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Hatice Turhan Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: تورخان سلطان; c. 1627 – 4 August 1683) was the chief Haseki sultan of the Ottoman sultan Ibrahim (r. 1640–1648), and Valide sultan as the mother of Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). She served as Official Regent of the Ottoman Empire, from 1651 to 1656 and as de facto ruler of the Empire for over three decades.[1] Turhan was prominent for the regency of her young son and her building patronage. She and Kösem Sultan are the only two women in Ottoman history to be regarded as official regents and had supreme control over the Ottoman Empire. As a result, Turhan became one of the prominent figures during the era known as Sultanate of Women.

Key Information

Name

[edit]

Filiz Karaca, the author of the article about Turhan in the Islamic Encyclopedia, noted that although it was stated that Kösem Sultan gave her the name Hatice Turhan, the Ottoman historian and contemporary of Turhan Uşşakızade Ibrahim Efendi wrote that she was first given the name Turhan/Tarhan (Turkish: Turhan/Tarhan) and only then Hatice.[2] Karaca also noted that in older sources she was called Turhan Hatice, while in newer studies she is referred to as Hatice Turhan.[3] The Ottoman historian Süreyya Mehmed Bey called her Turhan Hatice Valide Sultan.[4]

Turkish historian Necdet Sakaoğlu [tr] titled the section about her in his book Bu mülkün kadın sultanları «Valide Hatice Turhan Sultan», noting that in the sources she is mentioned as Turhan Haseki, Hatice Turhan Sultan and Turhan Valide Sultan, and on the cesme fountain built by her in Beşiktaş, her name is indicated as Hatice Sultan.[5]

Ottomanist Anthony Alderson, Turkish historian Çağatay Uluçay and American history professor Leslie Peirce indicated only one name option - Hatice Turhan Sultan;[6][7][8] Uluçay, like Karaca, noted that Kösem personally gave her the name.[6]

Origins

[edit]

Filiz Karaca wrote that Turhan was rumored to be of Russian origin (Turkish: Rus asıllı), born in 1627, captured at the age of twelve during the Crimean–Nogai slave raids in Eastern Europe and given via the Crimean slave trade to Kösem Sultan by Kör Süleyman Pasha.[2] This version was also supported by Çağatay Uluçay.[6] Necdet Sacaoğlu wrote that Turhan was supposedly born in 1627 in the territory of Russia (Turkish: Rusya); Sakaoğlu based this assumption about the year of birth on the fact that when Turhan Sultan gave birth to a son in 1642, she could not have been younger than 15 years old.[5] Anthony Alderson, without giving any details, wrote that she was born in 1627.[7] The Turkish historian Ahmet Refik Altınay [tr] in his work «The Age of Sables» (Turkish: Sarnur Devri) called her «the Russian brunette» (Turkish: Kumral Rus kızıydı), describing her as a slender, fair-haired and fair-skinned girl with blue eyes; Sakaoğlu noted that this description is probably unreliable, since it is based on portraits painted long after her death.[9] Uluçay wrote that Turhan was very beautiful: tall, slender, with dimples on her cheeks that further emphasized her beauty, with white skin, deep blue eyes and dazzlingly shiny chestnut hair.[6]

The French traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, returning from a trip to the East in 1668, stopped in Istanbul and wrote in his memoirs that the son of Ibrahim and a «Circassian woman» was on the throne.[9]

According to the modern Ukrainian historian Taras Chukhlib, Turhan was born in Ukraine in the 1620s.[10] The version about Ukrainian origin was also expressed by Halime Doğru: she wrote that during the Sultan’s campaign against Poland in 1673, Turhan «visited the lands where she was born, Ukraine – breathed the air of her homeland and perhaps met with her family» (Turkish: … doğduğu topraklara, -Ukrayna'ya- kadar gidişi, oralann havasını soluyuşu, belki ailesiyle…).[11]

Ahmed Refik Altınay in his book «Life in Istanbul in the Twelfth Century» and the Ottoman scholar Anthony Alderson who cites him mentioned that Turhan Sultan was a Muslim and had a brother, Yusuf Aga, who died in 1689.[12][13] Filiz Karaca also mentioned that Turhan had a brother, Yusuf.[14]

Filiz Karaca noted that the future Haseki was brought up in the harem, and received her palace education under the supervision of Atike Sultan.[15] At the same time, Uluçay wrote that Kösem Sultan personally raised the concubine in order to present her to her son, the Sultan, as soon as possible.[6] Peirce wrote that Turhan, brought to the capital by Kör Süleyman Pasha, was educated in the house of Atike, but was raised by Kösem, who initially prepared the girl to become the next Valide Sultan[16] and therefore taught her not only the intricacies of the harem, but also the politics of the state.[17][18]

As imperial consort

[edit]

Sakaoğlu wrote that Turhan Sultan managed to shine on the stage entirely due to luck: the only surviving Ottoman Şehzade, Ibrahim, ascended the throne, and Turhan herself became the first to cross the finish line in the race to give birth to the new sultan’s first Şehzade on 1[5] or 2 January 1642[15] - she, like the other dozen concubines, was forced into this race by Kösem Sultan who, worried about the Şehzade's absence, ordered various amulets to be written, medicines and potions prepared.[5] Karaca noted that Turhan Sultan was the very first concubine given to Sultan Ibrahim I, but it is that in reality the first concubine was Saliha Dilaşub. The birth of Turhan's son, Şehzade Mehmed, was celebrated with great pomp, as it removed the danger of the end of the Ottoman dynasty.[15] Only 105 days after, also Saliha Dilaşub give birth a son, Şehzade Süleyman.

