Ending history of women's rule Ottoman Empire, Women's Sultanate (1541-1687)

Start here:
First part - Sultana unwillingly. Roksolana;
Second part - Women's Sultanate. Roksolana's daughter-in-law;
The third part - Women's Sultanate. Queen of the Ottoman Empire;
Fourth part - Women's Sultanate. Thrice Valide Sultan (mother of the reigning Sultan)

Turhan Sultan (1627 or 1628 - 1683) . The last great valide sultan (mother of the reigning sultan).

1.About the origin of this concubine of the Sultan Ibrahim I All that is known for sure is that she was Ukrainian, and until the age of 12 she bore the name Hope. She was captured at about the same age by the Crimean Tatars and sold by them to a certain Kör Süleyman Pasha, and he already gave it to the powerful Valida Sultan Kösem, mother of a feeble-minded Ibrahim, which ruled Ottoman Empire instead of his mentally incapable son.

2.Ibrahim I, ascending the throne Osmanov in 1640, at the age of 25, after the death of his older brother, the Sultan Murad IV(for whom at the beginning of his reign they also ruled common mother Kösem Sultan), was the last representative of the male line of the dynasty Osmanov. Therefore, the problem of continuing the ruling dynasty Kösem Sultan(her idiot son didn't care) had to be decided as soon as possible. It would seem that in conditions of polygamy, with a huge selection of concubines in the Sultan’s harem, this problem (and many times at once) could be solved over the next 9 months. However, the weak-minded Sultan had rather peculiar ideas regarding female beauty. He only liked fat women. And not just fat, but very fat - in the chronicles there is a mention of one of his favorites, nicknamed Sugar Loaf, whose weight reached 150 kilograms. So Turhan, given by the Sultana to her son around 1640, she could not help but be a very large girl. Otherwise, she simply would not have ended up in this pervert's harem. I would not have passed, as they say now, the casting.

3.How many children did she give birth to? Turhan in total, unknown. But there is no doubt that it was she who was the first of his other concubines to give birth Ibrahim I son Mehmed- January 2, 1642. This boy became, from birth, first the official heir to the Sultan, and in 1648, after a coup d'etat, as a result of which IbrahimI was deposed and killed - by the ruler Ottoman Empire.

4. To my son Turhan Sultan was only 6 years old when he became Sultan Sublime Porte. It would seem that for his mother, who, according to the laws and traditions of the state, was supposed to receive the highest female tutul - valide sultan (mother of the ruling sultan), and become a regent, or at least co-ruler of her young son, her finest hour had come. But it was not there! Her experienced and powerful mother-in-law Kösem Sultan She did not help eliminate (according to some rumors) her idiot son in order to give unlimited power to a 21-year-old girl. Having easily outplayed her “green” daughter-in-law at first, she for the third time (for the first time in Ottoman Empire) became a valid sultan under her grandson (which never happened before or after her).

5. Three years, from 1648 to 1651, palace Topkala rocked by endless scandals and intrigues of the opposing sultanas. Ultimately Kösem Sultan decided to replace her reigning grandson on the throne with one of his younger brothers, with a more accommodating mother. However, becoming valid Sultan for the fourth time Kösem Sultan did not make it - her hated daughter-in-law, having learned about the conspiracy against her son, in which the dear grandmother relied on the Janissaries, stirred up her intrigue with the help of the harem eunuchs, who, by the way, were in Ottoman Empire great political force. The eunuchs turned out to be more agile than the Janissaries, and on September 3, 1651, at the age of approximately 62 years, the Valide Sultan was strangled three times in her sleep.

6.So, the Ukrainian won and received unlimited regent power in the empire Osmanov at the age of only 23-24 years. An unprecedented case, such young Valide Sultan Sublime Porte I haven't seen it yet. Turhan Sultan not only accompanied her son during all important meetings, but also spoke on his behalf during negotiations with envoys (from behind the curtain). At the same time, realizing her own inexperience in government affairs, the young Valide Sultan never hesitated to seek advice from members of the government, thereby cementing her authority among the highest officials of the empire.

8.Actually, with the appearance at the head Ottoman Empire dynasties Köprülü Women's Sultanate could have ended during the lifetime of its last representative. However, Turhan Sultan, voluntarily refusing to participate in foreign and domestic policy, switched her energies to other government affairs. And in the line of work that she chose, she remained the only woman in Sublime Porte. The Sultana started construction.

