedding as the daughter of Murad III was about to be wed to a prominent admiral, she had newly minted coins given out to all the onlookers, some making off with a whole skirt-full of wealth.[3][page needed]
And the death of an imperial wife or sultan's mother could be even more extravagant. In one instance, the death of Hurrem Sultan brought throngs of mourners out to the streets, including the sultan himself, who was traditionally supposed to seclude himself in the palace during the funeral of a family member. Once again, during the ceremony coins and food were distributed to the attendees, to pay tribute to the queen's generous and caring nature.[3][page needed]
And ultimately, the most long-lasting accomplishments of many wives and mothers of sultans were their large public works projects. Often constructed as mosques, schools, or monuments, the construction and maintenance of these projects provided crucial economic circulation during a time otherwise marked by economic stagnation and corruption, while additionally leaving a powerful and long-lasting symbol of the sultanate's power and benevolence. While the creation of public works had always been an obligation of the sultanate, sultanas such as Suleiman's mother and wife undertook projects that were larger and more lavish than any woman before them, and most men as well.[9]
Reactions
Although it was a time of unprecedented power for royal women, they were not without significant opposition. To foreign ambassadors and emissaries however, many were more direct. On one occasion, when a Venetian ambassador tried to send a letter to the queen sultan through the grand vizier, the vizier refused to transmit the letter, claiming that the queen mother was nothing more than a slave, and held no power of her own.[3][page needed] Of course, such passionate denial implies that in fact the valide sultan held a great deal of authority which the vizier resented. And in point of fact, many foreign ambassadors at the time reported to their own countries that if one wanted to do business with the Ottoman Empire, they ought to go to the Sultan's mother before any other.[3][page needed]
Powerful sultanas during the period
| Name | Born | Ethnicity | Husband | Children | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hürrem Sultan | 1505 | Ukrainian | Suleiman I | Şehzade Mehmed, Mihrimah Sultan, Şehzade Abdullah, Selim II, Şehzade Bayezid, and Şehzade Cihangir | 15 April 1558 |
| Mihrimah Sultan | 1522 | Turkish | The only daughter of Suleiman I and Hürrem Sultan, and wife of Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha. | Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan, and Sultanzade Osman | 25 January 1578 |
| Nurbanu Sultan | 1525 | Venetian, possibly Greek | Selim II | Murad III, Ismihan Sultan, Şah Sultan and Gevherhan Sultan | 7 December 1583 |
| Safiye Sultan | 1550 | Albanian | Murad III | Mehmed III, Şehzade Mahmud, Ayşe Sultan and Fatma Sultan | 1619 |
| Handan Sultan | 1576 | Bosnian | Mehmed III | Ahmed I, Şehzade Selim, Şehzade Süleyman, two daughters one were probably named Ayse Sultan | 9 November 1605 |
| Halime Sultan | 1571 | Georgian | Mehmed III | Şehzade Mahmud, Mustafa I, Two daughters probably named Sah Sultan and Hatice Sultan | Unknown, sometimes after 1623 |
| Kösem Sultan | 1589 | Greek | Ahmed I | Şehzade Mehmed, Murad IV, Şehzade Kasım, Ibrahim, Ayşe Sultan, Fatma Sultan, Gevherhan Sultan (disputed) and Hanzade Sultan | 2 September 1651 |
| Turhan Sultan | 1627 | Ukrainian | Ibrahim | Mehmed IV, Fatma Sultan(disputed), and Atike Sultan(disputed) | 4 August 1683 |
Notes
- Peirce, Leslie (1988). The Imperial Harem: Gender and Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1520-1656. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation Information Service. p. 106.
Literature
- İlhan Akşit. The Mystery of the Ottoman Harem. Akşit Kültür Turizm Yayınları. ISBN 975-7039-26-8
- Kathernie Nouri Hughes "The Mapmaker's Daughter" The Confessions of Nurbanu Sultan, 1525-1583.ISBN 978-1-88-328570-8
- Leslie P. Peirce. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Oxford University Press (1993). ISBN 978-0-19-508677-5
