The Subtle Circumstances a Study of Ottoman Leadership By Sean Wyse

Introduction

During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent¹, the Ottoman Empire’s borders would be pushed to their greatest limits, with Suleiman coming to reign unmistakably as the most prestigious of Muslim kings, epitomizing the full glory of the height of the Ottoman empire². It was an empire built among 30 million subjects of twenty tongues, built by ten generations of Ottoman sultans, who were artistic, cruel, and brilliant. As put by Noel Barber in his more novelesque history on the sultans: “In short, it was probably the greatest dynasty the world has ever known.” And then it ended; a progression of less-than-competent sultans would follow Suleiman, more controlled by the whims of the political forces around them and their own desires ³. All of this would crack the Ottoman base, driving the empire into a decline so soon after its heights of glory.

So what happened? Why did the descendents of Suleiman prove themselves to be less competent? The answer, of course, is a complex, and perhaps one not easily answered. However, this essay will seek to view this abrupt change through the sphere of the women closest to the sultan – those within the Ottoman Imperial harem, or more specifically, that of the Valide Sultan (“Queen Mothers”) ⁴. The focus will be on an era of virtual female rule that occurred soon after the reign of Suleiman, referred to by the Turks as the Kalidar Sultanati - “the reign of the favored women⁵;” or as we know it today, “the Sultanate of Women.” Its roots are thought to have stemmed from the machinations of Khurrem (d. 1558) ⁶, and ended with the appointment of the Grand Vizier Köprülü in the mid-17^th century by Turkhān (d. 1683) ⁷. As such, the essay will explore circumstances surrounding the rise of this era – the expectations of royals, the changes that occurred, and actions of certain Valide’s that would help shape their times.

In addition shedding light on this reversal of fortunes, another thing this essay is also meant to counter criticisms regarding the position and treatment of women in the Middle East, which have been in constant discussion before and after 9/11 - take this quote from a 1953 treatise from one Simone de Beauvoir: “The religion created when the Arab people were warlike and triumphant professed for women the utmost scorn.⁸” This essay, as such, is placing things in proper historical contexts; it in no way, however seeks to belittle the current rights debate from Muslim women. The protests raised nowadays, to a great extent, rooted in truth, for women in much of Islamic history tended to be under the thumb of male authority⁹. That is not to say, that women in those days were without their own resources¹⁰, as this essay will hopefully demonstrate in the active participation of women within the political structures of the Ottoman Empire.

Expectations

Before the Sultanate of Women, Ottoman sultans were largely expected to carry themselves to the throne, being sent to rule of their own provinces. As part of this, the sons of the sultan were expected to fight over succession to the throne, which led to violent conflict amongst the princes¹¹, probably with the idea that the fight for power would weed out the weak. Indeed, a vivid expression can be seen in the persistent fratricides that the princes initiated against each other, a factor fully permitted by law¹²; one particularly brutal example was during the official rule of Mehemmed III (reigned 1595-1593) ¹³, who had his nineteen brothers strangled by the traditional bowstring¹⁴ (a compromise to the Islamic mandate of not spilling royal blood). Though it was a bloody and reluctant state of affairs¹⁵, it nevertheless demonstrates the kind of strength the potential sultans were required to have. There were many politics tied down with this, but one institution in particular was closely involved with this struggle – that of the concubines within the harem, or more specifically, those who had birthed sons to the sultan.

Throughout much of Ottoman history, the harem was very much part of matters regarding succession, the continuation of dynasties¹⁶. Marriages tended to be a largely¹⁷ sterile matter, being more a case of political maneuvering¹⁸. The succession of sultans was as such ultimately assured in reproduction through the use of concubines¹⁹ - a long-standing Islamic tradition, more so among the Ottoman, with a virtually all of the dynastic offspring came from concubine mothers²⁰. In a sort of reverse lineage, the process of motherhood thus gave concubines who had sons a standing and privilege that was not seen even among the royal wives of the sultans²¹.

As such, we will explore the structure of the harem. The structure is the harem is of a later date – 16^th to 17^th century – and is also partly based on the writings of a 17^th century Venetian envoy, Ontaviano Bon²², which brings ups the thought of the old European habit of writing stories on harems that they never could step foot in (though indications of authenticity can be made regarding how much the author writes on the valide sultan²³); indeed, Ontaviano seems to himself have a slight tendency to exaggerate²⁴. In any case, though this takes at a later date (and taking a grain of salt for the Venetian), it should nevertheless be indicative of the desires and actions of concubines and queen mothers throughout Ottoman history.

