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159-538: Kösem Sultan ( Ottoman Turkish : كوسم سلطان ; 1589 – 2 September 1651), also known as Mahpeyker Sultan ( Ottoman Turkish : ماه پیكر ; lit.   ' Moon visage ' ), was the Haseki Sultan as the chief consort of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I , Valide Sultan as a mother of sultans Murad IV and Ibrahim and Büyük Valide Sultan as a grandmother of Sultan Mehmed IV . She became one of

318-409: A Persian or Arabic active or passive participle to a neuter verb, to do ( ایتمك etmek ) or to become ( اولمق olmaq ). For example, note the following two verbs: Below table shows some sample conjugations of these two verbs. The conjugation of the verb "etmek" isn't straightforward, because the root of the verb ends in a [t]. This sound transforms into a [d] when followed by a vowel sound. This

477-484: A bridge between the palace and the outside world. Harem politics revolved around the establishment of matrilineal legacies and finding ways to garner alliances and support from the greater Ottoman world outside of the harem walls. The imperial harem occupied a large section of the private apartments of the sultan at the Topkapi Palace which encompassed more than 400 rooms. The harem had been moved to Topkapi in

636-431: A chance. He must take care of himself. What can I do—he won't listen. He's just gotten out of a sickbed, and he's walking around in the cold. All this has destroyed my peace of mind. All I wish is for him to stay alive. At least try to do something about Yemen. May God help us with this situation we are in.... You two know what's best." Another letter expresses her wish that the young sultan should be advised and chastised by

795-572: A child she might be moved into an even larger apartment. Sultan Murad III alone tripled the size of the Imperial Harem from 1574 to 1595. By the mid 18th century, an imperial hall, also known as the "privy chamber," took on Europeanizing decorations and inscriptions dating from the renovations made by Osman III. This was a spacious, domed hall that overlooked the garden and was the place where official ceremonies and festivities took place. The Queen Mother's quarters during this time consisted of

954-429: A concubine, Roxelana somehow caught the attention of Sultan Suleiman I and he continued to call for her to return to his bed. Roxelana bore her first son, Mehmed, in 1521, after the sultan's first two sons passed away. The couple soon had more children. That Roxelana was allowed to give birth to more than one son was a stark violation of the old royal harem principle of "one concubine mother — one son," and it signaled that

1113-676: A document but would use the native Turkish word bal ( بال ) when buying it. The transliteration system of the İslâm Ansiklopedisi has become a de facto standard in Oriental studies for the transliteration of Ottoman Turkish texts. In transcription , the New Redhouse, Karl Steuerwald, and Ferit Devellioğlu dictionaries have become standard. Another transliteration system is the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG), which provides

1272-480: A finger in every aspect of harem life. Haseki sultan : This was the title reserved for the favorite chief slave consort of the Ottoman sultan. A haseki sultan had an important position in the palace, being the most powerful woman and enjoyed the greatest status in the imperial harem after the valide sultan and usually had chambers close to the sultan's chamber. The haseki had no blood relation with

1431-590: A form of house-arrest and constant surveillance. As regent, Kösem effectively ran the empire through her son, Murad, attending and arranging divan (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 to compose letters to

1590-498: A higher and more meaningful position to black eunuchs due to an increase of crime by white eunuchs. Despite all of this, many black eunuchs suffered oppression from white eunuchs because of their physical bodies and race. During the Sultanate of Women ( Kadınlar Saltanatı ), eunuchs increased their political leverage by taking advantage of minor or mentally incompetent sultans. Teenage sultans were "guided" by regencies formed by

1749-541: A negative verb, and a positive complex verb expressing ability. In Turkish, complex verbs can be constructed by adding a variety of suffixes to the base root of a verb. The two verbs are یازممق yazmamaq (not to write) and سوه‌بلمك sevebilmek (to be able to love). Another common category of verbs in Turkish (more common in Ottoman Turkish than in modern Turkish), is compound verbs. This consists of adding

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1908-467: A new sultan came to the harem with pomp and circumstance and assumed the title of valide sultan or sultana mother upon her son's ascension. She would become a prominent leader, whose power extended over the harem as well as the members of the dynasty. The valide sultan who influenced the political life of the Ottoman Empire during various periods of history (such as the Sultanate of Women in

2067-534: A political institution, where royal women lived and worked at the center of the government. Roxelana completely changed the way in which women were treated within the harem and helped modernize the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman imperial palaces were managed by a legion of special employees and slaves, called eunuchs. Eunuchs were castrated men recruited and trained to serve in the apartments of the princes, also called kafes (cage), as well as women's quarters of

2226-477: A possessive pronoun if needed, and copula وار var , followed by the 3rd person singular form of the verb 'to do: ایتمك etmek attached as a suffix (or separate as a stanadalone verb); as conjugated in the above section. The verbs 'not to exist' and 'not to have' are created in the exact same manner and conjugation, except that the copula یوق yok is used. Turkish being an agglutinative language as opposed to an analytical one (generally), means that from

2385-547: A powerful woman was emerging in Suleiman's court. Sometime around 1533–1534, Suleiman declared Roxelana a free woman and married her, violating yet another 300-year-old custom of the Ottoman harem in which sultans were not to marry their concubines. It marked the first time a former harem slave was elevated to the powerful role of spouse. No other children were born to Suleiman from another concubine during his entire reign. Suleiman wrote love poetry and letters to Roxelana while he

2544-411: A single root verb, with the addition of a variety of morphemes and suffixes, multiple new and different verbs meanings can be expressed in single but larger words. Below table is a sample from the verb تپمك tepmek meaning 'to kick', whose root (which is also 2nd person imperative) is تپ tep . Each of the produced new verbs below can be made into an infinitive with the addition of ـمك -mek at

2703-467: A suite with a bedroom, throne room, bath, rooms for her servants, a bakery, commissary, and kitchens which were all grouped around the largest court of the harem, known as the Queen Mother's Court. Over the course of the sultans' residences at Topkapı Palace, the harem was first a residence for slave girls, then became an area run by the sultan's favorite wife, and finally a spacious area focused on

2862-580: A transliteration system for any Turkic language written in Arabic script. There are few differences between the İA and the DMG systems. Ottoman Imperial Harem The Imperial Harem ( Ottoman Turkish : حرم همايون , romanized :  Harem-i Hümâyûn ) of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan 's harem – composed of the wives , servants (both female slaves and eunuchs ), female relatives and

3021-522: A vital shift in the harem's newfound influence and power within the palace. In previous palaces, the harem quarters were always located in the far back of the palace, hidden away from much of the palace population. In the layout of the Topkapi Palace, the harem was located in the right wing just behind the imperial council building. For the first time in history, the imperial harem was central and visible in Ottoman political life. The centralization of

