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Kösem Sultan ( ota, كوسم سلطان, translit=;, 1589Baysun, M. Cavid, s.v. "Kösem Walide or Kösem Sultan" in ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'' vol. V (1986), Brill, p. 272 " – 2 September 1651), also known as Mahpeyker SultanDouglas Arthur Howard, The official History of Turkey, Greenwood Press, , p. 195 ( fa, ماه پيكر;, ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...

Ahmed I Ahmed I ( ota, احمد اول '; tr, I. Ahmed; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal f ...

valide sultan #REDIRECT Valide sultan #REDIRECT Valide sultan {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from miscapitalization{{R unprintworthy ...

{{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from miscapitalization{{R unprintworthy ...

as the mother of sultans

Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

and

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...

, and ''büyük'' ("elder") valide sultan as the grandmother of Sultan

Mehmed IV Mehmed IV ( ota, محمد رابع, Meḥmed-i rābi; tr, IV. Mehmed; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693) also known as Mehmed the Hunter ( tr, Avcı Mehmed) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the a ...

. She became one of the most powerful and influential women in

Ottoman history The Ottoman Empire was founded c. 1299 by Osman I as a small beylik in northwestern Asia Minor just south of the Byzantine capital Constantinople. The Ottomans first crossed into Europe in 1352, establishing a permanent settlement at Çimpe Cast ...

, as well as a prominent and controversial figure during the period known as the

Sultanate of Women The Sultanate of Women ( Turkish: ''Kadınlar saltanatı'') was a period when wives and mothers of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire exerted extraordinary political influence. This phenomenon took place from roughly 1528-30 to 1715, beginning in ...

. Born in

Tinos Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants. Tinos ...

, then part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, to a

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

priest, she was kidnapped and sold as a slave in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

before being sent to 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 ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, the Ottoman capital. There she rose to prominence, becoming the favourite of Sultan

. Over time her influence over the sultan grew and she became his most trusted advisor. Historians credit her with persuading

Ahmed Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

to spare the life of his younger half-brother,

Mustafa Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mou ...

, thus putting an end to the centuries-old practice of fratricide in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. After

died in 1617, she was instrumental in the enthronement of

Mustafa I Mustafa I (; ‎; 1600, Constantinople – 20 January 1639, Constantinople), called Mustafa the Saint (Veli Mustafa) during his second reign, and often called Mustafa the Mad (Deli Mustafa) by historians, was the son of Sultan Mehmed III and H ...

. Upon

Osman II Osman II ( ota, عثمان ثانى ''‘Osmān-i sānī''; tr, II. Osman; 3 November 1604 – 20 May 1622), also known as Osman the Young ( tr, Genç Osman), was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 26 February 1618 until his regicide on 20 May 162 ...

's ascension, she was briefly banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı). During the reign of

and

, Kösem gained both notoriety and affection among her subjects, wielding unparalleled political power and influencing the empire's foreign and domestic policy. Her early years as regent were marked by turbulence and instability, which began when the

Safavid Empire Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

annexed much of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and captured Baghdad in 1624, dragging the Ottomans into a 16-year conflict with the Safavids that sparked a series of rebellions, incursions, revolts and independence movements across the

. During escalating tensions between the

and the

in the 1640s, she and her allies were blamed for pressuring

to launch a naval assault on the Venetian-controlled island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. She had to contend with a Venetian blockade of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

, which culminated in the naval

Battle of Focchies The Battle of Focchies was a significant naval engagement that took place on 12 May 1649, in the harbour of Focchies, Smyrna between a Venetian force of nineteen warships under the command of Giacomo da Riva, and an Ottoman force of eleven warsh ...

in 1649, as well as merchant uprisings sparked by a financial crisis in the years that followed. Some historians questioned her intents and motivations for espousing the

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

' cause during her 28 years of power, and that she had accumulated a great fortune through illegitimate means. She did, however, put the money she acquired from her lands and income to good use, undertaking charitable works and construction projects as tangible manifestations of the dynasty's concern for its subjects. That is why, in the aftermath of her brutal assassination which provoked rioting and the execution of hundreds of men in

, she was referred to by the names: "Vālide-i Muazzama" (magnificent mother), "Vālide-i Maḳtūle" (murdered mother), and "Vālide-i Şehīde" (martyred mother).

Background

Kösem is generally said to be of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

origin, the daughter of a priest on the island of

whose maiden name was

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

. In 1604, at the age of 14 or 15, she was kidnapped by Ottoman raiders and bought as a slave in

by the ''

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

'' (governor-general) of the

Bosnia Eyalet The Eyalet of Bosnia ( ota, ایالت بوسنه ,Eyālet-i Bōsnâ; By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ; sh, Bosanski pašaluk), was an eyalet (administrative division, also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based o ...

. She was tall, slender, and appealing woman due to the whiteness of her complexion and the deep brown of her eyes. Her beauty and intelligence were noticed by the kızlar ağa of Sultan

's court, who sent her to

to join a group of other slave girls marked by their striking appearance or intelligence to be trained in the harem of Sultan

as an imperial court lady.: "Kosem was said to have been the daughter of a Greek priest of one of the Aegean islands, probably captured during one of the Ottoman-Venetian maritime campaigns. Her name was Anastasia but was changed after her conversion, no doubt on her admission to the palace, to Mâh-Peyker (Moon-Shaped), and later by Sultan Ahmet to Kosem" In the harem, she was taught

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, theology, mathematics, embroidery, singing, music and literature.

was captivated by her beauty and intelligence, and in 1605, she became his haseki. According to the Italian traveler

Pietro Della Valle Pietro Della Valle ( la, Petrus a Valle; 2 April 1586 – 21 April 1652), also written Pietro della Valle, was an Italian composer, musicologist, and author who travelled throughout Asia during the Renaissance period. His travels took him to the ...

, upon her conversion to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, her name was changed to ''Mahpeyker.'' After her marriage to

, he renamed her to ''Kösem,'' meaning "leader of the herd,” implying her political intelligence and leadership, but it might also mean "hairless,” in allusion to her smooth and hairless skin. Kösem rose to prominence early in

's reign as part of a series of changes to the hierarchy of the

. Safiye Sultan,

's once-powerful grandmother and manager of the harem, was deprived of her power and banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) in January 1604, and

Handan Sultan Handan Sultan ( ota, خندان سلطان meaning "smiling" in Persian; died 9 November 1605) was a consort of Sultan Mehmed III, and Valide Sultan to their son Sultan Ahmed I. Early life Of Bosnian origin, Handan Sultan was a servant in th ...

's mother and valide sultan, died in November of the following year. These two vacancies allowed her to rise to the top 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 ...

hierarchy.

Haseki sultan

favoured Kösem above all his concubines, lavishing on her the finest jewels and a stipend of 1,000 aspers a day. In the early years of their marriage, she bore

four daughters: Ayşe Sultan, Fatma Sultan,

Hanzade Sultan Hanzade Sultan may refer to: * Hanzade Sultan (daughter of Ahmed I) Hanzade Sultan ( ota, خانزادہ سلطان, "''descendent of the Khan''"; 1609 - 21 September 1650) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–1 ...

and Gevherhan Sultan. As the mother of several princesses, she had the right to arrange suitable dynastic marriages for them. Ayşe Sultan was accordingly married to Nasuh Pasha in 1612 at the age of seven, while in the same year, Gevherhan Sultan was married to Öküz Kara Mehmed Pasha at the age of five. The Venetian ambassador Simon Contarini, ''bailo'' between 1609 and 1612, mentions Kösem in his report in 1612 and portrays her as:

George Sandys George Sandys ( "sands"; 2 March 1578''Sandys, George''
in: ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online ...

, an English traveller who visited

in the early 1610s, recorded Kösem's name as "Casek Cadoun" ( haseki

kadın Kadin or Kadın may refer to *KADIN, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry * Kadin (name) * Kadın (title), for an imperial consort of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire *Kadin Island in southeastern Alaska * Kadin Jelovac, a village in Bosni ...

) and believed that she was "a witch beyond beauty." He claimed that the sultan had a "passionate" love for Kösem, emphasizing that this was the result of witchcraft. Sandys went on to characterise her as a woman with "a delicate and at the same time shy nature."