After giving birth to her first heir, Turhan received the title of BaşHaseki.[19][15] However, Sakaoğlu noted that she did not receive the corresponding position in the harem: on the one hand, this was due to Ibrahim's excessive lust for women, and on the other hand, the unlimited power in the harem of Kösem Sultan.[19] Leslie Peirce wrote that Ibrahim ignored Turhan for most of his reign.[16] Sakaoğlu believed that Ibrahim did not love the mother of his eldest son, which is also proven by an incident described by historians of the time:

“Sultan Ibrahim fell in love with a woman who came to the harem with her child to nurse Shehzade Mehmed. One day, when they were chatting lovingly in Mermerlik [the 4th courtyard of Topkapi], Turhan caught them. She reminded the Sultan, who had caressed the son of the woman, that he should treat his own Shehzade with kindness. The Sultan, angry with Turhan, threw Mehmed into a marble pool. Kösem Sultan intervened in the situation and threw the wet nurse out of the palace.”[19]

At the same time, Uluçay noted that before the birth of his son, Ibrahim was in love with his haseki and did not notice other concubines,[20] but being a great lover of women, he very quickly switched to other concubines. Mentioning the case with the wet nurse, Uluçay wrote that Ibrahim loved the wet nurse's child more than Şehzade Mehmed, and wanted to kill his son by throwing him into the pool. He also noted that at first Turhan was jealous of the sultan for other women, but over time, when Ibrahim completely switched to other concubines and the BaşHaseki was left to her own devices, she came to terms with her position.[21] Leslie Peirce noted that in addition to Turhan, Ibrahim had 7 more hasekis and many simple concubines; moreover, until his marriage to Hümaşah Sultan, it was not the BaşHaseki who enjoyed the sultan's special favor, but the mother of Ibrahim's second son Suleiman,who is supposed to have been Ibrahim's favorite son Saliha Dilaşub Sultan, who received a salary of 1,300 akçe per day, while the other hasekis received only 1,000.[22]

Karaca noted that the period of Turhan's tenure as a Haseki did not stand out in any way from other similar periods in history.[15]

As Valide Sultan

[edit]

Mehmed's accession

[edit]
Pearl Seal of Turhan Sultan.

Ibrahim's behaviour sparked talks of deposing the sultan. On 8 August 1648, Ibrahim was dethroned and several days later, he was strangled.[23] At the head of the Ottoman Empire stood the child sultan, Mehmed IV. With Mehmed's ascendancy, the position of Valide Sultan ("mother of the reigning sultan") should have gone to Turhan. However, Turhan was overlooked due to her youth and inexperience. Instead, the sultan's grandmother and the previous Valide sultan, Kösem Sultan, was reinstated to this high position. Kösem Sultan was a Valide (mother) under two sons, thus having the more experience of the two women.[24]

However, Turhan turned out to be too ambitious a woman to lose such a high position without a fight. In her struggle to become Valide sultan, Turhan was supported by the chief black eunuch in her household and the grand vizier, while Kösem was supported by the Janissary Corps. Although, Kösem's position as Valide was seen as the best for the government, the people resented the influence of the Janissaries on the government.[25]

In this power struggle, Kösem planned to dethrone Mehmed and replace him with Şehzade Süleyman. According to one historian, this switching had more to do with replacing an ambitious daughter-in-law with Saliha Dilaşub, who was more easily controlled. The plan was unsuccessful as it was reported to Turhan by Meleki Hatun, one of Kösem's slaves.[25] As N.M. Penzer describes it:

"[Turhan] Sultan was awakened, and an oath of allegiance was taken to serve and defend the young [Mehmed], who was still but a child. The mufti declared by a fetva that [Kösem] must die, and a decree was drawn up by the [grand vizier] and signed by the trembling hand of the young sultan. It was now the hour of [Turhan's] triumph, and a search was made in [Kösem's] suite without result. At last the wretched old woman was discovered hidden in a clothes-chest and dragged out to her death."[26]

On the night of 2 September 1651, Kösem Sultan was murdered three years after becoming regent for Mehmed.[27][28]

As regent

[edit]

With the death of her rival, Turhan became the Valide Sultan. As a regent, Turhan wielded great power. She accompanied her son to important meetings and on several occasions spoke from behind her curtained sitting place. She was deeply loved and respected by her son. Due to her inexperience, Turhan relied on other members of the government to advise her on political matters. This is evident from her correspondence to the grand viziers.[29]

Regency

[edit]

Turhan Sultan, who assumed her Regency in 1651 upon the death of her mother-in law immediately raised her daily salary from 2,000 aspers a day to 3,000 aspres a day, around her neck she wore pearl seal with inscribed words Valide-I Gazi Sultan Mehmed Han (lit. The Mother of Warrior Sultan Mehmed Han) which was given to her when she became Valide Sultan.[30]

She was able to stabilize the political chaos quickly that took place after the murder of Kösem Sultan, and brought the state into Peace. Unlike Kosem Sultan, she always consulted Ministers and Viziers for taking decisions and implementing those, for better administration and also due to her inexperience as she was only 24 years old, when she assumed the position of Regent. As Regent, she was frequently involved in State affairs, she headed the imperial council, took the decisions of the state, controlled the treasury and appointments of all statesmen and even Ulemma, implemented laws and signed documents, and headed the Ottoman Army in Miltary Campaign particularly during the Crete Campaign.[31]

Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha, who was appointed as the Grand Vizier during the reign of Sultan Mehmed IV, worked to conquer Crete, re-establish the navy and organize the state budget. Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha, who became the Grand Vizier in 1652, limited the unnecessary gifts and gratuities given in order to balance the budget. Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha, who tried to reduce palace expenses and prepared the fiscal year budget in advance for the first time, was executed for various reasons in 1653.

Turhan Sultan tried to establish a strong power after Kösem Sultan’s assassination. She tried to use the treasury and gunpowder resources, which were limited due to the Crete Campaign, to the best level. The Valide Sultan, who established a wide intelligence network, was interested in every event and checked the soldiers' salaries, the progress of the campaign and even whether the shipyard was running smoothly. It can be said that Turhan Sultan was one of the most powerful Valide Sultans of the Ottoman Empire through her 164 letters currently in Topkapı Palace.[32]

Financial Crisis

[edit]

Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha set out to close the treasury deficit, eliminate the instability in the value of the currency, increase customs revenues, reduce palace and dockyard expenses, and prevent corruption. For this reason, those whose interests were harmed by Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha's actions, both within the state and outside the state, began to become enemies and to sharpen their teeth against him. First, a group of ulema took action against the grand vizier, and in addition to them, bazaar tradesmen and the Kapıkulu sipahis, who had become accustomed to participating in all kinds of actions against the government of the day, joined this movement. These events were calmed down somewhat by appointing Bahai Efendi as the sheikh-ul-Islam . For the first time in the Ottoman State, a board was established to learn the state's revenues and expenses in detail and to prepare a state budget. This board examined the state's books for approximately 10 years between 1643 and 1652, the last year of Kemankeṣ Kara Mustafa Pasha 's term as grand vizier. During this period, state revenues had become 5,329 burdens due to the introduction of new taxes (especially the "mill tax" and the "household tax"); state expenditures had been reduced from about 6,000 burdens in 1643 to about 5,500 burdens in 1650.

