Actually, with this haseki of the grandson of Roksolana, Sultan Murad III (1546-1595), the reign of unlimited (since their overlords were just a shadow of their prominent ancestors) imperious bitches, who are at enmity with each other for their influence on their husbands (for lack of better term) and sons. “Almighty” in the series Roksolana looks like a gentle violet and an innocent forget-me-not against their general background.
MELIKI SAFIE-SULTAN (SOFIA BAFFO) (c.1550-1618/1619).
There are two versions about the origin of the main haseka (she never became the legal wife of the Sultan) Murad III, as well as about the origin of her mother-in-law Nurbanu Sultan.
The first, generally accepted - she was the daughter of Leonardo Baffo, the Venetian governor of the island of Corfu (and, therefore, a relative of Nurban, nee Cecilia Baffo).
Another version, and in Turkey itself, it is she who is preferred - Safiye was from the Albanian village of Rezi, located on the Dukaga Highlands. In this case, she was a countrywoman, or, quite possibly, even a relative of the poet Tashlydzhaly Yahya Bey (1498-no later than 1582), a friend of Mustafa's shehzade executed by Suleiman I, the serial "admirer" Mihrimah Sultan, who was also an Albanian by origin.
In any case, Sophia Baffo was captured around 1562, at the age of 12, by Muslim pirates, and bought by the sister of the then ruling Turkish padishah Selim II, Mihrimah Sultan. In accordance with Ottoman traditions, the daughter of Roksolana left the girl in her service for a year. Since Mihrimah, both under her father, Sultan Suleiman, and later, during the reign of her brother Selima, ruled the main harem of Turkey, most likely, Sofia from the first days of her stay in the Ottoman Empire found herself immediately in Bab-us-Saad (the name of the Sultan's harem, literally - “The Gates of Bliss”), where, by the way, Nurbana, before she became a valid Sultan, to put it mildly, was not favored. In any case, such hardening at the very beginning of the career path of the young concubine was very useful to her in the future, including in the fight against her mother-in-law, when Murad became a sultan. After a year of teaching the girl everything that an odalisque needed to know, Mihrimah Sultan gave her to her nephew, shehzade Murad. It happened in 1563. Murad was then 19 years old, Safiye (most likely, Mihrimah gave her name, on Turkish it means "pure") - about 13.
Apparently, in Akshehir, where Suleiman I appointed Selim's son as a sanjak-bey in 1558, Safiye did not succeed immediately.
She gave birth to her first son (and first-born Murad), shehzade Mehmed, only three years later, on May 26, 1566. Thus, Sultan Suleiman, who was then living the last year of his life, managed to find out about the birth of his great-grandson (there is no information that he personally saw the newborn) 3.5 months before his own death on September 7, 1566.
As in the case of Nurbanu Sultan and Sehzade Selim, before Murad's accession to the throne, only Safiye gave birth to his children. However, what her position was fundamentally different from the position of her mother-in-law as a haseka of the heir to the throne was the fact that all this time (almost 20 years) she remained the only sexual partner of Murad (if he had, as befits a shehzade, a large harem ). The fact is that the son of Nurbanu Sultan had some intimate psychological problems in his sexual life, which he could only overcome with Safiye, and therefore had sex exclusively with her (with legal polygamy among the Ottomans, which is especially offensive). Haseki Murada bore him many children (their exact number is unknown), but only four of them survived early childhood - the sons Mehmed (born 1566) and Mahmud, and the daughters Aishe-Sultan (born 1570) and Fatma-Sultan (born 1580). The second son Safiye died in 1581 - by that time his father Murad III had been the sultan for 7 years, and thus, she, like Nurbanu, had her only son (and he was the only heir of the Ottomans in the male line).
Murad's selective impotence, which allowed him to have children only from Safiye, worried his mother Nurbanu Sultan very much only after she became a valid, and even then not immediately, but when it became clear to her that to give her all power without a fight her daughter-in-law is not going to - not so much because of his health, but because of the huge influence that the hated Safiye had on her son for this reason (and between the mother and the Haseki of Murad, who had just ascended the throne, a war had just begun for influence on him) .
Nurban is quite understandable - if Roksolana was presented to Sultan Suleiman, most likely by his mother, Aisha Hafsa-Sultan, and Nurban herself was chosen for Selim by his mother Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, then Safiye was the choice of Mihrimah-Sultan, and, accordingly, she did not owe anything to her mother-in-law (who, by the way, categorically refused to recognize her relationship with her).
One way or another, in 1583, Valide Sultan Nurbanu accused Safiye of witchcraft, which made Murad impotent, unable to have sex with other women. Several servants of Safiye were seized and tortured, but they could not prove her guilt (of what?).
In the chronicles of that time, they write that Murad's sister, Esmehan Sultan, presented her brother with two beautiful slaves in 1584, "whom he accepted and made his concubines." The fact that before that Sultan Murad met (at the insistence of his mother) in a secluded place with a foreign doctor is mentioned in passing in the same chronicles.
However, Nurbanu, nevertheless, achieved her goal - having received the freedom to choose sexual partners at the age of 38, the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, literally, became obsessed with his libido. In fact, he devoted the rest of his life exclusively to harem pleasures. He bought beautiful slave girls practically in bulk and for any money, wherever he could. Viziers and sanjak-beys, instead of managing the state, looked for young charmers for him in their provinces and abroad. During the reign of Sultan Murad, the number of his harem, according to various estimates, ranged from two hundred to five hundred concubines - he was forced to significantly increase and rebuild the premises of Bab-us-Saade. As a result, in just the last 10 years of his life, he managed to become the father of 19-22 (according to various estimates) sons and about 30 daughters. Given the very high early childhood mortality at that time, we can safely assume that his harem gave birth to him during this time, at least, about 100 children.
