Archives: Muslim Women

Born in Dukajini Albania, Safiye Sultan was of Albanian descent who had been abducted by corsairs and sold to the Ottoman harem in her youth. She became the chief wife of the Sultan Murad III after over ten years of living in the harem and was the mother of the future Sultan Mehmed III. Safiye Sultan was known for her public presence in state politics and Safiye was an important advisors in matters of governance to both Murad III and Mehmed III. While she was able to increase her son’s patronage of the army, she also competed with other counselors, like viziers, the mufti, eunuchs, and other favorites. Safiye Sultan also exchanged gifts with Queen Elizabeth I, including jewels, robes, and a carriage, in which Safiye would go travel through the city, much to the scandal of the court. However, the perception that her interference was excessive, and that the unduly promoted her interests, caused her unpopularity, with people believing she had extended her reach beyond the bounds of the Valide Sultan. She also began the construction of the Yeni Valide Mosque in Istanbul in 1598, which would later be finished by Turhan Hatice. The Al-Malika Safiyya Mosque in Cairo was named in her honor. The rest of the Ottoman Sultans were all descended from Safiye

The product of an illegitimate union between two noble Venetian families, Nurbanu Sultan, née Cecelia Venier-Baffo, was the concubine and later wife of Selim II and the mother of Murad III.

Captured in 1537 at the age of twelve, she entered the Ottoman harem and became Selim’s choice to bear his children. Accordingly, she provided him with three daughters and his heir, Murad. She had been the head of his princely harem, and when he became sultan, she became head of the imperial harem. Even after Selim began to take other concubines, she persisted as a favorite for her beauty and intelligence. As mother of the heir-apparent, she acted as an advisor to her husband.

After Selim’s death in 1574, Nurbanu concealed Selim’s body in an icebox to cloak his death until Murad could return from where he was posted as governor. Once he returned, Nurbanu along with the grand vizier acted as Murad’s chief advisors.

First of a series of women during an era called the “Sultanate of Women,” she corresponded with the regent of France, Catherine de Medici, fostering a relationship between the two courts.

Nurbanu commissioned the architect Mimar Sinan to build the Atik Valide Mosque in Istanbul.

Her politics, and thus the politics of her son were so pro-Venetian that it caused bad blood between the Empire and the Republic of Genoa. It is suspected that her death in 1583 was the work of a Genoese agent.

An Ottoman princess, Esma Sultana was the daughter of Sultan Abdul Hamid I and later the sister of the Sultans Mustafa IV and Mahmud II, who exercised influence during the reigns of the men in her family.

Married in 1792 to the high-ranking Küçük Hüseyn Pasha, who was Captain of the Sea, she swayed Ottoman society through this high rank. Not only did she affect society during her early years, but she was also a property owner. She possesses a palace in Divanyolu, a mansion on the Bosporus waterfront, and kiosks in cities around the empire.

Her influence in the Ottoman Empire expanded following a Janissary revolt, who placed her brother Mustafa on the throne. However, Mustafa IV ruled briefly and was then deposed in 1808 by his half-brother Mahmud. During Mahmud II’s 31-year reign, Esma Sultana was powerful and the siblings appear to have been close. Mahmud II died at his sister’s palace. Although some said that he had been murdered there, perhaps under Esma’s orders.

Perhaps the true indicator of her power in the Ottoman Empire were the salacious stories which surrounded her. She was reputed to be a beautiful seductress who sailed the Bosporous on her golden gondola, bringing youths back for a night. Then, according to gossip, in the morning, she would kill them and dispose of the evidence in the Bosporus.

When she died, she was buried alongside her brother.