In addition, for the first time in the Ottoman State's financial system, a budget book called the Tarhuncu budget was prepared for the next year, that is, for the Hijri year 1060, which began in 1652. According to this budget, it was calculated that the total state income from the jizya, avarız, and mukataat fees coming from the provincial provinces in a year in Hijri 1060 would be 5,329 burdens. State expenditures would include the janissary corps, acemioğlan corps, gardener and baltacı ulufes, and the palace, shipyard, navy, istabl-i amire, cebecihane, gunhouse, etc. expenses, which would be 6,872 burdens. It was known that state budget problems constantly arose. According to the "Tarhuncu Budget", it was calculated that the state budget deficit for the Hijri year 1060 would be approximately 1,600 burdens.[33] Although most of the budget problems arose from this budget deficit, it was also necessary to understand that some of them were short-term liquidity problems, that is, despite the continuous state expenditures, the revenues in the provinces were not collected on time, were not sent to the center at the planned time, and were not regular. After the detailed budget book was prepared, Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha started to make cuts, especially in the spending of the palace and then of the state dignitaries. This cut in spending earned him many enemies.

On November 20, 1652, a fire broke out in Esir Han, close to the Istanbul markets, and caused great damage in the Çarşıkapı, Gedikpaşa, Çemberlitaş, Mahmutpaşa, Beyazıt and Mercan neighborhoods, where the capital's markets were densely populated. This damage brought the problem of financial distress back to the agenda in the capital. In order to find short-term finance, the treasury officer borrowed 15 bags and granted the privilege of "Candle Emin" to a non-Muslim named "Devletoğlu". Baltacılar from the palace and the mansions of dignitaries began to erode Devletoğlu's shop, which was the administrative center, with requests for coffee, candles and sugar. This led to clashes between the baltacılar and Devletoğlu's men, and Devletoğlu was personally threatened with a beating. Finally, realizing that he could not cope with the problems, Devletoğlu disappeared without being able to get back the cash loan he had given to the treasury officer.

Sultan Mehmed IV was still a child. The state officials, even in the presence of the sultan, were constantly in fierce competition and even conflict with each other. Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha's enemies, especially Turhan Sultan, were inciting the child sultan to take action against the grand vizier . Finally, the slander of these enemies that the grand vizier would dethrone the sultan united the courtiers and a decree was issued to remove Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha from the position of grand vizier.  On March 21, 1653, the day of Nevruz , while the grand vizier was in the shipyard for naval affairs after presenting the sultan with his New Year's gifts, he was invited to the palace and entered the Hasbahçe by sea, where he was welcomed by the girls' ağası (darüssaâde ağası) and received his grand vizier seal back. His term as grand vizier lasted for about 9 months. Koca Dervish Mehmed Pasha was appointed in his place .

The state was in great financial trouble and despite all the efforts and endeavors of the previous Grand Vizier Tarhuncu Ahmet Pasha, these problems could not be solved successfully. In order to prevent the state's affairs, especially its finances, from suddenly falling into disarray, Defterdar Zurnazen Mustafa Pasha was left in his place. However, since the financial situation did not improve and even showed signs of deterioration, Grand Vizier Koca Derviş Mehmed Pasha gave his chief servant Moralı Mustafa Ağa, whom he considered to be a state dignitary who held himself back, the title of beylerbeyi and appointed him as the Defterdar . However, the new Defterdar Moralı Mustafa was a greedy person and wanted to take over the office of Grand Vizier. For this reason, although he openly appeared loyal to the Grand Vizier, he began to work in his favor, first secretly but later on, and which the Grand Vizier learned about. To this end, he began to offer gifts and permissiveness to the palace and the mother sultan. This led to a significant crisis at the highest levels of the state. regency was marred by at least two factors: the war with the Venetians for the island of Crete, and the financial crisis that arose from the high expenses of waging war. Weak grand viziers did not improve the situation. However, in 1656 Köprülü Mehmed Pasha was appointed to the position of grand vizier. His condition upon accepting the post was that he be given greater authority than his predecessors.[34] Thus, Turhan transferred her political power to that of the grand vizier, thus ending her Regency.

Post Regency

[edit]

In 1657, during the long-term residence of Mehmed in Edirne due to the expeditions, Turhan Sultan was with him. During the short-term departure of Edirne, one of the viziers was appointed to supervise the sultan. She traveled to Istanbul from time to time while her son was on a long trip. It is known that a few years after the commencement of the round trips to Edirne, she built a flat (Avcı Sultan Mehmed Khan Apartment / Dolmabahçe Pavilion) in her palace in 1661. Turhan Sultan went to Babadağı with her son, who left Edirne and moved in the direction of Kamaniçe with a ceremony on 5 June 1672 for the Polish expedition.[35]

The army decided to stay here until he returned from the expedition, and one of the dome viziers, İbrâhim Pasha, was commissioned with the guard. Meanwhile, her grandson Şehzade Mustafa (later Mustafa II), who was eight years old, was with her. However, her residence in Babadağı did not last until the return of the army. When the army arrived at Edirne, Turhan Sultan was in Istanbul. Mehmed sent the second vizier Mustafa Pasha to Istanbul to bring his mother before a week passed.[35]

Gülnuş Sultan attempted to have her husband's brothers Suleiman II and Ahmed II strangled after Mustafa was born, but Turhan had hindered these attempted murders.[36][35] Turhan is the youngest women to ever become Valide Sultan at 21 and remained as the longest serving Valide Sultan in the Ottoman history for over 35 years, supressing even the reigns of many Ottoman Sultans. She was also the youngest women to ever assume the position of Regent in the Ottoman and in the Islamic history.

Patronage

[edit]
New Mosque, Istanbul was completed by the Turhan Sultan.

By providing the grand vizier with great authority, Turhan limited her own power on the political stage. However, she channeled her energies into other architectural projects.

