Kösem Sultan

This story will tell about tKösem Sultan

Kösem was of Greek descent, the daughter of a Greek Orthodox priest on the island of Tinos whose maiden name was Anastasia. At the age of 15, she was kidnapped and bought as a slave by the Bosnian Beylerbey or a high-ranking Ottoman official. Noting her beauty, she was sent to Constantinople to join a cohort of other slave girls marked by their striking appearance or intelligence to be trained in the harem of Sultan Ahmed I as an imperial court lady. Upon her conversion to Islam, her name was changed to Mahpeyker, and later by Sultan Ahmed I to Kösem, meaning "leader of the herd", indicating Kösem's leadership and political intelligence.

Haseki Sultan, the Imperial Consort

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.

When Kösem arrived at the palace, her beauty and intelligence drew Ahmed's attention, and she became his leading haseki. As a Haseki Sultan to Ahmed, Kösem was considered his favorite consort and gave birth to many of his children. During her time as Haseki Sultan she received 1, 000 aspers a day. As the mother to a number of princesses she had the right to arrange their marriages which were of political use. Venetian ambassador Simon Contarini mentions Kösem in his report in 1612 and portrays her as:

"A woman of beauty and shrewdness, and furthermore... of many talents, she sings excellently, whence she continues to be extremely well loved by the king... Not that she is respected by all, but she is listened to in some matters and is the favorite of the king, who wants her beside him continually."

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. 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. 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. Eventually Ahmed interfered with this relationship between Osman and Kösem: the Venetian ambassador Bertuccio Valier reported in 1616 that the sultan did not allow the two eldest princes (Osman and Mehmed) to converse with Kösem. His motive perhaps, as Valier speculated, was fear that the princes' security was threatened by Kösem's well-known ambitions for her own sons.

Kösem's influence over the Sultan increased in the following years and it is said that she acted as one of his advisers. However, she refrained from involving herself constantly in serious issues as the Sultan refused to be overshadowed by his wife.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". According to Cristoforo Valier in 1616:

“Her circumspection was presumably intended at averting the sultan's displeasure, who was keen to avoid seeming ruled by a woman, as his father had been. She can do what she wishes with the King and possesses his heart absolutely, nor is anything ever denied to her."

Contarini noted, however, that Kösem "restrains herself with great wisdom from speaking to the sultan too frequently of serious matters and affairs of state.”

Kösem also had a long career as a guardian of şehzades (princes). 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, Simon Contarini, Kösem "lobbied to spare Mustafa the fate of fratricide with the ulterior goal of saving her own son from the same fate."

Sultan Ahmed I died on 22 November 1617 at the age of 27. His corpse was laid to rest in Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul. The same day, the question of who would take his place on the throne arose. Şehzade Musafa and Şehzade Osman were the most popular choices. When a Sultan died, however, one of his sons was supposed to take the throne, according to the pedestals. After hours of deliberation in the Ottoman court, state officials finally decided to declare Şehzade Mustafa as the Sultan, who was older and had the best claim to the Ottoman throne.] During Ahmed's reign, he adopted the laws of succession to the throne. The Darüsaade Agha expressed his concern to the Ottoman court, citing that Mustafa was mentally imbalanced.

ösem retired in the Old Palace during the reign of her brother-in-law Mustafa I and step-son Osman II.Mustafa I's 1st reign

Initially, Mustafa refused to reign as Sultan, claiming that he was uninterested in state concerns, however, the statesman decided to ignore the matter. In actuality, he was overthrown on 26 February 1618, just 96 days after ascending to the throne, and was replaced by Şehzade Osman, the son of Ahmed and Mahfiruz Hatice Sultan.

Even though Osman was only a child, he felt uneasy with Kösem's involvement in state issues. He did not, however, ignore Kösem, who grew up with her and had always admired her.

Osman II's reign

Osman II being strangled to death engraving, c. 17th century

In 1619, Osman paid Kösem 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.

Osman, ambitious and brave, launched a military war against Poland, which had interfered in Ottoman vassal principalities Moldavia and Wallachia. Recognizing that his failure at Chocim in 1621 was partly due to the Janissary corps' lack of discipline and degeneracy, he punished them by lowering their pay and closing their coffee shops.