3180-430: A vowel, when it comes to taking case suffixes, a letter - ـنـ [n] comes after the possessive suffix. For singular endings, the final vowel ی is removed in all instances. For plural endings, if the letter succeeding the additional - ـنـ [n] is a vowel, the final vowel ی is kept; otherwise it is removed (note the respective examples for kitaplarını versus kitaplarından ). Examples below : Below table shows

3339-401: A woman with "a delicate and at the same time shy nature." Kösem Sultan became increasingly involved in matters of succession following the birth of her first son, Murad , in 1612. It has been suggested that she played a role in the shift from a system of primogeniture , where the eldest son inherits the throne, to agnatic seniority , which favored the oldest male of the Ottoman dynasty. Given

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3498-501: A word derived from the Turkish Oda, meaning chamber, was a chamber girl or attendant, but was not a term synonymous with concubine. However, in western usage, the term has come to refer specifically to the harem concubine. The cariye s, often introduced into the harem at a young age, were brought up in the disciplines of the palace. This was the largest group of women in the harem. Inexperienced female slaves who newly entered

3657-475: Is not different from the grammar of modern Turkish .The focus of this section is on the Ottoman orthography; the conventions surrounding how the orthography interacted and dealt with grammatical morphemes related to conjugations, cases, pronouns, etc. Table below lists nouns with a variety of phonological features that come into play when taking case suffixes. The table includes a typical singular and plural noun, containing back and front vowels, words that end with

3816-424: Is reflected in conventions of Ottoman orthography as well. In Turkish, there is a verb representing to be , but it is a defective verb. It doesn't have an infinitive or several other tenses. It is usually a suffix. Negative verb to be is created with the use of the word دگل değil , followed by the appropriate conjugation of the to be verb; or optionally used as a standalone for 3rd person. Generally,

3975-416: Is respected by all, but she is listened to in some matters and is the favorite of the king, who wants her beside him continually." George Sandys , an English traveller who visited Constantinople in the early 1610s, 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

4134-469: Is the latter's abandonment of compound word formation according to Arabic and Persian grammar rules. The usage of such phrases still exists in modern Turkish but only to a very limited extent and usually in specialist contexts ; for example, the Persian genitive construction takdîr-i ilâhî (which reads literally as "the preordaining of the divine" and translates as "divine dispensation" or "destiny")

4293-503: Is the predecessor of modern Turkish. However, the standard Turkish of today is essentially Türkiye Türkçesi (Turkish of Turkey) as written in the Latin alphabet and with an abundance of neologisms added, which means there are now far fewer loan words from other languages, and Ottoman Turkish was not instantly transformed into the Turkish of today. At first, it was only the script that was changed, and while some households continued to use

4452-534: Is unknown, but a popular version (as stated in unauthorized sources) is that her name was Anastasia. In 1604, at the age of 14 or 15, she was kidnapped by Ottoman raiders and bought as a slave in Bosnia by the beylerbey (governor-general) of the Bosnia Eyalet . She was a tall, slender, and appealing girl due to her fresh complexion and the deep brown of her eyes. Her beauty and intelligence were noticed by

4611-519: Is used, as opposed to the normative modern Turkish construction, ilâhî takdîr (literally, "divine preordaining"). In 2014, Turkey's Education Council decided that Ottoman Turkish should be taught in Islamic high schools and as an elective in other schools, a decision backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , who said the language should be taught in schools so younger generations do not lose touch with their cultural heritage. Most Ottoman Turkish

4770-453: Is vital to all of us. I have so many troubles I can't begin to write them all. You must give him as much advice as you can—if he doesn't listen to one thing, he'll listen to another." Enraged by his mother's excessive support for the governor of Egypt, Murad moved to break Kösem's ties with her son-in-law Admiral Hüseyin Pasha , the husband of her daughter Fatima , by forcing the dissolution of

4929-797: The Black Sea coast. Cossack incursions into the Ottoman Empire were common throughout the early 17th century, disrupting the security of the Black Sea and forcing the Ottomans to consider reinforcing the Bosphorus , especially after the Cossack incursion of 1624 . On behalf of her son, Kösem ordered the construction of two fortresses near the mouth of the Bosphorus, one in Anadolukavağı and

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5088-496: The Grand Vizier Hüsrev Pasha , if not by Kösem herself. It also implies that Kösem was getting information about events outside the palace from Murad rather than directly: "I heard from my son that he had written you and warned you that [your steward] is not a man of good intentions. Is it true that he is giving you a bad name? To a degree, it is a pasha's own men who cause his bad reputation. May God give them

5247-420: The demise of the Ottoman Empire during the 17th century. However, others argue that her policies can be interpreted as desperate attempts to avert a succession crisis and preserve the Ottoman dynasty . She was posthumously referred to by the names: "Vālide-i Muazzama" (magnificent mother), "Vālide-i Maḳtūle" (murdered mother), "Umm al Mu'minīn" (mothers of believers) and "Vālide-i Şehīde" (martyred mother). She

5406-490: The fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey , widespread language reforms (a part in the greater framework of Atatürk's Reforms ) instituted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk saw the replacement of many Persian and Arabic origin loanwords in the language with their Turkish equivalents. One of the main supporters of the reform was the Turkish nationalist Ziya Gökalp . It also saw

5565-475: The kızlar ağa of Sultan Ahmed I's court, who sent her to Constantinople to join a group of other slave girls marked by their striking appearance or intelligence to be trained in the harem of Sultan Ahmed I as an imperial court lady (slave concubine). In the harem, she was taught Islam , theology, mathematics, embroidery, singing, music and literature. Ahmed was captivated by her beauty and intelligence, and in 1605, she became his haseki concubine . According to

5724-483: The sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded portion (seraglio) of the Ottoman imperial household. This institution played an important social function within the Ottoman court , and wielded considerable political authority in Ottoman affairs, especially during the long period known as the Sultanate of Women (approximately 1533 to 1656). Historians claim that the sultan was frequently lobbied by harem members of different ethnic or religious backgrounds to influence

5883-558: The 1550s further expanded the empire's reach and access to slave caravans. Eunuchs served in the palace from the times of Sultan Mehmed I onwards. They were given the charge of guarding the harem and rose in rank after serving in many positions. The harem eunuchs and the harem organization were under the command of the chief harem eunuch, also called the Master of the Girls ( Kızlar Ağası ) or chief black eunuch . Castration meant they were

6042-446: The 16th and 17th centuries) had the authority to regulate the relations between the sultan and his wives and children. When a prince left the capital for his provincial governorate, he was accompanied by his mother. In this way, she was able to fulfill her duty of directing the prince's domestic household and provide training and supervision of harem inhabitants. At times, the valide sultan acted as regent for her son, particularly in