She built a fountain in 1653 in Beşiktaş district.[35] Her first building project began in 1658. Perhaps in answer to the Venetian threat, the Valide built two fortresses at the entrance to the Dardanelles. The fortresses, one on the European side and the other on the Asian side, can still be seen today. Mehmed the Conqueror and other sultans also built fortresses in the same area.[37] Each of the fortresses contained a mosque, elementary schools, hamams and bazaars.[35] Turhan had built wells in Hejaz, she also constructed a library in Çanakkale and Istanbul.[38]

Turhan also built the Yeni Mosque in Istanbul. The initial construction was started by one of Turhan's predecessors, Safiye Sultan. She had chosen the commercial quarter of the city, Eminonü, as the location of the mosque. This area was inhabited by non-Muslims. By building a new mosque in Eminönü, Safiye wanted to Islamize the area.[39] To build on this site meant that land had to be appropriated from the local non-Muslim residents, an act that had not gone smoothly.[40] In the year 1597, the first stones were laid. At the death of Safiye's son, Mehmed III, the construction of the mosque stopped as she was no longer the Valide. The construction was abandoned for 57 years, but was restarted after the area was devastated by the Great Fire of 1660.[41] Turhan decided to complete what had been started by Safiye Sultan. After its completion in 1665, the complex contained not only the mosque, but also a school, public fountains, a market, and a tomb.[42] The Yeni Mosque was the first imperial mosque built by a woman.[42] On 31 October 1665, the mosque was opened and Turhan Sultan and Sultan Mehmed IV's consort Gülnuş Sultan attended the first prayer in the mosque.[43]

In the southeast corner of the mosque, there is a need to pass to the majestic ruin and the sultan pavilion is arranged in three floors. The lower and middle floor cut-top stone has upper-level stone and brick walls that do not meet the needs of the brick. The pavilion, which is entered through a low arch door, has a long and ramped path. The palace, which has a long vaulted corridor underneath, is located on the upper floor, which is reserved for the sultan and the sultan, together with two hearth rooms. After the L-shaped hall and an intermediate space, the balcony in front of the building passes to the building. The walls in the Hünkâr pavilion are covered with herbal decorated tile panels in under-glaze technique.[44]

Turhan was the last woman to wield such great power as to act as a regent to a young son.[45] As women were not seen in public in the Ottoman Empire, it was through her patronage of building that Turhan showed herself to her subjects

Turhan Sultan, Mehmed IV, Mustafa II, Ahmed III, Mahmud I and total of forty-four people are buried, especially some people from Osman III and his family were buried, in the Mosque or in Turhan's türbesi. In the direction of the mausoleum of the tomb, a treasure was formed in the courtyard over time, so fountains and power windows were built on the courtyard wall.[44]

Death

[edit]
The tomb of Turhan Sultan is located near the Yeni Mosque in Eminönü, Istanbul.

Turhan Sultan died on 4 August 1683 at the age of 55-56, while she was staying in Edirne. Her body was brought back to Constantinople and was buried in the tomb named after her at the Yeni Mosque. She lies alongside her son and her descendants.[46][47]After her death her daughter in-law Gülnuş Sultan became the highest authority in the harem.[48]

Issue

[edit]

Mehmed Süreyya Bey and Çagatay Uluçay name only one child of Turhan, Sultan Mehmed IV.[49][50]

Filiz Karaca names only the son of Turhan,[51] but she notes that there are references to a daughter of this valide.[14]

In his work «Bu mülkün kadın sultanları» in the section about Turhan herself, Necdet Sakaoğlu, in addition to Mehmed, indicated that she had a daughter Atike Sultan (after 1642 – between 1666 and 1693);[12] Anthony Alderson[7] also adhered to this version. At the same time, Sakaoğlu in the section about the favorite of Mehmed IV Emetullah Gülnuş Sultan indicates that the Sultan had two full sisters Gevherhan Sultan (c./in 1642–1694) and Beyhan Sultan (1645–1700).[52] According to Merve Çakır, Turhan was also the mother of Safiye Sultan and Ümmügülsüm Sultan.[53]

[edit]
Engraving by Pieter de Jode II.[54][55]

In 2015, Turkish historical fiction TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Turhan is portrayed by Turkish actress Hande Doğandemir. In the series, she is the mother of Mehmed IV and Beyhan Sultan.[56]

See also

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turhan Hatice Sultan.

References

[edit]

Sources

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Turhan Sultan

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Turhan Hatice (c. 1627 – 4 1683) was an Ottoman imperial consort of probable Russian origin, who rose to prominence as the of Ibrahim I and subsequently as and regent for her son, Mehmed IV, following Ibrahim's deposition in 1648. Captured as a and brought to the , she bore in 1642, securing her position amid the harem's power struggles. As during Mehmed's minority from 1648 onward, Turhan exercised substantial political authority, navigating factional intrigues that culminated in the 1651 of her rival, the influential , through agents loyal to her faction, thereby consolidating her control over the empire's governance. A notable patron of , she revived and completed the stalled of the Yeni Mosque (Valide Sultan Mosque) in , originally initiated decades earlier, which was inaugurated in 1665 and remains a key Ottoman landmark symbolizing her enduring legacy in public works and . Her tenure as marked a period of assertive maternal rule in the , influencing state affairs until her death in at age 56.

Origins and Early Life

Birth and Ethnic Background

Turhan Sultan was born circa 1627 in the Ruthenian region, encompassing areas of present-day , during a period of frequent Crimean Tatar raids on the eastern frontiers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historical estimates derive from the timing of her entry into the around age 12 and subsequent events, though no contemporary Ottoman records provide an exact date or birthplace. Her ethnic background is identified as Ruthenian, referring to Eastern Slavic populations in the Cossack-Ukrainian borderlands, with origins as a non-Muslim or family rather than nobility. Primary evidence from Ottoman chronicles and European diplomatic dispatches consistently describes her as a captive taken in Tatar slave raids, sold through Crimean markets into the empire's devşirme-like system for concubines, underscoring humble slave over later unsubstantiated claims of aristocratic descent. These sources, while limited by the scarcity of personal records for women, prioritize empirical raid patterns and frontier demographics, avoiding mythic embellishments common in post-hoc narratives.

Entry into the Imperial Harem

Turhan Hatice Sultan, originally a Slavic girl from the region encompassing modern-day or , was captured during Crimean Tatar raids on Christian territories in the late 1630s or early 1640s, a practice fueled by Ottoman alliances with the to procure slaves for the imperial household. Born around 1627, she was sold through Ottoman slave markets and presented to the imperial court in at approximately 12 to 15 years of age, entering as a , or palace slave. These raids systematically supplied the with young women, reflecting the causal link between imperial demand for concubines and expansionist policies that incentivized tributary enslavement. Upon entry, non-Muslim captives like Turhan were ritually converted to , adopting Muslim names and undergoing if applicable, before integration into the harem's hierarchical structure supervised by the and senior eunuchs. She then entered the harem's training regimen, akin to the for male pages, where girls received instruction in , Quranic recitation, court protocol, and practical arts including embroidery, , and to enhance their utility and appeal within palace service. This education, lasting several years for promising trainees, emphasized subservience and refinement, with progression dependent on aptitude and assignment to domestic roles or potential intimacy. During Sultan Ibrahim I's reign (1640–1648), marked by fiscal excess and harem enlargement to over 1,000 women through lavish acquisitions, new slaves like Turhan had pathways to elevation as they navigated the competitive environment under the oversight of figures such as . Her integration coincided with this expansion, positioning her among cohorts of slaves selected for proximity to the sultanate amid the broader of devşirme-like procurement that prioritized and physical attributes for dynastic continuity.