Abolition of fratricide

Contemporary observers noted Kösem's interest in the succession after the arrival of her first-born son

Murad Murad or Mourad ( ar, مراد) is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It ...

in 1612, and it is possible that the modification of the pattern of succession to the throne from a system of

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

to one based on

agnatic seniority Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only after the males o ...

owed something to her efforts. Since

fratricide Fratricide (, from the Latin words ' "brother" and the assimilated root of ' "to kill, to cut down") is the act of killing one's own brother. It can either be done directly or via the use of either a hired or an indoctrinated intermediary (a ...

was a common practice, she feared that if the throne went to one of the sultan's sons, it would go to the eldest,

Osman Osman is the Persian transliteration and derived from the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, , link=no ''‘uthmān'') or an English surname. It may refer to: People * Osman (name), people with the name * Osman I (1258–132 ...

, whose mother,

Mahfiruz Hatun ota, ماہ فروز خاتون , spouse = Ahmed I , issue = Osman II , predecessor = , successor = , birth_date = 1590 , birth_place = , death_date = Before 1618 , death_place = Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Ott ...

, may have been regarded by Kösem as a rival intent on lobbying in favor of her own son. She feared that Mahfriuz would compel

to execute her sons—

Süleyman Suleyman or Süleyman is a variant of Suleiman (the Arabic name ). It means "man of peace". Notable people with the name include: Suleyman *Suleyman I of Rûm or Suleiman ibn Qutulmish (d. 1086), founder of an independent Seljuq Turkish state i ...

, Kasım and

—if he succeeded his father, so she made efforts to keep her half-brother-in-law

safe from execution. Simon Contarini reported in the same year that Kösem "lobbied to spare

the fate of fratricide with the ulterior goal of saving her own son from the same fate." Thus, by letting the brother of the sultan live, the "queen" was trying to make sure that

, if he happens to become sultan, would spare the life of her sons. Contarini does not mention the name Kösem but talks about a "queen" (''regina''). Moreover, Kösem was able to use her close alliance with Mustafa Agha, the

Agha of the Janissaries The Agha of the Janissaries or Janissary Agha () was a top Ottoman military official and courtier, and the commander of the Janissary corps. Apart from the commander-general of the entire corps, the title of "Agha of the Janissaries" was also bor ...

, and his client Nasuh Pasha (her son-in-law) to wield influence over the sultan. Contarini also reported that the sultan ordered a woman to be beaten for having irritated Kösem, which may have been Mahfiruz herself. The latter would later be banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı), probably in the mid-1610s. After that incident, Kösem and her stepson

grew fond of each other. She used to let him join her in carriage rides, where he showed himself to the crowd when she made excursions into

. The reports of the Venetian '' bailos'' note that on these excursions,

enjoyed throwing handful of coins to the passers-by who flocked to see the young prince, while his stepmother Kösem remained concealed behind a curtain. Eventually

interfered with this close relationship between

and Kösem: the Venetian ambassador Bertuccio Valier reported in 1616 that the sultan did not allow the two eldest princes (

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, and to prevent rumors about a grownup prince's indecency in socializing with a woman who was neither his mother nor his sister. The Grand Vizier Nasuh Pasha, Kösem's son-in-law as the spouse of her daughter, Ayşe Sultan, was executed on the orders of

in 1614, Kösem herself tried to stop her husband from taking such action, but to no avail. Thus, she lost an important ally in the government. From that point on, she probably concentrated her efforts on keeping

alive. Kösem's influence over the sultan increased in the following years, and it is said that she acted as one of his advisers. Reporting from 1616 claims that Kösem was the most valuable ally to be had in

because of her sway over the sultan, Valier claims that her pro-Venetian policy and contributions to Venice's good standing must be appropriately rewarded. The '' bailos'' also noted that

was deeply devoted to Kösem. However, she refrained from involving herself constantly in serious issues as the sultan refused to be overshadowed by his wife. According to Valier in 1616: Contarini also noted that Kösem "restrains herself with great wisdom from speaking o the sultantoo frequently of serious matters and affairs of state." Throughout her career as haseki sultan, she was accused of trying to protect her own position and influence "rather than that of the sultan or of the dynasty".

's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth Ottoman sultans would no longer systematically execute their brothers upon accession to the throne.

Death of Ahmed I

's early death from typhus and gastric bleeding on 22 November 1617, Kösem became the head of a faction that successfully supported his half-brother

's accession to the throne. She probably feared for her sons' life, should their older half-brother,

, become sultan. She probably preferred to see

become sultan as he was less likely to see her sons as a threat.

Reign of Mustafa I

As only the second sultan (after

) to ascend the throne with no prior experience of government,

proved feeble and incompetent. He had spent his entire early life in the

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

, learning only what the

eunuchs A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

and women could teach him, and constantly fearing execution at the hands of the ruling sultans, with several palace officials, particularly the

Chief Black Eunuch The kizlar agha ( ota, قيزلر اغاسی, tr, kızlar ağası, ), formally the agha of the House of Felicity ( ota, links=no, دار السعاده اغاسي, tr, links=no, Darüssaade Ağası), was the head of the eunuchs who guarded the i ...

Mustafa Ağa, nourishing these fears to control him. Eventually, Mustafa Ağa spread stories that he was insane and secured his deposition on 26 February 1618, just 96 days after he ascended the throne. He was replaced by

, the eldest son of

and his deceased mother

.''Living in the Ottoman Realm: Empire and Identity, 13th to 20th Centuries'', pp. 199-201

Reign of Osman II

's first act as sultan was to take power away from

's supporters, as well as those who had secured his accession and planned to rule over him. As a result, Kösem and her eight children and entourage were banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı). Nevertheless, Kösem was able to maintain her haseki status and daily stipend of 1,000 aspers during her retirement. While at the Old Palace, she had the opportunity to meet Safiye Sultan. In 1619,

acted against Ottoman convention by paying Kösem a three-day visit at the Old Palace and taking part in her festivities, thus showing his particular affection for her. He also gave Kösem the income from eight villages to the north-west of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

; she then incorporated them into her ''

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

'', which provided services to pilgrims traveling from

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

. Kösem may have cultivated this relationship hoping to use her influence over Osman to persuade him to spare her sons. Indeed, when

departed on the Polish campaign of 1621, he executed only Mehmed, the eldest of his younger brothers, who was not one of Kösem's sons. His uncle

was kept alive, as were

's younger brothers, protected by Kösem. However, even if their relation continued, it did not yield results for the young sultan, whose greatest weakness was not having a valide sultan to lobby on his behalf. He also felt uneasy about Kösem's involvement in state issues. In May 1622, sensing that

might still execute

and his younger brothers, the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

corps and the palace soldiery planned a counter-strike, backed by Mustafa's mother,

Halime Sultan Halime Sultan ( ota, حلیمه سلطان, "''the gentle one''" or "''the patient one''") was a consort of Sultan Mehmed III, and the mother of Sultan Mustafa I. The first woman to be Valide Sultan twice and the only to be Valide twice of a sa ...

, and Kösem, who wanted her own children to ascend to the throne. Storming into the

, they freed

from confinement in the

Kafes The Kafes ( ota, قفس, kafes, from ), literally "cage", was the part of the Imperial Harem of the Ottoman Palace where possible successors to the throne were kept under a form of house-arrest and constant surveillance by the palace guards. Th ...

. As for

, aged only seventeen, he was imprisoned in

Yedikule Yedikule ( en, Seven Towers) is a neighborhood of Fatih, Istanbul in Turkey. It is named after the seven-towered Yedikule Fortress, which surrounds the neighborhood. Urbanized in the 16th century, the neighborhood became a hub for industrial and a ...

, then strangled by members of the

Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

corps on 20 May 1622, largely through the efforts of Halime.

Second reign of Mustafa I

In place of

, the weak and incompetent

was restored to the throne with the support of Kösem. While power initially went to Kösem and his mother, the

and others who had carried out the revolt then reacted violently to the regicide of

and killed all those whom they considered responsible while at the same time attempting to protect the remaining sons of

against the efforts of Halime to eliminate them to protect her son. In an effort to build her own position, Kösem secured the appointment as grand vizier of

Mere Hüseyin Pasha Mere Hüseyin Pasha (died July 1624) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian origin.Uzunçarsılı, İsmail Hakkı, (1954) ''Osmanlı Tarihi III. Cilt, 2. Kısım , XVİ. Yüzyıl Ortalarından XVII. Yüzyıl Sonuna kadar'', Ankara: Türk Tarih Ku ...