The triumph of the valid Sultan Nurbanu, however, was short-lived - she somehow believed that with one blow (naive) she knocked out her most powerful weapon from the hands of the hated daughter-in-law. However, she still could not defeat Safiye in this way. The smart woman, having accepted the inevitable, never once showed her annoyance or discontent, moreover, she herself began to buy beautiful slaves for Murad's harem, which earned him gratitude and trust, no longer as a concubine, but as a wise adviser in state matters, and after her death (in 1583), Safiye easily and naturally took her place not only in the state hierarchy of the Ottoman Empire, but also in the eyes of Murad III. Having taken into their own hands along the way all the influence and connections of the mother-in-law in the Venetian merchant circles, which brought Nurban a lot of income, as a lobbyist for their interests in the Divan.
The fact that Valide Murad III switched all her son's vital interests to the pleasures of the flesh, in the end, benefited both herself and her daughter-in-law - they were able to completely take control of the now completely uninteresting power for Murad.
By the way, it was during the reign of the sexually preoccupied Murad III that representatives of the ruling European dynasties reappeared in the main harem of the Brilliant Porte after a very long break (almost two centuries). However, now they were content with the position not of the wives, but of the sultan's concubines, at best, their haseks. The political situation in Europe has changed a lot over these 200 years, the rulers of the states that fell under the Ottoman protectorate, and those who tried to maintain their independence from Istanbul, themselves offered their daughters and sisters to the harem of the Turkish padishah. So, for example, one of Murad's favorites was Fulane-hatun (real name is unknown) - the daughter of the Wallachian ruler Mircea III Draculeshtu, the great-granddaughter of that same Vlad III Tepes Dracula (1429 / 1431-1476). Her brothers, as vassals of the Ottoman Empire, participated with their troops in the campaign of the Turkish army against Moldova. And his nephew, Mikhna II Turk (Tarkitul) (1564-1601), was born and raised in Istanbul, in Topkapi. He was converted to Islam with the name Mehmed Bey. In September 1577, after the death of his father, the Wallachian ruler Alexander Mircea, Mikhne Turok was proclaimed by the Porte the new ruler of Wallachia.
Another haseki of Murad III, the Greek Elena, belonged to the Byzantine imperial dynasty of the Great Komnenos. She was a descendant of the rulers of the Trebizond Empire (the territory on the northern coast of modern Turkey, right up to the Caucasus), captured by the Ottomans back in 1461. The biography of her son Yahya (Alexander) (1585-1648) - an outstanding either adventurer or politician, but, of course, an excellent warrior and commander who devoted his whole life to organizing military anti-Turkish coalitions (with the participation of Zaporozhye Cossacks, Moscow , Hungary, the Don Cossacks, the states of Northern Italy and the Balkan countries) with the aim of capturing the Ottoman Empire and creating a new Greek state, deserves a separate story. I can only say that this daring man, both on the side of his father and on the side of his mother, was a descendant of the Galician Rurikovichs. And, of course, he had all the rights to the throne of Byzantium, if his escapade was a success. But now the conversation is not about him.
As a ruler, Sultan Murad was as weak as his father Selim. But if the reign of Selim II was quite successful thanks to his chief vizier and son-in-law, Mehmed Pasha Sokoll, an outstanding statesman and military figure of his time, then Murad after the death of Sokoll (he was his uncle, because he was married to his own aunt - his father's sister) five years after the beginning of his own sultanate, no such grand vizier could be found. The heads of the Divan replaced each other several times a year during his reign - not least due to the fault of the sultanas - Nurban and Safiye, each of whom wanted to see their own person in this position. However, even after the death of Nurbanu, the leapfrog with the Grand Viziers did not end. When Safiye was a valid sultan, 12 chief viziers were replaced.
However, the military forces and material resources accumulated by the ancestors of Sultan Murad still gave, by inertia, the opportunity for their mediocre descendant to continue the work of conquest they had begun. In 1578 (during the lifetime of the outstanding Grand Vizier Sokollu, and his works), the Ottoman Empire began another war with Iran. According to legend, Murad III asked his entourage which of all the wars that took place during the reign of Suleiman I was the most difficult. Upon learning that it was an Iranian campaign, Murad decided to surpass his great grandfather at least in some way. Having a significant numerical and technical superiority over the enemy, the Ottoman army achieved a number of successes: in 1579, the territories of modern Georgia and Azerbaijan were occupied, and in 1580, the southern and western coasts of the Caspian Sea. In 1585, the main forces of the Iranian army were defeated. According to the Constantinople peace treaty with Iran, concluded in 1590, most of Azerbaijan passed to the Ottoman Empire, including Tabriz, all of Transcaucasia, Kurdistan, Luristan and Khuzestan. Despite such significant territorial gains, the war led to the weakening of the Ottoman army, which suffered heavy losses, and undermined finances. In addition, the protectionist administration of the state, first by Nurbanu Sultan, and after her death by Safiye Sultan, led to a strong increase in bribery and nepotism in supreme power country, which, of course, also did not benefit the Brilliant Porte.
By the end of his life, Murad III (and he lived only 48 years) turned into a huge, fat, clumsy carcass suffering from urolithiasis (which, in the end, brought him to the grave). In addition to the illness, Murad was also tormented by suspicions about his eldest son and official heir, shehzade Mehmed, who was then about 25 years old and who was very popular with the Janissaries - Roksolana's grandson was afraid that he would try to take power from him. During this difficult period, Safiye Sultan made great efforts to save his son from the danger of poisoning or murder by his father.
By the way, despite the huge influence that she again acquired on Sultan Murad after the death of his mother Nurbanu, she failed to force him to make nikah with her. The mother-in-law, before her death, managed to convince her son that the marriage with Safiye would bring his own end closer, as happened with his father, Selim II - he died three years after nikah with Nurbanu herself. However, such a precaution did not save Murad - he lived 48 years without any nikah, two years less than Sultan Selim, who made nikah.
Murad III began to get seriously ill in the autumn of 1594, and died on January 15, 1595.
His death, like the death of his father, Sultan Selim 20 years ago, was kept in deep secrecy, wrapping the body of the deceased with ice, moreover, in the same closet where Selim's corpse had previously lay, until shehzade Mehmed arrived from the throne of Manisa on January 28 . He was met, already as a valid, by his mother, Safie Sultan. Here it should be noted that the father appointed Mehmed as the sanjak-bey of Manisa back in 1583, when he was about 16 years old. All these 12 years mother and son have never seen each other. This is a word about the maternal feelings of Safie Sultan.
