Valide sultan

Valide Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: والده سلطان, lit. "Sultana Mother") was the title held by the mother of a ruling sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The title was suposedly created by Murad III in the 16th century for his mother Nurbanu, superseding the previous epithets of mehd-i ulya ("cradle of the great"). Normally, the living mother of a ruling sultan held this title; mothers who died before their sons' accession to the throne never received it. In special cases, there were grandmothers, stepmothers, adoptive mothers and sisters of the ruling sultans who, although not officially holding the title, assumed the role of valide sultan, like Mihrimah Sultan the most powerful and influential Ottoman princess, and Rahime Perestu Sultan.

Term

The word valide (والده) literally means 'mother' in Ottoman Turkish, from Arabic wālida. The Turkish pronunciation of the word valide is [vaː.liˈde].

Sultan (سلطان, sulṭān) 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. For example, Şehzade Sultan Mehmed and Mihrimah Sultan were the 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 the 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 kadïn, 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.[page needed]

Role and position

Valide sultan was, in most cases, 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"), the valide sultan would often 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. The valide sultan had quarters within the New Palace, where the Sultan himself resided, beginning in the 16th century.

As the Valide Sultan (Sultana mother), who had direct and intimate access to the Sultan's person, often influenced government decisions bypassing the Imperial Council and the Grand Vizier altogether or the grille-covered window from which the Sultan or Valide Sultan could observe Council meetings. This left her at the heart of the political ongoings and machinations of the Ottoman Empire. Valide Sultan also traditionally had access to considerable economic resources and often funded major architectural projects, such as the Atik Valide Mosque Complex in Istanbul. Many Valide Sultans undertook massive philanthropic endeavors and buildings, as this was seen as one of the main ways to demonstrate influence and wealth. Valide Sultans were also conveniently one of the few people within the empire with the status and means to embark on these expensive projects. Nurbanu Sultan's daily stipend as Valide Sultan to her son, Murad III, was 2000 aspers, an extraordinary sum for the time, which revealed the highly influential position she held at court.

The valide sultan also maintained special privileges that other harem members could not. A valide sultan had mobility outside of the harem, sometimes through ceremonial visibility to the public or veiled meetings with government officials and diplomats. Additionally, the valide sultan led a crucial elements of diplomacy within the empire’s court: marriages of royal princesses. The most powerful and influential valide sultans forged crucial alliances through the marriages of their daughters. 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. Two Valide sultans acted as regents for their sons, assuming the vast power and influence the position entailed.[page needed]

The most powerful and well-known of all Valide Sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire were Kösem Sultan, Turhan Sultan, Safiye Sultan and Nurbanu Sultan.

Nurbanu Sultan became the first of the great Valide Sultans during the 16th century, as Haseki Sultan as well as legal wife to Sultan Selim II. Nurbanu’s influential career as Valide Sultan established the precedent of Valide Sultan maintaining more power than her nearest harem rival, the Haseki Sultan, or favorite concubine of the reigning Sultan. The following influential Valide Sultans, Kösem Sultan, Turhan Sultan and Safiye Sultan, maintained this precedent and occupied positions of great power within the Ottoman imperial court. These positions, as well as helping them solidify their own power within the imperial court, also eased diplomatic tensions internationally.

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.

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 Hürrem Sultan, Mahfiruz Hatun, Muazzez Sultan, Mihrişah Kadın, Şermi Kadın, Tirimüjgan Kadın, Gülcemal Kadın and Gülistu Kadın. In special cases, there were grandmothers, stepmothers, adoptive mothers and sisters of the reigning sultans who, although not officially holding the title, assumed the role of Valide Sultan, like Mihrimah Sultan, the most powerful and influential imperial woman in the Ottoman Empire, and Rahime Perestu Sultan.

Büyük Valide Sultan

The title of Büyük Valide Sultan (Senior Valide Sultan) or Büyükanne Sultan (Grandmother Sultana) was created by Kösem Sultan and officially used only by her during the reign of her grandson Mehmed IV, thus limiting the power of Turhan Sultan who was deemed too young to fulfill the title of Valide Sultan.

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)

Bibliography

• Akyıldız, Ali (2009). (PDF). Islam Ansiklopedisi. Vol. 36. Istanbul: İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi. p. 45.
• Baer, Marc David (2011). . Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199797837.
• Carsten, F. L. (1961). . Vol. V. The Ascendancy of France, 1648–88. Cambridge University Press. pp. 505–506. ISBN 9780521045445. {{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Cooke, Miriam; Göknar, Erdağ M.; Parker, Grant Richard (2008). . University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807831830.
• Davis, Fanny (1970). . Scribner. OCLC .
• İpşirli, Mehmet (1996). (PDF). Vol. 14. İstanbul: İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi. pp. 248–249.
• Karaca, Filiz (2012). . Islam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Vol. 41. İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi. pp. 423–425.
• Peirce, Leslie P. (1993). . Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-508677-5.
• Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). . Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-9753296236.
• Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2015). Bu mülkün kadın sultanları (in Turkish). İstanbul: ALFA Basım Yayım Dağıtım San. ve T ic. Ltd. Şti. pp. 279–291. ISBN 978-605-171-079-2.
• Uluçay, M. Çağatay (2011). Padişahların Kadınları ve Kızları (in Turkish). Is.: Ötüken. pp. 105–107. ISBN 978-9754378405.