Valide sultan

Valide sultan (Ottoman Turkish: والده سلطان, lit. 'mother sultan') was the title held by the "legal mother" of a ruling sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The title was first formally used in the 16th century during Hafsa Sultan's, mother of Sultan Suleyman I, reign, superseding the previous title of 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 were never bestowed with the title of valide sultan. In special cases sisters, grandmothers and stepmothers of a reigning sultan assumed the title valide sultan.

Valide sultan of the Ottoman Empire
A bust of the first valide sultan, Hafsa Sultan in Manisa, Turkey
Style	Valide sultan
Residence	Topkapı Palace Dolmabahçe Palace Yıldız Palace
Formation	30 September 1520
First holder	Hafsa Sultan
Final holder	Rahime Perestu Sultan
Abolished	11 December 1904

Term

The word valide (والده) literally means 'mother' in Ottoman Turkish, from Arabic wālida. The Turkish pronunciation of the word valide is [vaː.liˈde].

Sultan (سلطان, sulṭān) is an Arabic 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 (notably hatun for women and bey for men). Consequently, the title valide hatun (title for living mother of reigning Ottoman sultan before 16th century) also turned into valide sultan. This usage underlines the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as family prerogative.

Western tradition knows the Ottoman ruler as sultan, but the Ottomans themselves used padişah (emperor) or hünkar to refer to their ruler. The emperor's formal title consisted of sultan together with khan (for example, Sultan Suleiman Khan). In formal address, the sultan's children were also entitled sultan, with imperial princes (şehzade) carrying the title before their given name, with imperial princesses carrying it after. For example, Şehzade Sultan Mehmed and Mihrimah 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 first valide sultan, and Hürrem Sultan, Suleiman's chief consort and first haseki sultan. The evolving usage of this title reflected power shifts among imperial women, especially between the Sultanate of Women, as the position of main consort eroded over the course of 17th century, the main consort lost the title sultan, which replaced by kadïn, a title related to the earlier khatun. Henceforth, the mother of the reigning sultan was the only person of non-imperial blood to carry the title sultan.^[3]

Role and position

 

An eighteenth-century painting of a valide sultan by Jean Baptiste Vanmour.

Valide sultan was, in most cases, the most important position in the Ottoman Empire after the sultan himself. As the mother to the sultan, by Islamic tradition ("A mother's right is God's right"),^[4] the valide sultan would 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 valide sultans 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 the Sultanate of Women, a series of incompetent or child sultans raised the role of the valide sultan to new heights. Various 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 all valide sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire were Mihrimah Sultan, Nurbanu Sultan,^[5] Safiye Sultan, Kösem Sultan, and Turhan Sultan.

Sultan Nurbanu Sultan became the first of the great valide sultans during the sixteenth century, as haseki and 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]

Since Hurrem Sultan died before her son, Selim II, became Sultan she never became a valide sultan. In an extremely rare case in Ottoman history, Selim II bestowed the title of valide sultan upon his older sister, Mihrimah Sultan. It became the only incident in Ottoman history that a valide sultan was a member of the Ottoman royal family, thus reflecting Mihrimah's power.

Most harem women who were slaves were never formally married to the sultans. Nevertheless, their children were considered fully legitimate under Islamic law if recognized by the father.^[6]

List of valide sultans

The list does not include the complete list of mothers of the Ottoman sultans. Most who held the title of valide sultan were the biological mothers of the reigning sultans. The mothers who died before their sons' accession to throne, never assumed the title of valide sultan, like Hurrem Sultan, Mahfiruz Hatun, Muazzez Sultan, Mihrişah Kadın, Şermi Kadın, Tirimüjgan Kadın, Gülcemal Kadın, and Gülistü Kadın. In special cases, there were grandmothers, stepmothers, and sisters of the reigning sultans who assumed the role, if not the title, of valide sultan, like Kösem Sultan, Mihrimah Sultan and Perestu Kadın.