, an Albanian who presented himself as a reformer, promising to move against the assassins. However, Hüseyin Pasha used the situation to his own advantage, raiding the state treasury for his own benefit under the pretext of punishing those responsible for the regicide of

. During the closing months of

's second reign, he ordered the execution of everyone involved in

's death, including Kösem's sons. But before his orders could be carried out, both Kösem and the

corps intervened and deposed him again. Kösem eventually reached an agreement with the viziers to install her son

as sultan.

would go on to spend the rest of his life in the

Valide sultan

Reign of Murad IV

Kösem entered the

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...

with a great ceremony which included having a thousand

dervishes Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

marching with prayers to celebrate her forthcoming. She was once again thrust into the political arena when her son ascended to the throne on 10 September 1623 as

. Since he was a minor, she was appointed not only as valide sultan but also as official regent (''naib-i-sultanat''). In 1623, the

Ottoman court Ottoman court was the culture that evolved around the court of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman court was held at the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople where the sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Some served in the Treasury and the ...

sent a letter to the

, formally announcing

's succession to the throne and referring to Kösem as valide sultan: "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 honoured her by marrying her." The letter further indicates that Kösem would rule in her son's name: "We have great hope and faith in the valide sultan, who - among all women enjoying the position - is distinguished by maturity and virtue of character." Shortly after

's enthronement, a Venetian ambassadorial message remarked on Kösem's political experience: A month before the Venetian despatch, the English envoy

Thomas Roe Sir Thomas Roe ( 1581 – 6 November 1644) was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe's voyages ranged from Central America to India; as ambassador, he represented England in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire ...

predicted that the new sultan would be "gouemed by his mother, who gouemed his father, a man of spirit and witt." After

's accession, all his brothers were confined in the

, a part of the

where the palace

kept possible successors to the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monar ...

under a form of house-arrest and constant

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

. As regent, Kösem effectively ran the empire through her son,

, attending and arranging ''

divan A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...

'' (cabinet) sessions from behind a curtain. She was in charge of appointing political figures and overseeing the state's administration, which allowed her to establish connections with statesmen, judges, and other court figures. She would meet with foreign ambassadors from other countries to discuss international treaties. The leading viziers wrote letters directly to her and, in response, Kösem used her ''

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 ...

'' to compose letters to the viziers. Kösem seemed to have distinct expectations about her role when she first became regent. According to the Turkish historian Özlem Kumrular: In 1623,

Kemankeş Kara Ali Pasha Kemankeş Kara Ali Paşa was a Turkish Ottoman statesman. He was the 80th grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1624.Turkish State Archives during the reign of Sultan Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ' ...

was appointed grand vizier. His worst blunder was permitting the Safavid Shah Abbas to capture Baghdad and

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and in ...

in 1624, and then hiding the news from Kösem and

, who was twelve years old at the time. Already displeased, Kösem immediately deposed him and had him strangled with the support of the

Mustafa Ağa. He was replaced as grand vizier by Çerkes Mehmed Pasha.

Foreign and domestic policy

Foreign enemies and powerful local notables saw Kösem's rise as an opportunity to undermine the Ottoman state's power and authority. During the early years of

's reign, Kösem had to deal with the loss of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and

during the Ottoman–Safavid War; the rebellion of tribes in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

; the Abaza rebellion in northern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

; the wavering allegiances of governors in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and other provinces; the assertion of independence by the Barbary states; a revolt by the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

; and raids by marauding

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

coast.

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

incursions into the

were common throughout the early 17th century, disrupting the security of the

and forcing the Ottomans to consider reinforcing the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

, especially after the Cossack incursion of 1624. On behalf of her son, Kösem ordered the construction of two fortresses near the mouth of the

, one in

Anadolukavağı Anadolu Kavağı (sometimes written as Anadolukavağı), is a neighbourhood at the northern end of the Bosphorus in the Beykoz district of Istanbul, Turkey. "Anadolu" is the Turkish name for Anatolia, and "kavak" meant "control post" in Ottoman ...

and the other in

Rumelikavağı Rumelikavağı, also known as Rumeli Kavağı, is a neighborhood of Sarıyer district in İstanbul Province, Turkey. "Rumeli" is the Turkish name for Thrace, and "Kavak" means "control post" in Ottoman Turkish referring to the strategic position ...

. The fortresses were erected in a single year. During her regency, Kösem ably restored the state's finances after a period of severe inflation. She also helped stabilise the government by melting down much of the palace gold and silver to pay the

. When the grand vizier, who was campaigning against the Safavids to recapture

, ran out of food for the army, he turned to Kösem for assistance. In one letter, she responded to his request, writing: "You say that attention must be paid to provisions for the campaign. If it were up to me, it would have been taken care of long ago. There is no shortcoming on either my or my son's part." In another, she sent good news: "You wrote about the provisions. If I were able to, I would procure and dispatch them immediately. I am doing everything I can, my son likewise. God willing, it is intended that this Friday ten million aspers will be forwarded to

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...

, if all goes well. The rest of the provisions have been loaded onto ships."

Bayram Pasha Bayram Pasha (died 26 August 1638) was an Ottoman grand vizier from 1637 to 1638 and the Ottoman governor of Egypt from 1626 to 1628. Life Bayram, was from Ladik, near the Anatolian city of Amasya. He was Turkish origin and was a member o ...

, the governor of

and Kösem's son-in-law, wrote to the her on a number of issues and she communicated the contents of his letters to the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha along with her own thoughts. Among the problems discussed were delays in the provision of gunpowder, the troublesome situation in the

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, and shortfalls in the province's revenue (in 1625

sent only half of its normal revenue because of the ravages of a plague known in Egyptian annals as "the plague of Bayram Pasha"). The extent of the cooperation between Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha and Kösem is suggested by her frank comment: "You really give me a headache. But I give you an awful headache too. How many times have I asked myself. 'I wonder if he's getting sick of me'? 'But what else can we do?" In 1625,

, who was already critical of his mother's foreign policy, objected to her proposed truce between the

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. According to a Venetian dispatch of 1625, "the Imperialists and Spaniards declared that the matter was progressing favourably, being actively assisted by the Sultan's mother." A year later, the Venetian ambassador reported that the sultan, "with a prudence beyond his years", was opposed to the truce, as were most leading statesmen except the admiral

Recep Pasha Recep Pasha (also transliterated in the past as Rajab Pasha or Ragab Pasha or Receb Pasha, or Rajab Bacha or even Rajab Basha; died 1726) was an Ottoman statesman. Recep Pasha became a vizier in September 1707 and served as the Ottoman governor o ...

and

, governor of

. He noted that the Spanish "base their hopes on these two and the Sultan's mother and sister." The ambassador was probably aware of the fact that

was married to Gevherhan Sultan and

, both of them Kösem's daughters. Nevertheless, the treaty was recalled on the sultan's orders. In addition to her correspondence with King Philip IV of

, Kösem also corresponded directly with

Nur Jahan Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa P ersian: نورجهان (; – 18 December 1645) was the wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir from 1620 until his death in 1627. Nur Jahan was born Mehr-un-Nissa, as the daughter of a Mirza Ghi ...

, the chief wife of the Mughal emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

. Imperial princesses were often involved in serial marriages during the century after Süleyiman the Magnificent, thereby allowing the Imperial family to establish a network of alliances with the most powerful pashas. Kösem, in particular, used her daughters to help keep her in power for nearly half a century. As she wrote to the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha in 1626, a few months before he became her daughter Ayşe Sultan's third husband: Rejecting an offer of marriage into the imperial family was tantamount to treason, so statesmen could hardly decline a proposed match. Kösem also paired off numerous other women in the Imperial household with men whose standing would be beneficial to her. She also allied herself strategically with the

A letter to the Grand Vizier Damad Hilal Pasha, dated 1627, reveals Kösem's concern about two troublesome matters: the security of

, which would break free of Ottoman control in 1636, and the chronic problem of making salary payments, especially to the

, the frequently unruly Ottoman infantry. The letter also mentions her anxiety about

's health and her frustration over her lack of direct control over important decisions: Another letter expresses her wish that the young sultan should be advised 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

rather than directly: Enraged by his mother's excessive support for the governor of

moved to break Kösem's ties with her son-in-law Admiral Hüseyin Pasha, the husband of her daughter

Fatima Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...

, by forcing the dissolution of the marriage. Hüseyin Pasha had benefited from the protection of both the

Mustafa Ağa and Kösem.

's move against him may have stemmed from a 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 but

was trying hard to keep his mother away from politics, and his actions suggest that he was disturbed by her great influence.