Then he claimed his intention to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, but his true goal was to form a new army in Egypt and Syria to depose the Janissaries. When the Janissaries learned of the plot and were already enraged by Osman's prior tactics. On 18 May 1622, they revolted, ousted Osman on 19 May 1622, and murdered him the next day.

Mustafa I's 2nd reign

The same day, Sultan Mustafa I was installed to reign for a transitional time so that Murad could manage the Ottoman state's affairs, but Mustafa I was unable to do so. Kösem eventually reached an agreement with the grand vizier and the rest of the ministers to correct the situation, isolate Mustafa I, and install her son, Murad, as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

a 17th century oil painting depicting Murad IV in his young ageKösem 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 1632.20

The Ottoman court sent a letter to the Republic of Venice in 1623 to officially declare Murad IV's accession to the throne. Kösem was addressed as Valide Sultan in the letter, which wrote:

"Her Majesty the Sultana Valide … for the late Sultan Ahmed, whom Allah took with him, was a very important person and he loved her so much that he honored her by marrying her."

Shortly after Murad's enthronement in 1623, a Venetian ambassadorial message remarked on Kösem's political experience:

"All power and authority is with the mother, a woman completely different from that of Sultan Mustafa, in the prime of life and of lofty mind and spirit, who often took part in the government during the reign of her husband.”23

Roe, the English envoy, wrote a month before the Venetian despatch, predicting that the new sultan would be "gourmet by his mother, who gouemed his father, a man of spirit and witt."23

First regency (1623�"1632)

During most of Murad's early reign, his mother, Kösem, essentially ruled through him and effectively ran the empire, attending meetings of the divan (cabinet) from behind a curtain. Kösem would meet with foreign ambassadors from other countries to discuss international treaties. She was in charge of appointing political figures and overseeing the state's administration. She also formed friendships with statesmen, judges, and other court figures.24

In 1627, the Ottomans lost Aden and Lahej. Kösem expressed her concerns regarding the situation in Yemen and Murad's health in one of her letters to the Grand Vizier Damat Pasha. It also implies that the sultana is frustrated by her lack of direct control over important decisions; she wrote to the Grand Vizier Damat Pasha:

"Letters have come from Egypt�"apparently to you too�"which describe the situation there. Something absolutely must be done about Yemen�"it's the gate to Mecca. You must do whatever you can. You'll talk to my son about this. I tell you, my mind is completely distraught over this the Yemen situation.... It is going to cause you great difficulty, but you will earn God's mercy through service to the community of Muhammad. How are you getting along with salary payments? Is there much left? With the grace of God, you will take care of that obligation and then take up the Yemen situation. My son leaves in the morning and comes back at night, I never see him. He won't stay out of the cold, he's going to get sick again. I tell you, this grieving over the child is destroying me. Talk to him, when you get a chance. He must take care of himself. What can I do�"he won't listen. He's just gotten out of a sickbed and he's walking around in the cold. All this has destroyed my peace of mind. All I wish is for him to stay alive. At least try to do something about Yemen. May God help us with this situation we are in.... You two know what's best."25

The next year, Murad was twice ill to the point where his life was in peril, according to a Venetian ambassadorial message from September 1628. Another letter expresses the similar worry that the young sultan be counseled and chastised by the Grand Vizier Hüsrev Pasha, if not by Kösem herself. It also implies that Kösem was getting information about events outside the palace from Murad rather than directly:

Kösem Sultan's letter to the Grand Vizier Hüsrev Pasha

“I heard from my son that he had written to you and warned you that your steward is not a man of good intentions. Is it true that he is giving you a bad name? To a degree it is a pasha's own men who cause his bad reputation. May God give them the reward they deserve. I'm not referring to anything specific. A friend is one who tells a person his faults to his face. I wouldn't wish ill on any of you. May God protect us all from evil. I wish you would listen to me and have them stop practicing the javelin in the Hippodrome. Why can't they go play in Langa? My son loves it, I lose my mind over it. Whoever says it's good for him is lying. Caution him about it, but not right away. What can I do? My words are bitter to him now. Just let him stay alive, he is vital to all of us. I have so many troubles I can't begin to write them all. You must give him as much advice as you can�"if he doesn't listen to one thing, he'll listen to another.”26