The 28-year-old Mehmed III began his reign with the greatest fratricide in the history of the Ottoman Empire (with the full support and approval of his valid). On one day, on his orders, 19 (or 22, according to other sources) of his younger brothers were strangled, the eldest of whom was 11 years old. But even this, to ensure the safety of his reign, was not enough for his son Safiye, and the next day all the pregnant concubines of his father were drowned in the Bosphorus. What was an innovation even for those cruel times - in such cases, they waited for the woman's permission from the burden, and only male babies were killed. The concubines themselves (including the mothers of boys) and their daughters were usually left to live.
Looking ahead, it is precisely “thanks to” the paranoid suspicious Sultan Mehmed in the Ottoman ruling dynasty a pernicious custom appeared - not to give the shehzade the opportunity to take even the slightest part in the management of the empire (as was done before). The sons of Mehmed were kept locked up in a harem in a pavilion, which was called: “Cage” (Kafes). They lived there, albeit in luxury, but in complete isolation, drawing information about the world around them only from books. It was forbidden to inform shehzade about current events in the Ottoman Empire under pain of death. In order to avoid the birth of “superfluous” bearers of the sacred blood of the Ottomans (and, therefore, competitors to the throne of the Brilliant Porte), shehzade had no right not only to their harem, but also to sex life. Now only the ruling sultan had the right to have children.
Immediately after Mehmed came to power, the Janissaries rebelled and demanded higher salaries and other privileges. Mehmed satisfied their claims, but after that riots broke out among the population of Istanbul, which took on such a wide scale that the Grand Vizier Ferhad Pasha (of course, by order of the Sultan) used artillery against the rebels in the city for the first time in the history of the Ottoman Empire. It was only after this that the rebellion was put down.
At the insistence of the Grand Vizier and Sheikh ul-Islam, Mehmed III in 1596 moved with an army to Hungary (where in last years During the reign of Murad, the Austrians began to gradually regain the territories conquered from them earlier), won the battle of Kerestet, but failed to take advantage of it. The English ambassador Edward Barton, who, at the invitation of the Sultan, participated in this military campaign, left interesting records of the behavior of Mehmed in a military situation. On October 12, 1596, the Ottoman army captured the Erlau fortress in northern Hungary, and two weeks later it met with the main forces of the Habsburg armies, which took up well-fortified positions on the Mezokövesd plain. At this point, Mehmed lost his nerve, and he was ready to abandon his troops and return to Istanbul, but the vizier Sinan Pasha persuaded him to stay. When the next day, October 26, both armies met in a decisive battle, Mehmed was frightened and was about to flee from the battlefield, but Sededdin Khoja dressed the Sultan in the sacred ilash of the Prophet Muhammad and literally forced him to join the fighting troops. The result of the battle was an unexpected victory for the Turks, and Mehmed earned himself the nickname Ghazi (defender of the faith).
After his triumphant return, Mehmed III never again led Ottoman troops on a campaign. The Venetian ambassador Girolamo Capello wrote: "Doctors declared that the Sultan could not go to war because of his poor health, caused by excesses in food and drink."
However, the doctors in this case did not sin so much against the truth - the Sultan's health, despite his youth, was rapidly deteriorating: he weakened, lost consciousness several times and fell into oblivion. Sometimes it seemed that he was on the verge of death. One of such cases is mentioned by the same Venetian ambassador Capello in his message dated July 29, 1600: "Great Sovereign retired to Scutari, and it is rumored that there he fell into dementia, which had already happened to him several times before, and this attack lasted three days, during which there were brief periods of clearing of the mind ”. Like his father Sultan Murad at the end of his life, Mehmed turned into a huge fat carcass that no horse could withstand. So there was no question of any military campaigns.
Such a state of the son, who, even before his illness, was not very interested in state affairs, made the power of Sophia the Sultan truly unlimited. Having become a valid, Safiye received enormous power and a large income: in the second half of the reign of Mehmed III, she received only 3,000 akçe per day as a salary; in addition, profit was brought by lands given from state property for the needs of the valid sultans. When Mehmed III went on a campaign against Hungary in 1596, he gave his mother the right to manage the treasury. Until the death of Mehmed III in 1603, the country's policy was determined by the party, which was headed by Safiye together with Gazanfer Agha, the head of the white eunuchs of the main harem of the Ottoman Empire (eunuchs were a huge political force that, without attracting outside attention, participated in government and even, later - in the enthronement of sultans).
In the eyes of foreign diplomats, Valide Sultan Safie played a role comparable to that of queens in European states, and was even considered by Europeans as a queen.
Safiye, like her predecessor Nurbanu, followed a largely pro-Venetian policy and interceded regularly on behalf of the Venetian ambassadors. The Sultana also maintained good relations with England. Safiye was in personal correspondence with Queen Elizabeth I and exchanged gifts with her: for example, she received a portrait of the Queen of England in exchange for “two robes of silver fabric, one belt of silver fabric and two handkerchiefs with gold edging.” In addition, Elizabeth presented the Valide Sultan with a chic European carriage, in which Safiye traveled all over Istanbul and its environs, causing dissatisfaction with the ulema - they believed that such luxury was indecent for her. The Janissaries were unhappy with the influence that the Valide Sultan had on the ruler. English diplomat Henry Lello wrote about this in his report: She [Safiye] was always in favor and completely subjugated her son; despite this, muftis and military leaders often complain about her to their monarch, pointing out that she misleads him and dominates him.
However, the direct cause of the Sipah revolt that broke out in Istanbul in 1600 (a type of Turkish heavy cavalry armed forces Ottoman Empire, “brothers” of the Janissaries) against the mother of the Sultan was a woman named Esperanza Malkhi. She was a kira and Safie Sultan's mistress. Kirami were usually women of a non-Islamic faith (usually Jewish), who acted as a business agent, secretary and intermediary between the women of the harem and outside world. Safiye, who was in love with a Jewish woman, allowed her kira to cash in on the entire harem and even run her hand into the treasury; in the end, Malchi, together with her son (they “heated up” the Ottoman Empire for more than 50 million akce), was brutally killed by the sipahis. Mehmed III ordered the execution of the leaders of the rebels, since the son of the qira was Safiye's adviser and, thus, the servant of the Sultan himself.
