Esther Handali (died 18 or 19 December 1588
[Pedani, Maria Pia. “Safiye's Household and Venetian Diplomacy”. Turcica 32 (2000).] ) was a Jewish
Ottoman businesswoman. She was the influential favorite and ''
Kira
Kira may refer to:
People
* Kira clan, a Japanese clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880)
* Kira (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Kira Chikazane (1563–1588), Japanese retainer
* Kira (German singer) (Janine ...
'' (business agent) of
Nurbanu Sultan
Nurbanu Sultan ( ota, نور بانو سلطان; "''Queen of light''", 1525 – 7 December 1583) was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the principal consort of Sultan Selim II (reign 1566–1574), his legal wife, as well Valide Sultan (Su ...
,
Safiye Sultan, and possibly of
Hürrem Sultan
Hurrem Sultan (, ota, خُرّم سلطان, translit=Ḫurrem Sulṭān, tr, Hürrem Sultan, label=Modern Turkish; 1500 – 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana ( uk, Роксолана}; ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottoma ...
.
Life
Early life
Esther Handali was reportedly a Sephardic Jew from
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway bet ...
in Spain.
[Lucienne Thys-Senocak: ]
Ottoman Women Builders: The Architectural Patronage of Hadice Turhan Sultan
'
She was married to the Jewish merchant Eliya Handali, who traded in luxuries such as
jewellery
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
, expensive clothing and
cosmetics
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
to the women of the
Imperial Harem
The Imperial Harem ( ota, حرم همايون, ) of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan's harem – composed of the wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives and the sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded po ...
. Due to the seclusion from the opposite sex and the outside world imposed upon the women of the harem, male merchants were not allowed in to the harem, and a custom developed with merchant wives entering the harem to act as intermediary agents, displaying the goods to the prospective clients of the harem. These women were often Jews, who as non-Muslim was not subjected to the same gender segregation as Muslim women, and thus could act as the intermediaries of the harem women in several other areas. Esther Handali acted as the agent of her spouse in his business with the harem, and when she was widowed, she took over his business.
Due to the fact that they were several kiras working in the Imperial Harem in parallel, and that they are seldom documented by name (the different kiras are normally referred to only as kira, kyra, or Kyra Jewess), it is difficult to identify individual kira's and separate them from each other. Esther Handali, in particular, has often been confused with
Esperanza Malchi Esperanza Malchi also spelled ''Malk'' or ''Malkhi'' (died 1 April 1600) was a Jewish Ottoman businesswoman. She was the influential favorite and ''Kira'' (business agent) of Valide Sultan Safiye.
Life Early life
Esperanza Malchi reportedly origi ...
. When she first entered the harem is unknown, but she may have been the same unidentified ''kira'' who is noted to have performed secretarial tasks for
Hürrem Sultan
Hurrem Sultan (, ota, خُرّم سلطان, translit=Ḫurrem Sulṭān, tr, Hürrem Sultan, label=Modern Turkish; 1500 – 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana ( uk, Роксолана}; ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottoma ...
, and has been mentioned in connection to
Mihrimah Sultan (although
Strongilah could also have been this kira). She was thus active in the end or not long after the career of
Strongilah, while
Esperanza Malchi Esperanza Malchi also spelled ''Malk'' or ''Malkhi'' (died 1 April 1600) was a Jewish Ottoman businesswoman. She was the influential favorite and ''Kira'' (business agent) of Valide Sultan Safiye.
Life Early life
Esperanza Malchi reportedly origi ...
would have arrived somewhat later, thought their careers overlap.
Kira of Nurbanu Sultan
What its clearly confirmed is that Esther Handali was the ''kira'' of
Nurbanu Sultan
Nurbanu Sultan ( ota, نور بانو سلطان; "''Queen of light''", 1525 – 7 December 1583) was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the principal consort of Sultan Selim II (reign 1566–1574), his legal wife, as well Valide Sultan (Su ...
from at least 1566 onward, when Nurbanu became the favoured consort of the reigning sultan. As was common for a kira, she became her the trusted confidant of her client, and her tasks soon expanded from acting as intermediary for merchant goods to acting as intermediary for other money transactions, and from there to further tasks between her client and the outside world.
When Nurbanu became the valide sultan, mother and adviser of the reigning sultan (1574-1583), Handali's own influence reached its peak, and she was entrusted with political and diplomatic correspondence between Nurbanu and foreign powers. She acted as the intermediary between Nurbanu and
Catherine de' Medici.
Nurbanu Sultan was particularly sympathetic toward a pro-Venetian policy, and Esther Handali acted as the intermediary in the contact between the Republic of Venice and Nurbanu Sultan, which was conducted between the Venetian ambassador and Nurbanu with Handali as messenger from 1578 onward. She continued as the intermediary between Venice and the Imperial Harem from 1578 until 1588, after the death of Nurnanu in 1583, and her connection to Venice appears to have been used also by Nurbanu's successor,
Safiye Sultan.
As a reward for her service, the Republic of Venice granted Esther Handali a letter of approval to start a lottery in the Venetian Republic in 1587, which had never before been granted to a foreigner.
Due to her position, Esther Handali earned an enormous fortune. She became known as the benefactor of the Jewish community in
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
, especially for widows and orphans, and became particularly remembered for her relief help to the victims and homeless after the great fire of 1569.
References
History of the Turkish Jews and Sephardim: Memories of a Past Golden Age* Lamdan, Ruth (2007). "Jewish Women as Providers in the Generations Following the Expulsion from Spain". Nashim: a Journal of Jewish Women's Studies and Gender Issues 13: 49-67.
* Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry & Cheryl Tallan,
The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E.', 2003
* http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/esther-handali
* Minna Rozen: A History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul, The Formative Years, 1453 – 1566 (2002).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handali, Esther
16th-century births
1588 deaths
Sephardi Jews from the Ottoman Empire
16th-century businesspeople from the Ottoman Empire
Jewish philanthropists
16th-century women from the Ottoman Empire
16th-century businesswomen
16th-century Sephardi Jews
People from Jerez de la Frontera
Jewish women in business
Courtiers of the Ottoman Empire