Appearance	Name	Maiden name	Origin	Became valide	Ceased to be valide	Death	Sultan(s)
	Hafsa Sultan حفصه سلطان	unknown	Daughter of Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray^[7]^[8] or more likely a Christian slave^[9]	30 September 1520 son's ascension	19 March 1534		Suleiman the Magnificent (son)
	Nurbanu Sultan نور بانو سلطان	Cecilia Venier-Baffo^[10] or Rachel^[11]	Venetian or Jew or Greek	15 December 1574 son's ascension	7 December 1583		Murad III (son)
	Safiye Sultan صفیه سلطان	Sofia	Albanian	15 January 1595 son's ascension	23 Enero 1604 Exile to the Old Palace	10 November 1619	Mehmed III (son)
	Handan Sultan خندان سلطان	unknown^[12] or probably Helena^[13]	unknown or probably Bosnian^[12]	22 December 1603 son's ascension	9 November 1605		Ahmed I (son)
	Halime Sultan^[14] حلیمه سلطان	unknown	Abkhaz	22 November 1617 son's ascension (first tenure)	26 February 1618 son's deposition (first tenure)	1623	Mustafa I (son)
				19 May 1622 son's reinstatement (second tenure)	10 September 1623 son's deposition (second tenure)
	Mahfiruz Hatice Sultan did not practice as valide sultan
	Kösem Sultan ماه پیکر كوسم سلطان	Anastasia	Greek. Born on Tinos, Republic of Venice	10 September 1623 son's ascension	12 August 1648 son's death	2 September 1651	Murad IV (son) Ibrahim (son)
	Turhan Sultan ترخان خدیجه سلطان	Nadya	Ukraine^[15]	2 September 1651 son's ascension	4 August 1683		Mehmed IV (son)
	Aşub Sultan صالحه دل آشوب سلطان	Katarina^[12]	unknown^[12] or probably Serbian	8 November 1687 son's ascension	4 December 1689		Suleiman II (son)
	Rabia 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	Elizaveta^[12]	unknown^[12] Serbian or Greek^[16]	20 September 1730 son's ascension	21 September 1739		Mahmud I (son)
	Şehsuvar Sultan شهسوار سلطان	Maria^[17]	Russian^[12] or Serbian^[18]	13 December 1754 son's ascension	April 1756		Osman III (son)
	Mihrişah Sultan مهر شاه سلطان	Agnes^[19]	Daughter of Georgian Orthodox priest^[20]	7 April 1789 son's ascension	16 October 1805		Selim III (son)
	Sineperver Sultan سینه پرور سلطان	unknown	Bulgarian, Georgian, or Circassian^[21]	29 May 1807 son's ascension	28 July 1808 son's deposition	11 December 1828	Mustafa IV (son)^[22]
	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 Jewish^[18]	2 July 1839 son's ascension	2 May 1853		Abdülmecid I (son)
	Pertevniyal Sultan پرتو نهال سلطان	probably Hasna	Kurd or Romanian or Circassian^[16]	25 June 1861 son's ascension	30 May 1876 son's deposition	5 February 1883	Abdülaziz I (son)
	Şevkefza Kadın شوق افزا سلطان	probably Vilma	Georgian or Circassian^[23]	30 May 1876 son's ascension	31 August 1876 son's deposition	17 September 1889	Murad V (son)
	Perestu Kadın رحيمه پرستو سلطان	probably Rahime Gogen	Ubykh princess	31 August 1876 step-son's ascension	11 December 1904		Abdul Hamid II (step-son)^[24]^[25]

Exceptional cases

Normally, the living mother of the reigning sultan held the title of valide sultan. But in exceptional cases, there were women did not exercise valide sultan's duties when their sons became sultan.

	Name	Maiden name and origin	Son	Note
	Mahfiruz Hatun ماہ فروز خاتون	unknown name, probably Serbian^[26]^[27]	Osman II	Privy Purse registers no valide sultan during Osman's reign. Apparently, Mahfiruz fell into disfavour, was banished from the palace at some point before Osman's accession, and never recovered her status. Banishment in disgrace would explain both Mahfiruz's absence from the palace and her burial in the popular shrine of Eyüb rather than in her husband's tomb. The Venetian ambassador Contarini reported in 1612 that the sultan, Ahmed I, had a beating administered to a woman who had irritated Kösem. Perhaps this woman was Mahfiruz.^[3]

 

Reconstructed scene of a valide sultan and her attendants in her apartments at Topkapı Palace.

Büyük valide sultans

The title of Büyük Valide Sultan (Senior Valide Sultan) or Büyükanne Sultan (Grandmother Sultan) was created by Kösem Sultan and officially used only by her during the reign of his nephew Mehmed IV, thus limiting the power of Turhan Sultan who was deemed too young to fulfill the title of Valide Sultan.

The official and unofficials Büyük Valide Sultan that lived in the reign of their grandsons are:

Appearance	Name	Maiden name	Note	Became Büyük valide	Ceased to be Büyük valide	Death	Sultan(s)
	Safiye Sultan صفیه سلطان	Sofia	She never was Büyük Valide Sultan as official title, but she lived during the reign of her two grandosons (Ahmed and Mustafa) and the reign of her great grandson (Osman)	(unofficial)22 December 1603 - her death	10 November 1618		Ahmed I (grandson) Mustafa I (grandson) Osman II(great grandosn)
	Kösem Sultan ماه پیکر كوسم سلطان	Anastasia	During the Mehmed IV's accession, she proclaimed herself as Büyük Valide Sultan	12 August 1648 – her death	2 September 1651		Mehmed IV (grandson)

See also

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valide Sultan.