6201-409: The Arabic system in private, most of the Turkish population was illiterate at the time, making the switch to the Latin alphabet much easier. Then, loan words were taken out, and new words fitting the growing amount of technology were introduced. Until the 1960s, Ottoman Turkish was at least partially intelligible with the Turkish of that day. One major difference between Ottoman Turkish and modern Turkish

6360-475: The British Ambassador to Turkey, allowing her to spend time in the Ottoman Empire and write extensively about her experiences there. In her writings, she explained that the Ottoman women did not lack in their privileges due to their control over property, autonomy in the harem, and sexual liberty through the wearing of veils. Montagu admired Ottoman slave institutions and actively defended them, which

6519-605: The Dolmabahçe Palace. Given that this new site did not have enough space to support the number of women in the imperial harem, it was downsized with wives, unmarried sisters, and servants being moved elsewhere. In 2014 a project began to restore and refurbish the harem chambers at Yıldız Palace and open them to tourism. As part of this project, scholars and others began to research the harem architecture, ornate decor, furnishings, and everyday lives of its inhabitants. Much of this work has yet to be published. The mother of

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6678-469: The English should attempt to better understand the Turkish woman. She wrote that the Turkish woman is "proud" and "insists that her dignity be respected." Ellison also spoke extensively on the institution of slavery in the Ottoman Empire and voiced her desire to save the women in the harem. She "longed to break down for them the lattice-work which is always there between them and the sun," and lamented about

6837-581: 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: "Greeting and prayers to his excellency the Pasha. I am informed of everything you said in your letter. People simply aren't aware of all

6996-518: The Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle , upon her conversion to Islam, her name was changed to Mahpeyker. After her marriage to Ahmed, 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 Ahmed's reign as part of a series of changes to

7155-699: The New palace and 1,500 in the Old Palace, and that there were 1,100 – 1,200 in 1604–1607, but these numbers are likely overestimated. The actual number of women are estimated to have been 49 in 1574 and 433 in 1633. In the 18th- and 19th-century, the official mevacib register is sometimes preserved, and notes that the harem contained 446 slave women during the reign of sultan Mahmud I (r.1730–1754), 720 during sultan Selim III (r. 1789–1808), and 473 during sultan Mahmud II (r.1808–1839). The Ottoman Imperial Harem, like other aspects of Ottoman and Middle Eastern culture,

7314-586: The Old Palace, she had the opportunity to meet Safiye Sultan . In 1619, Osman 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 ; she then incorporated them into her waqf , which provided services to pilgrims traveling from Damascus to Mecca . Kösem may have cultivated this relationship hoping to use her influence over Osman to persuade him to spare her sons. His uncle Mustafa

7473-462: The Ottoman Court." Ellison condemned the act of veiling as form of "slavery". In 1868, Empress Eugénie of France visited the Imperial Harem, which had significant consequences. She was taken by Sultan Abdülaziz to greet his mother, Valide Sultan Pertevniyal Sultan . Reportedly, Pertevniyal became outraged by the presence of a foreign woman in her harem, and so she slapped the empress in

7632-622: The Ottoman Empire and Spain . 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 and Bayram Pasha , governor of Egypt . He noted that

7791-508: The Ottoman practice of fratricide , Kösem feared that if Sultan Ahmed’s eldest son, Osman —whose mother was Mahfiruz Hatun —ascended the throne, her own sons, Murad, Süleyman , Kasım , and Ibrahim , would be at risk of execution. As a result, she sought to ensure the survival of the sultan’s half-brother, Mustafa , to secure her sons' future. In 1612, the Venetian ambassador Simon Contarini reported that Kösem lobbied to spare Mustafa from execution, ostensibly to protect her own children from

7950-828: The Ottoman state's power and authority. During the early years of Murad's reign, Kösem had to deal with the loss of Baghdad and Erivan during the Ottoman–Safavid War ; the rebellion of tribes in Lebanon ; the Abaza rebellion in northern Anatolia ; the wavering allegiances of governors in Egypt and other provinces; the assertion of independence by the Barbary states ; a revolt by the Tatars in Crimea ; and raids by marauding Cossacks on

8109-474: The Persian character of its Arabic borrowings with other Turkic languages that had even less interaction with Arabic, such as Tatar , Bashkir , and Uyghur . From the early ages of the Ottoman Empire, borrowings from Arabic and Persian were so abundant that original Turkish words were hard to find. In Ottoman, one may find whole passages in Arabic and Persian incorporated into the text. It was however not only extensive loaning of words, but along with them much of

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8268-579: The Spanish "base their hopes on these two and the Sultan's mother and sister." The ambassador was probably aware of the fact that Recep Pasha was married to Gevherhan Sultan and Bayram Pasha to Hanzade Sultan , both of whom were Kösem's daughters. Hans Ludwig von Kuefstein (1582–1656), who led a grand embassy to the Sublime Porte in the late 1620s, describes his negotiations with the kaymakam (a high official of an Ottoman district) in reference to

8427-411: The age of seven, while 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: "[A woman] of beauty and shrewdness, and furthermore ... of many talents, she sings excellently, whence she continues to be extremely well loved by the king ... Not that she

8586-503: The artists who illustrated the Ottoman Imperial Harem, very few actually visited the empire, and all were male, so it is highly possible that these depictions were neither accurate nor authentic. There were quite a few women who traveled to the Ottoman Empire and published their opinions on the harem. Lady Mary Montagu , an early eighteenth century English aristocrat and writer, was one such woman. Her husband served as

8745-471: The beauty and manners of Fatima, a Turkish woman, to that of European women. Fatima would be considered beautiful "either in England or Germany " and could be "suddenly transported upon the most polite throne of Europe nobody would think her other than born and bred to be a queen, though educated in a country we call barbarous." Grace Ellison was another woman who traveled to the Ottoman Empire and wrote of

8904-436: 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 , if all goes well. The rest of

9063-618: The chronic problem of making salary payments, especially to the Janissaries, the frequently unruly Ottoman infantry. The letter also mentions her anxiety about Murad's health and her frustration over her lack of direct control over important decisions: "Greeting and prayers to his excellency the Pasha. And now, how are you and how are your affairs? Are you fine? May you enjoy good health and well-being. Should you ask after us, thanks to God (may his name be exalted) at present we are devoting body and soul and occupying ourselves night and day with

9222-462: The community of Muhammad. How are you getting along with salary payments? Is there much left? With the grace of God, you will take care of that obligation and then take up the Yemen situation. My son leaves in the morning and comes back at night, I never see him. He won't stay out of the cold, he's going to get sick again. I tell you, this grieving over the child is destroying me. Talk to him, when you get