In the following year, Murad moved to break Kösem's damad ties with Admiral Hüseyin Pasha, the spouse of her daughter Fatima. Murad had the marriage dissolved after becoming enraged by his mother's excessive support for the Pasha. Hüseyin Pasha had benefited from the protection of both the powerful chief black eunuch and the valide sultan. Murad's move against the otherwise successful admiral may have stemmed from his wish to break free from the influence of his inner palace advisers and exercise authority over the government's most influential officers. Kösem is said to have tried to satisfy her son with a gift of ornately dressed horses and a banquet of ten thousand aspers.27

Removal from office

In 1632, Kösem's 9-year term of office ended, and her son removed her from the political scene quickly, after Murad IV decided not to allow any power to interfere in his administration of the empire, and ordered Kösem to cut off her contacts with his statesmen, and threatened her with exclusion and exile away from the capital if she did not comply. However, Kösem always warned her son about some government issues and was secretly present in court hearings, contacting court officials, military commanders and religious scholars.282930

During the early years of Murad’s sultanate, the Empire fell into anarchy; the Safavid Empire invaded Iraq almost immediately, Northern Anatolia erupted in revolts, and in 1632 the Janissaries stormed the palace and killed the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha, 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.30

During Murad's departure on a royal advance through the area near Bursa in 1634, Kösem moved quickly to safeguard him from a threat of sedition. Murad's execution of an Iznik judge for a minor offense sparked such outrage among Constantinople's religious hierarchy that reports began to circulate that the mufti Ahizade Hüseyin Efendi was stirring up sentiment against the sultan and plotting to overthrow him. When the Valide Sultan learned about the accusations against the mufti, she promptly sent word to Murad to return to the capital as soon as possible. The unfortunate Hüseyin Efendi was strangled before proof of his innocence could reach the irate sultan. This was the first execution of a mufti in the history of the Ottoman state.31

The death of Murad IV, engraving by Paul Rycaut, 1694

Following the capture of Baghdad from the Safavids in 1638, Kösem was a key figure in the celebrations surrounding her son Murad's triumphal return to Constantinople. The valide sultan retraced her path after processing out of Istanbul to welcome Murad in İzmit, two days' journey from the city, while the sultan returned by sea. She rode in a carriage draped with gold fabric, its wheels studded, and spokes fully coated in gold, preceded by viziers and high-ranking religious authorities on gorgeously caparisoned horses. Twelve additional carriages followed the valide sultan's carriage, most likely transporting members of the harem.32

During Murad’s final chaotic years, Kösem managed to convince Murad from preventing the murder of his sole surviving brother Ibrahim, by arguing that he was ‘too mad to be a threat', but failed to save the lives of her two other sons, Şehzade Süleyman and Şehzade Kasım, heir apparent to the Ottoman throne since 1635.28

Ibrahim I's reign

One of Kösem's two last surviving sons, Ibrahim, lived in terror of being the next of his brothers to be executed by Murad's order. Murad's liver cirrhosis had left him terminally ill. The sultan's dying wish was to have Ibrahim killed in the final days of his reign. Despite the fact that the House of Osman was in complete disarray, Murad informed his statesmen that he did not want a maniac as sultan. His life was only saved by the intercession of his mother Kösem.1 After Murad's death in 1640, Ibrahim was left the sole surviving prince of the dynasty. Upon being asked by the Grand Vizier 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 Mustafa Pasha to make Ibrahim accept the throne. For instance, Kösem had ordered his brother's corpse to be displayed before him, and she even threatened Ibrahim that he may face ‘strangulation, not inauguration' if he had refused to be crowned the sultan of the Ottoman Empire.22

Left: Ibrahim I, engraved by Paul Rycaut (c. 1694) Right: Kösem Sultan assuring Ibrahim I of Murad IV's death by displaying his corpse before him by Paul Rycaut (c. 1694)

Second regency (1640�"1648)

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.1

As Ibrahim retreated from politics, he turned increasingly to his harem for comfort and pleasure. During his sultanate, the harem achieved new levels of luxury in perfumes, textiles and jewellery. Ibrahim's love of women and furs led him to have a room entirely lined with lynx and sable. Because of his infatuation with furs, the French dubbed him "Le Fou de' Fourrures."