Diplomats also left a mention of the sultana's passion for the young secretary of the English embassy, Paul Pindar - however, which remained without consequences. “The Sultana really liked Mr. Pinder and she sent for him for a personal meeting, but their date was cut short”. Apparently, the young Englishman was then rushed back to England.
It was Safiye-Sultan who for the first time in the history of the Ottoman Empire began (informally) to be called the “great valide” - and for the reason that she (the first among the sultanas) concentrated in her hands the control of the entire Brilliant Porte; and because, due to the early death of her son, new valides appeared in the state - the mother of her grandchildren, the sultans, while she was then only 53 years old.
Uncontrollably power-hungry and greedy, Safiye, even more than Mehmed III himself, was afraid of the possibility of a coup by one of her grandsons. That is why she played a major role in the execution of Mehmed's eldest son, 16-year-old shehzade Mahmud (1587-1603). Safiye Sultan intercepted a letter from a certain religious seer sent to Mahmud's mother, Halime Sultan, in which he predicted that Mehmed III would die within six months and be succeeded by his eldest son. According to the notes of the British ambassador, Mahmoud himself was upset that “that his father is under the rule of the old sultana, his grandmother, and the state is collapsing, since she respects nothing more than her own desire to receive money, which his mother [Halime Sultan] often laments”, who was “not to the liking of the queen -mothers". Safiye immediately informed (under the necessary “sauce”) about everything to her son. As a result, the sultan began to suspect Mahmud of a conspiracy and became jealous of the popularity of shehzade among the Janissaries. All this, as expected, ended with the execution (suffocation) of his elder shehzade on June 1 (or 7), 1503. However, the first part of the seer's prediction still came true - two weeks late. Sultan Mehmed III died in his Istanbul Topkapı Palace on December 21, 1503, at the age of only 37, from a heart attack - an absolute wreck. Apart from his mother, no one regretted his death.
A cruel and ruthless man, he apparently was not capable of passion and passionate feelings. Historians know five of his concubines who bore him children, but none of them ever bore the title of haseki, not to mention the possibility of a nikyakh padishah with any of them. Mehmed, as for the Sultan of the Sublime Porte, also had few children - historians know six of his sons (two died as teenagers during the life of his father, he executed one) and the names of four daughters (in fact, there were more of them, but how many and how called - covered in the darkness of the unknown).
This time there was no need to hide the death of the Sultan - all his sons were in Topkapi, in the harem "Cage" for shehzade. The choice was obvious - the 13-year-old eldest son of Mehmed, Ahmed I, ascended the throne of the Ottomans. By the way, at the same time, he saved the life of his younger brother (he was only a year younger than him), shehzade Mustafa. Firstly, because he was (before Ahmed had his own children) his only heir, and secondly (when Ahmed had his own children) because of his mental illness.
Well, Safiye Sultan was not in vain afraid of her grandchildren coming to power - one of the first decisions of Sultan Ahmed was to remove her from power and exile to the Old Palace, where all the concubines of the late sultans lived out their days. However, at the same time, Safiye, as the eldest, “great” Valide, continued to receive her fantastic salary of 3,000 Akçe per day.
Granny Sultana, although she lived, in general, not such a long (especially by the standards of our time) life - she died at about 68-69 years old, while outliving her grandson Sultan Ahmed (he died in November 1617 ), and found the beginning of the reign of his son, his great-grandson Osman II (1604-1622), who became sultan in February 1618, at the age of 14, after the overthrow of his uncle, the mentally disabled Sultan Mustafa I by the Janissaries. By the way, after the overthrow of Mustafa in the Old Palace was exiled by his mother, Halime Sultan. One must think she arranged "fun" last days the life of her mother-in-law Safiye, through whose fault Mehmed III executed her eldest son, Mahmud, in 1603.
The exact date of the death of the great valid Safie Sultan is unknown to historians. She died at the end of 1618 - beginning of 1619, and was buried in the Aya-Sofya mosque in the turba (mausoleum) of her sovereign, Murad III. There was no one to pay for it.
Ending the history of women's rule in the Ottoman Empire, Women's Sultanate (1541-1687)
Start here:
First part - The sultana willy-nilly. Roksolana;
Second part - Women's sultanate. Roksolana's daughter-in-law;
The third part - Women's sultanate. Queen of the Ottoman Empire;
Fourth part - Women's sultanate. Thrice valid Sultan (mother of the ruling Sultan)
Turhan Sultan (1627 or 1628 - 1683) . The last great valide sultan (mother of the ruling sultan).
1. About the origin of this concubine of the Sultan Ibrahim I it is only known for certain that she was Ukrainian, and until the age of 12 she bore the name Hope. She was captured at about the same age Crimean Tatars, sold by them to some Ker Suleiman Pasha, and already he gave it to the powerful valid Sultan Kösem, the mother of a demented Ibrahim which ruled Ottoman Empire instead of his mentally incapable son.
2.Ibrahim I ascending the throne Osmanov in 1640, at the age of 25, after the death of his older brother, the Sultan Murad IV(for which, at the beginning of the reign, their common mother also ruled Kösem Sultan), was the last of the male line of the dynasty Osmanov. Therefore, the problem of the continuation of the ruling dynasty Kösem Sultan(her idiot son didn't care) should have been resolved as soon as possible. It would seem that in the conditions of polygamy, with a huge choice of concubines in the Sultan's harem, this problem (and many times at once) could be solved within the next 9 months. However, the weak-minded sultan turned out to have rather peculiar ideas regarding female beauty. He only liked fat women. And not just fat, but very fat - in the chronicles there is a mention of one of his favorites, nicknamed sugar loaf, whose weight reached 150 kilograms. So Turhan, given by the Sultana to her son around 1640, she could not but be a very large girl. Otherwise, she simply would not have got into the harem of this pervert. I would not have passed, as they say now, the casting.