9381-434: The confidence of the sultan, even when he was away on military campaign, and had unique access to the sultan's bedchamber, including arranging appointments with harem consorts. Some of the eunuch's basic duties were watching over the women in the harem, negotiating and speaking to both the sultan and their relatives, and supervising the palace and keeping everyone safe. Meanwhile, the chief white eunuch ( Kapı Ağası ),

9540-445: The early 1530s. After 1853, an equally lavish harem quarter was occupied at the new imperial palace at Dolmabahçe . The structure of the imperial palace was meant to communicate "both the identity of the sovereign's residence as the central arena of the empire and the difficulty of obtaining access to the sovereign within that arena." The strategic location and architectural design of the harem quarters within Topkapi Palace reflected

9699-430: 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 , an Albanian man 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

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9858-423: The efforts of Halime. In place of Osman, the weak and incompetent Mustafa was restored to the throne with the support of Kösem. While power initially went to Kösem and his mother, the Janissaries and others who had carried out the revolt then reacted violently to the regicide of Osman and killed all those whom they considered responsible while at the same time attempting to protect the remaining sons of Ahmed against

10017-449: 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

10176-513: The empire. These women were known throughout the empire and had important reputations to uphold. Consequently, only a small fraction of the women in the harem actually engaged in sexual relations with the sultan, as most were destined to marry members of the Ottoman political elite, or else to continue service to the valide sultan. Within the harem, the valide sultan and the sultan's favorite concubine or concubines were effectively able to create factional support for themselves and their sons, creating

10335-427: The end of the sixteenth century, except for the sultan himself, no member of the royal family, male or female, left the capital. Both children and mothers were permanent occupants of the inner world of the palace. The harem was the ultimate symbol of the sultan's power. His ownership of women, mostly slaves, was a sign of wealth, power, and sexual prowess. The emphasis on seclusion of the harem and dynastic life away from

10494-429: The end of their respective educations, the men and women would be married off to one another and "graduated" from the palace to occupy administrative posts in the empire's provinces. There was a distinct hierarchical structure within the harem, founded on family-based relationships among the women. This family was not limited to blood connections but included the whole royal household, consisting mainly of slaves. Following

10653-417: The end. Ottoman Turkish was highly influenced by Arabic and Persian. Arabic and Persian words in the language accounted for up to 88% of its vocabulary. As in most other Turkic and foreign languages of Islamic communities, the Arabic borrowings were borrowed through Persian, not through direct exposure of Ottoman Turkish to Arabic, a fact that is evidenced by the typically Persian phonological mutation of

10812-565: The eunuch corps and the palace soldiery planned a counter-strike, backed by Mustafa's mother, Halime Sultan , and Kösem, who wanted her own children to ascend to the throne. Storming into the harem, they freed Mustafa from confinement in the Kafes . As for Osman, aged only seventeen, he was imprisoned in Yedikule , then strangled by members of the Janissary corps on 20 May 1622, largely through

10971-464: The evolution of the imperial harem, from the sixteenth century onward, shows that while the organizational structure of the harem was never static and the numbers and roles of servants within the palace was constantly fluid, there was a strong sense of institutional continuity and unchangingly rigid hierarchies within the harem. The valide sultan , the sultan's mother, held power over the harem and this power sometimes extended over aspects of society. She

11130-499: The execution. With the loss of this key ally, Kösem focused her attention on protecting Mustafa. Kösem’s influence over the sultan continued to grow, and by 1616, she was regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the empire. Valier noted her pro-Venetian stance and suggested that the Venetian Republic reward her for her contributions to its interests. Despite her significant influence, Kösem took care not to overshadow

11289-412: The eye of the sultan. In some cases, they were also concubines. They, too, were ranked among one another by the sultan in order of preference. Cariye : These were the slave women who served the valide sultan , ikbal 's, kadin 's and the sultan's children. They could be promoted to kalfa s which meant they earned wages, otherwise they were the property of the sultan and would reside in

11448-420: The face, almost provoking an international incident. The visit of the empress, however, did lead to a dress reform in the harem. Western fashion grew popular among the harem women, who continued to dress according to Western fashion from then on. However, women from the west also started to become more curious about the fashion of the harem women. Lady Montagu was one of the women who became very passionate about

11607-486: The finest jewels and a stipend of 1,000 aspers a day. In the early years of their marriage, she bore Ahmed four daughters: Ayşe Sultan , Fatma Sultan , Hanzade Sultan and Gevherhan Sultan . As the mother of several princesses, she had the right to arrange suitable dynastic marriages for them. In 1612, Ayşe Sultan, the eldest child of Kösem, was consequently married to the Grand Vizier Nasuh Pasha at

11766-570: The first in the Ottoman Empire's history. In 1623, the Ottoman court sent a letter to the Republic of Venice , formally announcing Murad's ascension to the throne. The letter, which formally addressed Kösem, wrote: "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

11925-406: The first instance of a sultan marrying one of his slaves. The last haseki was Rabia Sultan , the haseki of the sultan Ahmed II . Over time, the term haseki was no longer used because, it became very apparent that it didn't support the custom of honoring the valide sultan. Kadın : Among the women of the Imperial Harem, the kadın was the slave woman (or women) who had given

12084-480: The geography of the Ottoman wars of conquest. The utmost authority in the imperial harem, the valide sultan , ruled over the other women in the household. The consorts of the sultan were normally of slave origin, including the valide sultan. The Kizlar Agha ( Kızlarağası , also known as the "Chief Black Eunuch" because of the Nilotic origin of most aghas ) was the head of the eunuchs responsible for guarding

12243-577: The government and state institutions. In 1645, Kösem pressured Sultan Ibrahim to launch a largely unsuccessful naval assault on the Venetian-controlled island of Crete . Afterwards, she had to contend with a Venetian blockade of the Dardanelles , which led to the naval Battle of Focchies in 1649, and in the years that followed, merchant upheavals brought on by a financial crisis. Some historians openly attribute Kösem Sultan's role in

12402-530: The government during the reign of her husband." A month before the Venetian despatch, the English envoy Thomas Roe predicted that the new sultan would be "gouemed by his mother, who gouemed his father, a man of spirit and witt." As per Ottoman tradition, Murad had all his brothers confined in the Kafes, a part of the Imperial Harem where the palace eunuchs kept possible successors to the throne under

12561-422: The grammatical systems of Persian and Arabic. In a social and pragmatic sense, there were (at least) three variants of Ottoman Turkish: A person would use each of the varieties above for different purposes, with the fasih variant being the most heavily suffused with Arabic and Persian words and kaba the least. For example, a scribe would use the Arabic asel ( عسل ) to refer to honey when writing

