| Valide Sultan of theOttoman Empire | |
|---|---|
| Style | Valide Sultan |
| Residence | |
| Formation | 30 September 1520 |
| First holder | Hafsa Sultan |
| Final holder | Rahime Perestu Sultan |
| Abolished | 1 November 1922 |
Valide Sultan (Ottoman Turkish:والده سلطان, lit. "Sultana mother") was the title held by the mother of a rulingsultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans first formally used the title in the 16th century as an epithet ofHafsa Sultan (died 1534), mother of Sultan Suleyman I (r. 1520–1566), superseding the previous epithets of Valide Hatun (lady mother),mehd-i ulya ("cradle of the great").[1] or "the nacre of the pearl of the sultanate".[2]
Normally, the living mother of a reigning sultan held this title. Those mothers who died before their sons' accession to the throne never received the title ofvalide sultan. In special cases sisters, grandmothers and stepmothers of a reigning sultan assumed the title and/or the functionsvalide sultan.
The wordvalide (والده) literally means 'mother' in Ottoman Turkish, from Arabicwālida. TheTurkish pronunciation of the wordvalide is[vaː.liˈde].
Sultan (سلطان,sulṭān) is anArabic word originally meaning 'authority' or 'dominion'. By the beginning of the 16th century, this title, carried by both men and women of the Ottoman dynasty, was replacing other titles by which prominent members of the imperial family had been known (notablyhatun for women andbey for men). Consequently, the titlevalide hatun (title for living mother of reigning Ottoman sultan before 16th century) also turned intovalide sultan. This usage underlines the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as family prerogative.
Western tradition knows the Ottoman ruler assultan, but the Ottomans themselves usedpadişah (emperor) orhünkar to refer to their ruler. The emperor's formal title consisted ofsultan together withkhan (for example, Sultan Suleiman Khan). In formal address, the sultan's children were also entitledsultan, with imperial princes (şehzade) carrying the title before their given name, with imperial princesses carrying it after. For example,Şehzade Sultan Mehmed andMihrimah Sultan were the son and daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent. Like imperial princesses, the living mother and main consort of reigning sultans also carried the title after their given names, for example,Hafsa Sultan, Suleiman's mother and firstvalide sultan, andHürrem Sultan, Suleiman's chief consort and firsthaseki sultan. The evolving usage of this title reflected power shifts among imperial women, especially between theSultanate of Women, as the position of main consort eroded over the course of 17th century, the main consort lost the titlesultan, which replaced bykadïn, a title related to the earlierkhatun. Henceforth, the mother of the reigning sultan was the only person of non-imperial blood to carry the titlesultan.[3]
Valide sultan was, in most cases, the most important position in theOttoman Empire after the sultan himself. As the mother to the sultan, byIslamic tradition ("A mother's right is God's right"),[4] thevalide sultan would often have a significant influence on the affairs of the empire. She had great power in the court and her own rooms (always adjacent to her son's) and state staff.[1] The valide sultan had quarters within the New Palace, where the Sultan himself resided, beginning in the 16th century.
As the Valide sultan (Sultana mother), who had direct and intimate access to the Sultan's person, often influenced government decisions bypassing the Imperial Council and the Grand Vizier altogether or the grille-covered window from which the Sultan or Valide sultan could observe Council meetings. This left her at the heart of the political ongoings and machinations of the Ottoman Empire.valide sultan also traditionally had access to considerable economic resources and often funded major architectural projects, such as the Atik Valide Mosque Complex in Istanbul. Many valide sultans undertook massive philanthropic endeavors and buildings, as this was seen as one of the main ways to demonstrate influence and wealth. Valide sultans were also conveniently one of the few people within the empire with the station and means to embark on these expensive projects.Nurbanu Sultan's daily stipend as valide sultan to her son,Murad III, was 2000 aspers, an extraordinary sum for the time, which revealed the highly influential position she held at court.
The valide sultan also maintained special privileges that other harem members could not participate in. A valide sultan was not subject to sole seclusion within the confines of the palace. She had mobility outside of the harem, sometimes through ceremonial visibility to the public or veiled meetings with government officials and diplomats. Additionally, the valide sultan spearheaded one of the most crucial elements of diplomacy within the Ottoman Empire’s court: marriages of royal princesses. The most powerful and influential valide sultans had multiple daughters, with whom they forged crucial alliances through by marriage.[5] During the 17th century, in a period known as theSultanate of Women, a series of incompetent or child sultans raised the role of thevalide sultan to new heights. Two Valide sultans acted as regents for their sons, assuming the vast power and influence the position entailed.[2]
The most powerful and well-known of allvalide sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire wereNurbanu Sultan,[5]Safiye Sultan,Kösem Sultan, andTurhan Sultan.
Nurbanu Sultan became the first of the great valide sultans during the sixteenth century, as haseki as well as legal wife to Sultan Selim II. Nurbanu’s influential career as valide sultan established the precedent of valide sultan maintaining more power than her nearest harem rival, the haseki, or favorite concubine of the reigning sultan. The following influential valide sultans, Safiye Sultan, Kösem Sultan and Turhan Sultan, maintained this precedent and occupied positions of extreme power within the Ottoman imperial court. These positions helped them solidify their own power within the imperial court and ease diplomatic tensions on a broader, international scale.[5]
Most harem women who were slaves were never formally married to the sultans. Nevertheless, their children wereconsidered fully legitimate underIslamic law if recognized by the father.[6]
The list does not include the completelist of mothers of the Ottoman sultans. Most who held the title ofvalide sultan were the biological mothers of the reigning sultans. The mothers who died before their sons' accession to throne, never assumed the title ofvalide sultan, likeHürrem Sultan,Muazzez Sultan,Mihrişah Kadın,Şermi Kadın,Tirimüjgan Kadın,Gülcemal Kadın andGülistu Kadın. In special cases, there were grandmothers, stepmothers, adoptive mothers and sisters of the reigning sultans who assumed the role, and eventually the title, ofvalide sultan, likeMihrimah Sultan,Kösem Sultan andRahime Perestu Sultan.
