Valide sultan

Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
A bust of Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, who was the Valide Sultan from 1520 to 1534.
Style	Valide Sultanefendi
Residence	Topkapı Palace Dolmabahçe Palace Yıldız Palace
Formation	1522
First holder	Ayşe Hafsa Sultan
Final holder	Rahime Perestu Sultan
Abolished	1904

Valide sultan (Ottoman Turkish: والده سلطان, literally "mother sultan") was the title held by the queen mother of a ruling Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.^[1] The title was first used in the 16th century for Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, consort of Selim I and mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, superseding the previous title of mehd-i ülya ("cradle of the great").^[1] The Turkish pronunciation of the word Valide is [vaː.liˈde].

The position was perhaps 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"),^[2] 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] In particular 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.^[3]

The Sultanate of Women began with Hürrem Sultan (1502–1558) and was continued by Mihrimah Sultan (1522-1578) and then Nurbanu Sultan (1525–1583), mother of Murad III. The most powerful and well-known of all valide sultans and haseki sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire were Hürrem Sultan, Mihrimah Sultan, Nurbanu Sultan and Kösem Sultan (1589–1651).

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.^[4]

The list of the Valide Sultans of the Ottoman Empire presented below does not include the complete list of the mothers of the Ottoman Sultans. Valide Sultan was the title of the mother of the reigning sultan. The mothers who died before her sons' accession to throne, never assumed the title of Valide Sultan (like Devlet Khātûn, Gül-Bahār Khātûn, Hürrem (Khurram) Haseki, Hatice (Khadija) Muazzez, Emine (Aminā) Mihr-î-Şâh, Râbi'a Sharmi, Tîr-î-Müjgan, Gül-Cemâl, and Gülistan Münire). On the other hand there were step mothers who were not the biological mother but still assumed the title of Valide Sultans (like Nakş-î-Dil (Naksh-î-Dil) Haseki, Mihrimah Sultan (who was not the mother of an Ottoman Sultan, but a daughter of Suleiman I) and Rahîme Piristû (Perestû)).

List of Valide Sultans

The list of the Valide Sultans of the Ottoman Empire:

• unknown: Halime Khānum - Wife of Ertuğrul Gazi, mother of Osman I, Turkish.
• 1324: Mal (Bala) Khātûn - Wife of Osman I, mother of Orhan I, Turkish.She was the daughter of the Anatolian Turkish Bey, Ömer Bey, although there had been some speculations that she was the daughter of Sheik Edebali.
• 1359-unknown: Nilüfer Khātûn - Wife of Orhan I, mother of Murad I. She was possibly of Greek descent.^[5][6][7]
• 1389-unknown: Gül-Çiçek Khātûn - Wife of Murad I, mother of Bayezid I. She was an ethnic Greek.
• Devlet Khātûn mother of Mehmed I wife of Bayezid I Turkish from Kütahya, Germiyanoğulları Beyliği
• 1421-1449: Emine (Aminā) Khātûn - The third wife of Mehmed I, mother of Murad II. She was the daughter of Nasreddin Mehmed Bey, the fifth ruler of Dulkadiroğulları State, and her marriage served as an alliance between the Ottomans and this buffer state.
• 1432-unknown: Hüma Khātûn - Wife of Murad II, mother of Mehmed II. She was born in Devrekani county of Kastamonu province, daughter of Tacettin İbrahim Bey. (Huma means "a girl/woman from Hum")
• 1481-1492 : Amina Gul-Bahar (also known as Kül-Bahār Khātûn or Gülbahar Hatun) - Wife of Mehmed II, adoptive mother of Bayezid II.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]} (Bayezid II's own mother was Sitt-î Mû’karîma.^[15][16]) She was an Albanian.
• 1453-1510 ( ? ) : Gül-Bahār Sultan ( ? - 1510 (?) ) or Ayishā Khātûn I (1453 - 1505) - The matter is disputable. One of them was the biological and the other was the adoptive mother of Selim I. (Probably, Gül-Bahār Sultan was the biological mother of Selim I and the Eighth wife of Bayezid II; while Ayishā Khātûn I, the Fourth wife of Bayezid II from Elbistan of the Dulkadiroğulları Beyliği was the adoptive/step-mother of Selim I). In any case, there exists a high uncertainty and possibly both of them never acquired the title of Valide Khātûn since both of them died before Selim I's accession to the throne. Actually, this title had been first used for the mother of Suleiman I Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, the wife of Selim I in 1520.
• 1520-1534: Ayşe Hafsa (Ayishā Hâfize) Sultan - Ayşe Hafsa (Ayishā Hâfize) Sultan was the Second wife of Selim I and the biological mother of Suleiman I, Hatice Sultan, Fatma Sultan and Hafsa Sultan; while the First wife of Selim I Ayishā Khātûn, the daughter of Meñli I Giray of the Crimean Khanate and most probably of Crimean Tatars descent, was the adoptive/step-mother of Suleiman I and the biological mother of Beyhan Sultan, Hâfize Sultan and Şah Sultan.^[17]
• 1566-1574 and Co-Valida(1574-1578) Mihrimah Sultan - daughter of Hurrem Sultan and Suleiman the Magnificent. She was born on 21 March 1522 in Constantinople.She was the 1st and last princess who assumed the title of Valide Sultan.She was also powerful like her mother Hurrem Sultan.
• 1574-1583 Afife Nur-Bânû - Wife of Selim II, mother of Murad III. She was born Cecilia Venier-Baffo, and was of noble Venetian birth.
• 1594-1603 : Safiye - Wife of Murad III, mother of Mehmed III. She was born Sofia Baffo, and like her predecessor (and cousin), was of noble Venetian birth.
• 1603-1603 : Handan - Wife of Mehmed III, mother of Ahmed I and Mustafa I. She was an ethnic Greek, originally named Helena or Jelena.
• 1617-1621 : Mâh-Firûze Hatice (Khadija) - Wife of Ahmed I, mother of Osman II. She was an ethnic Serb, originally named Marija or Mariza.
• 1623-1648 : Mâh-Peyker Kösem - Another wife of Ahmed I, mother of Murad IV and Ibrahim I. Of Greek Bosnian descent, she was originally named Anastasia.
• 1648-1683: Turhan Hatice - Wife of Ibrahim I, mother of Mehmed IV. She was of Ruthenian descent. Her original name was Nadya.
• 1687-1689: Saliha Dilashub (or Saliha Dilâşub) - Another wife of Ibrahim I, mother of Suleiman II. She was of Serbian descent. Her original name was Katarina.
• 1695-1715: Mâh-Pârā Ummatullah (Emetullah) Râbi'a Gül-Nûş - Wife of Mehmed IV, mother of Mustafa II and Ahmed III. Originally named Evmania Voria, she was ethnically Greek and she came from Crete, then under The Most Serene Republic of Venice rule.
• 1730-1739 : Saliha Sabkati - Wife of Mustafa II, mother of Mahmud I. She was Serbian descent. Her original name was Jelizabeta.
• 1754-1756 : Shehsuvar - Another wife of Mustafa II, mother of Osman III. She was of Serbian descent. Her original name was Velinka.
• 1789-1807: Mîhr-i Şah - Wife of Mustafa III, mother of Selim III. She was of Genoese descent. Her original name was Agnes.
• 1807-1808: Ayse Seniyeperver (also known as Aishā Sina Pervar or Ayşe Seniyeperver) - Wife of Abdul Hamid I, step-mother of Mustafa IV. (Mustafa IV's own mother was Nükhet-Sedâ.^[18]) She was of Bulgarian descent. Her original name was Sonija.
• 1808-1817 : Nakş-î-Dil Haseki - Another wife of Abdul Hamid I, and adoptive mother of Mahmud II. (There have been speculations that she was a cousin of Napoleon's wife Josephine.^[19] See Aimée du Buc de Rivéry)
• 1839-1852 : Bezm-î-Âlem (or Bazim-î Alam) - The first wife of Mahmud II, mother of Abdülmecid I. She was of Russian Jewish^[20] or Georgian Jewish descent^[21]
• 1861-1876 : Pertav-Nihâl (Pertevniyal) - Wife of Mahmud II, mother of Abdülaziz. She was of Romanian descent.
• 1876-1876 : Shevkefza - Wife of Abdülmecid I, mother of Murad V.^[22] She was of Mingrelian descent.
• 1876-1904 : Rahîme Piristû (Perestû) - Wife of Abdülmecid I, adoptive mother of Abdul Hamid II.^[23] (Abdul Hamid II's own mother was Tîr-i Müjgan.^[24][25]) She was of Circassian descent.