Post-regency

In May 1632, during an uprising in

, the

stormed the palace and killed the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha, among others. Perhaps in response to this, as well as fearing that he would suffer the same fate as his elder half-brother

decided not to allow anyone else to interfere in his administration of the empire, and ordered his mother to sever her contacts with his statesmen, threatening her with exile from the capital if she did not comply. This brought Kösem's nine-year term of office as regent to an end. Having taken power for himself, he immediately sought to replace the men loyal to his mother. He then tried to put an end to the corruption that had grown during the reigns of previous sultans, and that had gone unchecked while his mother was ruling through proxy. Despite being removed from the seat of power, Kösem continued to run some governmental affairs on behalf of the sultan, since he trusted her to look after his interests during his absences from the capital. She also remained in direct correspondence with him and with Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha. During the Ottoman–Safavid War: In 1634,

's execution of the kadi (judge) of Iznik for a minor offence sparked outrage amongst

's religious hierarchy. When Kösem learned that the Şeyhülislam Ahizade Hüseyin Efendi was allegedly plotting to overthrow the sultan, she sent word to

to return to the capital immediately. Ahizade Hüseyin Efendi was strangled before proof of his innocence could reach the sultan. It was the first execution of a Şeyhülislam in the history of the Ottoman state. By 1635, the

Anatolian Anatolian or anatolica may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the region Anatolia * Anatolians, ancient Indo-European peoples who spoke the Anatolian languages * Anatolian High School, a type of Turkish educational institution * Anatol ...

countryside had been devastated by the Abaza rebellion and state oppression, resulting in a mass influx of refugees to the capital.

responded by ordering the refugees to return to their destroyed homes or face execution, but eventually relented at the insistence of his mother. In 1637, Angelo Alessandri, secretary to Venetian envoy Pietro Foscarini, characterised her as follows: In 1638, following the recapture of Baghdad from the

Safavids Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

, Kösem was a key figure in the celebrations surrounding her son

's triumphal return to

. Retracing her path after leaving

to welcome

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the c ...

, two days' journey from the city, she rode in a carriage draped with gold fabric, its wheels studded, and its spokes coated in gold, preceded by viziers and high-ranking religious authorities on gorgeously caparisoned horses. Twelve additional carriages followed her own, most likely transporting members of the

. Kösem's principal effort in protecting the dynasty appears to have been dissuading the sultan from executing all his brothers toward the end of his reign. The princes Bayezid (her stepson) and

(her biological son) were executed during the celebrations over the victory at

(1635) and Kasım, the heir apparent to the throne, was executed during the Baghdad campaign in 1638. One source states that

was also executed at

's command on 20 January 1639.

Reign of Ibrahim

Of Kösem's last surviving sons, the mentally unstable

, lived in fear of being the next of his brothers to be executed by

. On his deathbed in 1640,

told his mother of his disdain for his brother

, saying that it would be better for the dynasty to end rather than continue with an heir who was insane.

's life was only saved by the intercession of his mother Kösem, who argued that he was 'too mad to be a threat". She thereby saved the Ottoman dynasty from probable annihilation. Following

's death from cirrhosis at the age of 27,

was the sole surviving prince of the dynasty. When the Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha asked him to assume the sultanate,

suspected

was still alive and plotting to trap him. It took the combined persuasion of Kösem and the grand vizier to make him accept the throne. For instance, Kösem ordered his brother's corpse to be displayed before him and even threatened

with 'strangulation, not inauguration' if he refused to be crowned sultan. Sent to

by the Venetian government on the occasion of

's accession,

Alvise Contarini Alvise Contarini (24 October 1601 – 15 January 1684) was the 106th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on 26 August 1676 until his death seven and a half years later. He was the eighth and final member of the House of Contarini to serve ...

presented letters of congratulation addressed to Kösem to Mustafa Pasha for delivery. However, the grand vizier, Kösem's rival for control of the weak

, did not forward the letters, "as if scorning them", reported Contarini who also wrote that the grand vizier "told me that the queen mothers of the Ottomans are slaves of the Grand Signor like all others, not partners or heads of government, like those in Christian countries." With the accession of

, Kösem once again became politically active as his principal advisor. However, she enjoyed a less compatible relationship with the Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha than she had with the grand viziers of

's early reign. Now entering her fourth decade of political involvement, Kösem was a shrewd and experienced politician. The competition between them was reported by the Venetian ambassador

's sexual impotency was assessed psychologically, and his mother summoned a number of '' hodjas'' to treat him, but all of whom were unsuccessful. In a desperate attempt, Kösem then invited the alleged sorcerer

Cinci Hoca Cinci Hoca (literally "hoca of jinn") is the epithet of Karabaşzade Hüseyin Efendi, a 17th-century Ottoman spiritualist whose influence on the sultan caused many problems in the empire. Life He was born in Safranbolu (in modern province of K ...

(Jinji Hojā) to the palace, after informing her that he had inherited certain 'magic formulas.' After supposedly curing

's impotency by offering him a cocktail of

aphrodisiacs An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

, pornography and seductive females, the sultan rewarded the ''hoca'' with a chief justiceship, the second highest ''ulama'' position, an appointment which was one of numerous examples of the overturning of authority and procedure at court.Börekçi, Günhan. "Ibrahim I." ''Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire''. Ed. Gábor Ágoston and Bruce Masters. New York: Facts on File, 2009. p. 263 Kösem tried to remedy the situation by encouraging

to distract himself with beautiful concubines supplied to her from the slave market by a confidant named ''Pezevenk'', or the Pimp. This allowed her to gain power and rule in his name as well as to ensure the dynasty's survival. Bobovi, a royal page from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

who served in the palace from 1638 until 1657, wrote, "It is almost always from among the Sultan Valide's slaves that the sultan chooses his mistresses. For it is only she who has the interest of the loves of her son at her heart. She always searches for beautiful girls to be presented to him."

Cretan War

The Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha and Kösem continued to direct the affairs of government throughout the first four years of

's reign. The rivalry between them grew stronger as time went on, and early in 1644, Kösem allied herself with

, and together, they persuaded

to have

Kara Mustafa Pasha Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha ( ota, مرزيفونلى قره مصطفى پاشا, tr, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous of Merzifon"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and Gr ...

executed. From that point on, she concentrated her efforts on increasing the pay of the

. However, the treasury had run out of money in 1645 when it came time to pay them. Kösem tried to get financial assistance from

, the sultan's chief treasurer, but he declined. She later explained this situation to the

, writing to them: "I want to distribute your service pay but Cinci Hoca does not allow me", causing the

to consider

as an enemy, causing the

to murder him. Due to the shortfall in the Imperial funds, Kösem and her allies urged

to launch a naval assault on the Venetian-controlled island of Crete,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

's largest and wealthiest overseas possession. The campaign, however, was largely unsuccessful, and the venture further drained the treasury.

Palace feud

A former slave of Kösem's, Şivekar Sultan was an Armenian from the Bosphorus village of Arnavutkoy, who is said to have weighed nearly 330 pounds. According to Rycaut,

became so infatuated with her that he was unable to deny her anything, which led to her downfall because she incurred the wrath of Kösem: "By these particulars the Queen Mother becoming jealous, one day inviting her to Dinner, caused her to be Strangled, and persuaded Ibrahim that she died suddenly of a violent Sickness, at which the poor Man was greatly afflicted.' She then informed the distraught

that Şivekar Sultan 'had died suddenly of a powerful illness." However, other sources suggest that Şivekar Sultan was exiled to

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

after

's death in 1648. Her fall was a clear sign that Kösem, like others, despised

's concubines' excessive influence over political matters. Kösem is also known to have had a strict policy for the

in the harem, which denied them any influence in the running of the state. Moreover, she quickly got rid of the female lovers of these

some of whom were manumitted while others were sent to be sold in the slave market.

allegedly tried to rape a concubine who spurned him and threatened to stab him if he persisted. Their struggle was overheard by Kösem, who reprimanded

and allowed the woman to escape the

. Meanwhile,

's favourites had grown envious of Kösem, encouraging her son to rebel against her. Thus,

rejected his mother's authority and Kösem withdrew from the

to live in a summer house outside

and then in a house in an Imperial garden in

Eyüp Eyüp () or Eyüpsultan is a district of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The district extends from the Golden Horn all the way to the shore of the Black Sea. Eyüp is also the name of a prominent neighborhood and former village in the district, lo ...

.After Kösem's departure, and in another assault on palace protocol,

began humiliating his sisters Ayşe, Fatma, and Hanzade, as well as his niece

Kaya Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...