The word ‘harem’ derives from the Arabic root of h-r-m, which conveys two meanings: that of something forbidden or unlawful, but also of something sacred, inviolable. The harem reflected this dichotomy, for it was in essence a forbidden sanctuary, sacred, but inaccessible to outsiders. The sultan further contributed to this; though not quite divine, he was ‘God’s Shadow on Earth,’ and made the space of the harem sacred with his presence (hence the title of the harem –i humayun - “the imperial harem”) ²⁵.

With the due importance given to the matter of successions, harem girls were therefore trained to that very end. In the confines the Seraglio, the “nursery of the best subjects²⁶,” beautiful young virgins taken or stolen from foreign nations were trained in good behavior and the arts before being given over the sultan. While subject like everyone else to the sultan’s whims, the harem girls themselves lived in comfortable settings while waiting for potential selection from the sultan, treated well²⁷, though punishment for bad behavior could be severe²⁸. Though seemingly picturesque, the psychological matter is that the women would have led a very boring existence²⁹, having not much to do save engage in exercises and activities³⁰, as well engage in sexual affairs, with eunuchs or each other in lesbianism³¹. Some might never be chosen – while there was the case of being freed after a number of years³² earlier cases were such that the rise of a new sultan signaled the banishment of the old sultans concubines to an older palace, essentially a boardinghouse (known by the Turks as “The Palace of Tears”) ³³.

All this was to provide the sultan a great many chances to propagate heirs to the throne, leading to the frequently bloody politics of succession. The concubines would themselves take part within these political intrigues, provided their ambition and luck pushed them to that position. For political power³⁴ was ultimately by proximity to the sultan, with concubines moving up the ranks if a sultan so much looked at them³⁵, and those who had been chosen as bedfellows by the sultan receiving gifts according to the mood of the sultan³⁶ and better living quarters³⁷. With reproduction as the key component, the producing of a potential heir was, for the concubine, the base of her political authority; if she gave birth to a son, the concubine would rise to the top tiers of the harem³⁸, granted a greater revenue, better living quarters³⁹. They also a greatly enhanced prestige, partially in accordance with the Muslim and Turkish ideal of filial piety: “Paradise lies at the feet of the mother.⁴⁰” If events played out well for that mother (now referred to as a hesseki kadin⁴¹), her son would be the next sultan after the death of the old, leaving her with the title of valide sultan, queen mother to the sultan, and ruler of the harem⁴², the greatest enhancement to her prestige⁴³.

As such, the sons’ of concubines were essentially the anchor of the female concubines power – the sons deaths or failure to procure the throne would be her loss⁴⁴. The mother would act as a natural ally to her son, embroiling herself in her sons’ affairs⁴⁵ - for as long as her son was alive, it was very difficult to remove a mother of her status due to the imperial imperative⁴⁶. Tensions could also run high among the concubines of others sons, as they essentially stood as competition in securing the reigning sultan’s favor⁴⁷. Indeed, later on, a mother of the sultan was fully expected to the interests of her son and the dynasty; appearing as if she were doing it to her own self-interest would spark public outcry⁴⁸.

These were the matters regarding the princes and their concubine mothers in the 16^th-17^th centuries, and would be a consistent theme throughout much of Ottoman history, taking place before Suleiman, and after him. However, in something of an ironic twist, it could be argued that the factors that help lead to weaker leadership after Suleiman’s great successes were partly due to these expectations simply being realized by their respective parties⁴⁹. Certainly, it might have helped lead to the later weaknesses, but at the time, it was more of an unusual and special position that a certain favorite of Suleiman happened to find herself in, and indeed, one cannot say that she didn’t succeed in her suspected role.

The coming of Khurrem - whose name meant “the Laughing Child” (known to Europeans as Roxelana, though the name itself was a corruption of Russolana) - would act a precursor to the Sultanate of Women⁵⁰. The Russian girl of the harem found herself in the most unique of positions: the Suleiman the Magnificent - the man instrumental in bringing the mightiest point of Ottoman dynasty⁵¹ – broke with a an ancient tradition of not having more than one child with one women, in this case Khurrem. It was not for political reasons, apparently, but quite simply and interestingly, for love. Such was the case that he would free Khurrem and later be pledged to her in marriage⁵², an act that shocked and greatly disturbed the international⁵³ and domestic spheres⁵⁴. Whether Khurrem fully reciprocated his feelings is up to debate, but there is little doubt that that she acted within the expectations of Ottoman society, playing politics that centered on the desired enthronement of her son, Selim II.