| Appearance | Name | Maiden name | Origin | Becamevalide | Ceased to bevalide | Death | Sultan(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Hafsa Sultan حفصه سلطان | unknown | Christian slave of unknown origin | 30 September 1520 son's ascension | 19 March 1534 | Suleiman the Magnificent (son) | |
| Nurbanu Sultan نور بانو سلطان | Cecilia Venier-Baffo[7] or Rachel[8] or Kale Karatanou | Venetian or Jew or Greek | 15 December 1574 son's ascension | 7 December 1583 | Murad III (son) | ||
| Safiye Sultan صفیه سلطان | unknown | Albanian | 15 January 1595 son's ascension | 22 December 1603 son's death | after 1619 | Mehmed III (son) | |
| Handan Sultan خندان سلطان | unknown | Bosnian[9] | 22 December 1603 son's ascension | 9 November 1605 | Ahmed I (son) | ||
| Halime Sultan حلیمه سلطان | unknown | Abkhaz | 22 November 1617 son's ascension (first tenure) | 26 February 1618 son's deposition (first tenure) | After 1623 | Mustafa I (son) | |
| 19 May 1622 son's reinstatement (second tenure) | 10 September 1623 son's deposition (second tenure) | ||||||
 | Kösem Sultan ماه پیکر كوسم سلطان | Anastasia (?) | Greek. Born on Tinos,Republic of Venice (?) | 10 September 1623 son's ascension | 8 August 1648 son's deposition | 2 September 1651 | Murad IV (son) Ibrahim (son) |
 | Turhan Sultan ترخان خدیجه سلطان | Nadya | Russia[10] | 8 August 1648 son's ascension | 4 August 1683 | Mehmed IV (son) | |
| Saliha Dilaşub Sultan صالحه دل آشوب سلطان | unknown[11] | unknown | 8 November 1687 son's ascension | 4 December 1689 | Suleiman II (son) | ||
 | Gülnuş Sultan رابعه گلنوش سلطان | Evmania Voria | Greek | 6 February 1695 son's ascension | 6 November 1715 | Mustafa II (son) Ahmed III (son) | |
 | Saliha Sultan صالحه سلطان | unknown | unknown,[11] Serbian or Greek[12][verification needed] | 20 September 1730 son's ascension | 21 September 1739 | Mahmud I (son) | |
| Şehsuvar Sultan شهسوار سلطان | unknown | Russian[11] or Serbian[13] | 13 December 1754 son's ascension | April 1756 | Osman III (son) | ||
| Mihrişah Sultan مهر شاه سلطان | Agnes[14][verification needed][page needed] | Daughter of Georgian Orthodox priest[15] | 7 April 1789 son's ascension | 16 October 1805 | Selim III (son) | ||
| Sineperver Sultan سینه پرور سلطان | Bulgarian[16][page needed] | 29 May 1807 son's ascension | 28 July 1808 son's deposition | 11 December 1828 | Mustafa IV (son)[17] | ||
 | Nakşidil Sultan نقش دل سلطان | unknown | Georgian | 28 July 1808 son's ascension | 22 August 1817 | Mahmud II (son) | |
| Bezmiâlem Sultan بزم عالم سلطان | unknown | Georgian or Circassian[13] | 2 July 1839 son's ascension | 2 May 1853 | Abdülmecid I (son) | ||
 | Pertevniyal Sultan پرتو نهال سلطان | Besime | Kurd or Romanian or Circassian[12] | 25 June 1861 son's ascension | 30 May 1876 son's deposition | 5 February 1883 | Abdülaziz I (son) |
| Şevkefza Sultan شوق افزا سلطان | Circassian[18] | 30 May 1876 son's ascension | 31 August 1876 son's deposition | 17 September 1889 | Murad V (son) | ||
| Perestu Sultan رحيمه پرستو سلطان | Rahime Hanim | Ubykh adoptive daughter ofEsma Sultan | 31 August 1876 step-son's ascension | 11 December 1904 | Abdul Hamid II (adoptive son)[19][20] | ||
The title ofBüyük Valide Sultan (Senior Valide Sultan) orBüyükanne Sultan (Grandmother Sultana) was created byKösem Sultan and officially used only by her during the reign of her grandsonMehmed IV, thus limiting the power ofTurhan Sultan who was deemed too young to fulfill the title of Valide Sultan.
The official and unofficial Büyük Valide Sultans that lived in the reign of their grandsons are:
| Appearance | Name | Maiden name | Note | BecameBüyük valide | Ceased to beBüyük valide | Death | Sultan(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Safiye Sultan صفیه سلطان | Sofia | She was never called Büyük Valide Sultan officially, but she lived during the reign of her two grandsons (Ahmed and Mustafa) and the reign of her great-grandson (Osman) | (unofficial) 22 December 1603 – her death | After 1619 | Ahmed I (grandson) Mustafa I (grandson) Osman II (great-grandson) | |
| Kösem Sultan ماه پیکر كوسم سلطان | Anastasia | Following Mehmed IV's accession, she proclaimed herself as Büyük Valide Sultan | 12 August 1648 – her death | 2 September 1651 | Mehmed IV (grandson) | |
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