12720-423: The group who came next in rank to the valide sultan . Right below the kadın s in rank were the ikbal s, whose number was unspecified. Last in the hierarchy were the gözde s. During 16th and 17th centuries, the chief consort of the sultan received the title haseki sultan or sultana consort. This title surpassed other titles and ranks of a prominent consort, known as ( hatun and kadın ). When

12879-529: The harem at Topkapı Palace . At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the corps of Topkapı harem eunuchs numbered between 800 and 1,200. This was, and would remain, the highest number of eunuchs ever employed. These eunuchs were Nilotic slaves captured in the Nile vicinity. The sultans were able to obtain these slaves because of the conquest of Egypt in 1517 , which gave direct access to slave caravans that used those routes. The conquest of northeastern Sudan in

13038-442: The harem varied over time, and the harem itself was regularly renewed as a result of the practice of manumission . Manumission of the previous sultan's concubines was especially common upon the enthronement of a new sultan. Most enslaved girls were Christian and came from various countries, regions, and ethnic groups, including Circassia, Georgia, Russia, and Africa. There was no standard practice that determined what age girls entered

13197-464: The harem's living quarters in Topkapi Palace reflected a changing in power dynamics between the men of the palace and the women of the harem. Topkapı Palace served as the royal residence of the Ottoman sultan for four centuries. There is a wealth of sources about this structure making it one of the most fully documented buildings in the Islamic world. The architectural structure of the harem changed over time due to consecutive sultans' renovations. During

13356-485: The harem, learning only what the eunuchs 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 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

13515-433: The harem. Roxelana became Suleiman's most loyal informant when he was away and after his mother's death. She became a legendary and influential woman of her time. Roxelana established grand foundations to assist the needy, and showed special compassion towards slaves. She also ensured that the talented women of the harem left palace service to marry deserving partners. She transformed the royal harem at Topkapi Palace into

13674-462: The harem. Newly arrived slave girls were called Acemi (novice) and Acemilik (novicitiate), and then Sakird (apprentice). Gedikli were the personal maidservants of the sultan. Cariye-women were manumitted to go after nine years of service, after which a marriage was arranged for them. The number of women in the harem is contested and only possible to estimate during some periods. Contemporaries claimed that in 1573, there were 150 women in

13833-416: The harem. Some arrived as children, while others entered at a later age. This slave trade was formally banned in 1854 but the ban was on paper only. After 1854, almost all court lady-slaves were of Circassian origin. Circassians had been expelled from Russian lands in the 1860s and impoverished refugee parents sold their daughters in a trade that was formally banned but continued in practice. Upon arrival at

13992-459: The harem.Their status was inferior to the preferred concubines. They were also not identified among the family elite of the harem. When court ladies had contact with the outside world it was through the services of intermediaries, such as the Kira . However, such exposure was rare. The harem was intentionally very cloistered and hidden from public view. This inaccessibility was maintained to preserve

14151-559: The hierarchy of the Imperial Harem . Safiye Sultan , Ahmed'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 , Ahmed'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 hierarchy. Ahmed favoured Kösem above all his concubines, lavishing on her

14310-562: 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 Janissaries. A letter to the Grand Vizier Damad Hilal Pasha , dated 1627, reveals Kösem's concern about two troublesome matters: the security of Yemen , which would break free of Ottoman control in 1636, and

14469-437: The imperial harem. The word harem is derived from the Arabic harim or haram , which connotes the sacred and forbidden. The term further emphasizes that only women household members, and some related male family members, were able to enter these areas. The word has also been traced back to meaning "sanctuary," reflecting the communal and honored aspect of the haram . As the sultan became increasingly sedentary in

14628-531: The imperial harem. In An Englishwoman in a Turkish Harem published in 1915, Ellison sought to "correct" the prejudice and hatred that dominated the British national attitude towards Turkey. She wrote of the beauty and grandeur of the Ottoman Empire and of the great friends she had made there. She spoke highly of the progressive movements in Turkey and claimed that rights for women were increasing. Ellison claimed

14787-406: The imperial palace were called acemi (novice), and their early period of service and training was known as acemilik (novitiate) before they were eligible for promotions. There was a strict hierarchical system of status and roles within the harem and cariye s. They were promoted according to their capacities, intellect, and skills. The harem was broken into two main groups: those who directly served

14946-433: The letter ه ـه ([a] or [e]), both back and front vowels, word that ends in a ت ([t]) sound, and word that ends in either ق or ك ([k]). These words are to serve as references, to observe orthographic conventions: Table below shows the suffixes for creating possessed nouns. Each of these possessed nouns, in turn, take case suffixes as shown above. For third person (singular and plural) possessed nouns, that end in

15105-510: The marriage. Hüseyin Pasha had benefited from the protection of both the Chief Black Eunuch Mustafa Ağa and Kösem. Murad'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 Murad

15264-418: The men were often painted as darker. The portraits of notable imperial harem women were less sexualized with many of them resembling traditional European portraits in their dress and physical features. Italian artist Titian's paintings of Hurrem Sultan and her daughter Mihrimah Sultan are extremely similar to his popular Portrait of a Lady , with the only notable difference being the Ottoman headdress. Of

15423-618: The most powerful and influential women in Ottoman history as well as a central figure during the period known as the Sultanate of Women . Kösem's stature and influence were facilitated by her astute grasp of Ottoman politics and the large number of children she bore. One of her sons and grandson required her regency early in their reigns, and her daughters’ marriages to prominent statesmen provided her with allies in government. She exerted considerable influence over Sultan Ahmed, and it's probable that her efforts on keeping his half-brother Mustafa—who later became Mustafa I —alive contributed to

15582-535: The most recognizable orientalist artwork based on the imperial harem. The Turkish Bath and Harem , (both pictured), are two such examples. These images were described as constituting the "imaginative geography" outlined in Edward Said's Orientalism . There was a prevalence of nudity in the bath scenes and the depiction of polygyny with multiple women and usually one man in the paintings. The women in these paintings were often portrayed as fair-skinned while

15741-448: The natural or divine order," that all other societies must work towards achieving. In particular, European notions of race, sexuality, and gender heavily influenced their perception and depictions of life and politics in the Ottoman empire . The West's assumed social organization was that of "public/commonwealth/male and private/domestic/female." Conversely, in Ottoman society , politics and imperial activity occurred in private. Seclusion

15900-417: The only males allowed and entrusted to be in the presence of the female population of the palace. As eunuchs also had direct access to the sultan and the sultan's family, they had great influence and power in the court and empire. The office of the chief harem eunuch was created in 1574. The chief black eunuch was sometimes considered second only to the grand vizier (head of the imperial government). He had

