Kösem Sultan ( 5 of August of 1590 – Istanbul , 3 of September of 1651 ), also known as Mahpeyker was the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire. She was the consort and favorite of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I (1603-1617). He came to power and influenced the course of the Ottoman Empire through his sons Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640) and Ibrahim I (1640-1648) and finally through his younger grandson Mehmed IV (1648-1687).
His full name was Devletlü İsmetlü Haseki Kösem Büyük Valide Sultan Aliyyetü’ş-Şân Hazretleri or Naib-i Saltanat.
She was an official regent (Naib-i Saltanat) twice and was therefore one of two women who have been official regents in the Ottoman Empire. After her death, she was known by the names “Valide-i Muazzama” (the magnificent mother), “Vālide-i Maḳtūle” (the murdered mother), and “Vālide-i Şehīde” (the martyred mother).
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Origins
- 2 Haseki Sultana (Favorite of the Sultan)
- 3 Valide Sultan (Mother Sultana)
- 1 First reign
- 2 Second reign
- 3 Third reign
- 4 Charity works
- 5 Kösem had thirteen children
- 1 Children
- 2 Daughters
- 6 Death
- 7 In popular culture
- 8 Internal links
- 9 Source
Biographical synthesis
origins
She was born on the island of Tinos, present-day territory of Greece, daughter of a priest of that island. Her birth name was Anastasia. She was captured very young and sent to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by the Bosnian governor on a commission from Sultana Safiye, grandmother of Sultan Ahmed I, where she was sold at the age of thirteen as a harem slave. Her name was changed after her capture to Mahpeyker (‘moon-shaped’), and then Sultan Ahmed I changed her name again to Kösem (‘the one who leads’).
Haseki Sultana (Favorite of the Sultan)
In 1604 Safiye Sultan was sent to the Old Palace and deprived of all her power as a former Valide Sultan. A year later, in November 1605, Handan Sultan, the then Valide and director of the Harem, died. This allowed Kösem to gain power in the harem government. As the Sultan’s Haseki and the mother of most of the princes of the dynasty, it is possible that she tried to keep the Şehzade Mustafa (Ahmed I’s younger brother) alive. But he certainly made efforts since the laws of fratricide dictate that when a Sultan ascends the throne the first order must be to kill his brothers, surely he saw that this way he would be avoiding the same fate for his own children. During his time as Haseki he received 1,000 asperes per day. In 1612 the Venetian ambassador Contarini, reported that the Sultan had a woman who had irritated Kösem slapped, this woman is identified as his competition and mother of the heir to the throne, Mahfiruz Sultan. Kösem had tried to save Mustafa from execution and saw an obstacle in Mahfiruz, scheming on behalf of his own son. Sultan Ahmed died at the age of 27, so Kösem retired to the old palace during the reigns of Mustafa I and Osman II.
Valide Sultan (Mother Sultana)
First reign
Not only was she named Valide Sultan but also, as her son was a minor, she was named Naib-i Saltanat (Official Regent) during her minority; between 1623 and 1632 she became the first of only two women in history to dominate the Ottoman Empire officially and alone. While some women had been de facto regents of the empire before her, no woman had ever been formally regent, and her position was new. During most of Murad IV’s reign, she effectively led the Empire, attending Divan (government cabinet) meetings from behind a curtain, even after 1632, when she was no longer an official Regent.
Second reign
Kösem’s other son, Ibrahim, lived in terror of being the next of his siblings to be sentenced to die on the orders of his older brother. His life was only saved through the intercession of his mother Kösem Sultan. After Murad’s death, Ibrahim was left as the only surviving prince of the dynasty. Upon being required by Grand Vizier Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha to take over the Sultanate, Ibrahim suspected that Murad was still alive and planned to trap him. But with the combined persuasion of Kösem and the Grand Vizier, he agreed to personally examine his brother’s corpse, so that he would accept the throne. When Ibrahim succeeded his brother in 1640, he was too mentally unstable to rule. This allowed Kösem to continue in power. Ibrahim was encouraged by his mother to be distracted by the harem odalisques.
Ibrahim’s behavior had sparked talks about the removal of the sultan. In 1647, the Grand Vizier Salih Pasha, Sultana Kösem, and Abdürrahim Efendi unsuccessfully plotted to remove the sultan and replace him with one of his sons, ending with Salih Pasha being executed and Kösem Sultan exiled from the harem. The following year the Janissaries and the ulama revolted. On August 8, 1648, Ibrahim was dethroned and confined in Topkapi Palace. Kösem consented to the downfall of his son, saying:
“In the end he will not leave you or me alive, we will lose control of the government, the whole society will be in ruins, have him retire from the throne immediately.”
The new Grand Vizier, Ṣofu Meḥmed Pasha, petitioned Sheikh al-Islam by means of a fatwā (order based on sharia or Muslim law) for an execution penalty for Ibrahim. It was granted, with the message
“If there are two caliphs, one of them will have to be killed.”
