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 used in the 16th century for Hafsa Sultan (died 1534), consort of Selim I (r. 1512–1520) and mother of Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566), superseding the previous title of mehd-i ulya ("cradle of the great").[1] 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, 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 Sultanefendi
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. The Turkish pronunciation of the word valide is [vaː.liˈde].

Sultan (سلطان) 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. Example, Şehzade Sultan Mehmed and Mihrimah Sultan, 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 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 "kadin", 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".[2]

Title valide carried before or after given name. Many westerner often translated their official title, sultan, to title which not exist in Ottoman royalti officially, sultana, possibly for distinguished them from Ottoman ruler and other male member of Ottoman dynasty.

Role and position

An Eighteenth Century painting of a Valide Sultan by Jean Baptiste Vanmour.

Valide sultan 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"),[3] 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] Valide sultan also traditionally had access to considerable economic resources and often funded major architectural projects. 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.[4]

The most powerful and well-known of all valide sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire were Nurbanu Sultan[5], Safiye Sultan, Kösem Sultan and Turhan Hatice Sultan.

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] However , only very few harem women who became Valide Sultans upon their son's ascension to the throne were indeed freed from slavery and married to their spouses , the former Ottoman Sultans. These Sultanas were Nurbanu Sultan , Kösem Sultan , Rabia Gülnuş Sultan and Perestu Kadın.

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, Muazzez Sultan, Mihrişah Kadın, Şermi Kadın, Tirimüjgan Kadın, Gülcemal Kadın, and Gülüstü Hanım. In special cases, there were grandmothers and stepmothers of the reigning sultans who assumed the title of valide sultan, like Kösem Sultan and Perestu Kadın.

Name	Maiden Name	Origin	Became Valide	Ceased to be Valide	Death	Sultan(s)
Hafsa Sultan حفصه سلطان		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	unknown	Albanian	15 January 1595 son's ascension	22 December 1603 son's death	10 November 1618	Mehmed III (son)
Handan Sultan خندان سلطان	unknown[12]	unknown[12]	22 December 1603 son's ascension	9 November 1605		Ahmed I (son)
Halime Sultan[13] حلیمه سلطان		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)
Kösem Sultan ماه پیکر كوسم سلطان	Anastasia	Greek. Born on Tinos, Republic of Venice	10 September 1623 son's ascension	2 September 1651		Murad IV (son) Ibrahim (son) Mehmed IV (grandson)
Turhan Sultan ترخان خدیجه سلطان		Ruthenian	2 September 1651 mother-in-law's death	4 August 1683		Mehmed IV (son)
Aşub Sultan صالحه دل آشوب سلطان	unknown[12]	unknown[12]	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	unknown[12]	unknown[12]	20 September 1730 son's ascension	21 September 1739		Mahmud I (son)
Şehsuvar Sultan شهسوار سلطان		Russian[12]	13 December 1754 son's ascension	April 1756		Osman III (son)
Mihrişah Sultan مهر شاه سلطان		Daughter of Georgian Orthodox priest[14]	7 April 1789 son's ascension	16 October 1805		Selim III (son)
Sineperver Sultan سینه پرور سلطان		Bulgarian	29 May 1807 son's ascension	28 July 1808 son's deposition	11 December 1828	Mustafa IV (son)[15]
Nakşidil Sultan نقش دل سلطان	unknown	Georgian	28 July 1808 son's ascension	22 August 1817		Mahmud II (son)
Bezmiâlem Sultan بزم عالم سلطان		Georgian	2 July 1839 son's ascension	2 May 1853		Abdülmecid I (son)
Pertevniyal Sultan پرتو نهال سلطان	Hasna	Circassian	25 June 1861 son's ascension	30 May 1876 son's deposition	5 February 1883	Abdülaziz I (son)
Şevkefza Sultan شوق افزا سلطان	Vilma	Georgian. Born in Russian Empire	30 May 1876 son's ascension	31 August 1876 son's deposition	17 September 1889	Murad V (son)
Perestu Sultan رحيمه پرستو سلطان	Rahime Gogen	Circassian	31 August 1876 step-son's ascension	11 December 1904		Abdul Hamid II (step-son)[16][17]

Exceptional cases

Normally, living mother of reigning sultan held title Valide Sultan. But in exceptional cases, there were women who didn't hold this title when their sons became Sultan.

Name	Maiden Name and Origin	Period[18]	Son	Note
Mahfiruz			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 had a beating administered to a woman who had irritated Kösem, perhaps this woman was Mahfiruz[2]

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

See also

• 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. (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. ISBN 0-19-507673-7.
3. "Muslims can celebrate Mothers Day because honoring your mother comes right after worshipping God". Beliefnet.com. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
4. Peirce, Leslie P., The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-19-508677-5 (paperback)
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. Volume II: Africa & the Middle East. London: Burke's Peerage. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-85011-029-6.
7. Kasaba, Reşat. 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. 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.
14. 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
15. 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
16. Brookes, Douglass Scott, The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher, p.287. University of Texas Press, 2008. ISBN 0-292-71842-X
17. "Sultan II. Abdülhamid Han". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
18. The period that she had to be a Valide Sultan

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