Kösem
Encyclopedia
Kösem Sultan — also known as Mehpeyker Sultan — was one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history . Consort and favourite concubine of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I
Ahmed I
Ahmed I or Ahmed Bakhti was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617.-Biography:...

 (r. 1603-1617). She achieved power and influenced the course of the Ottoman empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 through her consort Sultan Ahmet I(r 1603–17), then through her sons Murad IV
Murad IV
Murad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...

 (r 1623–40) and Ibrahim I
Ibrahim I
Ibrahim I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Istanbul the son of Ahmed I by Valide Sultan Kadinefendi Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia...

 ('the Mad’, r 1640–48) and finally through her minor grandson Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...

 (r 1648–87). She was Valide Sultan
Valide Sultan
Valide Sultan was the title held by the mother of a ruling Sultan in the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish pronunciation of the word Valide is . The title is sometimes translated as Queen Mother, although the position of Valide Sultan was quite different.The position was perhaps the most important...

 (Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...

) from 1623 to 1651, when her sons Murad IV
Murad IV
Murad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...

 and Ibrahim I
Ibrahim I
Ibrahim I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Istanbul the son of Ahmed I by Valide Sultan Kadinefendi Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia...

 and her grandson Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...

 (1648–1687) reigned as Ottoman sultans. She was a prominent figure during the sultanate of the women. She was official regent twice and was thereby one of two women to have been formal regents of the Ottoman Empire.

Early life

Kösem was of Bosnian
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...

 ethnic origin, and the daughter of a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 from the island of Tinos
Tinos
Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...

. Her maiden name was Anastasia
Anastasia
Anastasia is a personal name and the female form of the Greek male name Anastasius/Anastasios meaning "resurrection." The name, and its male counterpart, were often given to Greek children born around December 2 or around Easter during the early days of Christianity. It is the name of several...

. She was as a youth captured, sent to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 the capital of the Ottoman Empire by Bosna Beylerbeyi where she was sold at the age of fifteen to the harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...

 of Sultan Ahmed I after cancelling her education in Istanbul. Her name was changed after her capture to Mahpeyker (Moon-Shaped), and later by Sultan Ahmed I to Kösem. She was transferred to the old palace on the death of Sultan Ahmed in 1617, but returned as Valide Sultan
Valide Sultan
Valide Sultan was the title held by the mother of a ruling Sultan in the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish pronunciation of the word Valide is . The title is sometimes translated as Queen Mother, although the position of Valide Sultan was quite different.The position was perhaps the most important...

 (Queen Mother), when her son Murat IV was installed in 1623.

First reign

She was appointed not only Valide Sultan but also, as her son was a minor, as official regent during his minority; between 1623 and 1632 she became the first of two women in history who ruled the Ottoman Empire officially and alone. While women had been de facto regents in the empire before her, no woman had ever formally been regents, and her position was thereby new.
During most of the reign of Murad IV
Murad IV
Murad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...

 she effectively ran the empire, attending meetings of the Divan
Divan
A divan was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official .-Etymology:...

 (cabinet) from behind a curtain, even after 1632, when she was not longer official regent.

Second reign

When her son Ibrahim I
Ibrahim I
Ibrahim I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Istanbul the son of Ahmed I by Valide Sultan Kadinefendi Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia...

 succeeded his brother in 1640, he proved too mentally unstable to rule. This enabled Kösem to continue in power. Eventually Ibrahim was deposed and Kösem presented her seven year old grandson Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...

 to the divan with the words "Here he is!, see what you can do with him!"
Thus, she declared herself official regent for the second time, and ruled openly again between 1648 and 1651.

Death

It was Mehmed's mother Turhan Hatice
Turhan Hatice
Turhan Hatice Valide Sultan, Devletlu İsmetlu Turhan Hadice Valide Sultan Aliyyetü'ş-şân Hazretleri , was one of the hasekis of the Ottoman sultan Ibrahim I and the mother of his successor, Mehmed IV .Turhan Hatice is prominent for the regency of her young son and her building patronage.-From...

 who proved to be Kösem's nemesis. It is rumored that Turhan ordered Kösem's assassination when she heard that Kösem was said to be plotting Mehmed's removal and replacement by another grandson with a more pliant mother. Furthermore, some have speculated that Kösem was strangled with a curtain by the Chief Black Eunuch of the Harem, Tall Süleyman.

After her death her body was taken from Topkapi to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) and then buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmad I. Kösem was renowned for her charity work and for freeing her slaves after 3 years of service. When she died the people of Constantinople observed three days of mourning.
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