3. How many children did she give birth to Turhan in total is unknown. But the undoubted fact is that it was she who was the first of his other concubines to give birth Ibrahim I son Mehmed- January 2, 1642. This boy became from birth, first the official heir to the Sultan, and in 1648, after a coup d'état, as a result of which IbrahimI was deposed and killed by the ruler Ottoman Empire.
4. Son Turhan Sultan was only 6 years old when he became sultan Sublime Porta. It would seem that for his mother, who, according to the laws and traditions of the state, was to receive the highest female tutul - valide-sultan (mother of the ruling sultan), and become a regent, or at least co-ruler of a young son, came finest hour. But it was not there! Her experienced and domineering mother-in-law Kösem Sultan She did not at all help eliminate (according to some rumors) her idiot son in order to give unlimited power to a 21-year-old girl. Having easily outplayed her "green" daughter-in-law at first, she for the third time (for the first time in Ottoman Empire) became a valid sultan with her grandson (which did not happen either before her or after her).
5. Three years, from 1648 to 1651, the palace Topkaly shaken by endless scandals and intrigues of opposing sultanas. Ultimately Kösem Sultan decided to replace her reigning grandson on the throne with one of his younger brothers, with a more accommodating mother. However, to become a valid sultan for the fourth time Kösem Sultan did not make it - her hated daughter-in-law, having learned about the conspiracy against her son, in which the dear grandmother relied on the Janissaries, muddied her intrigue with the help of harem eunuchs, who, by the way, were in Ottoman Empire great political force. The eunuchs turned out to be more agile than the Janissaries, and on September 3, 1651, at the age of about 62, the Valide Sultan was strangled in her sleep three times.
6. So, the Ukrainian won, and received the unlimited power of the regent in the empire Osmanov at the age of only 23-24 years. An unprecedented case, such young Valide Sultan Sublime Porte haven't seen yet. Turhan Sultan not only accompanied her son during all important meetings, but also spoke on his behalf during negotiations with envoys (behind the curtain). At the same time, realizing their own inexperience in public affairs, the young Valide Sultan never hesitated to seek advice from members of the government, which consolidated her authority among the highest officials of the empire.
8. Actually, with the appearance at the head Ottoman Empire dynasty Köprülü Women's Sultanate could have ended during the lifetime of its last representative. However, Turhan Sultan, voluntarily refusing to participate in foreign and domestic politics, switched her energies to other government affairs. And in the kind of activity that she chose, she remained the only woman in Brilliant Port. The sultana took up construction.
9. It was under her leadership that two powerful military fortresses were built at the entrance to the strait Dardanelles, one - on the Asian side of the strait, the other - on the European side. In addition, she completed in 1663 the construction of one of the five most beautiful mosques in Istanbul, Yeni Jami (New Mosque), started even under the valid Sultan Safiye, her son's great-great-grandmother, in 1597.
10.Turhan Sultan died in 1683, at the age of 55-56, and was buried in a tomb completed by her New Mosque. However Female sultanate continued after the death of the last in history Ottoman Empire regent women. The date of its completion is considered to be 1687, when the son Turhan(former co-ruler), Sultan Mehmed IV(at the age of 45) was deposed as a result of a conspiracy by the son of the Grand Vizier, Mustafa Koprulu. Myself Mehmed lived after the overthrow from the throne for another five years, and died in prison in 1693. But to history Women's Sultanate it has nothing to do with it anymore.
11. But to Mehmed IV most directly and immediately related is the famous "Letter of the Zaporizhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan". The addressee of this, to put it mildly, obscene letter, was precisely the Sultan Mehmed IV, who is genetically more than half Ukrainian!
The appearance of the Turkic tribes Se (Sakha) in the west of Altau occurred in the year 200 BC. Then they were oppressed by the Tibetan tribe and they had to move further west. Another Chinese traveler Zhang Tsang mentioned the Western Turks, who were called Kanly. It was in 130 BC. At that time, small khanates were subordinate to the Kanlams. They ruled Bukhara, Khiva, Kerman, Samarkand and Tashkent. They were also called Scythians or Saks.
In 1219, Genghis Khan acted very aggressively and the Kanls had to retreat to the lands of Rum. They were headed by Khan Kabi in those days. The Kanls in the foreign land had to wait until the incessant wars had passed, and then they were about to return to their native land. Then they were headed by the son of Kabi Khan, Suleiman. But these plans were not destined to be fulfilled, when Suleiman and his people crossed the Frat River, they drowned. So his son begins to rule - the brave and courageous Torgul. Part of the people remained at Arz-Rum to protect the lands of Konya, which at that time were under the rule of King Allaidden. And the raids on them are made by the son of Genghis Khan, Chagatai. Allaidden was very grateful to Torgul for accomplishing feats, and gives him the post of commander-in-chief of the army and bestows the lands of Eskud, Karashatau and Tomanshi. The son of Torgul, Osman, also differs in military leadership. He also becomes commander-in-chief of the army of Konya. After Torgul died in 1272, Osman becomes commander-in-chief in his place. The territory of the kingdom was greatly expanded during that period due to the lands that were captured. Ten years later, Osman was appointed by Allaidden to independently rule one of the territories that had been captured - Karashi Khasar. During the time that Khan Osman ruled, the country became larger and more prosperous, and in the end it became greatest empire. The formation of the empire took place in 1300, then the local Turks began to be called the Ottoman Turks, and Khan Osman - the Turkish Sultan, the first in a row. In total, there were thirty-six sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire, and the fate of the state changed under each of them.
The Ottoman dispute about the "Women's Sultanate"
What do you know about Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan?
Some historians on the Ottoman period hypothesize that it was Hürrem Sultan who initiated the period Ottoman history, called the "Women's Sultanate". They claim that this is one of the main reasons for the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Although the "Female Sultanate" is not the reason for the decline of the Empire. This is, in fact, its result.
Before, I already went to the tomb of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan. Where is this tomb, you yourself can guess. Of course, next to the Suleymaniye Mosque, along with the tomb of Sultan Suleiman.
My attention was drawn to the interest shown by foreign tourists in her tomb. The conversations of tourists among themselves at the exit indicate that this visit was not accidental, and they have knowledge about Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan herself. Interestingly, this proposal creates a demand, or does people's interest in Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan cause information about her to appear?
