The period from 1550 to 1656 in the history of the Ottoman Empire is known as the "female sultanate". No, women at this time did not become sultans, but they had a huge impact on the domestic and foreign policy of the state. The most influential among them was Kyosem Sultan, who had been in power for about 30 years …
Women in the Ottoman Empire have always been completely dependent on men. What can we say about the inhabitants of the Sultan's harems - disenfranchised slaves, imprisoned in a luxurious cage? The widespread opinion about their carefree life has little to do with reality, because the position of each of them depended on their status: the mothers of the Sultan's heirs had considerable privileges, and the mother of the ruling sultan rose to unattainable heights. The rest sometimes even starved and could only hope for a better life. But they all had to constantly fight for the favor of the master, and often for their own lives, because in an atmosphere of universal rivalry, intrigues were commonplace, and laws were ruthless to the vanquished. And although the winners received everything, luck, as in the case of Kyosem-Sultan, sometimes turned away from them.
Moon-faced beauty
About the former life of the concubines - before their entry into the harem - as a rule, almost nothing is known. Because, having crossed its threshold, they lost their name and received a new one. More precisely, not even a name, but a nickname. So, at first, Kyosem was called “Makhpey-ker”, that is, “moon-faced”, and “Kyosem”, which means “leader, leader”, they began to call her later.
It is believed that by origin she was either Greek or Bosnian. At the age of 15, she was sold to a harem, where she, along with several other concubines, was introduced to the young Sultan Ahmed I. Soon she became a Haseki, that is, the Sultan's favorite, and in 1605 bore him an heir, Mehmed. True, a few months earlier another favorite, Mahfiruz, also had a son, Osman. Of course, a serious struggle for primacy began between both women, in which Kyosem prevailed: yielding to her persuasion, the sultan sent Mahfiruz to the Old Palace, away from sight.
At that time, the Ottoman Empire had a law that allowed the possibility of the killing of his brothers by the Sultan in order to prevent their claims to the throne. Ahmed had a half-brother, Mustafa, who survived only because Ahmed ascended the throne at the age of 13 and did not yet have his heirs. When they appeared, he remembered the law, but then Kyosem intervened. She persuaded him to save the life of his brother, who suffered from a mental disorder. She did this because in the event of Mustafa's death, the eldest son of Ahmed, Osman, who, having ascended the throne, could get rid of his brothers, including her sons, would become the heir. Mustafa seemed less dangerous to her.
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Palace coups
In 1617, at the age of 27, Ahmed died of typhus. The throne, as Kosem expected, was taken by Mustafa. Although she was sent after that to the Old Palace, she could have peace of mind for her sons. But the joy was short-lived. The crazy sultan, unable to rule the country, was removed after three months, although he was not killed. His place was taken by 14-year-old Osman, whose mother had died three years earlier and could not influence her son. Therefore, Kyosem, knowing his cruel nature, still hoped to get along with her stepson, because from early childhood she managed to gain his respect. However, this did not prevent him, who had already matured, to execute her eldest son Mehmed before going to Poland - apparently, just in case, so that his stepmother knew her place.
The trip was unsuccessful. Defeated by the Poles, Osman decided to reform the army and disband the Janissary corps. But they rebelled, killed Osman and proclaimed Mustafa sultan.
The insurrection was organized by Davut Pasha, who was married to his sister. Mustafa was childless, and the sons of Kosem should have inherited him. Having eliminated them, Davut Pasha hoped to put his offspring on the throne and, choosing the right moment, sent the killer to his eldest son Kyosem. But she was on the alert, and when a noose had already closed on the neck of Shehzade Murad, the guard stabbed the killer.
The rule of Mustafa, or rather those who stood behind him - his mothers Halime and Davut Pasha - aroused sharp discontent in the court. One of the viziers, Abaza Pasha, rebelled. Trying to save the situation, Halime removed Davut Pasha from the post of Grand Vizier, but this did not help. The rebels accused him of killing Sultan Osman and demanded retribution. Davut Pasha tried to hide in the chambers of his wife, but he was found and eventually beheaded. Halime clung to power with all her might, and Abaza Pasha gathered a 40,000-strong army, threatening the capital. The new grand vizier and the higher clergy persuaded Halima to agree to the deposition of her son, and Mustafa went to an honorary imprisonment, where he spent the remaining 16 years of his life.
Hidden heir
The child on the throne, of course, could not rule the country - Kyosem took care of this. She became the valid, that is, the mother of the ruling sultan, and the regent with her young son. But, even reaching adulthood, Murad relied entirely on his mother for a long time and took the reins into his own hands only at the age of 20. But, having felt all the charm of power, he became so carried away by it that he began to methodically exterminate all possible pretenders to the throne, first of all - his brothers. Although he became the Sultan by accident.
The fact is that at the time of the overthrow of Mustafa, Murad's two older brothers - Suleiman and Bayazid - were far from Istanbul, and he, as they say, was at hand. But instead of thanking fate, he first executed the elders, and a little later - and the younger brother. And everything is according to the law. And, apparently, there were special ideas about the norms of morality and family ties in the Ottoman dynasty. So the only thing that Kyosem could do, even with the title of valid, was to hide her youngest son, Ibrahim, in the distant chambers of the harem. For some time she managed to lead Murad by the nose, and it is not known how it would have ended, but in 1640 he died, leaving no heirs. As a result, Ibrahim ascended the throne, who received the nickname Mad.
He was 25 years old, and most of them he lived in separate chambers under strict guard, assigned to him by his mother. Deprived of normal human communication, he nevertheless knew about the fate of his brothers, and this could not but affect his mental health. The fear of being killed was so strong that he believed in the death of Murad only after he was shown the body of the deceased.
At first, he was still interested in state affairs, although in fact the country was ruled by Kyosem. But then he got bored with it, and since he remained the only representative of the Ottoman dynasty, his mother began to regularly supply him with concubines. As a result, he had heirs, and he himself fell in love with one of the girls, Hyumash, and even married her. Under her influence, he expelled his mother from the palace, and then fell out with many courtiers. A conspiracy was drawn up against him, as a result of which Ibrahim, with the consent of Kyosem, who did not forgive him for betrayal, was overthrown, imprisoned and soon strangled. Why did she do this? Apparently, in that harem paradise, everyone thought only of themselves.
The throne was taken by his six-year-old son Mehmed IV. The mother of the newly-made sultan, young and inexperienced Turhan, could not compete with Kyos, who had many years of "experience" in ruling the country, and was relegated to secondary roles. Kyosem, who has now become not only the mother, but also the grandmother of the Sultan, was awarded the title of great valid.
But, standing at the pinnacle of power, she overlooked the threat from the direction she did not expect. And when she learned that Turhan, with the support of influential courtiers, intends to seek power, she decided to put another grandson, Suleiman, on the throne, whose mother was less ambitious. What fate was in store for the young Mehmed is unknown, because on a September night in 1651, Turhan's supporters burst into the chambers of Kyosem, killed her and threw her body in the courtyard of the harem.
This is how one of the most influential women of the Ottoman Empire, known in Turkish history textbooks as "the murdered valid", ended her days.