16059-665: The other in Rumelikavağı . 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 Janissaries. When the grand vizier, who was campaigning against the Safavids to recapture Baghdad, 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

16218-615: The palace became available to the sultans, their families, and the harem. The imperial harem chambers were placed at the back of Dolmabahçe Palace, and functioned much the same as within Topkapi up until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1922. The history of the Yıldız Palace begins in 1795 when Selim III built a pavilion there for his mother, marking a moment when valide sultans began managing and inhabiting their own hilltop estates. The complex later became widely known as having been

16377-448: The palace, his family members, previously dispersed between provincial capitals, were eventually relieved of their public duties and gathered in the imperial capital. The official move of members of the Ottoman dynasty to the harem at Topkapi Palace in the sixteenth century gradually transformed the imperial harem into a well-organized, hierarchical, and institutionalized social and political structure, with rigid protocols and training. At

16536-463: The palace, women and girls began a rigorous transformation process. They were converted to Islam, learned religious precepts through recitation of core Islamic creeds, and were given new Muslim names that matched their physical appearance or personality. They were trained in court manners and activities and taught the Turkish language. As part of this total transition to a new life, the women were prohibited from contacting their families. An Odalisque ,

16695-422: The passers-by who flocked to see the young prince, while Kösem remained concealed. However, by 1616, Venetian ambassador Cristoforo Valier noted that the sultan restricted Osman’s interactions with Kösem, possibly due to concerns about her ambitions for her sons. In 1614, Grand Vizier Nasuh Pasha, who was married to Kösem's daughter Ayşe Sultan, was executed on the sultan’s orders, despite Kösem’s efforts to prevent

16854-401: The position of valide sultan was vacant, a haseki could take on the valide 's role, having access to considerable economic resources, and serving as the sultan's advisor in political matters, foreign policy and international politics. Such cases happened during the eras of Hürrem Sultan and Kösem Sultan . Concubines who were not consorts of the sultan became "forgotten women" of

17013-399: The positive conjugation for two sample verbs آچمق açmak (to open) and سولمك sevilmek (to be loved). The first verb is the active verb, and the other has been modified to form a passive verb. The first contains back vowels, the second front vowels; both containing non-rounded vowels (which also impacts pronounciation and modern Latin orthograhpy). Below table shows the conjugation of

17172-408: The possible mother of a future sultan gave them much influence and power in the harem. Ikbal : These slave women needed not necessarily to have given a child to the sultan, but simply needed to have taken his fancy. Ikbals were women who were chosen to become the new Kadin. Many of these women were referred to as gözde (meaning 'favorite'), or 'in the eye', having done just that: caught

17331-488: The power of prominent male and female members of the imperial household. According to Edward Said , Orientalist paintings , reflected Europe's eroticized view of Islam with luxury, leisure, and lust being common motifs. Similarly, writers focused on slavery and sexuality, and frequently compared Ottoman practices with those of the West. French artists such as Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Fernand Cormon painted some of

17490-420: The premises of the harem without the explicit permission of the valide sultan . The power of the valide sultan over concubines even extended to questions of life and death, with eunuchs directly reporting to her. Court ladies either lived in the halls beneath the apartments of the consorts , the valide sultan and the sultan, or in separate chambers. The kadın s, who numbered up to four, formed

17649-477: The privacy and sanctity of the consorts, future sultans, and harem at large. Hurrem Sultan, also called Roxelana , was a female concubine who completely transformed the harem system and left a lasting impact on the Ottoman Empire. Roxelana is believed to have been kidnapped from Ruthenia or "Old Russia" located in modern-day Ukraine. She was renamed Hurrem, "the cheerful one," upon her arrival in Istanbul. As

17808-601: The provisions have been loaded onto ships." Bayram Pasha , the governor of Egypt and Kösem's son-in-law, wrote to 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 , and shortfalls in the province's revenue (in 1625, Egypt sent only half of its normal revenue because of

17967-459: The public gaze also communicated his power, as only those closest to him had the privilege to interact with him privately. The only person in the harem with "ritual and retinue appropriate to her status," was the valide sultan. The institution was introduced in the Turkish society with adoption of Islam, under the influence of the Arab caliphate , which the Ottomans emulated. To ensure the obedience of

18126-446: The queen mother ( valide sultan ), the grand vizier and the valide 's other supporters – and the chief black eunuch was the queen mother's and chief consorts' intimate and valued accomplice. Kösem Sultan, mother of Sultan Ibrahim (r. 1640–1648) and grandmother of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687), was killed at the instigation of the mother of Mehmed IV, Turhan Sultan, by harem eunuchs in 1651. Kızlar ağası : The kızlar ağası

18285-532: 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, Murad, who was already critical of his mother's foreign policy, objected to her proposed truce between

18444-453: The regicide of Osman. During the closing months of Mustafa's second reign, he ordered the execution of everyone involved in Osman's death, including Kösem's sons. But before his orders could be carried out, both Kösem and the eunuch corps intervened and deposed him once more. Kösem eventually reached an agreement with the viziers to install her son Murad as sultan. Mustafa would go on to spend

18603-465: The reigning sultan but ranked higher than the sultan's own sisters and aunts, the princesses of the dynasty. Her elevated imperial status derived from the fact that she was the mother of a potential future sultan. This term haseki sultan was given to any woman who entered the sultan's bed. Hurrem Sultan was the first to hold this title after she became legally married to Suleiman the Magnificent ,

18762-648: The replacement of the Perso-Arabic script with the extended Latin alphabet . The changes were meant to encourage the growth of a new variety of written Turkish that more closely reflected the spoken vernacular and to foster a new variety of spoken Turkish that reinforced Turkey's new national identity as being a post-Ottoman state . See the list of replaced loanwords in Turkish for more examples of Ottoman Turkish words and their modern Turkish counterparts. Two examples of Arabic and two of Persian loanwords are found below. Historically speaking, Ottoman Turkish

18921-498: The residence of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II, beginning in 1880. The palatial complex is demarcated by the Çırağan Palace on the waterfront and extending up to a valley between Besiktas and Ortaköy. After assassination attempts, Abdülhamid II moved his immediate family to the Yıldız Palace to live in a two-story mansion known as the Şale Kiosk. This became the new harem quarters following its location at

19080-509: The rest of his life in the Kafes. Kösem entered the Topkapı Palace with a grandiose ceremonial procession in front of which a thousand dervishes were 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 Sultan Murad IV . Since he was a minor, she was appointed not only as valide sultan but also as official regent ( naib-i-sultanat ),