Kösem also gave his consent. Two executioners were sent. Ibrahim I was strangled on August 18, 1648
Third reign
Finally Kösem introduced his seven-year-old grandson Mehmed IV to the couch with the words:
“Here it is, see what you can do with it!”
Thus, Naib-i Saltanat (Official Regent) was declared for the second time, and ruled openly again between 1648 and 1651. With the accession to the throne of Mehmed IV, the position of Valide Sultan (“mother of the reigning sultan”) should have relapsed to his mother Turhan Hatice Sultan. However, Turhan was overlooked due to his youth and inexperience. Instead Kösem Sultan was reinstated to this high position. Kösem Sultan was a formerly valid (mother) under two sons, thus having more experience than Turhan
Charities
Kösem made charities and donations for both the humble people and the ruling class in the state. She visited the prisons every year, paid the debts of the incarcerated people, supplied the trousseau of the daughters of poor families and of the servants trained by her, marrying them and gaining their trust. It had a Mosque called Çinili Camii (Tiled Mosque) in Üsküdar (1638), the name of the mosque is derived from the large number of Iznik tiles adorning its interior. This painted pottery was the traditional decoration for high-status buildings, including the Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Mosque. The Inili Camii mihrab (the prayer niche) and the almimbar (the pulpit) are also ornamented with Iznik tiles, which combine floral ballet figures with painted calligraphy.
He was also responsible for the creation of palaces, mosques and other public fountains on the outskirts of the city of Istanbul. It financed irrigation works in Egypt and provided relief to the poor of Mecca. Kösem was recognized for her charitable works and for freeing her slaves after 3 years of service.
Kösem had thirteen children
Children
Sultana Kosem with her son Orhan
- Şehzade Mehmed (March 8, 1605 – assassinated January 12, 1621) Executed by his brother Osman II.
- Şehzade Orhan (1609 – 1612)
- Şehzade Selim (June 27, 1611 – July 27, 1611)
- Murad IV (July 26/27, 1612 – February 8, 1640) Ottoman Sultan since January 20, 1623
until his death.
- Şehzade Kasim (1614 – assassinated February 17, 1638) Crown Prince since 1635. Executed by order of Sultan Murad IV.
- Şehzade Suleimán (1615 – assassinated July 27, 1635)
- Ibrahim I (November 5, 1615 – August 18, 1648) Ottoman Sultan from February 9, 1640 until his death. Nicknamed “the madman” due to his extreme cruelty and instability, allowing the second regency of Kosem.
Daughters
- Ayşe Sultan (1605 – May 1657), known for being one of the most cruel sultanas of the Ottoman empire and her various marriages (at least 6)
- Fatma Sultan (1606 – 1670), like her older sister, known for her marriages and power
- Gevherhan Sultan (1608 – 1660)
- Hanzade Sultan (1609 – September 21, 1650)
- Atike Sultan (1614 – 1675) Twin sister of Şehzade Kasim.
- Cemre Sultan (1616 – 1620) Died in childhood.
Death
She was the mother of Mehmed IV, Turhan Hatice Sultana, who turned out to be Kösem’s nemesis. When she was around 12 years old, Turhan was sent to Topkapi Palace as a gift from the Crimean Khan, to Sultana Kösem. It was probably the same Kösem Sultan who gave Turhan Hatice to Sultan Ibrahim I 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 of the harem’s black eunuchs and the Grand Vizier, while Kösem was supported by the Janizar Corps. Although Kösem’s position as Valide was regarded as the best for the government, the people denied the influence of the Spahis and Janissaries in the empire in this power struggle, Kösem planned to dethrone Mehmed IVand 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 controllable. The plan was unsuccessful as Turhan was informed by Meleki Hatun, one of Kösem’s close slaves, that Mehmed’s removal and replacement with another grandson with a more flexible mother was being planned. Whether Turhan sanctioned him or not, Kösem Sultan was assassinated three years after she became regent for her young grandson. Turhan is rumored to have ordered the assassination of Kösem. Furthermore, some have speculated that Kösem was strangled with a curtain by the head of the harem’s black eunuchs Tall Suleiman. The Ottoman rebel Bobovi, confiding in a harem informant, claims that Kösem may have been strangled with her own long hair. When he died, The people of Istanbul spent three days in mourning, completely paralyzing the city and its commerce. His body was taken from theTopkapi Palace to the old palace (Eski Sarayı) and buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmed I along with the rest of his family.
In popular culture
Nurgül Yeşilçay playing Kösem sultan in the series La Sultana Kösem
- Genç Osman’s film Sultan Murat Han (1962) starred Muhterem Nur as Kösem
Sultan
- Murat IV (1980), stars Ayten Gökçer as Kösem Sultan
- In the Ankara theater (seasons from 2013 to 2014) was Özlem Ersönmez as Kösem Sultan
- The movie Mahpeyker: Kösem Sultan (2010), starred Damla Sönmez (Young Kösem) and Selda
Alkor (adult Kösem)
- In the TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl Kösem or La Sultana Kösem, she is played by the actresses Nurgül Yeşilçay , Beren Saat , Anastasia Tsilimpiou as an adult, a teenager and a girl respectively.
