Kosem Sultan

Kösem Sultan was born as Anastasia on the Greek island of Tinos around 1589. She was captured by Ottoman raiders and sold as a slave to the harem of Sultan Ahmed I. She soon became his favorite consort and received the title of Haseki Sultan. She bore him nine children, including two future sultans, Murad IV and Ibrahim. She also played an important role in keeping Ahmed's mentally unstable half-brother Mustafa alive, thus paving the way for the succession system based on agnatic seniority instead of primogeniture. After Ahmed's death in 1617, Kösem became the Valide Sultan (Queen Mother) and the most influential woman in the palace. She acted as the regent for her young son Murad IV, who ascended the throne in 1623 at the age of 11. She managed to restore order and stability in the empire, which was facing internal and external challenges. She also supported the arts and sciences, and patronized many public works and charitable foundations. She maintained her influence during the reign of her second son Ibrahim, who became the sultan in 1640 after Murad's death. She helped him deal with the rebellions of the Janissaries and the provincial governors, as well as the wars with Venice and Safavid Iran. She also arranged the marriages of her daughters to powerful statesmen, such as Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha and Chief Black Eunuch Melek Ahmed Pasha. In 1648, Kösem became the Büyük Valide Sultan (Queen Grandmother) when her grandson Mehmed IV succeeded Ibrahim, who was deposed and executed by the rebels. She resumed her regency for the second time, but faced opposition from Mehmed's mother Turhan Sultan, who wanted to assert her own authority as the Valide Sultan. The rivalry between the two women led to a power struggle that ended with Kösem's assassination in 1651. She was strangled by Turhan's agents in her chamber in the Topkapı Palace. Her body was taken out of the palace and buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmed I in the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. She is regarded as one of the most powerful and influential women in Ottoman history, as well as a central figure during the period known as the Sultanate of Women.