To answer this question, I went to Inter 
No, and entered the word "Roksolana" in the search engine. In response, I received a bunch of pages with Internet addresses. Legends about the life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska from the words of witnesses of that time expanded from the time of the ambassadors of Venice under Sultan Suleiman right up to the time of the Austrian ambassador Busbek. Her "life struggle" was met with understanding and emphasized that she was trying to win back her right to life. Although relying on the same sources, historians of the last century are racing to accuse Hürrem.
The ambassadors of Venice described Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan as "not a beauty, but charming", but the historian Ahmet Refik Altynay brings her beauty to the fore and smashes it to smithereens:
“... (Hyurrem Sultan) wanted to take possession of the Padishah with the help of her beauty and become the only Sultana in both the palace and the state. In order to fulfill this dream, she did not disdain either deceit, or betrayal, or murder.
And this is not enough for our historian. Sultan Suleiman also gets it: “Sultan Suleiman was just a tool in the hands of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, who did whatever she wanted. (...) After a string of murders, he was buried in the arms of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and the era of the Sultanate of Nurbanu began .. ”(Ahmet Refik Altynay,“ Women's Sultanate ”).
Historian Ismail Hani Danishmend also claims that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan laid the foundation for the "Women's Sultanate", which became the main reason for the fall of the Ottoman Empire:
“It is believed that the death of the mother of Kanuni and the wife of Sultan Yavuz Hafsa Sultan (...) created favorable circumstances for the emergence of the “Women's Sultanate” in the Ottoman palace. The famous "Hyurrem Sultan", which Western literature and history speaks of as Roksolan, just at that very time, in palace intrigues, began to use her influence on Kanuni to achieve her own interests. This means that one of the main reasons for the stagnation (decline) of the Ottoman Empire manifested itself in its greatest days. (Ismail Hani Danishmend, Chronology of Ottoman History with Commentary, Volume 2).
Danishmend believes that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska has accumulated a lot of sins: “As a result, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Haseki, after Makbul Igrahim Pasha (this is Pargaly - approx. Lane), sacrificed Kara Ahmed Pasha to her interests, that is, brought two viziers to death, and it is also necessary take into account that along with the strangled heir Mustafa, the heir Dzhihangir also died, who could not bear the death of his brother, so that she became the cause of the death of two more.
If we recall that Shehzade Cihangir was the son of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, on the conscience of Roksolana, who initiated the period of the "Women's Sultanate", which gave rise to the decline of the Empire, in addition to three deaths so is the death of his own son.
Danishmend, who considered the very existence of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska a mistake, even complains about her death:
“In 1558, the death of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan, who created the “Women's Sultanate” in the palace and killed poor Mustafa so that her favorite, Bayezid, would inherit the throne, although she did not leave room for maneuver for Selim’s comrades-in-arms, nevertheless brought tragedy and became just as destructive for the state, like the life of this greedy lady.
It seems that if Hürrem had died earlier, Danishmend would have taken his accusations back. 
Fight with Mahidevran
Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan got into the palace as a concubine and became "Haseki" when, a year after the ascension to the throne of Sultan Suleiman, she gave him the heir Mehmed. And she entered into a serious battle with Mahidevran, who 5 years before gave birth to an heir, Mustafa. In order to strengthen her position, she also gave birth to Mihrimah Sultan (1522), Shehzade Abdullah (1523), Shehzade Selim (1524), Shehzade Bayazid (1525) and Shehzade Cihangir (1531).
Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan managed to convince Kanuni to go beyond traditions and marry her, and send Mahidevrat away - to his son Mustafa in Manisa, where he was the governor. After the death of Hafsa Sultan in 1534, who was the guarantor of the preservation of the dynasty and maintained strict discipline in the harem, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska became the sole mistress. She tied the Sultan to herself with excessive sensuality, emotionality. The people, who did not understand the relationship between the Ruler and the slave concubine, believed that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Suleiman bewitched.
Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan put the husband of her daughter Mihrimah, Damat Rustem Pasha, in the chair of the vizier for a long time, then she tried to make one of her sons ascend the throne. That is why she is responsible for the fact that Sultan Suleiman executed the vizier Ibrahim Pasha, who supported Mustafa, Kara Ahmed Pasha and Şehzade Mustafa himself.
After the strangulation of Mustafa's heir, Hürrem Sultan died in 1558 at the age of 50.
Fight for the throne
After the death of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan, the heir Baezid, whom Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska would like to see as Sultan, and the heir Selim opposed each other. Shehzade Baezid, who lost the fight because Selim was supported by Qanuni troops, fled to Iran with Shah Tahmasp. After lengthy bargaining, the Shah handed Baezid over to Selim's men, who promptly killed him and his sons.
In 1566, after the death of Kanuni, the last will of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan came true: her son Selim, similar to her both in appearance and in his behavior, ascended the throne and became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Selim II.
If we cover the concept of "Women's Sultanate", which was proposed by one of the popular historians Ahmet Refik Altynai, as a period, then it began with Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan and lasted a whole century:
“The reign of the Sultan (mother of the Sultan - approx. Lane) began with the wife of Kanuni Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan and lasted a century during the times of Nurbanu, Safiye, Kösem and Turhan Sultan. Historians, starting from the 17th century, among the main factors that influenced the decline of the Empire, indicate the "Women's Sultanate".
If we take this statement of Khalil Inaldzhik (from the preface to the "Love Letters of the Ottoman Sultans") as a starting point for deriving the concept of "Women's Sultanate", then we will notice one inconsistency: Hürrem Sultan died in 1558, her son Selim ascended the throne in 1566 year. And it is obvious that she could not start the "Women's Sultanate", since she never ruled as the mother of the Padishah.
Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan really prevented her stepson Mustafa from ascending the throne and influenced Kanuni to strangle him. Because if Mustafa ascended the throne, her own sons would be killed, and she would lose her status. In this case, can attempts to save one's position and the life of one's own sons be considered "personal interests"?
"Women's Sultanate": cause or effect?