, subordinating them to his concubines, to whom he gave their land and jewels. He also forced his sisters and niece to work as maids for his wife Hümaşah Sultan. This infuriated Kösem, who turned against

Deposition of Ibrahim

Alarmed by

's erratic behaviour, in September 1647, the Grand Vizier Salih Pasha and Şeyülislam Abdürrahim Efendi plotted to depose him. The Şeyülislam deferred to Kösem in the matter of her son's deposition, informing her that all of the statesmen were in favour and that they were prepared to swear allegiance to

's son, Mehmed, the eldest prince. But Kösem hesitated, either out of maternal instinct or for fear of losing her own political power. Instead she begged the co-conspirators to leave her son on the throne but under the guardianship of the grand vizier.Rank, Scott. ''History's 9 Most Insane Rulers'' p.76 Made aware of the attempt to topple him,

had the Grand Vizier Salih Pasha executed. Initially,

planned to have his mother, whom he suspected of being part of the conspiracy, exiled to the island of Rhodes, However, such as indignity was resisted by one of his hasekis and instead Kösem was exiled to the Iskender Çelebi garden in

Florya Florya is a neighborhood ( tr, mahalle) belonging to the Bakırköy district of the greater Istanbul, Turkey. It is located along Marmara Sea, and borders to the northeast the neighborhood of Yeşilköy, to the northwest that of Küçükçekmece. ...

. According to

Naima "Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album ''Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works. History Col ...

: By 1647, heavy taxes, bungled wars, and a Venetian blockade of the

that brought the Ottoman capital to the brink of starvation, caused discontent to boil over. In 1648, the

and members of the ''

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

'' revolted against

who lost his temper and fled into the arms of his mother, whom he had reluctantly allowed back into the harem, begging her to protect him. The chronicler

Kâtip Çelebi Kâtip Çelebi (), or Ḥājjī Khalīfa ()), Muṣṭafa Ben Hājī Khalīfah, Haji Khalifa, Hajji Khalifeh, Hazi Halife, Hadschi Chalfa, Khalfa, Kalfa, etc. (*1017 AH/1609 AD – d. 1068 AH/1657 AD); was a Turkish polymath and author of the ...

reports that Kösem attended a conference with leading viziers, clergy and others about the impending action. She was draped from head to toe in black silk, while a black eunuch waved a large fan beside her. The Ağa of the Janissaries addressed her: Kösem tried to blame the viziers and clergy for leading

astray throughout his eight-year reign and pointed out their hypocrisy in plotting to overthrow him in favour of his son: Emphasising the need for dynastic allegiance, she went on to ask the clergy: "Wasn't every single one of you raised up through the benevolence of the Ottoman dynasty?" They replied with an imperative drawn from holy law (''sharia''): "a mentally ill person cannot lead the ''

ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

'' (the community of Muslim believers.)" At one point the ''ulama'' addressed Kösem as ''umm al-mu'minin'', "mother of the uslimbelievers." This honorific title, given to the wives of the

Prophet Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

by Qur'anic revelation, allowed her to extend her maternal function as guardian beyond her son and the

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

to the Empire as a whole. Hanifezade, an Ottoman judge, appealed to her not as a mother but as a stateswoman: In one last effort, Kösem said, "All this is the doing of wicked ministers. They shall be removed; and only good and wise men shall be set in their stead." "What will that avail?" replied Hanifezade, "Has not the Sultan put to death good and gallant men who served him, such as were Mustafa Pasha and Yusuf Pasha, the conqueror of Canea?" "But how," urged Kösem, "is it possible to place a child of seven years upon the throne?" Hanefizade answered: "In the opinion of our wise men of the law, a madman ought not to reign, whatever be his age; but rather let a child, that is gifted with reason, be upon the throne. If the sovereign be a rational being, though an infant, a wise Vizier may restore order to the world; but a grown-up Sultan, who is without sense, ruins all things by murder, by abomination, by corruption, and prodigality." "So be it, then," said Kösem; "I will fetch my grandson, Mehmed, and place the turban on his head." She agreed to give in after they promised not to murder

, but merely return him to the confinement of the

. By this point Kösem was anxious to be rid of her son, whose disastrous administration had undone all the restorative work done by his elder brother, writing to the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha: "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." During the last months of

's reign, Kösem was thrust back into the position of dynastic protector when the Ağa of the Janissaries, who were going to demand the resignation of the unpopular Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha, warned her to take great care to safeguard the princes. On 8 August 1648,

was dethroned and imprisoned in

Büyük valide sultan

Reign of Mehmed IV

On the same day that

was dethroned, Kösem presented her seven-year-old grandson, Mehmed, to the ''

'' with the words: "Here he is!, see what you can do with him!" When some government official insisted that he be sent to be enthroned and receive the

' and sipahis' (cavalryman) oath of allegiance at the Blue Mosque, Kösem demanded that they instead come to the palace, pointing out that no sultan had ever been enthroned in a mosque before. Her purpose was undoubtedly in part to force the situation so that she could have some influence over the outcome. Ten days after

's dethronement, the newly appointed Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha asked the Şeyhülislam Abdürrahim Efendi for a

fatwā A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

sanctioning

's execution which was granted, with the message: "If there are two caliphs, kill one of them." Kösem insisted that she was the only person who could make the final decision over whether the ex-sultan should live or died, exclaiming: "They said my son Ibrahim was not suitable for the sultanate. I said 'depose him.' They said his presence is harmful, I said 'let him be removed', then I said 'let him be executed.' If anyone is under my protection, it is my son." How far Kösem was involved in

's execution has always been a source of debate.

Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall (9 June 1774 – 23 November 1856) was an Austrian orientalist and historian. He is considered one of the most accomplished Orientalists of his time. He was critical of the trend of ascribing classical or a ...

, an Austrian historian, believes that, to the extent that she was involved, it was motivated by concern for the state . Nevertheless, she was forced to give her consent to

's execution. As officials watched from a palace window,

was strangled on 18 August 1648. His death was the second

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

in the history of the

. According to Ottoman customs, the mother of the deceased sultan would retire to the OId Palace and give up her office upon the accession of a new sultan. Kösem herself requested to retire from politics, but her request was denied by the political and religious leaders who removed

, forcing her to reconsider continue her career as Mehmed's regent because she had more expertise and knowledge of the state’s running than Mehmed's own twenty-one-year-old mother,

Turhan Sultan Turhan Hatice Sultan ( ota, تورخان سلطان, "''nobility of the Khan''" or ''mercy of the Khan'' " and "''respecful lady''"; 1627 – 4 August 1683) was the first Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim (reign 1640–48) and V ...

. According to Abdülaziz Efendi, then the chief justice of

Rumeli Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a histo ...

and a central figure in the dynastic upheavals of the time, it was considered prudent to appoint the more experienced female as regent in contravention of tradition: Thus Kösem was reinstated as regent by Mehmed's council and was entrusted with his training and guardianship.

Rivalry with Turhan Sultan

Mehmed's mother,

, was presented to Kösem as a gift from Kör Süleyman Pasha, the Khan of Crimea, when she was around 12 years old, so it was presumably Kösem who offered Turhan to

as a concubine. The post of

valide sultan #REDIRECT Valide sultan #REDIRECT Valide sultan {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from miscapitalization{{R unprintworthy ...

{{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from miscapitalization{{R unprintworthy ...
and regent should have gone to Turhan when her son Mehmed' became sultan, but she was passed over because of her youth and inexperience. Turhan must also have resented the stipend of 2000 aspers that she received in comparison with Kösem's 3000 aspers and so she began to assert what she saw to be her rightful authority. According to Rycaut: "The two queens were exasperated highly against each other, one to maintain the authority of her son and the other her own." In 1649, Kösem promoted herself to the previously non-existent rank of ''büyük'' ("elder") ''valide'' to allow her to outrank

. Historians have recorded that Kösem would usually sit in the palace lodge with her grandson Mehmed, handing down decisions. She would also sit beside the sultan, concealed behind a curtain, if his presence was needed at the ''

''. In one instance, she scolded a vizier in an abrasive tone: "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!"

Battle of Focchies aftermath

Battle of Focchies, 1649 RCIN 723088 (cropped)

Kösem and the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha grew in enmity after Mehmed's accession to the throne. The grand vizier appears to have regarded himself as regent as well as "temporary ruler." According to

, the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

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 sovereignty prerogatives; as a result, he resented Kösem's control over the government, hoping that he, rather than the sultan's grandmother, would act as regent. He once bragged: "The soldiers of this exalted state respect only the honour of inherited nobility." According to the French historian

Alphonse de Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...

, in May 1649, following the defeat of the Ottomans in the

, Kösem entered the ''

'' on foot, in agreement with the ağas, to discuss the military disasters. She presided over the ''

'' from behind a curtain whilst sitting on the sultan's throne, alongside the sultan himself. The Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha expressed disappointment at the difficult circumstances, but in a speech, Mehmed said, "Go, you are not worthy of being grand vizier; give back the seal of the State. And you," he added, handing the seal to

Kara Murat Pasha Kara Murat Pasha, or Kara Dev Murat Pasha, lit. ''Courageous Giant Murat Pasha'' in Ottoman Turkish; (1595 - 1655), was an Ottoman Albanian statesman and military officer. He served as Kapudan Pasha and twice as Grand Vizier. His epithet ''K ...