Reconstructed scene of a Valide Sultan and her attendants in her apartments at Topkapı Palace.

Kösem Sultan (1589–1651) who was murdered in 1651 through the plotting of Turhan Hatice Sultan.

A more simplified list of the valide sultans and the mothers of the Ottoman Sultans (including the adoptive/step-mothers who did assume the title Valide Sultan)

1. Khālîma (Halime) Khānum
2. Malhun (Māl) Khātûn
3. Nilüfer Khātûn
4. Gül-Çiçek Khātûn
5. Devlet Şah Khātûn
6. Devlet Khātûn
7. Emîne (Amînā) Khātûn
8. Hümâ Khātûn
9. Sitt-î Mükrîme (Mû’kārîmā) Khātûn
10. Emîne (Amînā) Kül-Bahār Vālida Khātûn
11. A’ishā (Ayşe) Khātûn
12. Gül-Bahār Khātûn
13. Ayşe Hafsa (A’ishā Hāfîza Khātûn) Vālida Sultâna
14. Hürrem (Khûrrām or Kārimā) Haseki Sultâna
15. Afife Nûr-Banû Vālida Sultâna
16. Safiyā Vālida Sultâna
17. Handan Vālida Sultâna
18. Âlîme Vālida Sultâna
19. Mâh-Firûze Hadice (Khadija) Vālida Sultâna
20. Meh-Peyker (Māh-Peyker) Kösem Vālida Sultâna
21. Turhan Hadice (Tarhan Khadija) Vālida Sultâna
22. Sâliha Dil-Âşûb (Dil-Âshûb) Vālida Sultâna
23. Hatice (Khadija) Mû’azzez Second (İkinci) Haseki Sultâna
24. Meh-Pâre Emetullah Râbi’a Gül-Nûş (Māh-Pârā Ummatullah Gül-Nûsh) Vālida Sultâna
25. Sâliha Sebkat-î (Sabkatî) Vālida Sultâna
26. Şâh-Süvar (Shah-Sûvar) Vālida Sultâna
27. Emîne Mihr-î-Şâh (Amînā Mehr-î-Shah) İkinci Kadın Efendi (Second Kadın Effendi)
28. Râbi’a Şerm-î (Shārmî) Kadın Effendi
29. Mihr-î-Şâh (Mehr-î-Shah) Vālida Sultâna
30. Bash Iqbal Nushatzaza (Nüzhet-Zâde / Nükhet-Sedâ) Khānum Effendi
31. A’ishā Sinā-Pervar (Ayşe Seniyeperver) Vālida Sultân
32. Naksh-î-Dil (Nakş-î-Dil) Haseki Vālida Sultân
33. Bezm-î-Âlem (Bāzim-î-Âlām) Vālida Sultâna
34. Pertevniyal (Pertāv-Nihâl) Vālida Sultâna
35. Şevk-Efzâ (Shāvk-Efzâ) Vālida Sultâna
36. Rahime Perestû (Piristû) Vālida Sultân
37. Tîr-î-Müjgan Third (Üçüncü) Kadın Effendi
38. Gül-Cemâl Fourth (Dördüncü) Kadın Effendi
39. Gül-İstü (Gülistan Münîre) Fourth (Dördüncü) Kadın Effendi
40. Hayrân-ı Dil Third (Üçüncü) Kadın Efendi

See also

• Harem
• Seraglio
• Sultana (title)
• Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman Dynasty
• Tuğra-Sultan's Signature
• List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
• List of Ottoman Kaptan Pashas
• Ottoman Emperors family tree
• Ottoman family tree (more detailed)
• List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire
• List of admirals in the Ottoman Empire
• Line of succession to the Ottoman throne
• List of the mothers of the Ottoman Sultans
• Queen Mother

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. 
• Yavuz Bahadıroğlu (2007). Resimli Osmanlı tarihi. Nesil yayınları. ISBN 978-975-269-299-2. 

External links

• http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/turkey_heads.htm

References