Time as Imperial Consort

Relationship with Sultan Ibrahim I

Turhan Sultan entered the imperial as a concubine during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim I (r. 1640–1648), a period characterized by the sultan's documented mental instability, sexual excesses, and profligate spending that strained the empire's finances. Presented to Ibrahim by his , Kösem, to secure dynastic heirs, Turhan gave birth to the sultan's first surviving son, , on January 2, 1642, an event that elevated her status within the harem and prompted widespread rejoicing. This birth positioned Turhan as one of Ibrahim's eight haseki sultans, entitling her to a daily of 1,000 to 1,300 aspers by 1643, though her influence remained primarily personal and harem-bound rather than political. Historical accounts diverge on the depth of Ibrahim's favoritism toward her: some suggest initial exclusive affection, while others, including analysis of contemporary chronicles, indicate she was largely ignored or spurned for much of the reign amid the sultan's shifting preferences for other consorts like Muazzez and Şivekar Sultans. Ibrahim's erratic rule, marked by extravagances such as ordering vast quantities of furs and episodes of executing women, underscored the precarious dynamics under Kösem's oversight, with Turhan's role confined to consort favoritism patterns rather than broader agency in the sultan's decisions or the events culminating in his 1648 deposition.

Birth of Mehmed IV and Family Dynamics

Mehmed IV, the future Ottoman sultan, was born on January 2, 1642, in Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, to Sultan Ibrahim I and his consort Turhan Hatice Sultan, a woman of probable Ruthenian origin who had entered the imperial harem as a slave. This birth marked Turhan as the mother of a male heir in a dynasty where succession depended heavily on the survival of princes to adulthood. In the competitive environment of the imperial harem, Turhan's position gained significance as proved to be her only surviving son amid pervasive infant and rates that claimed numerous offspring of Ibrahim from his multiple consorts, including Haseki Hümaşah Sultan and . Ottoman records indicate that Ibrahim fathered several sons prior to , such as Selim, who died in infancy, leaving as the sole viable male successor by the time of Ibrahim's deposition in 1648, though this survival was not guaranteed at birth. The harem's dynamics, characterized by rivalry among concubine mothers vying for influence through their children, underscored the precariousness of princely survival, with historical analyses attributing high mortality to factors like isolation, limited medical care, and political intrigues rather than systematic elimination at that stage. Turhan's early role as Mehmed's protector emerged from harem protocols that placed maternal oversight at the center of a prince's rearing, positioning her to navigate alliances and threats within the household led by , Ibrahim's mother and dominant figure. This maternal vigilance, documented in Ottoman archival sources, focused on safeguarding Mehmed's health and status without overt political maneuvering, as the harem's power structures prioritized dynastic continuity over individual ambitions during Ibrahim's erratic rule.

Ascension to Valide Sultan

Mehmed IV's Accession and Initial Regency by Kösem

Sultan Ibrahim I's reign, from 1640 to 1648, was characterized by fiscal extravagance and administrative instability, exacerbated by the Venetian blockade of the Dardanelles that caused scarcities in Istanbul and prompted the imposition of burdensome new taxes. These pressures fueled discontent among the Janissaries, who clashed with the grand vizier over resource allocation and military privileges. On August 8, 1648, a Janissary uprising, backed by religious scholars (ulama) and court elites, stormed the palace and demanded Ibrahim's deposition, leading to his dethronement after convening at the Fatih Mosque. With Ibrahim executed shortly thereafter, the six-year-old —born on January 2, 1642—was proclaimed on the same day, August 8, 1648, in accordance with Ottoman succession practices favoring the eldest surviving male heir. As was a minor, regency authority defaulted to , his grandmother and the of the prior sultans, drawing on Ottoman tradition where experienced elder valides guided young rulers during periods of instability. , having previously served as during Murad IV's minority (1623–1632) and Ibrahim's troubled rule (1640–1648), assumed control to stabilize the court and corps. Turhan Sultan, as Mehmed's mother and the new junior , held titular precedence but played a marginal role in the initial regency, subordinate to Kösem's institutional seniority and political experience. This arrangement reflected established hierarchies prioritizing the elder valide's oversight in crises, deferring personal dynamics among consorts until the sultan's maturity.

Rivalry with Kösem Sultan and Power Consolidation

Following the deposition of Sultan Ibrahim I on August 8, 1648, and the accession of his seven-year-old son , initially retained effective regency power as büyük valide sultan (dowager ), leveraging her long-standing influence and control over palace factions, while Turhan Sultan, as the new sultan's mother, sought to assert her authority as . Tensions escalated due to competing claims over administration, treasury access, and eunuch loyalties, with Turhan aligning with the black eunuchs under Deli Hüseyin Ağa, against 's network including elements of the white eunuchs and supporters. This factional strife reflected broader dynamics in the imperial , where valide sultans vied for dominance during sultanic minorities, prioritizing dynastic stability through maternal proximity to the throne over generational deference. By mid-1651, rumors circulated of Kösem plotting to depose the fragile young Mehmed IV—whose health was precarious—and install another grandson or alternative heir, prompting preemptive action from Turhan's allies; Ottoman chronicler Mustafa Naima recorded these allegations of an assassination attempt on the sultan by Kösem's agents, framing the response as defensive. On September 2, 1651, a group led by Deli Hüseyin Ağa infiltrated Kösem's apartments in Topkapı Palace and strangled her, reportedly using a curtain cord or her own hair, as detailed in Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname, which describes the violent upheaval amid harem guards' intervention. Venetian diplomatic dispatches from the period corroborated the sudden palace intrigue and Kösem's elimination, attributing it to Turhan's faction amid escalating power struggles, without direct evidence of Turhan's personal orchestration but noting her strategic benefit. In the coup's immediate aftermath, Turhan consolidated control by purging Kösem's loyalists, securing the 's black eunuchs and elements, and assuming the official regency on behalf of , thereby ending Kösem's oversight and marking Turhan as the second woman in Ottoman history—after Kösem herself—to hold formal regency authority with supreme executive oversight. This transition, rooted in rather than ideological conflict, stabilized Turhan's position by aligning key military and administrative factions under her influence, though it invited short-term unrest from Kösem's displaced supporters.

