Turhan Hatice

Turhan Hatice (Sultan) (1628?–1683), was one of the "hasekis" ("favourite concubine") of the Ottoman sultan Ibrahim I(reign 1640-1648) and the mother of his successor, Mehmed IV (reign 1648-1687). Turhan Hatice is prominent for the regency of her young son and her building patronage.

From Concubine to Valide Sultan

"Turhan Hatice", whose original name is unknown, was considered to be of Russian origin. She was captured during one of the raids by Tatars and sold into slavery. When she was about 12 years old, Turhan was sent to the Topkapi Palace as a gift to the mother of Sultan Ibrahim, Kösem Sultan [Thys-Senocak, p. 17] . It was probably Kösem Sultan who gave Hatice to Ibrahim as a concubine. On January 2, 1642 Turhan gave birth to a son, the future sultan Mehmed IV [Thys-Senocak,p.25] . Ibrahim's behaviour sparked talks of deposing the sultan. On August 8, 1648, Ibrahim was dethroned and several days later he was strangled [Thys-Senocak,p.26] . At the head of the Ottoman empire stood the child sultan, Mehmed IV. With Mehmed's ascendency, the position of Valide Sultan ("mother of the reigning sultan") should have gone to "Turhan". However, "Turhan" was overlooked due to her youth and inexperience. Instead, the sultans grandmother and the previous Valide Sultan, Kösem Sultan, was reinstated to this high position. Kösem Sultan was a Valide under two sons, thus having more experince of the two women [Peirce, p.250] .

However "Turhan" turned out to be an ambitious woman to lose such a high position without a fight. In her struggle to become Valide Sultan, "Turhan" was supported by the head black eunuch in her household and the grand vizier, while Kösem was supported by the Janissary Corps. Although, Kösem’s position as Valide was seen as the best for the government, the people resented the influence of the Janissaries on the government [Peirce, p.252] .

In this power struggle, Kosem planned to dethrone Mehmed and replace him with her other young grandson. According to one historian, this switching had more to do with replacing one ambitious daughter in-law with one that was more easily controlled. The plan was unsuccessful as it was reported to "Turhan" by one of Kösem’s slaves [Peirce, p.252] . Whether "Turhan" sanctioned it or not, Kösem Sultan was murdered three years after becoming regent for her young grandson.

"Valide and Regent"

With the death of her rival, "Turhan" became the Valide Sultan. As a regent, "Turhan" wielded great power. She accompanied her son the sultan to important meetings and on several occasions spoke from behind her curtained sitting place. Due to her inexperience, "Turhan" relied on other members of the government to advise her on political matter. This is evident from her correspondence to the grand viziers [Peirce, p.253] .

"Turhan’s" regency was marred by several factors: the war with the Venetians for the island of Crete and the financial crisis that arose from the high expenses of waging war. Weak grand viziers did not improve the situation. However, in 1656 Körpülü Mehmed Pasha was appointed to the position of grand vizier. His condition upon accepting the post was that he be given greater authority than his predecessors [Peirce,p.255-256] .Thus, "Turhan" transferred her political power to that of the grand vizier.

"Royal Patronage"

Leslie Peirce sees the year 1656 as a turning point in "Turhan’s" life. With providing the grand vizier with “unlimited” authority, Turhan limited her own power on the political stage. However, she channeled her energies into other areas of life. Turhan began to build.

Her first building project began in 1658. Perhaps, in answer to the Venetian threat the Valide built two fortresses at the entrance to the Dardanelles. The fortresses, one on the European side and the other on the Asian side, can still be seen today. This project put Turhan in the same league as Mehmed the Conqueror and other sultans who built fortresses in the same area [Thys-Senocak, p.109] .

However, Turhan’s greatest accomplishment would be built in the capital of the empire, Istanbul. Yeni Valide Mosque (“New Valide Mosque”) has an interesting story. The initial construction was started by "Turhan’s" predecessor, Safiye Sultan. She chose the commercial quarter of the city, "Eminonu" as the location of the mosque. This area was inhabited by non-Muslim residents. By building a mosque in "Eminonu", Safiye wanted to islamicize the area [Thys-Senocak,p.186. To build on this site meant that land had to be appropriated from the local residents, an act that had not gone smoothly [Thys-Senocak,p.189-192] . In the year 1597, the first stones were laid. At the death of Safiye’s son, Mehmed III, the construction of the mosque stopped as she was no longer the Valide. The construction was abandoned for 57 years and in 1660 the area was damaged by fire [ Thys-Senocak,p.195-196] . The mosque received a second chance when Turhan decided to complete what had been started by Safiye Sultan. After its completion in 1665, the complex contained not only the mosque, but also a school, public fountains, a market and a tomb [ Peirce,p.206] . According to Peirce the Yeni Valide Mosque gained the distinction of being the first imperial mosque built by a woman [ Peirce,p. 206] . The mosques in this list are only those of the sultans.

"Turhan" was the last woman to wield such great power as to act as a regent to a young son [ Peirce,p.258] . As women were not seen in public in the "Ottoman Empire", it was through her patronage of building that "Turhan showed" herself to her subjects. To defend the entrance to the Dardanelles, Turhan built two fortresses and thus became the guardian of the empire. Within Istanbul, in an important quarter of the city she completed a mosque to Islamicize the area.

"Turhan Hatice", Valide Sultan and regent to her young son, "Mehmed IV", died in 1683. She was buried in the tomb of the "Yeni Valide Mosque". She lies alongside her son and her descendents [ Peirce,p.207] .

Notes

References

* Leslie P. Peirce, "The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire" (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1993).
* Lucienne Thys-Senocak, "Ottoman Women Builders" (Aldershot: Ashgate 2006).