9. It was under her leadership that two powerful military fortresses were built at the entrance to the strait Dardanelles, one is on the Asian side of the strait, the other is on the European side. In addition, she completed the construction of one of the five most beautiful mosques in Istanbul in 1663, Yeni Cami (New Mosque), started under the Valid Sultan Safiye, her son's great-great-grandmother, in 1597.

10.Turhan Sultan died in 1683, at the age of 55-56, and was buried in a tomb completed by her New mosque. However Female Sultanate continued after the death of the last one in history Ottoman Empire female regent. The date of its end is considered to be 1687, when the son Turhan(who was her co-ruler), Sultan Mehmed IV(at the age of 45) was deposed as a result of a conspiracy by the son of the Grand Vizier, Mustafa Köprülü. Myself Mehmed lived after the overthrow of the throne for another five years, and died in prison in 1693. But to the story Women's Sultanate this has nothing to do with it anymore.

11. But to Mehmed IV the most direct and immediate relation is the famous "Letter from the Zaporozhye Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan." The addressee of this, to put it mildly, obscene letter, was the Sultan Mehmed IV, who was genetically more than half Ukrainian!

For almost 400 years, the Ottoman Empire ruled the territory of modern Turkey, southeastern Europe and the Middle East. Today, interest in the history of this empire is greater than ever, but few know that the stop had many “dark” secrets that were hidden from prying eyes.

1. Fratricide

Early Ottoman sultans did not practice primogeniture, in which the eldest son inherits everything. As a result, there were often a number of brothers laying claim to the throne. In the first decades, it was not uncommon for some of the potential heirs to take refuge in enemy states and cause a lot of problems for many years.

When Mehmed the Conqueror was besieging Constantinople, his uncle fought against him from the walls of the city. Mehmed dealt with the problem with his usual ruthlessness. When he ascended the throne, he executed most of his male relatives, including even ordering his infant brother to be strangled in his cradle. He later issued his infamous law, which stated: " One of my sons who should inherit the Sultanate must kill his brothers"From that moment on, each new sultan had to take the throne by killing all his male relatives.

Mehmed III tore out his beard in grief when his younger brother begged him for mercy. But at the same time he “did not answer him a word,” and the boy was executed along with 18 other brothers. And Suleiman the Magnificent silently watched from behind a screen as his own son was strangled with a bowstring when he became too popular in the army and began to pose a danger to his power.

2. Cages for sekhzade

The policy of fratricide was never popular with the people and clergy, and when Ahmed I died suddenly in 1617, it was abandoned. Instead of killing all potential heirs to the throne, they began to be imprisoned in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul in special rooms known as Kafes ("cages"). An Ottoman prince could spend his entire life imprisoned in Kafes, under constant guards. And although the heirs were, as a rule, kept in luxury, many shehzade (sons of the sultans) went crazy from boredom or became debauched drunkards. And this is understandable, because they understood that they could be executed at any moment.

3. The palace is like a quiet hell

Even for the Sultan, life in Topkapi Palace could be extremely gloomy. At that time, it was believed that it was indecent for the Sultan to talk too much, so a special form of sign language was introduced, and the ruler spent most of his time in complete silence.

Mustafa I considered that this was simply impossible to bear and tried to abolish such a rule, but his viziers refused to approve this ban. As a result, Mustafa soon went crazy. He often came to the seashore and threw coins into the water so that “at least the fish would spend them somewhere.”

The atmosphere in the palace was literally saturated with intrigue - everyone was fighting for power: viziers, courtiers and eunuchs. The women of the harem gained great influence and eventually this period of the empire became known as the "Sultanate of Women." Ahmet III once wrote to his grand vizier: " If I move from one room to another, then 40 people line up in the corridor, when I get dressed, then security is watching me... I can never be alone".

4. Gardener with executioner duties

The Ottoman rulers had complete power over the life and death of their subjects, and they used it without hesitation. Topkapi Palace, where petitioners and guests were received, was a terrifying place. It had two columns on which severed heads were placed, as well as a special fountain exclusively for the executioners so that they could wash their hands. During periodic cleansing of the palace from unwanted or guilty people, entire mounds of the tongues of victims were built in the courtyard.