Regency Period (1651–1656)

Domestic Administration and Internal Stability

During her regency from 1651 to 1656, Turhan Sultan maintained oversight of the Imperial Divan by attending sessions from behind a , a practice that enabled her to monitor deliberations and enforce decisions on critical appointments within the . This involvement extended to accompanying her son, , to key meetings, allowing her to shape responses to internal challenges despite the traditional seclusion of women in governance. Turhan utilized the harem's extensive networks for intelligence gathering, leveraging connections among concubines, eunuchs, and palace staff to track factionalism and potential threats from court elites and military corps. These networks proved essential in navigating the pervasive corruption and rivalries that undermined administrative cohesion, as harem women often served as conduits for information on viziers and officials susceptible to bribery or intrigue. Her relative youth—estimated at around 24 years old at the start of the regency—and limited prior administrative experience contributed to a dependence on select advisors, such as Melek Ahmed Pasha, whose growing influence exacerbated factional tensions and prompted janissary discontent culminating in unrest by 1656. This reliance highlighted the causal vulnerabilities of an inexperienced valide in a rife with cabals, where unchecked advisor power could destabilize enforcement against janissary agitation over appointments and privileges. Despite these challenges, Turhan's interventions helped sustain short-term stability by prioritizing loyalists in key posts to counter immediate threats from unruly and corrupt elements.

Financial Reforms and Crisis Management

Upon assuming the regency in 1651 following the deposition of , Turhan Sultan inherited a treasury depleted by Sultan Ibrahim I's profligate expenditures on luxuries such as sable furs and pearl-embellished saddles, alongside the ongoing costs of the Cretan War against (1645–1669). These deficits were worsened by empire-wide , driven by the influx of depreciated silver from the , which eroded the purchasing power of the and strained military pay structures. Tax records from the period indicate revenues failed to cover even basic salaries, prompting initial austerity efforts, including scrutiny of customs and shipyard outlays under viziers like Tarhuncu Ahmed Pasha, who proposed curbing abuses but faced execution in 1653 after his deficit-highlighting memorandum was deemed manipulative. Turhan's administration pursued revenue centralization by leveraging harem-managed vakıf endowments—properties yielding annual incomes in the millions of —to supplement state coffers, alongside hikes in urban and rural levies such as the avârız-i divaniye extraordinary taxes. Archival evidence from defter registers shows these measures temporarily bolstered inflows, averting immediate collapse amid 1651 and 1656 janissary revolts triggered by arrears and grain shortages. However, implementation yielded mixed results; while short-term loans from moneylenders and endowment reallocations staved off default, chroniclers like Na'imă critiqued the reliance on expedients such as further debasement—reducing silver content to around 0.48 grams by mid-decade—which fueled price spirals without addressing underlying fiscal indiscipline. These policies, though insufficient for long-term stability, enabled Turhan to navigate the regency without total , preserving administrative continuity until the 1656 necessitated delegating broader . Contemporary accounts attribute partial success to her oversight of fiscal networks, yet highlight how elevated taxes exacerbated provincial discontent, underscoring the limits of palace-centric interventions in a decentralizing .

Military Campaigns and Foreign Relations

During Turhan Sultan's regency (1651–1656), the Ottoman Empire sustained its commitment to the Cretan War (1645–1669) against Venice, focusing resources on the prolonged siege of Candia despite mounting logistical challenges. Venetian naval dominance in the Aegean disrupted Ottoman supply convoys and reinforcements, preventing decisive advances on the island and resulting in a costly stalemate that consumed up to three-quarters of the imperial budget at peak periods. Regency decisions emphasized funding the campaign amid fiscal strain, with treasury allocations prioritizing troop maintenance and fortifications, though domestic rebellions intermittently diverted military assets northward toward Habsburg frontiers. These efforts underscored broader Ottoman vulnerabilities, including overextended supply lines across the Mediterranean and inadequate naval countermeasures against Venetian galleys, which inflicted consistent losses on Ottoman shipping. No territorial gains materialized during this interval, as Venetian blockades and allied support prolonged resistance, forcing pragmatic containment rather than aggressive expansion. The war's demands exacerbated logistical strains indicative of imperial decline, with troop morale and provisioning hampered by delays in grain and powder deliveries from . Foreign relations remained focused on stabilizing frontiers to support the Cretan front, adhering to the 1639 with Safavid Persia to avert eastern conflicts and dispatching envoys to European courts for non-intervention pacts. Diplomatic correspondence emphasized containing Venetian alliances, but yielded limited concessions, as Habsburg and Polish distractions prevented Ottoman escalation elsewhere. This approach reflected causal priorities of resource conservation amid the ongoing Mediterranean commitment, avoiding new campaigns that could further erode fiscal and military capacity.

Appointment of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha and End of Direct Rule

In 1656, the faced acute threats of rebellion from disaffected Janissaries and provincial governors, exacerbated by fiscal collapse from prolonged Cretan War expenditures and administrative corruption under prior viziers. Turhan, recognizing the limitations of harem-led governance amid these pressures, selected Köprülü Mehmed Pasha—a 71-year-old Albanian-born career with prior provincial experience—for the grand vizierate. On 14 September 1656, she appointed him with unprecedented concessions, including unchecked authority to execute rivals, confiscate estates, and bypass traditional consultations with the or , conditions Köprülü demanded to ensure decisive action against entrenched opposition. This appointment signaled Turhan's strategic withdrawal from hands-on regency, which had dominated since her consolidation of power in 1651 following the elimination of . By empowering a male with near-absolute mandate, she realigned with longstanding Ottoman norms prioritizing experienced bureaucrats for executive and military command, while preserving valide oversight through palace influence rather than direct intervention. The move averted immediate regime collapse, as Köprülü's ruthless suppression of factions and initial reforms restored short-term stability, validating Turhan's delegation over alternatives like perpetuating divided court cabals.