According to one historian, "Ibrahim allegedly kidnapped a girl, held her as a slave in his harem for many days, and then returned her to her father". Despite his inappropriate behavior, Kösem helped to provide him with virgins and overweight women, for whom he craved.2233

In the early 1640s, Kösem triumphed over a concubine of her recently deceased son Murad in a dispute over the marital fortunes of Kaya Sultan, the concubine's thirteen-year-old daughter and Kösem's granddaughter. Kaya Sultan wanted to marry one of her own political friends, the previous sultan's sword-bearer, but Kösem's nominee, Melek Ahmed, won out.34

Portrait of Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan, c. 19th century

Kösem kept track of the misdeeds of her "aggressive tax collectors," who were responsible for her massive hass income in order to boost their own take. Şarihül-Menarzade, a historian who disapproved of Kösem's position and fortune, was quoted by Mustafa Naima as saying:

"The valide sultan's stewards... collected incalculable amounts of money. The peasants of the Ottoman domains suffered much violence and disaster on account of the excessive taxes, but because of their fear of the stewards, they were unable to inform the valide sultan or anyone else of their situation."35

Ibrahim was informed by Sechir Para, the sultan's personal counselor, that one of his concubines had sexual contact with someone outside the harem. The rumor angered Ibrahim, so he began an inquiry to find out who the concubine was. After that, he took drastic steps, drowning 278 of his concubines in the Bosphorus Strait.33

Kösem did have a less compatible relationship with Grand Vizier Musa Pasha than she had with the previous Grand Viziers of Murad's early reign. Kösem was a clever and experienced politician, now in her second regency and fourth decade of political engagement. The competition between the two was reported by the Venetian ambassador Alvise Contarini:

"In the present government, to the extent that this son's capabilities are less, she is held in greater esteem than at the end of Murad's reign. And thus, with her commanding affairs within the palace and the grand vizier commanding those outside, it happens quite often that these two rulers come up against each other and in doing so take offense at each other, so that one can say that in appearance they are in accord but secretly each is trying to bring about the downfall of the other."36

In the following years, Kösem attended a conference with leading viziers at the entrance to the harem. The Agha of the Janissaries, who complained to Kösem about Ibrahim's failure to quell the ongoing rebellions in the Balkans region, wrote to Kösem:

"Gracious mistress, the folly and madness of the Padishah have put the world in danger; the infidels have taken forty castles on the frontiers of Bosnia and are blockading the Dardanelles with eighty ships while the Padishah thinks only of pleasure, debauch and selling offices."

Plot to depose Ibrahim I

Ibrahim's behaviour sparked talks of deposing the sultan. In September 1647, the newly placed Grand Vizier Salih Pasha, Kösem, and the şeyhülislam Abdürrahim Efendi plotted to depose the sultan. The şeyhülislam deferred to Kösem in the matter of her son's deposition, aware that she needed to be consulted before any final decision was made. They informed the Valide Sultan that all of the statesmen were in favor of Ibrahim’s deposition and that they were prepared to swear allegiance to Ibrahim's son, Mehmed, the eldest prince. But Kösem hesitated, likely out of maternal instinct. She begged the co conspirators to consider leaving her son in possession of the throne under the guardianship of the şeyhülislam and the Grand Vizier Salih Pasha.37 Hanifezade, an Ottoman judge, appealed to her not as a mother but as a stateswoman:

“Oh, royal lady, we have come hither, fully relying on your grave, and on your compassionate solicitude for the servants of God. You are not only the mother of the sultan; you are the mother also of all true believers. Put an end to this state of trouble; the sooner the better. The enemy has the upper hand in battle. At home, the traffic in places and ranks has no bounds. The Padishah, absorbed in satisfying his passions, removes himself farther and farther from the path of laws. The call to prayers from the minarets of the Mosque of Aya Sofia is drowned in the noise of fifes, and flutes, and cymbals from the palace. No one can speak counsel without danger to the speaker: you have yourself proved it. The markets are plundered. The innocent are put to death. Favorite slaves govern the world.”37

Cinci Hoca, a minor religious figure with occult powers who was brought into the palace to compensate for the sultan's lack of successors. Cinci Hoca was a spiritualist and fraud who worked his way into the palace under the invitation of Kösem to cure her son, Ibrahim. The sultan rewarded Cinci Hoca with a chief justiceship, the second highest ulema position, as a reward for his achievements. When Kösem lost control of the sultan, Cinci Hoca’s appointment was just one of numerous examples of the overturning of authority and procedure at court.3835 According to Naima:

“The valide sultan would sometimes speak affectionately, giving counsel to the... padishah. But because he paid no attention to her, she became reluctant to talk with him, and for a long while resided in the gardens near Topkapi. During this time the padishah became angry as a result of some rumors and sent the grand vezir Ahmed Pasha to exile the valide sultan to the garden of Iskender (thereby breaking the hearts of all, great and small.”39

Ibrahim I, engraved by Arolsen Klebeband, 1641

After becoming regent, Kösem was required to distribute service pay to the Janissaries in accordance with Ottoman tradition, but there was no money left in the treasury. She had attempted to obtain this money from Cinci Hoca, but Cinci Hoca had not responded positively. She had later explained this situation to the Janissaries as “I want to distribute your service pay but Cinci Hoca does not allow me” and caused the Janissaries to consider Cinci Hoca as an enemy and kill him.40

A few days later, Ibrahim was made aware of the attempt to topple him. As a response, Salih Pasha was executed and Kösem was exiled from the harem. Initially, Ibrahim planned to have Kösem exiled to the island of Rhodes, but this indignity was resisted by his hasekis, and the sentence commuted to exile in one of the imperial gardens in the capital.38 Kösem has been accused of encouraging Ibrahim's desire in reproduction by diverting him with concubines so that she might take over the country. But, at least initially, her motivation was to ensure the dynasty's survival. Moreover, Kösem, like others, despised Ibrahim's concubines' excessive influence over public matters. During the closing months of Ibrahim's reign, Kösem was thrust back into the position of dynasty protector when the Janissary aghas, who were going to demand the resignation of the unpopular Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha, warned her to take great care to safeguard the princes' safety.41

Engraving depicting the execution of Ibrahim I by Paul Rycaut, 1694

The Valide Sultans resistance had another purpose, it enabled for the practice of important political arguments. "Wasn't every single one of you raised up through the benevolence of the Ottoman dynasty?" Kösem asked the statesmen, emphasizing the need for dynasty allegiance. They replied with a holy law imperative: “a mentally ill person cannot lead the ummah, the community of Muslim believers.” The statesmen used a tactic at one point in the debate: they addressed the valide sultan as umm al-mu'minin, "mother of the Muslim believers." This honorific title, given to the wives of the Prophet Muhammad by Qur'anic revelation, gave Kösem an identity that allowed her to extend her maternal function as mentor/guardian beyond her son and the dynasty to the empire.41

The next year, the Janissaries and members of the ulema revolted. For several hours, Kösem appealed with them but failed to do so, so she agreed to surrender when they promised not to murder Ibrahim, but instead imprison him. On 8 August 1648, Ibrahim was dethroned, seized and imprisoned in Topkapı Palace.142 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."43 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 and two executioners were immediately sent.44 As the executioners drew closer, it was reported that Ibrahim's last words were: "Is there no one among those who have eaten my bread who will take pity on me and protect me? These cruel men have come to kill me. Mercy! Mercy!"45 Ibrahim was strangled to death on 18 August 1648.46

Mehmed IV's reign

The birth of Mehmed IV, engraving by Paul Rycaut, 1694

Eventually, Kösem rushed to the divan and presented her seven-year-old grandson, Mehmed, with the words "Here he is!, see what you can do with him!" Thus, she declared herself regent for the third time, and became the de facto ruler of the Ottoman Empire between 1648 and 1651. When a group of government authorities insisted that the palace send the sultan's seven-year-old son to be enthroned in a mosque, Kösem refused and demanded that they instead come to the palace. Her rejection was based on the fact that no sultan had ever been enthroned in a mosque before. Her purpose was undoubtedly in part to compel the situation to occur so that she could have some influence over the outcome.4748

Left: Engraving of Sultan Mehmed IV in his young age (c. mid-17th century) Right: Engraving of Turhan Sultan as Valide Sultan (c. 19th century)

Third regency (1648�"1651)

As the senior Valide Sultan, Kösem continued to be incredibly powerful. During this particular stage of her regency, she had supreme control over the Ottoman Empire. She also accumulated a massive fortune through tax farming, owning and leasing commercial buildings, and investing extensively in diverse economic activities. She styled herself as Büyük Valide "the Great Valide Sultan" or “the Great grandmother” in 1649.49