Khurrem’s unique position allowed her direct access to appeal to the sultan’s favor. With her encouraging of Suleiman, her opponents fell before her, such as the removal of a rival concubine⁵⁵, the strangulation of the grand vizier, and the murder of another potential candidate to the throne, Mustafa⁵⁶. Her tendencies to power were further compounded in the Suleiman had a habit of allowing favorites to amass wealth. As Khurrem once boasted: “I live with the sultan and make him do what I wish⁵⁷” The consequence of all this is that it made Khurrem a greatly hated figure, seen as manipulative, whether she deserved the criticism or not⁵⁸. Her actions would, however, set a tone for the upcoming era, as her machinations eventually left her son as the only heir to succeed Suleiman⁵⁹.

Change

The period following Khurrem is largely considered the period of the Kalidar Sultanati, an era much maligned by observers and historians as the start of Ottoman decline⁶⁰. Part of this, however, was due to the nature of Ottoman leadership; much of it was based on the personal competency of the sultan, meaning it could suffer if the sultan was incompetent or disinterested in his duties. As such, it could be argued that the coming of greater royal female power might have come more by chance, in the personal character of Selim II: not greatly inclined to rule, Selim II instead spent much of his time within the harem, and engaging in drink, (to the point that he gained the nickname ‘the Sot’) ⁶¹, delegating virtually all responsibility to his Grand Vizier⁶². Doing this, however, he likely surrendered much of his power to outside political forces, with his principal consort, Nurbanu, initiating the sale of offices and extending the power of the harem⁶³

This likely set a precedent, but there are other factors to consider, in something of habit becoming principal. Selim II had been the only remaining son of Suleiman, but ironically, he himself would only have one son, Murad III, and his other sons were too young to take up traditional provincial governing; of Murad III’s sons, only the eldest, the future sultan Mehmed III, would become a provincial governor. Furthermore, the public itself was much aggrieved over the matter of royal fratricides, and their ‘crying and weeping’ brought the practice to an end in the time of time of Mehmed. As such, this would lead to the succession of kings based on seniority. As well, there is the more puzzling question of why princes were pulled out provincial governing to be isolated palaces during the time of Mehmed III; one reasonable theory, however, is that Mehmed III was likely paranoid of his sons, leery of how they could attain power the same way he could. As such, it’s possible Mehmed that set up the precedence of isolation, with princes no longer going to take up the mantle of leadership⁶⁵, a matter further exacerbated with the construction of the Kafes (literally, “cage”) a combination of the anti-fratricide sentiments and the tendency to then isolate the princes until they were ready to rule⁶⁶.

All of this contributed to the succession of relatively weak leaders, a few who were more interested in pleasure than rule, and a couple who were quite insane. The Queen Mothers, in turn, took full advantage of this, ruling in place of their sons. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the women was perhaps the most powerful women in the Ottoman Empire – the women known as Maypayker, or, as she is more well known, Kosem sultan (d. 1651) ⁶⁷.

Greek by birth, Kosem came into power as a spouse of Ahmed I. Manipulating the reigns of power, she pushed Ahmed’s brother, Mustafa I, onto the throne⁶⁸, through a vast use of brines of officers and officials, less Osman II, the son of her bitter opponent, get the throne. Though she held power over the insane ruler, she would be pushed off in favor of Osman⁶⁹: it should be noted, however, that Osman II became the first sultan to lose his life in a rising⁷⁰. After this, she returned to power, where she come to continue to hold sway, particularly in place of the licentious Ibrahim⁷¹, whose mental capacities had been severely hindered by twenty-two years of paranoia that he would be strangled⁷² (though fratricide had been put to an end, it was still very much a reality⁷³). Kosem acted as regent in his place, and as such, would be largely considered to be the savior of the house, adding to her prestige. This is particularly telling in the way that the city reacted to her death, closing down mosques and bazaars for three days, and public mourning going on for a fortnight⁷⁴.

End of an Era

The Queen mothers wielded a great deal authority in the years of the Sultanate of Women. An example of this would be the Yeni Valide mosque complex; initiated by an earlier valide, it was abandoned partway through, later picked up one Hatice Turhan Sultan⁷⁵. The building of structures was a high priority for women⁷⁶, allowing them to cement their authority with acts of patronage⁷⁷; it is probably due to her charity that Kosem was so loved by the people of the city⁷⁸.

However, despite this however, the Queens were living in a time of Ottoman decline. It is noteworthy that several defeats and setbacks of the formally invincible Ottoman army, a real blow for a state whose primary purpose was to fight the infidel⁷⁹. Eventually, the instability went to the point where the Queen Mother after Kosem, Turkhan Sultan, was forced to surrender much of her authority in appointing Koprulu as the Grand Vizier. The Sultanate of Women more or less ended after that; however, one must not think that it ended right after that, for Turkhan would still retain her power in the years to come⁸⁰.