Patronage and Cultural Contributions

Architectural Projects


Turhan Sultan resumed and completed the Yeni Mosque (Yeni Cami) complex in Eminönü, Istanbul, a project originally started by Safiye Sultan in 1597 but abandoned due to political upheavals. Construction restarted in 1660 under her patronage, with architect Mustafa Ağa overseeing the work; the mosque itself was finished in 1663, while the full külliye, including ancillary structures, reached completion by 1665. The initiative symbolized her piety and authority as Valide Sultan, transforming a stalled imperial endeavor into a landmark of Ottoman religious architecture amid fiscal strains from ongoing wars. Integral to the complex was the adjacent market, designed in an L-shaped layout with 88 vaulted shops and multiple entrances, constructed concurrently to fund the through rental revenues dedicated to upkeep, staff salaries, and charitable distributions. This addressed potential criticisms of extravagance by establishing self-sustaining mechanisms, as endowment deeds specified income streams covering annual costs exceeding those of similar complexes. Later known as the Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı), it became a vital commercial hub, underscoring Turhan's strategic urban investments linking religious patronage with fiscal prudence. Turhan also commissioned her (türbe) adjacent to the , completed in 1663 to house her remains and those of members, exemplifying the era's of integrating dynastic tombs into charitable complexes for perpetual prayers and legitimacy. Complementing these were public and sebils, including the Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan Sebil and erected in 1663 near the complex, providing access while reinforcing her as a benefactress through documented waqf-supported . These commissions, verified in endowment records, prioritized revenue-generating elements to mitigate regency-era financial pressures, evidencing calculated over mere ostentation.

Charitable and Religious Endowments

Turhan Sultan formalized key foundations in the 1660s, post-regency, channeling revenues from properties and shops into perpetual charitable and religious services as acts of Islamic piety. The 1662 foundation deed for the Yeni Mosque complex allocated funds primarily for social welfare, including maintenance of an imaret to distribute cooked meals to the urban poor, transients, and religious scholars in . These endowments extended to educational support, funding a Qur'an school for basic religious instruction and a with over 300 donated manuscripts, sustaining scholarly activities amid the empire's emphasis on Islamic learning. Additional provisions aided pilgrims through associated traveler inns, reflecting standard Ottoman practices for facilitation and roadside relief. By tying endowments to religious infrastructure, Turhan integrated charity with broader patronage networks, securing long-term oversight of fiscal flows from rental incomes and dues, which offset state budget pressures during the 1670s fiscal critiques. While providing targeted relief—such as daily rations in the imaret against pervasive urban poverty—these efforts faced limitations from empire-wide inflation and war costs, yielding modest socioeconomic impact relative to the scale of 17th-century Ottoman indigence.

Later Years, Death, and Burial

Post-Regency Influence

Following the appointment of as on 15 September 1656, Turhan Sultan ceded direct executive authority but retained her longstanding role as , overseeing the imperial 's operations and continuing to guide Sultan Mehmed IV's education and moral upbringing amid his transition to maturity. Court documents from the period record her involvement in harem administration, including the management of personnel and resources, which persisted independently of the grand vizier's purview. Turhan exerted informal advisory influence on key appointments, notably endorsing Köprülü's retention and policies through consultations and written correspondence, as evidenced by surviving letters where she aligned interests with his stabilization efforts against fiscal and military unrest. This support extended to the succession of Köprülü's son, Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, in , reflecting her strategic input in vizierial continuity without formal veto power. By the mid-1660s, as assumed fuller sultanic responsibilities and elevated his consort Gülnuş Emetullah Sultan to haseki prominence, Turhan's political sway diminished, with archival records showing reduced petitions routed through her for state decisions. This shift mirrored broader institutional dynamics, wherein the Köprülü viziers centralized , limiting valide interventions to harem-internal matters and occasional counsel on dynastic stability.

Death in 1683 and Funeral Arrangements

Turhan Sultan died on 4 August 1683 in , where the Ottoman court was residing during the Second Siege of Vienna. Her son, , was absent in overseeing the campaign's logistics, which had commenced on 14 July 1683 with leading the main forces. At approximately 56 years old, her passing followed prior indications of declining health, though no contemporary records specify the precise illness amid the empire's military preoccupations. Her body was promptly transported from to for burial, adhering to Ottoman imperial protocol for high-ranking females of the dynasty. The rites, conducted with full ceremonial honors due a , culminated in her interment within the she had commissioned adjacent to the Yeni Mosque in . This tomb, featuring her () in the central, most prominent position, also houses the remains of several grandchildren and other royals, underscoring her enduring familial legacy. The Yeni Mosque complex's endowments, established under Turhan's patronage, provided for perpetual maintenance, including ritual prayers () and charitable distributions to sustain commemorative observances for her soul. Her death effectively concluded the era of her direct oversight in the hierarchy, with the Emetullah Rabia Gülnuş gradually assuming preeminent influence as the mother of IV's heir, , though without the regency Turhan had wielded earlier.

Family and Descendants

Children and Immediate Family

Turhan Sultan was the Haseki Sultan (chief consort) of Sultan Ibrahim I (reigned 1640–1648) and mother to his sole surviving son, Mehmed IV (born 2 January 1642, died 6 January 1693), who ascended the Ottoman throne on 8 August 1648 at age six following Ibrahim's deposition. Mehmed's survival to maturity was exceptional amid high infant mortality rates in the imperial harem, where rivalries and health risks often limited heirs from individual consorts. Certain historians, including Yılmaz Öztuna, identify Beyhan Sultan (born circa 1645, died 1687) as Turhan's daughter by Ibrahim, noting her birth during the period of Turhan's favor in the . However, primary records do not conclusively confirm Beyhan's maternity, with some accounts leaving her mother's identity unknown or attributing her to other consorts, reflecting incomplete Ottoman genealogical documentation reliant on later chroniclers. No additional children are verified in contemporary sources, consistent with harem norms where prolificacy was rare for non-favored slaves and focused on producing viable male heirs for dynastic continuity. Turhan's immediate family thus centered on her ties to Ibrahim I as consort and her progeny, with no recorded siblings of her own due to her likely origin as a Circassian or Russian concubine of non-royal birth. Her lineage extended solely through , whose descendants included subsequent sultans Süleyman II and .