, the Ağa of the Janissaries, "take it; I will see what you can do." Then, the grand judge Abdülaziz Efendi, an ally of t Mehmed Pasha, turned to the sultan and asked, "My dear, who taught you that, at your age?" This insolence made Kösem's anger boil over and she listed the former grand vizier's shortcomings, including his alleged plans to assassinate her: In

's words, Abdülaziz Efendi "drowned in the sea of mortification." Kösem gave the newly appointed Grand Vizier Murat Pasha orders to have Mehmed Pasha and his allies executed. Abdülaziz Efendi then fled. According to

Finkel Finkel or Finckel is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Alan Finkel, Australia's Chief Scientist * Aryeh Finkel, rosh yeshiva of the Brachfeld branch of the Mir yeshiva * Benjamin Finkel, American mathematician and educator * B ...

, Kösem "continued to be the ruling personality... tutoring him ara Murat Pashain the decisions handed down."

Merchant rebellions

In 1650,

's merchants rose in rebellion. The treasury was once again empty, and traders were obliged to accept faulty coins in place of good ones to pay the

. They retaliated by closing their shops and taking to the streets, demanding the dismissal of Grand Vizier Murat Pasha, the former commander of the Janissary corps, as well as the execution of

commanders. A large gathering of 15,000 artisans and merchants marched to Şeyülislam Abdülaziz Efendi's residence, weeping and ripping their garments, and complaining that their protests had gone unheard, that they had been subjected to harmful impositions such as heavy monthly taxes, and that they feared debtors' prison. The Şeyülislam sympathised with their plight and intended to ask the sultan to "cancel evil innovations," but instead he was encircled and forced to accompany them to the palace. To give them credibility, they put the reluctant Şeyülislam on horseback at the front. The Hippodrome was packed with 20,000 men. They entered the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

compound, hoping to meet the sultan there, but were instead admitted to the palace, marching as far as the Gate of Felicity and passing on to voice their grievances. Kösem arrived in a fury, demanding, "Why did you not turn back these people, instead bringing them to the palace?" The Şeyülislam claimed, "We did not bring them, they brought us." The sultan then asked what was causing the uproar and advised the Şeyülislam to return the next day when the merchants would submit their grievances to him, but they responded, "We will not take a step backward until we receive what we deserve." Relying on the advice of his grandmother, the sultan then asked to meet Grand Vizier Murat Pasha. However, Murat Pasha preferred to return his seal of office rather than appear in front of him. Claiming that the room where they were meeting was claustrophobic, Kösem stepped outside and gave

Melek Ahmed Pasha Melek Ahmed Pasha ("Ahmed Pasha the Angel"; 1604–1662) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, grand vizier during the reign of Mehmed IV. Early years He was of Abkhaz people, Abkhaz (or Abazins, Ab ...

, the spouse of her granddaughter

Kaya Sultan ota, اسمیخان کایا سلطان , house = Ottoman , house-type = Dynasty , father = Murad IV , mother = , birth_date = 1633 , birth_place = Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (present day Istanbul, Turkey) , ...

, the seal of office. On 5 August 1650,

was appointed grand vizier, but his term of office was cut short a year later because of his incompetence in dealing with another uprising of the merchants. Kösem proposed that former Grand Vizier Kara Murat Pasha replace

, but the elderly Siyavuş Pasha, who was favoured by

was instead appointed without her consent.

Palace coup

The late 17th-century author Dervish Abdullah Efendi claimed that the

Uzun ("Tall") Süleyman Ağa deliberately turned Kösem and her daughter-in-law, Turhan, against each other: "A black eunuch called Uzun Süleyman

aid to Kösem In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

"My lady, the Junior Mother

urhan Urhan may refer to: * Urhan (Ireland), a townland on the Beara Peninsula, Ireland * Chrétien Urhan (1790-1845), viola player {{disambiguation ...

covets your wealth. You should guard yourself well, because she is determined to kill you one night. I have experienced your kindness previously, and for this reason, I have told you", and he began to cry. When ösemasked, "What is the remedy for this?" he answered, "We have all agreed to depose Sultan Mehmed and enthrone rinceSüleyman. They are both your randsons This treachery must be stopped immediately." He then went to Turhan and told her, "Soon they are going to kill all your black eunuchs and imprison you, for I have learned that the Senior Mother's eunuchs have agreed to depose Sultan Mehmed and enthrone rinceSüleyman." Political figures who resented Kösem's alliance with the

encouraged Turhan to resist the regent's monopoly of power and patronage, and she began to plot against Kösem. Courtiers then took sides: The

stayed loyal to Kösem, while most of the harem and the palace eunuchs, the

Süleyman Ağa and the Grand Vizier Siyavuş Pasha favoured Turhan. According to

, once Kösem realised this, she began to plot to dethrone Mehmed and replace him with his younger half-brother,

whose mother, Aşub Sultan, she thought a more complaisant rival; her plan to swap one child sultan for another was primarily geared towards eliminating Turhan.

further notes that Kösem secretly asked the palace guards to leave the gates open so that

could sneak in and kill Turhan. She also allegedly gave two bottles of poisoned sherbet to Üveys Ağa, the head ''helva'' (sweets) maker in the palace kitchen, to give to the child sultan and promised to promote him if he succeeded in poisoning the boy. The day before the plot was due to be carried out, however, one of Kösem's slaves,

Meleki Hatun Meleki Hatun ( ota, ملکی خاتون; "''Angel''" died February 27, 1656) was a lady-in-waiting to Kösem Sultan, her son Sultan Ibrahim, and later to Turhan Hatice Sultan, Haseki of Ibrahim and mother of Mehmed IV. Life Meleki Hatun had o ...

, betrayed it to Süleyman Ağa.

Wojciech Bobowski Wojciech Bobowski or Ali Ufki (also Albertus Bobovius, Ali Bey, Santurî Ali Ufki; 1610–1675) was a Polish, later Ottoman musician and dragoman in the Ottoman Empire. He translated the ''Bible'' into Ottoman Turkish, composed an Ottoman '' P ...

's book ''Saray-ı Enderun (Life at the Ottoman Court) depicted the organisation and daily life of the Ottoman Court. He wrote some observations on Kösem's attempt to poison

in 1651: Süleyman Ağa promptly invited the Grand Vizier Siyavuş Pasha to the palace and told him that Kösem was usually in bed at that time, being entertained by 'her Eunuchs, and Favourites, with Musick, Singing, and other unusual delights'.Süleyman Ağa and the sultan's eunuchs then attempted to force their way into Kösem's quarters after consultation with the grand vizier. According to a report from 1675, Kösem's entourage initially repulsed them: Süleyman Ağa and his accomplices moved so silently and rapidly that most of the palace remained asleep. They also shared a sign language so that no one could hear their voices. Meanwhile, they summoned their forces to secure the palace against the

. The men went to Turhan's quarters and told her of the conspiracy to poison the child sultan, after which she begged Süleyman Ağa to protect him. A procession from Turhan's quarters along with Süleyman Ağa's group then marched to the throne room and placed Mehmed on the throne. The guards awakened their sleeping comrades along with forty of their officers who asked what they could do to show their loyalty. Süleyman Ağa responded: Kösem was accused of being the instigator of the plot against the sultan, and his chief ministers urged that she be executed, preferably with the sultan's consent. The Grand Vizier Siyavuş Pasha said to the sultan: "My sultan, the will of god is that you consign your grandmother into the hands of justice, if you would have these mutinies appeased; a little mischief is better than a great one; there is no other remedy; god willing, the end shall be prosperous." The sultan then summoned a

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

, who decreed that the 'Old Queen' should be strangled "but neither cut with a sword nor bruised with blows", Kösem's death warrant was signed by the trembling hand of the child sultan.