Interestingly, the Ottomans did not bother to create a corps of executioners. These duties, oddly enough, were entrusted to the palace gardeners, who divided their time between killing and growing delicious flowers. Most victims were simply beheaded. But it was forbidden to shed the blood of the Sultan's family and high-ranking officials, so they were strangled. It was for this reason that the head gardener had always been a huge, muscular man, capable of quickly strangling anyone.

5. Death Race

For guilty officials there was the only way avoid the Sultan's wrath. Beginning in the late 18th century, a custom arose where a convicted grand vizier could escape his fate by defeating the head gardener in a race through the palace gardens. The vizier was called to a meeting with the head gardener and, after an exchange of greetings, he was presented with a cup of frozen sherbet. If the sherbet was white, then the Sultan granted the vizier a reprieve, and if it was red, he had to execute the vizier. As soon as the condemned man saw the red sherbet, he immediately had to run through the palace gardens between the shady cypress trees and rows of tulips. The goal was to reach the gate on the other side of the garden that led to the fish market.

The problem was one thing: the vizier was being pursued by the head gardener (who was always younger and stronger) with a silk cord. However, several viziers managed to do so, including Haci Salih Pasha, the last vizier who was the last to participate in such a deadly race. As a result, he became the sanjak bey (governor) of one of the provinces.

6. Scapegoats

Although grand viziers were theoretically second only to the sultan in power, they were typically executed or thrown into the crowd as a scapegoat whenever something went wrong. During the time of Selim the Terrible, so many great viziers changed that they began to always carry their wills with them. One vizier once asked Selim to let him know in advance if he was executed soon, to which the Sultan replied that a whole line of people had already lined up to replace him. The viziers also had to calm the people of Istanbul, who always, when they didn’t like something, came in a crowd to the palace and demanded execution.

7. Harem

Perhaps the most important attraction of the Topkapi Palace was the Sultan's harem. It consisted of up to 2,000 women, most of whom were purchased or kidnapped slaves. These wives and concubines of the Sultan were kept locked up, and any stranger who saw them was executed on the spot.

The harem itself was guarded and controlled by the chief eunuch, who because of had enormous power. Today there is little information about living conditions in a harem. It is known that there were so many concubines that some of them almost never caught the eye of the Sultan. Others managed to gain such enormous influence over him that they took part in the decision political issues.

So, Suleiman the Magnificent fell madly in love with the Ukrainian beauty Roksolana (1505-1558), married her and made her his main adviser. Roxolana's influence on imperial politics was such that the Grand Vizier sent the pirate Barbarossa on a desperate mission to kidnap the Italian beauty Giulia Gonzaga (Countess of Fondi and Duchess of Traetto) in the hope that Suleiman would take notice of her when she was brought into the harem. The plan ultimately failed, and Julia was never kidnapped.

Another lady - Kesem Sultan (1590-1651) - achieved even greater influence than Roksolana. She ruled the empire as regent in place of her son and later grandson.

8. Blood tribute

One of the most famous features of early Ottoman rule was the devşirme ("blood tribute"), a tax levied on the non-Muslim population of the empire. This tax consisted of the forced recruitment of young boys from Christian families. Most boys were recruited into the Janissary Corps, an army of slave soldiers who were always used in the first line of Ottoman conquests. This tribute was collected irregularly, usually resorting to devshirma when the sultan and viziers decided that the empire might need additional manpower and warriors. As a rule, boys aged 12-14 years were recruited from Greece and the Balkans, and the strongest were taken (on average, 1 boy per 40 families).

Ottoman officials gathered the recruited boys together and took them to Istanbul, where they were entered into the register (with detailed description, in case someone escaped), were circumcised and forcibly converted to Islam. The most beautiful or intelligent ones were sent to the palace, where they were trained. These guys could achieve very high ranks and many of them eventually became pashas or viziers. The remaining boys were initially sent to work on farms for eight years, where the children simultaneously learned Turkish and developed physically.

By the age of twenty, they officially became Janissaries, the elite soldiers of the empire, renowned for their iron discipline and loyalty. The blood tribute system became obsolete in the early 18th century, when the children of the Janissaries were allowed to join the corps, which thus became self-sustaining.

9. Slavery as a tradition

Although devshirme (slavery) was gradually abandoned during the 17th century, the phenomenon continued to exist. key feature Ottoman system until the end of the 19th century. Most slaves were imported from Africa or the Caucasus (the Adyghe were especially valued), while Crimean Tatar raids provided a constant influx of Russians, Ukrainians and Poles.