19239-626: The reward they deserve. I'm not referring to anything specific. A friend is one who tells a person his faults to his face. I wouldn't wish ill on any of you. May God protect us all from evil. I wish you would listen to me and have them stop practicing the javelin in the Hippodrome. Why can't they go play in Langa? My son loves it, I lose my mind over it. Whoever says it's good for him is lying. Caution him about it, but not right away. What can I do? My words are bitter to him now. Just let him stay alive, he

19398-458: The same fate. Although Contarini did not specifically name Kösem, he referred to a "queen" who intervened on Mustafa's behalf. Kösem’s strategy aimed to preserve Mustafa's life in the hope that, should he ascend the throne, he would spare her sons. She also leveraged alliances with key figures such as Mustafa Agha, the Agha of the Janissaries , and Grand Vizier Nasuh Pasha to extend her influence over

19557-415: The same time hold the power in her own hands. The grand vizier stated in a very gentlemanly way that this desire was not in accordance with the law (kanûn): 'My Lord and Ruler, what you are doing is against the law. Please don't even articulate it. After all, I am your faithful servant and I do not wish to be separated from you.'" In 1623, Kemankeş Kara Ali Pasha was appointed grand vizier. His worst blunder

19716-563: The seventeenth century, when a series of accidents incapacitated the sultan. Regencies endowed the valide sultan with great political power. The valide sultan even influenced the way Ottoman sultans waged wars. The ethnic background of the valide sultan was a major determinant of whether a military target would be aimed at North Africa, the Middle East, or Europe. The sultans were likely to be mindful of their matrilineal descent when determining their next conquest. Matrilineal background

19875-425: The sultan a child, preferably a son. The kadıns , or official concubines, were individually ranked by the sultan in order of preference. Most sultans kept four kadıns . These women had the social, but not legal, status of wife. The first kadın reported was during the reign of Mehmed IV . Baş kadın : The first/most senior slave consorts were called baş kadın or birinci kadin . The consort who held

20034-444: The sultan as consorts, and those who worked in the service of the sultan, the dynasic family, and other high-ranking members of the harem. All women and girls would enter the harem as acemi cariyes and work their way up to acemilik. The next step was sakird (apprentices), with the goal of being promoted to a gedikli (directly waiting on the sultan), usta (mistress), or even kadin (consort), if they were lucky. The cariye s with whom

20193-421: The sultan shared his bed became a member of the dynasty and might rise in rank to attain the status of gözde ('the favorite'), ikbal ('the fortunate') or kadin ('the woman/wife'). The highest position was the valide sultan , the legal mother of the sultan who, herself, used to be a wife or a concubine of the sultan's father and rose to the supreme rank in the harem. No court lady could enter or leave

20352-480: The sultan's family run by the Queen Mother . The rank of individuals residing in the harem was reflected in its architecture. Quarters were continuously remodeled according to new requirements and changing fashions. This resulted in harem space being a collection of ever more fragmented units. In 1842, the Dolmabahçe Palace started to be built. It was created for entertainment and "relaxation" purposes. In 1856,

20511-438: The sultan, as he sought to avoid the perception of being under his wife’s control, unlike his father . Simon Contarini, the successor of Valier, noted that Kösem deliberately limited her involvement in state affairs in order to retain the sultan's favor. On Ahmed'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 Mustafa's accession to

20670-416: The sultan. It was also reported that Sultan Ahmed ordered a woman to be beaten for offending Kösem, and this woman may have been Mahfiruz Hatun, who was subsequently exiled to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) in the mid-1610s. Following Mahfiruz's exile, Kösem and Osman reportedly became closer, and Kösem allowed him to join her on public outings. During these excursions, Osman enjoyed throwing handful of coins to

20829-475: The things that are going to get said over a handful of money. What's to be done? Perhaps [something can be done] after the holiday, God willing. As for you, whenever you're ready let me know, and I'll act accordingly. We'll take care of you right away. The princess is ready. I'll do just the same as I did when I sent out my Fatma Sultan. Just write us when you want, and I'll arrange things accordingly. May God bless [the marriage]." Rejecting an offer of marriage into

20988-406: The throne, probably out of concern for her sons' life, should their older half-brother, Osman, become sultan. She probably preferred to see Mustafa become sultan as he was less likely to see her sons as a threat. As only the second sultan (after Ahmed I) to ascend the throne with no prior experience of government, Sultan Mustafa I proved feeble and incompetent. He had spent his entire early life in

21147-463: The time of Murad III , (1574–1595) each of his 40 wives had separate quarters within the Topkapı harem. Young slave girls inhabited a large dormitory. Women's sexual relations with the sultan determined their living quarters. Once a slave girl had sex with the sultan she received her own chamber, attendants, kitchen maids, a eunuch, and pay. All of these were increased if she became pregnant. If she bore

21306-470: The title baş kadın was in the second rank and most powerful after the valide sultan in the harem. She had a great influence in the harem. Before the creation and after the abolition of the title haseki , the title baş kadın was the most powerful position among the sultan's consorts. A sultan did not have more than four kadin s (the same law used for legal wives in Islam). Their position as

21465-458: The tranquility of Muhammad's community. And now it is declared: Letters have come from Egypt—apparently to you too—which describe the situation there. Something absolutely must be done about Yemen—it's the gate to Mecca. You must do whatever you can. You'll talk to my son about this. I tell you, my mind is completely distraught over this [the Yemen situation].... It is going to cause you great difficulty, but you will earn God's mercy through service to

21624-482: The transition from a system of succession based on primogeniture to one based on agnatic seniority . Kösem played as the head of the government and served as regent to Murad IV (r. 1623–1640) and Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). She was popular and esteemed by the ruling elite, had significant political power, and shaped both the empire's domestic and foreign policies. Her early years as regent were marked by unrest and instability, but she nonetheless succeeded in maintaining

21783-419: The valide sultan, who - among all women enjoying the position - is distinguished by maturity and virtue of character." Shortly after Murad 's enthronement, a Venetian ambassadorial message remarked on Kösem's political experience: "[A]ll power and authority [is with] the mother, a woman completely different from that of Sultan Mustafa, in the prime of life and of lofty mind and spirit, [who] often took part in

21942-472: The vast influence of his wife and her mother: "With her and the mother anything can be done and arranged." Nevertheless, the treaty was recalled on the sultan's orders. Kösem is also known to have corresponded directly with Nur Jahan , the chief wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir . Imperial princesses were often involved in serial marriages during the century after Suleiman the Magnificent , thereby allowing

22101-404: The verbs 'to exist' and 'to have' are expressed using what's called an existential copula , the word وار var . The verb 'to have' is expressed in the same way, except that the object noun will take a possessive pronoun, producing sentences that will literally mean "there exists house of mine". The verbs 'to exist' and 'to have' conjugated for other tenses, are expressed in the same way, with