Assassination

On the 16th day of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

, the night of 2 September 1651, the

Süleyman Ağa and his armed men, consisting of over 120 armed black and white

, descended on the palace in support of the sultan, proceeded to Kösem's quarters, which was guarded by over 300 armed

and loyal black

. Süleyman Ağa and his men managed to kill some of the guards, while the majority fled. Hearing the commotion, Kösem thought the

had arrived, so she called out, "Have they come?" "Yes, they have come", Süleyman Ağa answered, hoping to deceive her. When Kösem recognised his voice, she began stuffing her jewels into her pockets and fled along the Golden Way and through the Court of the Black Eunuchs to the Dome with Closets, probably hoping to escape from the palace through the Carriage Gate. The gate was locked, so she crept into a small cabinet, hoping that Turhan's

would pass her by and that the

would come to her rescue. Süleyman Ağa men broke into her chamber but the only person they found there was an elderly woman who served as Kösem's buffoon and who was armed with a pistol, which she pointed at them while they asked her where Kösem had gone. The woman replied, 'I am the valide sultan,' but Süleyman Ağa cried, 'It is not she' and pushed her aside.Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul, John Freely. ch. 10 Kösem Sultan Murder

Eventually Kösem was betrayed to a halberdier by a piece of her dress that protruded from under the cabinet door. Dragged out by one of her assailants, she told him, "O brave man, be not cruel unto me", while tossing gold coins onto the floor as a distraction. One of the men then held her down, while they seized her garments, jewellery, bracelets, garters and other valuables. Her earrings, two chestnut-sized diamonds with a ruby beneath each diamond that had been given to her by her husband

, were torn apart by an Albanian man called Bostanci Ali Ağa; their estimated worth was thought to equal

's entire annual income. Paul Ricaut, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun Hâlihazırının Tarihi (XVII. Yüzyıl), (terc. Halil İnalcık-Nihan Özyıldırım; çeviriyazı Ali Emre Özyıldırım; Giriş Bülent Arı), İstanbul 2012, s. 31. Rycaut also mentioned the theft of a beautiful locket engraved with the names of her late sons

and

. Kösem was then dragged by her feet to the gateway leading from the

into the Third Court, where Süleyman Ağa ordered his men to kill her. A group of four men, all of them young and inexperienced, then strangled her with a piece of cord ripped from the curtains. While the others drew the cord, one assassin climbed on her back and squeezed her neck although he stopped when Kösem bit his thumb. In retaliation, he struck her forehead, perhaps causing her to fall unconscious. Then, assuming she was dead, they screamed out, 'She is dead, she is dead!' and went to notify the sultan and his mother. Once they were out of sight, she lifted herself up again, presumably hoping to escape through a secret passageway, but as soon as her disappearance was noticed, the assassins were called back again and she was caught. Murder_of_Kösem_Sultan

According to Rycaut, the assassins then applied the cord for the second time, although the Ottoman renegade Bobovi, relying on an informant in the harem, claimed that she was strangled with her own hair. She is said to have struggled so much that blood from her ears and nose soiled the murderer's clothes.Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul, John Freely. ch. 10 Once she had breathed her last, her body was dragged outside and shown to the

, before being moved into a room in the corridor of the Kuşhâne Kapısı (Aviary Gate). The next morning, Kösem's body was taken from

to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) to be washed. Rycaut described the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

of the woman he referred to as the 'Queen': "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 round about with howlings and lamentations, tearing the hair from their heads after their barbarous fashion, moved compassion in all the Court." She was buried without ceremony in the mausoleum of her late husband

. Her slaves were also taken to the Old Palace and eventually married to suitable Muslims with dowry money taken from her estate. Her vast estates and tax farms in

and

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

and other places, her jewellery, precious stones and twenty boxes of gold coins that she had hidden in the

Büyük Valide Han The Büyük Valide Han () is the largest historic ''han'' ( caravanserai) in Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1651 by Kösem Valide Sultan, the mother of the Ottoman sultans Murat IV and Ibrahim. History The ''han'' is located in the ...

near the Grand Bazaar were all confiscated by the treasury.

Aftermath

After Kösem's murder, the Grand Vizier Siyavuş Pasha suggested that the

Black Standard The Black Banner or Black Standard ( ar, الراية السوداء, ar-rāyat as-sawdāʾ, also known as (, "banner of the eagle" or simply as , , "the banner") is one of the flags flown by the Islamic prophet Muhammad according to Muslim tr ...

be displayed above the main gate of

(it was usually taken out at the start of campaigns against Christian or

Shi'i Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...

powers.) To implement a levy of all able-bodied men for the public defence, the grand vizier ordered criers to pass through the streets of

shouting, "Whoever is a Muslim, let him rally around the banner of the religion. Those who do not come are rendered infidels and they are divorced from their uslimwives." The morning after the murder of Kösem, a huge crowd is said to have gathered in front of the gates of

, where they blamed the

for her murder and swore to avenge it. The people of

spontaneously observed three days of mourning while the city's mosques and markets were closed for three days. At the

, it started a tradition of lighting candles "for her soul" every night, and this tradition continued until the palace was closed in the 19th century. Şahin Ağa, the Ağa of the Janissaries, urged his troops to avenge Kösem's murder, saying, "We only want the Valide's expiation!" "Are you then the heir, the son, or the husband of the Valide?" a voice replied. The long silence with which this was met confirmed that the

did not agree with their commander. Şahin Agha would later be abandoned by his men, after which he and the other rebel leaders were hunted down and executed. Contemporary Ottoman chroniclers did not welcome Kösem's murder and recorded it as an injustice committed against a woman of great accomplishments and stature, and a harbinger of greater social disorder.

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

, a famous Ottoman traveler, writer and admirer of Kösem, described the murder: "The mother of the world, wife of Sultan Ahmed (I); 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." Dervish Abdullah Efendi recalled: "Those black infidel eunuchs martyred the Senior Mother ösem Mother of the Believers"—a term usually reserved for the wives of the Prophet Muhammad—"and plundered most of her jewels." While lauding her charity,

also criticised Kösem for her greed and political interference. As regards the events leading up to her murder, he stated: "It was divine wisdom that the respected valide, philanthropic and regal as she was, was martyred for the sake of those unjust oppressions." Although

felt some regret over her death he also blamed it on the corrupt Janissary ağas and other officials who enjoyed her patronage. In other words, he implicitly supported Sultan

's decision to order her murder and the punishment of her political faction.

's daughter and Kösem's paternal granddaughter, condemned the Grand Vizier Siyavuş Pasha's apparent role in her grandmother's assassination: The assassination of this powerful, widely respected, and widely feared woman provoked a political crisis. The first phase involved the execution of Kösem's

supporters while in the second, public outrage over the purge prompted Turhan's new administration to dismiss the Grand Vizier Abaza Pasha who had carried out the executions.

Charities

Kösem's philanthropic career is notable for the many charitable acts she undertook. According to the Turkish historian Muzaffer Ozgules, her chief concern was to avoid public censure. Every year in the Islamic month of

Rajab Rajab ( ar, رَجَب) is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of the classical Arabic verb ''rajaba'' is "to respect" which could also mean "be awe or be in fear", of which Rajab is a derivative. This month is re ...

she would leave the palace in disguise to arrange the release of imprisoned debtors and other offenders (excluding murderers) by paying their debts or compensation for their crimes. She was also known for seeking out poor orphan girls and endowing them with a ''

mahr In Islam, a mahr (in ar, مهر; fa, مهريه; tr, mehir; sw, mahari; also transliterated ''mehr'', ''meher'', ''mehrieh'', or ''mahriyeh'') is the obligation, in the form of money or possessions paid by the groom, to the bride at the time ...

'', a home and furnishings; women of all religious persuasions, across both

Christian Europe Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...

and the

, bequeathed money to provide dowries for poor women, including special funds for noble girls whose families had fallen on hard times. She also visited hospitals,

mosques A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

, and schools to boost her popularity, and established soup kitchens capable of feeding nearly all of

's starving people. In

, she also financed irrigation works from the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

into

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

.Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph von. "Histoire de l'Empire ottoman, depuis son origine jusqu'à nos jours. Tome 11 / par J." 1835-1843. pp. 286 According to

, "She would free her slave women after two or three years of service, and would arrange marriages with retired officers of the court or suitable persons from outside, giving the women dowries and jewels and several purses of money according to their talents and station, and ensuring that their husbands had suitable positions. She looked after these former slaves by giving them an annual stipend, and on the religious festivals and holy days she would give them purses of money." Her pages, who were entrusted with guarding her apartment, only worked for five days a week. In 1640 she paid for the construction of the Çinili Mosque (Tiled Mosque), copiously decorated with the tiles that gave it its name, and the nearby school in

. The construction of this modest complex was probably an attempt to boost the popularity of her sons at a time when the Ottoman dynasty faced extinction, with no heir apparent to inherit the throne. She also paid for fountains in

Yenikapı Yenikapı () is a port and a quarter in Istanbul, Turkey, in the metropolitan district of Fatih on the European side of the Bosphorus, and along the southern shore of the city's historically central peninsula. Yenikapı is notable for the ongoi ...