Starting with Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan, one after another followed 4 women who strongly influenced the Sultans, gave the name to this period as the "Women's Sultanate". However, do not forget that the "Women's Sultanate" is not the cause of the decline of the Ottoman Empire, it is its consequence.
Kanuni, after he captured Hungary and Baghdad (1520-1566), did not make conquests in the second half of his reign, and could not. 250 years after the founding of the Ottoman Empire, its borders reached the Roman Empire. In the west, Germany and Austria are populous; in the east - Iran. The army, which left Istanbul at the beginning of the summer, still remained at a distance that was impossible to capture. Due to the fact that the administration of the Empire was completely dependent on the Sultan, his stay for a long time outside Istanbul, which was at the same distance from the western and eastern borders, caused problems. Europeans, meanwhile, improved methods of protection and weapons. Camping costs began to significantly exceed profits. To the question "Women's Sultanate" gave birth to Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan? we can give the answer: "It was born of the end of the campaigns, on which the system of conquering vast expanses and obtaining huge military booty was based."
However, one should not forget that the Ottoman Empire, which broke up into 24 states, as Ilber Ortaily emphasizes, still left a significant mark on history, just like the Third Rome.
Women of the "Women's Sultanate"
Nurbanu Sultan- Haseki son of Hürrem, Selim II. When her son became governor, Hürrem, following the traditions, did not go with him, but remained in the Topkapi Palace. Nurbanu was quickly wrapped around Shehzade, who was left all alone. When Selim ascended the throne, she easily took over the harem, since at that time Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska had already died and Valide Sultan was not in the harem.
Safiye Sultan- Haseki son of Selim II, Murad III. She is from the Venetian family of Baffo, her father was the governor of the island of Corfu. During the reign of Murad III, Nurbanu as Valide Sultan and Safiye as Haseki were constantly at war with each other.
Kösem Sultan– Haseks of Safiye’s grandson, Ahmed I. Nurbanu and Safiye gained their authority in the harem when their husbands were governors away from Istanbul. And Kösem Sultan gained the most power during the reign of her sons Murad IV and Ibrahim, staying in the harem as Valide.
Turhan Sultan- mother of Mehmed IV. Fought with Kösem Sultan. In light of this, instead of Mehmed IV, Kösem wanted to put another heir on the throne - Suleiman, whose mother was a simpleton. As a result of this struggle, Turhan Sultan killed Kösem Sultan and still put her son Mehmed IV on the throne.
© Adnan Nur Baikal, 2001
THE SULTANS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THEIR WIVES: THE REAL LIGHT OF EYES..... The very beginning of the eleventh century was marked by the fact that in the colossal territories of the Asian, free steppes, countless hordes of Sljuks rushed, crushing more and more territories under their own rule. The country captured by these tribes included Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, but mainly the territory of modern Turkey. During the reign of the Seljuk Sultan Melek, who quite successfully ordered to live long in 1092, these Turks were the most powerful people for many thousands of kilometers around, but after his untimely death, and according to historians, he did not die at all from old age, having sat on the throne only two decades, everything went to hell, and the country began to be torn apart by civil strife and the struggle for power.
It was thanks to this that the first Ottoman sultan appeared, about whom legends will later be composed, but let's put everything in order.
The Beginning of the Beginnings: The Sultanate of the Ottoman Empire - the History of Origins So, after the death of the last Seljuk sultan, everything fell into the abyss, and a large, and, moreover, quite a strong state broke up into many small ones, which were called beyliks. Beys ruled there, riots reigned and everyone tried to "revenge" according to their own rules, which was not only stupid, but also very dangerous.
Just where the northern border of modern Afghanistan passes, in the area that bears the name of Balkh, the Oghuz Kayi tribe lived from the eleventh to twelfth centuries. Shah Suleiman, the first leader of the tribe, at that time had already transferred the reins of government to his own son Ertogrul Bey. By that time, the Kayi tribes were pushed back from the nomad camps in Trukmenia, and therefore they decided to move towards the sunset until they stopped in Asia Minor, where they settled. It was then that the Rum Sultan Alaeddin Kay-Kubad was planning a mess with Byzantium, which was gaining power, and Ertogrul had no choice but to help his ally. Moreover, for this “disinterested” help, the Sultan decided to endow the kay with land, and gave them Bithynia, that is, the space that lay between Bursa and Angora, without the above-mentioned cities, rightly believing that it would be already somewhat too much. Just then, Ertorgul transferred power to his own offspring, Osman I, who became the first ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
Osman the First, son of Ertorgul, the first sultan of the Ottoman Empire .... About this, really outstanding person, you should definitely talk in more detail, as it undoubtedly deserves close attention and consideration. Osman was born in 1258, in a small town with only twelve thousand inhabitants, called Tebasion, or Segut, which means “willow” in translation. The mother of the young heir to the bey was a Turkish concubine, who was famous for her special beauty, as well as her strong temper. In 1281, after Ertorgul successfully gave his soul to the god, Osman inherited the territories that were occupied by the nomadic hordes of Turks in Phrygia, and began to gradually unfold.
At that time, the so-called wars for faith were already in full swing, and Muslim fanatics began to flock to the newly formed state with the young Osman at the head, and he took the place of his beloved “daddy” at the age of twenty-four, having repeatedly proved his worth from all around. Moreover, these people firmly believed that they were fighting for Islam, and not for money or rulers, and the most intelligent leaders skillfully used this. However, at that time, Osman still hardly understood what he wanted to do, and how to continue what he himself had begun. The name of this particular person gave the name to the whole state, since then all the Kay people began to be called Ottomans or Otamans. Moreover, many wanted to walk under the banner of such an outstanding ruler as Osman, and legends, poems and songs were composed about his exploits for the glory of the beautiful Malhun Khatun, which still exist today. When the last of the descendants of Alaeddin departed to the world, Osman the first became completely untied, since he no longer owed his formation, as a sultan, to anyone else.