At the head of the Ottoman Empire stood the child sultan, Mehmed IV. During the beginning of Mehmed IV‘s reign, Kösem would usually sit beside the Sultan, concealed behind a curtain, if the Sultan's presence was needed at the divan. Her candor outweighed her caution; to those who felt uneasy with Mehmed IV handling over the sultanate, Kösem would chastise the statesmen in abrasive, thatcheresque tones in front of their faces:

"Have I made you vizier to spend your time in gardens and vineyards: Devote yourself to the affairs of the empire and let me hear no more of your deportments!"45

The court of Mehmed IV, engraving by Paul Rycaut, 1694

Rivalry with Turhan Sultan

With Mehmed's ascendancy, the position of valide sultan ("mother of the reigning sultan") should have gone to his mother Turhan Sultan. However, Turhan Sultan was overlooked due to her youth and inexperience. Instead, Kösem was reinstated to this high position. Kösem was requested by leading statesmen to continue on as regent to the child sultan, her seven-year-old grandson Mehmed IV, instead of retiring and giving her position to the mother of Ibrahim's successor. Turhan, on the other hand, began to exert what she saw to be her rightful authority.50

According to Abdülaziz Efendi, then the chief justice of Rumeli and a central figure in the dynastic upheavals of the time, it was considered prudent to appoint the more experienced woman regent in contravention of tradition:

"It being an ancient custom that upon the accession of a new sultan the mother of the previous sultan removed to the Old Palace and thus gave up her honored office, the elder valide requested permission to retire to a life of seclusion. But because the loving mother of the new sultan was still young and truly ignorant of the state of the world, it was thought that if she were in control of the government, there would be the possibility of harm to the welfare of the state. Therefore the elder valide was reappointed for a while longer to the duty of training and guardianship, and it was considered appropriate to re-new the assignment of crown lands to the valide sultan."517

However, Kösem's interpretation of her mission does not appear to have been widely accepted. She inherited direct sultanic authority as a politician, undoubtedly one of the most experienced and informed of the ruling elite. It was unavoidable that Kösem would fight with Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha, who appears to have seen himself as both regent and temporary ruler. According to the historian Naima, the grand vizier was misled by "certain would-be doctors of religion" who quoted legal texts to the effect that the guardian of a minor sultan was entitled to exercise the prerogatives of sovereignty.

In any event, the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha was unable to resist the power of Kösem and her Janissary allies. During an imperial audience to which all leading statesmen were summoned, the sultan, with his grandmother seated at his side behind a curtain, dismissed Sofu Mehmed Pasha and appointed the Agha of the Janissaries, Kara Murad Pasha, to the vacant office. Speaking from behind the curtain, Kösem defended her role and silenced her critics in a speech the vehemence of which surprised all present. She cited the former grand vizier's shortcomings, including his plans to assassinate her, to which she commented:

"Thanks to God, I have lived through four reigns and I have governed myself for a long while. The world will be neither reformed nor destroyed by my death."51

She then chastised Abdülaziz Efendi, ally of the former grand vizier, by referring to his rebuke of Mehmed IV:

"When certain imperial commands have been issued, they have said to the sultan, ‘my dear, who taught you to say these things?' Such patronizing behavior towards sultans is impermissible! And what if the sultan is instructed?"

In Naima's words, Abdülaziz Efendi "drowned in the sea of mortification."52

It was Mehmed IV's mother, Turhan Sultan, 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.5354 It was probably Kösem who gave Turhan Sultan 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.2

Plot to depose Mehmed IV

In this power struggle, Kösem planned to dethrone Mehmed IV 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. According to Mustafa Naima, Kösem secretly asked the palace guards to leave the palace gates open so that Janissaries could sneak in and kill Turhan Sultan in her chambers. Additionally, Kösem gave two bottles of poisoned sherbet to Uveys Agha, the head helva (sweets) maker in the palace kitchen, to serve to the young Mehmed IV. She promised Uveys Agha a promotion if he succeeded in poisoning the sultan. The day before enacting the plan, however, one of Kösem's slaves, Meleki Hatun, betrayed her and revealed the plot to Turhan Sultan, and the plan failed.220