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

and

, as well as other fountains outside the capital, and converted the

medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha ( ota, اوزدمیر اوغلی عثمان‌ پاشا, lit=Osman Pasha, the son of Özdemir; 1526 – 29 October 1585) was an Ottoman statesman and military commander who also held the office of grand vizier for one ...

into a mosque with a grand fountain beside it. Additionally in 1651 she funded the construction of the

, which was used to provide accommodation for foreign traders, store goods and merchandise, house artisan workshops, and provide business offices (an urban legend claims that she hid most of her precious jewels in the depths of one of its towers). Following the capture of

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

in 1646, one of its many converted churches was renamed the Valide Sultan Mosque in Ortakapı in her honour, making her the first Ottoman noblewoman whose name was given to one of a conquered city's converted religious structures. As a devout

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, she also established a foundation to provide pilgrims on the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

with water, assist the poor and have the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

read.

Wealth

Kösem accumulated a massive fortune through '' Iltizām'' (tax farming), owning and leasing commercial buildings, and investing extensively in diverse economic activities. In his memoirs, Karaçelebizade Abdülaziz Efendi, a prominent member of the ''

'', described a meeting of the imperial council at which the subject of crown lands held by royal women was being discussed. When it was reported that Kösem held lands whose annual income was three hundred thousand

kuruş Kuruş ( ; ), also gurush, ersh, gersh, grush, grosha, and grosi, are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is us ...

, Karaçelebizade protested, "A valide with so much land is unheard of!" He also contended that those who opposed him only did so out of enmity toward him or because they were recipients of the valide sultan's largesse. The historian Şarih ül-Menarzade argued that Kösem's extensive charities were also misconceived since they were financed from her immense personal fortune, viewing her wealth as an abuse of the empire's fiscal management, especially at a time when the treasury was in dire straits, the peasantry impoverished, and the military unpaid. A century later, however, the historian

defended Kösem from such criticisms, arguing that, had her substantial fortune remained in the treasury, it might have been squandered rather than spent for the benefit of the populace. Critics of Kösem also recorded the depredations of her "violent tax collectors", who, in an effort to increase their own take, were responsible for her huge income.

relayed the criticism of Şarih ül-Menarzade: "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." Besides the annual taxes that she collected from

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

Zile Zile, anciently known as Zela ( el, Ζῆλα) (still as Latin Catholic titular see), is a city and a district of Tokat Province, Turkey. Zile lies to the south of Amasya and the west of Tokat in north-central Turkey. The city has a long history, ...

Menemen Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey and its central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent districts are, from east to west; Aliağa and Foça to the north and ...

, Gaza,

Kilis Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province. History Although there aren't any definite information related to its foundation, today's Kilis mainly developed and became ...

and other places, she operated farms in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and other locations in

. The port city of

Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...

was also her property. When the Cretan War broke out in 1645, the Venetian ''bailo'' of Constantinople reported that the valide sultan was highly benevolent while also being extremely wealthy. Upon her death in 1651, her chambers were looted, and it was reported that twenty boxes loaded with gold coins were discovered in the

. In 1664, the profit on Kösem's cash investments accounted for nearly two-thirds of the revenue of the endowment established for Safiye Sultan's Karamanlu mosque. In fact, her riches and business transactions were so broad that her agents also became very wealthy and enjoyed popular esteem. When recording the death of Kösem in his history,

commented of her steward: "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." Her wealth was so vast and spread across so many different enterprises that, according to

, it took fifty years for the state treasury to confiscate it all.

Legacy

Despite her notoriety as a woman who showed no mercy or compassion for the sake of government and power, Kösem was known among Ottoman citizens for her charitable work, which succeeded in securing the image that she desired. The chronogram that appears on the gate of the Çinili Mosque's courtyard reads: Among her contemporaries the writer Michel Baudier depicted her as a female politician "enjoying authority" while the merchant and traveler

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler. Tavernier, a private individual and merchant traveling at his own expense, covered, by his own account, 60,000 leagues in making six voyages to Persia ...

described her as "a woman very wise and well-versed in state affairs." Both

and

praised her charitable works, with

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

describing her as: "A magnanimous, high minded queenly woman, of high spirit and noble heart, but with a mania for power. She, the mother of the greatest tyrant Murad IV, and the greatest wastrel, Ibrahim I, the Greek Kosem who was named Moonfigure because of beauty, through the commanding glance of four emperors—her husband, two sons, and her grandson—was revered more in history than Agrippina, Nero's mother, through her kindness, her desire for power and the tragic finish in Osman history of a female Caesar." In the introduction to the English translation of the novel ''Histoire d'Osman premier du nom, XIXe empereur des Turcs, et de l'impératrice Aphendina Ashada'' by Madame de Gomez in 1736, describing the life of

, Kösem is said to have been "one of the most active in politics and enterprising women of her time, which she achieved by insidious intrigues from ambitious motives."

Children

In popular culture

* Genç Osman ve Sultan Murat Han (1962) movie, starring

Muhterem Nur Muhterem Nur (née Aysel Muhterem Kısa; 31 December 1932 – 20 March 2020) was a Turkish film actress and pop music singer. Personal life She was born as Aysel Kısa on December 31, 1932, in Bitola ( tr, Manastır), Vardar Banovina, Kingdom ...

as Kösem Sultan * IV. Murat (1980) TV series, starring Ayten Gökçer as Kösem Sultan * Istanbul Kanatlarımın Altında (''Istanbul Under my Wings'', 1996) movie, starring

Zuhal Olcay Zuhal Olcay (; born 10 August 1957) is a Turkish actress and singer. Biography Graduated from Ankara State Conservatory in 1976, she first started as a stage actress. Since 1983 she also started acting in films and became famous with films like ...

as Kösem Sultan * Ankara Theatre (2013–2014 season) Özlem Ersönmez as Kösem Sultan. * '' Mahpeyker: Kösem Sultan '' (2010), starring

Damla Sönmez Tilya Damla Sönmez (born 3 May 1987) is a Turkish actress and voiceover artist. She gained worldwide recognition for her movies ''Sibel'' and ''I Am You''. Her prominent TV roles include Ceylan in '' Bir Aşk Hikayesi'', Gülru in '' Güllerin S ...

(as young Kösem) and

Selda Alkor Selda Alkor (born January 3, 1943) is a Turkish actress, beauty pageant titleholder, painter, and singer of Circassian and Georgian descent. She received a Golden Orange in 2002. Her acting skills and European features made her one of the most in ...

(as old Kösem) * Tims Production produced a follow-up to the smash-hit historical-fiction television ''

Muhteşem Yüzyıl ''Muhteşem Yüzyıl'' (, ) is a Turkish historical fiction television series. Written by Meral Okay and Yılmaz Şahin, it is based on the life of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and his ...

(Magnificent Century)'', entitled '' Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem'', starring

Anastasia Tsilimpiou Anastasia Tsilimpiou ( el, Αναστασία Τσιλιμπίου; born 12 November 1997) is a Greek-Romanian actress and model. She began her career at the age of five as a child actor and model. She is multilingual and can speak Greek, Romani ...

as the young Kösem and

Beren Saat Beren Saat (; born 26 February 1984) is a Turkish actress. Since the beginning of her career, she has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for her acting. While studying at Başkent University, she participated in the acting competit ...

as the adult Kösem in season one. In season two, the middle-aged Kösem was portrayed by

Nurgül Yeşilçay Nurgül Yeşilçay (born 26 March 1976) is a Turkish actress. Biography Nurgül Yeşilçay was born in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, in 1976. She studied drama at the State Conservatoire of Anadolu University in Eskişehir. Since her graduation, she ...

Gallery

File:Kösem portrait.jpg, Copy of a lost original, c. 1650–1699 File:Büyük Valide Inn.jpg, The

in an

Ottoman miniature Ottoman miniature ( tr, Osmanlı minyatürü) or Turkish miniature was a Turkish art form in the Ottoman Empire, which can be linked to the Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences. It was a part of the Ottoma ...

, c. 17th century File:Çinili Çocuk Kütüphanesi.jpg, Çinili Çoçuk Kütüphanesi (''library''), constructed by Kösem Sultan in 1640 File:Çinili Hamamı.jpg, Çinili Hamamı (''bathhouse''), constructed by Kösem Sultan in 1640 File:Cinili camii uskudar.jpg, Çinili Camii Mosque, constructed by Kösem Sultan in 1640

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosem Sultan 1580s births 1651 deaths Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy People from Tinos Valide sultan 17th-century consorts of Ottoman sultans 17th-century women rulers Slaves from the Ottoman Empire Greek slaves from the Ottoman Empire People from the Ottoman Empire of Greek descent Murdered royalty Former Greek Orthodox Christians Female regents Sultanate of Women 17th-century slaves