22260-412: The viziers. Kösem seemed to have distinct expectations about her role when she first became regent. According to the Turkish historian Özlem Kumrular: "It is clear from the request made by the grand vizier (Kemankeş Kara Ali Pasha) that during this period Kösem wanted to be with her underage son in the audience hall and listen to any requests made by dignitaries. She wanted to accompany the sultan and at

22419-413: The white eunuchs, acting as a chief servant and procurer. Valide sultan : The valide sultan was the mother of the reigning sultan and the most powerful woman in the harem, not to mention the empire. She was the absolute authority in the seraglio, and she, with the help of the kapı ağa and the kızlar ağası , often her confidantes, or even men she herself had chosen upon her accession, had

22578-443: The women's ignorance of life outside the harem: "If they stay it is because they wish to stay, and are therefore happy. Their existence, however, seems a most heartrending waste of human life." Her analysis of cruel and antiquated Ottoman practices was not limited to the concubines, as she described her interaction with eunuchs : "It is difficult for me, however, to remember that these poor mutilated anachronisms are great personages at

22737-449: The women, many were bought and kept in slavery. However, not all members of the harem were slaves. The main wives, especially those taken into marriage to consolidate personal and dynastic alliances, were free women. This was the exception, not the rule. The imperial harem also served as a parallel institution to the sultan's household of male servants. The women were provided with an education roughly equal to that provided to male pages. At

22896-476: The words of Arabic origin. The conservation of archaic phonological features of the Arabic borrowings furthermore suggests that Arabic-incorporated Persian was absorbed into pre-Ottoman Turkic at an early stage, when the speakers were still located to the north-east of Persia , prior to the westward migration of the Islamic Turkic tribes. An additional argument for this is that Ottoman Turkish shares

23055-421: Was away at war. He even had grand monuments built to exhibit his love for her. She became known as Haseki, "the favorite," but some accused her of seducing Suleiman with sorcery. Many in the Ottoman court were bewildered by Suleiman's total devotion to one woman and the ensuing radical changes in the harem hierarchy. But Roxelana's great perseverance, intelligence, and willpower gave her the edge over other women in

23214-435: Was born around 1589. It is believed that she was Greek (probably from Tinos ) or Bosnian. Apparently, the first report of Kösem Greek origin was in a letter by the Italian traveler Pietro della Valle . On October 25, 1615, from Istanbul he wrote about Kösem Sultan: “She was the daughter, if I understood correctly, of a Greek priest, from a distant country or city about two hundred miles from Constantinople”. Her Christian name

23373-456: Was depicted by European artists, French artists, writers, and travelers. As Leslie Peirce writes, Europe found that all the power that the Ottoman Empire had was established in the Harem. According to Scott, through their depictions of the Harem, members of European imperial powers imposed their constructions of social organization onto other cultures, assuming their social hierarchies as "part of

23532-576: Was in charge of 300 to 900 white eunuchs as head of the "Inner Service" (the palace bureaucracy, controlling all messages, petitions, and State documents addressed to the Sultan), head of the Palace School , gatekeeper-in-chief, head of the infirmary, and master of ceremonies of the Seraglio, and was originally the only one allowed to speak to the Sultan in private. In 1591, Murad III began to give

23691-462: Was kept alive, as were Osman's younger half-brothers, protected by Kösem, who were at this time not old enough to pose a threat to Osman's regime. 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 with Kösem's involvement in state issues. In 1622, sensing that Osman might still execute Mustafa and his younger brothers,

23850-409: Was not as actively gendered in a strict binary, because the privacy of both male and female members of the imperial family symbolized their power over the rest of society. Western depictions of the imperial harem also worked to gender the meaning of the title sultan. Western tradition made this term synonymous with the male ruler of the empire, while the Ottomans themselves utilized this term to denote

24009-518: Was permitting the Safavid Shah Abbas to capture Baghdad and Erivan in 1624, and then hiding the news from Kösem and Murad, who was twelve years old at the time. Already displeased, Kösem immediately deposed him and had him strangled with the support of the Chief Black Eunuch Mustafa Ağa. He was replaced as grand vizier by Çerkes Mehmed Pasha . Foreign enemies and powerful local notables saw Kösem's rise as an opportunity to undermine

24168-489: Was replaced by Osman, the eldest son of Sultan Ahmed I and his deceased mother Mahfiruz Hatun . Sultan Osman's first act as sultan was to take power away from Mustafa'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

24327-443: 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 . Ottoman Turkish language Historically, Ottoman Turkish was transformed in three eras: In 1928, following

24486-486: Was so important that a sultan descended from a European mother was more than 70 percent less likely to orient the empire's imperial venture in the West. For the perpetuation and service of the Ottoman dynasty , slave girls were either captured in war, given as gifts to the Sultan and the dynastic family on special occasions, recruited within the empire, or procured from neighbouring countries to become imperial court ladies ( cariyes ). The number of female slaves within

24645-399: Was the chief black eunuch of the Ottoman seraglio . The title literally means 'chief of the girls', and he was charged with the protection and maintenance of the harem women. Kapı ağası : Whereas the kızlar ağası was responsible for guarding the virtue of the odalisques , the kapı ağası was a chamberlain to the ladies. His name means "lord of the door," and he was the chief of

24804-405: Was the custodian of imperial power, and worked to consolidate both her son's rule and continuation of the dynasty. She resided at the top of the female hierarchy. Next in line were the sultan's daughters, who were also called sultans. These princesses were admired and could rival their father for popularity and recognition. They were also useful for the political alliances their marriages secured for

24963-529: Was trying hard to keep his mother away from politics, and his actions suggest that he was disturbed by her great influence. In May 1632, during an uprising in Constantinople, the Janissaries 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 Osman II, Murad decided not to allow anyone else to interfere in his administration of

25122-645: Was uncommon among British authors at that time. Montagu believed that conditions were worse for women in Europe than they were for women in the harem. In championing the way in which Ottoman women were treated, it appears Montagu may have been trying to bolster the feminist agenda in England. Like other female writers, Lady Mary also focused on the appearance of the women and their homes as markers of social status: ornate decoration, detailed dresses, and an abundance of jewels reflected higher social status. Lady Mary compares

25281-515: Was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet ( Ottoman Turkish : الفبا , romanized :  elifbâ ), a variant of the Perso-Arabic script . The Armenian , Greek and Rashi script of Hebrew were sometimes used by Armenians, Greeks and Jews. (See Karamanli Turkish , a dialect of Ottoman written in the Greek script; Armeno-Turkish alphabet ) The actual grammar of Ottoman Turkish

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