However, at hand there will always be someone who wants to snatch a bigger piece of the pie for himself, and Osman had such a half-enemy-half-friend. The name of the disgraced emir, who was constantly intriguing, was Karamanogullar, but Osman decided to leave his pacification for later, since the enemy’s army was large and the morale was strong. The Sultan decided to turn his attention to Byzantium, whose borders were not reliably protected, and whose troops were weakened by the eternal attacks of the Turkic-Mongols. Absolutely all the sultans of the Ottoman Empire and their wives entered the history of the rather great and powerful Ottoman Empire, skillfully organized by the talented leader and great commander Osman the first. Moreover, a fairly large part of the Turks living there also called themselves Ottomans, before the empire fell.
The rulers of the Ottoman Empire in chronological order: in the beginning there were kayy It is necessary to tell everyone that during the reign of the famous first sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the country simply flourished and shone with all colors and wealth. Thinking not only about personal well-being, fame or love, Osman the First turned out to be a really kind and fair ruler, ready to take tough and even inhuman actions, if necessary for the common good. The beginning of the empire is attributed to 1300, when Osman became the first Ottoman sultan. Other sultans of the Ottoman Empire who appeared later, the list of which can be seen in the picture, numbered only thirty-six names, but they also went down in history. Moreover, not only the sultans of the Ottoman Empire and the years of their reign are clearly visible on the table, but also the order and sequence are strictly observed.
When the time came, in 1326, Osman the First left this world, leaving his own son on the throne, named Orkhan Turkish, since his mother was a Turkish concubine. The guy was very lucky that he had no rivals at that time, because people always kill for power and among all peoples, but the boy was on a horse. The "young" khan had already turned forty-five, which did not at all become an obstacle to daring exploits and campaigns. It was thanks to his reckless courage that the sultans of the Ottoman Empire, the list of which is a little higher, were able to get part of the European territories near the Bosphorus into their possession, thereby gaining access to the Aegean Sea.
How the government of the Ottoman Empire advanced: slowly but surely Brilliant, isn't it? Meanwhile, the Ottoman sultans, the list is provided to you completely reliable, should be grateful to Orhan for one more "gift" - the creation of a real, regular army, professional and trained, at least, cavalry detachments, which were called Yayas.
*** After Orhan died, his son Murad I of Turkey ascended the throne, who became a worthy successor to his work, going further and further to the West and annexing more and more lands to his state. *** It was this man who brought Byzantium to its knees, as well as to vassal dependence on the Ottoman Empire, and even came up with a new type of troops - Janissaries, where they recruited young men from Christians, at the age of about 11-14, who were subsequently brought up and given the opportunity to accept Islam. These warriors were strong, trained, hardy and courageous, they did not know their own kind-tribe, therefore they killed ruthlessly and easily. *** In 1389, Murad died, and his place was taken by the offspring of Bayezid I the Lightning, who became famous throughout the world for his exorbitant predatory appetites. He decided not to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors, and went to conquer Asia, which he succeeded in doing. Moreover, he did not forget about the West at all, besieging Constantinople for a good eight years. Among other things, it was against Bayazid that King Sigismund of the Czech Republic, with the direct participation and help of Pope Boniface IX, organized a real crusade, which was simply doomed to defeat: only fifty thousand crusaders came out against the two hundred thousandth Ottoman army.
This is interesting! It was Sultan Bayezid I the Lightning, despite all his military exploits and achievements, who went down in history as the man who stood at the helm when the Ottoman army suffered the most crushing defeat in the battle of Ankara. Tamerlane (Timur) himself became an opponent of the Sultan, and Bayezid simply had no choice, fate itself brought them together. The ruler himself was taken prisoner, where he was treated respectfully and politely, his Janissaries were completely destroyed, and the army was scattered around the area.
Even before Bayazid died, a real squabble for the Sultan's throne broke out on the Ottoman sidelines, there were many heirs, since the guy was excessively prolific, in the end, after ten years of constant strife and showdowns, Mehmed I the Knight was seated on the throne. This guy was fundamentally different from his eccentric father, he was extremely reasonable, choosy in relationships and strict with himself and others. He managed to reunite the shattered country, eliminating the possibility of rebellion or rebellion.
Then there were several more sultans, whose names can be seen in the list, but they did not leave a special mark in the history of the Ottoman Empire, although they successfully maintained its fame and reputation, regularly performing real feats and aggressive campaigns, as well as repelling the attacks of enemies. It is worth dwelling in more detail only on the tenth sultan - it was Suleiman I Kanuni, nicknamed the Legislator for his mind.
Famous history of the Ottoman Empire: Sultan Suleiman and a novel about his life significantly expand the boundaries of their own state, both in one direction and in the other. Moreover, this progressive and advanced person dreamed of a close connection between East and West, of an increase in education and the prosperity of the sciences, but he did not become famous for this at all.
In fact, fame all over the world came to Suleiman not at all because of his brilliant decisions, military campaigns and other things, but because of an ordinary Ternopil girl named Alexandra, according to other sources Anastasia) Lisovskaya. In the Ottoman Empire, she bore the name Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan, but she became better known under the name that she was given in Europe, and this name is Roksolana. Everyone in every corner of the world knows the story of their love. It is very sad that after the death of Suleiman, who, among other things, was also a great reformer, his children and Roksolana squabbled among themselves for power, because of which their descendants (children and grandchildren) were ruthlessly destroyed. It remains only to find out who rules the Ottoman Empire after Sultan Suleiman and how it all ended.
Interesting facts: the sultanate of women in the Ottoman Empire .... It is worth mentioning the period when the female sultanate of the Ottoman Empire arose, which seemed simply impossible. The thing is that, according to the laws of that time, a woman could not be allowed to rule the country. However, the girl Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska turned everything upside down, and the sultanas of the Ottoman Empire were also able to have their say in world history. Moreover, she became the first concubine who became a real, legal wife, and, therefore, was able to become a valid Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, that is, to give birth to a child entitled to the throne, in fact, just the mother of the Sultan.
After the skillful rule of a brave and courageous female sultana, who so unexpectedly took root among the Turks, the Ottoman sultans and their wives began to continue the new tradition, but not for very long. The last valid Sultan was Turhan, who was also called a foreigner. They say her name was Nadezhda, and she was also captured at the age of twelve, after which she was brought up and trained like a real Ottoman woman. She died at the age of fifty-five, in 1683, there were no more similar precedents in the history of the Ottoman Empire.