• Hanımefendi
• Harem
• Haseki Sultan
• Kadınefendi
• List of mothers of the Ottoman sultans
• List of Ottoman titles and appellations
• Ottoman family tree
• Seraglio
• Sultana (title)

References

1. Davis, Fanny (1986). "The Valide". The Ottoman Lady: A Social History from 1718 to 1918. ISBN 0-313-24811-7.
2. Peirce, Leslie P., The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-19-508677-5 (paperback)
3. Peirce, Leslie P. (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. ISBN 0-19-507673-7.
4. "Muslims can celebrate Mothers Day because honoring your mother comes right after worshipping God". Beliefnet.com. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
5. Peirce, Leslie P. (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195086775.
6. Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ed. (1980). "The Imperial Family of Turkey". Burke's Royal Families of the World. Vol. II: Africa & the Middle East. London: Burke's Peerage. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-85011-029-6.
7. Kasaba, Reşat (July 2011). A moveable empire: Ottoman nomads, migrants, and refugees. University of Washington Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-295-80149-0. Hafsa Sultan, the daughter of the Crimean ruler Mengli Giray Khan.
8. Peter G. Bietenholz; Thomas Brian Deutscher (2003). Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation, Volumes 1-3. University of Toronto Press. pp. 298. ISBN 978-0-802-08577-1. Suleiman i (Solymannus), known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent, was the son of *Selim i and Hafsa Sultan, the daughter of Mengli Giray
9. Alan Fisher (1993). "The Life and Family of Suleyman I". In İnalcık, Halil; Kafadar, Cemal (eds.). Süleymân The Second [i.e. the First] and his time. Isis Press. That she was a Tatar, a daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray, was a story apparently begun by Jovius, repeated by other western sources, and taken up by Merriman in his biography of Suleyman
10. Godfrey Goodwin, The Private World of Ottoman Women, Saqi Book, ISBN 0-86356-745-2, ISBN 3-631-36808-9, 2001. page 128
11. Valeria Heuberger, Geneviève Humbert, Geneviève Humbert-Knitel, Elisabeth Vyslonzil (ed.), Cultures in Colors, page 68. ISBN 3-631-36808-9, 2001
12. A. D. Alderson, The Structure of the Ottoman Dynasty, Oxford: Clarendon, 1956, p.83
13. Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu mülkün kadın sultanları : vâlide sultanlar, hâtunlar, hasekiler, kadınefendiler, sultanefendiler (1. baskı ed.). Beyoğlu, İstanbul: Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-975-329-623-6. OCLC 316234394.
14. According to Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009, page 245, ISBN 978-975-269-299-2, Mustafa I's mother is Handan Sultan.
15. Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2007). Famous Ottoman women. Istanbul: Avea. ISBN 978-975-7104-77-3. OCLC 472256214.
16. Akyıldız, Ali (1 April 2016). "Müsrif, Fakat Hayırsever: Pertevniyal Valide sultan". Osmanlı Araştırmaları. 47 (47): 307–352. doi:10.18589/oa.583206. ISSN 0255-0636.
17. Günseli., İnal (2005). Semiramis : Sultan'ın gözünden şenlik = festival through a Sultan's eyes. Yapı Kredi Yayınları. OCLC 654813573.
18. Kemal., Meram, Ali (1977). Padişah anaları : resimli, belgesel tarih romanı. Öz Yayınları. OCLC 23697956.
19. Osman., Horata (1998). Esrâr Dede : hayatı, şiir dünyası ve dı̂vânı. T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı. ISBN 975-17-1954-2. OCLC 42858154.
20. Y. İzzettin Barış (2002). Osmanlı padişahlarının yaşamlarından kesitler, hastalıkları ve ölüm sebepleri. Bilimsel Tıp Yayınevi. p. 184. ISBN 978-975-6986-17-2. Selim'in annesi olan Mihrişah, Gürcistan'dan kaçırılan bir papazın kızıydı
21. Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2015). Bu mülkün kadın sultanları : valide sultanlar, hatunlar, hasekiler, kadinefendiler, sultanefendiler. ISBN 978-605-171-079-2. OCLC 961810963.
22. Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009, page 387 & 395, ISBN 978-975-269-299-2
23. Dolphin., Alderson, Anthony (1982). The structure of the Ottoman dynasty. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-22522-2. OCLC 643105131.
24. Brookes, Douglass Scott, The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher, p.287. University of Texas Press, 2008. ISBN 0-292-71842-X
25. . Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
26. İnal, Günseli (2005). Semiramis : Sultan'ın gözünden şenlik = festival through a Sultan's eyes. Filiz Özdem, Mary Işın, Semiramis Arşivi. İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları. ISBN 975-08-0928-9. OCLC 60520625.
27. Iyigun, Murat (2015). War, peace, and prosperity in the name of God : the Ottoman Role in Europe's socioeconomic evolution. Chicago. ISBN 978-0-226-23228-7. OCLC 906576835.

Further reading

• Leslie P. Peirce (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-508677-5.

External links

• Guide2womenleaders.com