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ota, صالحہ سلطان
, birth_name = Elizaveta
, birth_date = 1680
, birth_place =
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, death_date =
, death_place = Tırnakçı Palace,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
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) ...
, burial_place = Turhan Hatice Sultan Mausoleum,
New Mosque,
Eminönü
Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...
,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, consort = yes
, spouse =
Mustafa II
Mustafa II (; ota, مصطفى ثانى ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.
Early life
He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sult ...
, house =
Ottoman (by marriage)
, issue =
Mahmud I
Mahmud I ( ota, محمود اول, tr, I. Mahmud, 2 August 1696 13 December 1754), known as Mahmud the Hunchback, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754. He took over the throne after the Patrona Halil rebellion and he kept goo ...
, religion =
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
, previously
Orthodox Christian
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...
Saliha Sultan ( ota, صالحه سلطان; "''the devoted one''"; 1680 – 21 September 1739) was the
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
consort of Sultan
Mustafa II
Mustafa II (; ota, مصطفى ثانى ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.
Early life
He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sult ...
of 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) ...
, and
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 ...
to their son, Sultan
Mahmud I
Mahmud I ( ota, محمود اول, tr, I. Mahmud, 2 August 1696 13 December 1754), known as Mahmud the Hunchback, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754. He took over the throne after the Patrona Halil rebellion and he kept goo ...
.
Early life
Saliha Sultan was born in 1680 in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. Her original name was Elizaveta. She was captured in one of the raids of the
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different and was sold into slavery. She became the concubine of Sultan Mustafa, and gave birth to her only child Şehzade Mahmud (later
Mahmud I
Mahmud I ( ota, محمود اول, tr, I. Mahmud, 2 August 1696 13 December 1754), known as Mahmud the Hunchback, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754. He took over the throne after the Patrona Halil rebellion and he kept goo ...
) on 2 August 1696 in the
Edirne Palace
Edirne Palace ( tr, Edirne Sarayı), or formerly New Imperial Palace ( ota, Saray-ı Cedid-i Amire) is a former palace of the Ottoman sultans in Edirne (then known in English as Adrianople), built during the era when the city was the capital of th ...
.
Widowhood
After the
Edirne event
The Edirne Incident ( ota, Edirne Vaḳʿası, script=Latn) was a janissary revolt that began in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1703. The revolt was a reaction to the consequences of the Treaty of Karlowitz and Sultan Mustafa II's absence fro ...
and the deposal of Sultan Mustafa in 1703, she was transferred to the Old Palace in Istanbul from where she negotiated and sustained her alliances with members from the imperial palace and the urban elite. On the other hand, her son, Şehzade Mahmud was transferred to 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 ...
in Istanbul together with the entire court.
Mahmud's most reliable and influential ally was Saliha, who had the capacity of securing her son's position by virtue of her political experience and the network of alliances which she had built up over the years. She and her son closely cooperated with the chief black eunuch Hacı Beşir Agha, who had presided over the harem since 1717, and therefore bore considerable skills in politics and the survival of the Ottoman dynasty.
As Valide Sultan
Mahmud's accession
In 1730, her son, who was thirty four years old, was brought to the throne as Mahmud I after the Patrona Revolt, which led to the deposition of his uncle Sultan
Ahmed III
Ahmed III ( ota, احمد ثالث, ''Aḥmed-i sālis'') was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at H ...
. As the mother of the new sultan, Saliha, was best positioned to play a conciliatory role, and consolidate the early reign of her son through
the alliances she had built over time and prior to his accession. She filled the vacuum left since the death of her mother-in-law and predecessor
Gülnuş Sultan
Emetullah Rabia Gülnuş Sultan ( ota, جولنوس امت الله رابعه سلطان; "''Servant of Allah''", "''spring''" and "''Essence of rose''", 1642 – 6 November 1715, Edirne) was the Haseki Sultan of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV and Val ...
in 1715, and became a power. Although she became Valide Sultan at the age of fifty, Saliha maintained her beauty and was more beautiful than the consorts of her son, Mahmud. Saliha was influential in the matters of the palace and was a patroness of art in the era known as the Tulip era.
The rabble-rouser Patrona Halil, though he was raiding high at the time, thought it necessary to have an interview with both Saliha, and Beşir Agha. Soon after Saliha was installed in the Queen mother's suite in Topkapı Palace, the Venetian bailo, Angelo Emo, sent her twenty four robes, along with perfumes, mirrors, and other feminine fripperies.
Her son ordered the pavilion "Feraḥfezā" (Pleasure Enhancing) to be built for her at Beylerbeyi.
Political influence
In the early years of Mahmud's reign he frequently changed the grand viziers, supposedly on the advice of Sultan Ahmed who thought he had made a mistake in keeping
Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha
Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha ( ota, نوشہرلی داماد ابراہیم پاشا 1662 - 1 October 1730) served as Grand Vizier for Sultan Ahmed III of the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip period. He was also the head of a ruling family wh ...
in office so long. The result of this new policy was necessary and without doubt purposefully, the absence of a forceful personality in the post.
During this period there were complaints of excessive influence wielded by Saliha Sultan, and it was said that Kabakulak Ibrahim Pasha, grand vizier in 1731, had to pay considerable sum to Saliha, and Beşir Agha, in order to secure his position. This constant changing of grand viziers left the door open for intrigue, and even the support of his powerful patrons didn't help him in keeping his post very long.
Patroness of architecture
Saliha performed a series of charitable deeds to contribute to the consolidation of her son's reign, and bring about the legitimacy of the Ottoman dynasty as a whole. Her patronage of water facilities stood in line with the architectural patronage of her mother-in-law Gülnuş Sultan, and comprised the repair and implementation of the Taksim water network and the endowment of fountains opposite the Sitti Hatun Mosque in Kocamustafapaşa, and near the Defterdar Mosque in Eyüp in 1735/36.
She sponsored the construction of over forty new fountains throughout
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 (" ...
, including one on one side of the
Yeni Valide mosque in
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 ...
and another in Silivrikapı. The most beautiful fountain she commissioned is the Azapkapı Saliha Sultan Fountain, in 1732, considered one of the masterpieces of water architecture in Constantinople. An anecdote is connected to this fountain:
Mustafa II
Mustafa II (; ota, مصطفى ثانى ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.
Early life
He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sult ...
's mother,
Gülnüş Sultan, one day saw a girl crying in Azapkapı, while she was waiting for water. That girl was Saliha, who was first brought into 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 ...
and then given to the sultan as his consort. After becoming
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 ...
, she swore that she would ensure that the neighborhood where she grew up had fresh water available, and hence the fountain.
Her patronage also focused on the renovation of the Galata Arab Mosque in 1734/35, and the establishment of a pious foundation to supplement the salaries of the mosque's servants and provide for the reading of the Mevlid (birth of the Prophet) and parts of the Qu'ran.
Her architectural patronage radiated beyond the capital to encompass the transformation of the Hacı Ömer Moaque in Çengelköy into a congregational mosque which was repaired and endowed with a brick minaret and pulpit. Next to that, she reconstructed the Alaca Minare Mosque in Üsküdar, and restored the congregational mosque in the fortress of Yerevan.