Relations with Other Harem Members

Following the execution of Kösem Sultan on September 2, 1651, Turhan Sultan consolidated her authority as valide sultan by restructuring harem governance, appointing loyal black eunuchs such as Süleyman Ağa to enforce discipline and monitor potential rivals among the consorts and odalisques. This shift marginalized women like Saliha Dilaşub Sultan and Muazzez Sultan, who had been elevated to haseki status under Ibrahim I alongside Turhan, receiving stipends that reflected their prior favor—Saliha Dilaşub's at times exceeding others by modest margins amid the chaotic multiplicity of favorites during Ibrahim's rule from 1640 to 1648. As valide, Turhan reduced their influence, confining them to subordinate roles within the harem hierarchy to prevent any factional challenges that could threaten Mehmed IV's unchallenged succession, a dynamic evidenced by eunuch testimonies and palace registers documenting stipend reallocations and spatial segregation in the Topkapı harem quarters. Turhan's interactions with these former rivals underscored a protective vigilance toward her son, prioritizing the elimination of zero-sum risks over collaborative ties; chronicle accounts, including those from , portray alliances as pragmatic instruments of surveillance rather than genuine kinship, with Turhan leveraging networks to preempt intrigues from mothers of Ibrahim's other surviving sons, such as Muazzez, mother of Ahmed (future , born 1643). Such measures ensured no alternative valide emerged to contest her regency until 1656, though tensions persisted subtly through resource disputes, as palace defters record ongoing stipends for sidelined consorts but under Turhan's oversight, reflecting the 's underlying competitive structure rather than idealized solidarity.

Historical Assessment and Legacy

Key Achievements and Stabilizing Role

Turhan Sultan's regency from 1651 to approximately 1663 marked a pivotal stabilization effort during IV's minority, amid severe crises including the Venetian blockade of the since 1645, which exacerbated fiscal exhaustion and sparked urban unrest in , alongside internal rebellions like the 1656 Plane Tree Incident led by Janissaries demanding currency reforms. Her decisive appointment of as on September 15, 1656, granted him extraordinary powers—including sole control over appointments, executions without recourse, and immunity from slander—conditions accepted out of necessity to counter the empire's brink-of-collapse state characterized by rapid vizierial turnover (six in one year) and factional strife between military corps, harem eunuchs, and provincial governors. Köprülü's tenure directly addressed these threats through harsh purges, executing hundreds of rebels and officials such as and shortly after appointment, while reorganizing the bureaucracy and military; by 1658, he had suppressed the and eliminated sipahi-Janissary rivalries, refilling the depleted via enhanced revenue controls and breaking the Venetian blockade to recapture and , as evidenced by Ottoman archival registers (e.g., BOA KK 434, 1659–1662) and contemporary chronicles like . These measures restored central authority, resolved the acute budget crisis, and enabled military continuity, forestalling systemic collapse and paving the way for the Köprülü family's extended dominance until 1703, which sustained Ottoman operations despite ongoing decline. As one of only two women in Ottoman history to exercise official regency—alongside —Turhan demonstrated adaptive governance by prioritizing capable external administrators over entrenched palace factions, reconfiguring vizierial authority toward merit-based absolutism in response to institutional decay and dynastic vulnerability. This approach, while yielding short-term continuity, highlighted the empire's reliance on delegated reform amid structural weaknesses in fiscal-military administration.

Criticisms, Controversies, and Power Struggles

Turhan Sultan's consolidation of power as hinged on the violent elimination of her predecessor and rival, . On September 2, 1651, Kösem was strangled to death in her apartments by a faction loyal to Turhan, led by the chief black Süleyman Agha, after Kösem allegedly plotted to depose and install one of her other grandsons on the throne to maintain her own influence. This , unprecedented in Ottoman history for targeting a former , reflected Turhan's willingness to employ lethal force to neutralize threats, as corroborated by contemporary chroniclers like Mustafa Naima who detailed the intrigue and reprisals that followed. In the aftermath, Turhan pursued a of Kösem's allies, executing several high-ranking officials and court figures to dismantle rival networks and secure her regency. These actions, while stabilizing her position short-term, drew condemnation from Ottoman historians for fostering a of paranoia and intrigue within the imperial household, exacerbating factionalism that weakened . Traditional chroniclers, such as , portrayed such harem-driven eliminations as symptomatic of moral decay, prioritizing personal ambition over dynastic stability. Turhan's regency faced scrutiny for fiscal policies that failed to curb escalating economic woes, including driven by debased coinage and disrupted trade routes, which fueled Janissary revolts in 1655 and 1656. Critics among 17th-century observers attributed these crises partly to interference in appointments and expenditures, with Turhan's reliance on viziers like Boynu Ali Pasha—accused of corruption—worsening treasury shortfalls estimated at millions of by mid-decade. The need to appoint in 1656 as with extraordinary powers underscored perceived mismanagement under her oversight, as he swiftly addressed unrest through harsh reforms that implicitly critiqued prior administrations. Broader controversies surround Turhan's embodiment of the Sultanate of Women, where harem overreach—exemplified by her direct involvement in state councils and military decisions—has been linked in historiographical debates to the empire's administrative stagnation and vulnerability to external pressures. While some modern scholars like Leslie Peirce challenge narratives of inherent corruption, classical Ottoman sources and European diplomats consistently decried such female dominance as eroding sultanic authority, paving the way for the era's wane after Turhan's death in 1683, when Mehmed IV curtailed valide influence.

Scholarly Views and Ottoman Historiography

In traditional Ottoman historiography, Turhan Sultan is primarily portrayed as a pious whose legitimacy derived from religious devotion and maternal protection of the throne, with chroniclers emphasizing her charitable endowments and constructions as markers of virtue rather than political strategy. This perspective, reflected in court s like those of Naima, often subordinates her agency to the broader imperial decline, framing her actions within a of intrigue and divine favor rather than calculated governance. Modern scholarship, drawing on primary sources such as deeds and architectural inscriptions, reinterprets Turhan's patronage— including the Yeni Mosque complex and fortresses—as deliberate exercises in pragmatic power consolidation, enabling her to project authority amid fiscal crises and military threats during her 1648–1656 regency. Lucienne Thys-Şenocak argues that these projects, unprecedented in scale for a valide, served to legitimize her rule and secure alliances, countering underestimations in male-authored histories that marginalized female contributions to state defense and economy. Similarly, Leslie P. Peirce highlights how Turhan's archival footprints reveal a shift from harem-centric influence to institutional stabilization. Debates persist on Turhan's role in terminating the , with causal analyses crediting her 1656 appointment of —despite his age and reputation for ruthlessness—as a realist pivot that empowered vizierial autonomy, quelled rebellions, and forestalled collapse by prioritizing competence over factional loyalty. This view, supported by fiscal and appointment , contrasts with earlier narratives that romanticized female regencies, underscoring how her decision exploited Köprülü's networks to restore order, though some scholars caution against overattributing long-term revival to a single act amid entrenched . Recent studies, privileging Ottoman archival data over European traveler accounts prone to , affirm her underappreciated foresight in navigating 17th-century crises.

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