Assassination

Murder of Kösem Sultan engraving by Paul Rycaut, 1694

On 2 September 1651, a large group of Turhan Sultan's armed followers led by Süleyman Agha approached Kösem's apartment, which was guarded by over three hundred armed Janissaries. When Kösem's chief private guard, has odabasi, refused to let the assassins in, they violently attacked and killed him. Süleyman Agha and the armed men then broke into her apartment, swiftly killing the other guards on their way.20

Upon approaching the valide sultan's apartment, they were admitted by the eunuchs on duty there. The only person they found inside the apartment was an old woman who served as Kösem's buffoon. The woman was armed with a pistol, which she pointed at them while they questioned her about the whereabouts of Kösem. The woman replied that she was the “valide sultan” and then fired at them before they disposed of her.55

Engraving depicting the strangulation of Kösem Sultan, 1812

Kösem is said to have hidden in a cupboard in the wall of a staircase in the Value's apartment. A piece of dress protruding under the door betrayed her to a halberdier. One of her assailants, Kucuk Mehmed Agha, found her and dragged her out by her long braids and started beating her. She tried to bribe the pages, but they just robbed her and brutally stripped her off her jewellery and other valuables. Süleyman Aga then had Kösem dragged by her feet to the gateway leading from the harem into the Third Court, where he ordered his men to kill her. Kösem resisted and fought back. As a result, it took four men to subdue and strangle her, she is said to have struggled so much that blood spurted out of her ears and nose and soiled the murderer's clothes. 'The massacred Valide', as she became known, left 2, 700 shawls, twenty chests of gold and a lasting reputation in the city for piety and generosity.5655 Then, as Paul Rycaut writes:

“The Black Eunuchs immediately took up the Corpse, and in a reverent manner laid it stretched forth in the Royal Mosch; which about 400 of the Queens Slaves encompassing roundabout with bowlings and lamentations, tearing the hair from their heads after their barbarous fashion, moved compassion in all the Court.”55

Some have speculated that Kösem was strangled with a curtain by the chief black eunuch of the harem, Lala Süleyman Agha. The Ottoman renegade Bobovi, relying on an informant in the harem, stated that Kösem was strangled with her own hair.57

On September 2, 1651, Kösem's body was taken from Topkapi to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) and then buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmed I.58

Aftermath

Execution of Kösem Sultan portrayed in Histoire de l'état présent de l'Empire Ottoman, 1670

When news of Kösem's death became public on September 3, 1651, the people of Constantinople spontaneously observed three days of mourning.56 Beginning the following day, Constantinople's mosques and markets were closed for three days. The assassination of Kösem sparked a political uproar and a wave of retaliation. The first phase was the assassination of Kösem's Janissary supporters and the demise of the faction they led, which had ruled the country during Kösem's three-year regency over Mehmed. In the second phase, public outrage over the purge prompted Turhan's new royal administration to dismiss the Grand Vizier Abaza Pasha who had carried out the executions. By this time, a huge crowd had gathered by the gates of Topkapi Palace, the Sultan summoned his statesmen and the palace functionaries to the audience. Fired up, the crowd blamed the janissaries for Kösem's murder and swore to avenge it.

Evliya Çelebi, a famous Ottoman traveler, writer, and admirer of Kösem Sultan, described the regicide:

“The mother of the world, wife of Sultan Ahmed (I); mother of Osman (II), Orhan, Bayezid, Murad (IV), and Ibrahim; the grand Kösem Valide�"was strangled by the Chief Black Eunuch Div Süleyman Agha. He did it by twisting her braids around her neck. So that gracious benefactress was martyred. When the Istanbul populace heard of this they closed the mosques and the bazaars for three days and nights. There was a huge commotion. Several hundred people were put to death, secretly and publicly, and Istanbul was in a tumult."

It was reported that twenty boxes loaded with gold coins were discovered in the Büyük Valide Han that Kösem had built. The sultans' cash fortune could be transformed into profit: for example, in 1664, the profit on cash investments accounted for nearly two-thirds of the revenue of the endowment established for Safiye Sultan's Karamanlu mosque. In addition to directly endowing funds, the valide sultans are likely to have utilized their funds to acquire the above-mentioned urban assets. The valide sultan's riches and business transactions were so broad that her many agents might become very wealthy and enjoy popular esteem. When recording in his history the death of Kösem's steward, Koja Behram, Naima commented:

“The afore-mentioned Behram Kethiida enjoyed great prestige and distinction and wealth. As the manager of all the affairs of the valide sultan and the pious institutions she had established, and as an extremely trustworthy man, he acquired a great deal of wealth and property. But his children and his grandchildren did not maintain the high stature he had enjoyed, and his wealth and property were squandered.”

Charities

Büyük Valide Han was commissioned in 1651 by Kösem Sultan, this Ottoman building accommodated thousands of traveling merchants for more than 350 years

Kösem made charities and donations both for people and the ruling class in the state. She would leave the palace in disguise every year in the Islamic month of Rajab to personally arrange for the release of imprisoned debtors and other offenders (excluding murderers) by paying their debts or recompense for their crimes.] She 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 Çakmakçılar Yokuşu built. It is also known that she had also laid fountains built outside the city of Istanbul.

Çinili Mosque, commissioned by Kösem Sultan in 1640

Kösem established a foundation to meet the needs of pilgrims in need of water, to assist the poor in Haremeyn, and to have the Koran read in this place. She also funded the construction of Büyük Valide Han in Constantinople, which served a variety of purposes, including providing accommodation for foreign traders, storing goods or merchandise, housing artisan workshops, and providing offices from which to conduct business.

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.

Legacy

Despite her notoriety as a woman who does not know mercy or compassion for the sake of government and power, Kösem was known among the Ottoman state's citizens for her charitable work, which served as a kind of self-cleansing or false reconciliation, but in any case succeeded in stabilizing the mental image that she desired.

She spent a lot of money on impoverished girls' weddings and other humanitarian deeds, such as handing out gold coins to the destitute in the Ottoman capital during state celebrations and religious holidays.

She also ordered the construction of a grand mosque in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, one of the city's most famous neighborhoods, and spent a lot of money on it to make it an architectural masterpiece, as well as allocating a lot of porcelain and porcelain to decorate it.

The chronogram that appears on the gate of the Çinili mosque's courtyard reads:

“Mother of Sultan Ibrahim Khan, her Majesty of the Sultana, the most munificent mother of the sultan: She constructed this divine edifice as an act of charity. Lo, let it be a house of prayer for the servants of God! May they be summoned to God's mercy at the five times of prayer! May it be a halting place for worshippers and ascetics! She built a school, fountain, bath and fountain, for which let God grant her favor and benevolence! Philanthropists and those who worship in it, O God, take them into the eternal Paradises! The charitable work of the sultan's mother was completed in the Islamic year one thousand fifty 1640-41.”

She set aside cash from a solemn pause indicated in a waqfah dated 1640, where many funds were stopped to spend on the needy and the poor who reside on the way to Mecca, as well as numerous funds sent to Mecca and Medina every Hajj season to distribute to the destitute there.

She fed all of Istanbul's starving people at soup kitchens she established. People referred to her as the 'hand of deus ex machina'. She was fond of saying, 'I show my anger to the palace, my milk to the public'.

Her judgments had such an impact that noblemen in her empire vowed that no woman would ever be so influential again after she died. Her death in 1651 had marked the end of a period of prominence for women in Topkapi Palace (also known as the Sultanate of Women.)

In 2015, the historical non-fiction Muhteşem Yüzyl: Kösem, a Turkish television series, commemorated Kösem's role as regent of the Ottoman Empire and she was recognized by many historians as one of the most influential figures in Ottoman history.

Issue

Kösem Sultan's sons who were Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Left: Murad IV (ca. 1612�"1640) Right: Ibrahim (ca. 1615�"1648)

Kösem's sons were:

Şehzade Mehmed64 65 (11 March 1605 - 12 January 1621), disputed son of Kösem and Ahmed.

Murad IV6465 (26/27 July 1612 �" 8 February 1640), sultan from 20 January 1623 until his death

Şehzade Süleyman644 (1613 �" murdered 27 July 1635).

Şehzade Kasım] (early 1614 �" 17 February 1638), heir apparent since 1635

Ibrahim (5 November 1615 �" 18 August 1648), sultan from 9 February 1640 until 12 August 1648

Kösem's daughters were:

Gevherhan Sultan

Ayşe Sultan

Fatma Sultan

Hanzade Sultan

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; still, after the end of Kösem's tenure as haseki, the position lost its prominence.

Author's Note

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6sem_Sultan

Reviews

[PrincessBee4]

Excellent story about a courageous woman