It was originally forbidden to enslave Muslims, but this rule was quietly forgotten when the supply of non-Muslims began to dry up. Islamic slavery developed largely independently from Western slavery and therefore had a number of significant differences. For example, it was somewhat easier for Ottoman slaves to gain freedom or achieve some kind of influence in society. But there is no doubt that Ottoman slavery was incredibly cruel.

Millions of people died during slave raids or from backbreaking work. And that's not even mentioning the castration process that was used to fill the ranks of eunuchs. The mortality rate among slaves is illustrated by the fact that the Ottomans imported millions of slaves from Africa, while very few people of African descent remained in modern Turkey.

10. Massacres

With all of the above, we can say that the Ottomans were a fairly loyal empire. Apart from devshirme, they made no real attempts to convert non-Muslim subjects. They accepted Jews after they were expelled from Spain. They never discriminated against their subjects, and the empire was often ruled (we are talking about officials) by Albanians and Greeks. But when the Turks felt threatened, they acted very cruelly.

Selim the Terrible, for example, was very alarmed by the Shiites, who denied his authority as a defender of Islam and could be "double agents" for Persia. As a result, he massacred almost the entire east of the empire (at least 40,000 Shiites were killed and their villages were razed to the ground). When the Greeks first began to seek independence, the Ottomans resorted to the help of Albanian partisans, who committed a series of terrible pogroms.

As the empire's influence declined, it lost much of its former tolerance for minorities. By the 19th century, massacres became much more common. This reached its climax in 1915, when the empire, just two years before its collapse, massacred 75 percent of the entire Armenian population (about 1.5 million people).

Continuing the Turkish theme, for our readers.

The appearance of the Turkic tribes Se (Sakhi) in the west of Altau occurred in the two hundredth year BC. Then they were oppressed by the Tibetan tribe and had to move even further west. Even the Chinese traveler Zhang Tsang mentioned the Western Turks, who were called Kanly. This was in 130 BC. At that time, small khanates were subordinate to the canals. They ruled Bukhara, Khiva, Kerman, Samarkand and Tashkent. They were also called Scythians or Sakas.
In 1219, Genghis Khan acted very aggressively and the Kanls had to retreat to the lands of Rum. They were headed at that time by Khan Kabi. The Kanls in a foreign land had to wait until the continuous wars had passed, and then they decided to return to native land. Then they were led by the son of Kabi Khan, Suleiman. But these plans were not destined to come true; when Suleiman and his people crossed the Frat River, they drowned. This is how his son, the brave and courageous Torgul, begins to rule. Part of the people remained at Arz-Rum to protect the lands of Konia, which at that time were under the rule of King Allaidden. And the raids on them are carried out by the son of Genghis Khan, Chagatai. Allaidden was very grateful to Torgul for the feats he accomplished, and gave him the position of commander-in-chief of the army and endowed him with the lands of Eskud, Karashatau and Tomanshi. Torgul's son, Osman, is also distinguished by his gift for leadership. He also becomes commander-in-chief of the Konya army. After Torgul died in 1272, Osman became commander-in-chief in his place. The territory of the kingdom was significantly expanded during that period thanks to the lands that were captured. Ten years later, Osman was appointed by Allaidden to independently rule one of the territories that had been captured - Karashi Khasar. During the time that Khan Osman ruled, the country became larger and more prosperous, and in the end it became greatest empire. The formation of the empire occurred in 1300, then the local Turks began to be called Ottoman Turks, and Khan Osman - Turkish Sultan, the first in a row. In total, there were thirty-six sultans in the history of the Ottoman Empire, and the fate of the state changed under each of them.

Since the creation of the Ottoman Empire, the state has been continuously ruled by the male line descendants of Osman. But despite the fertility of the dynasty, there were also those who ended their lives childless.

The founder of the dynasty, Osman Gazi (ruled 1299-1326) was the father of 7 sons and 1 daughter.

The second ruler was Osman's son Orhan Ghazi (pr.1326-59) and had 5 sons and 1 daughter.

God did not deprive Murad 1 Hyudavendigur (son of Orhan, d. 1359-89) of offspring - 4 sons and 2 daughters.

The famous Bayezid the Lightning (son of Murad 1, pr. 1389-1402) was the father of 7 sons and 1 daughter.

Bayazid's son Mehmet 1 (1413-21) left behind 5 sons and 2 daughters.

Murad 2 the Great (son of Mehmet 1, pr. 1421-51) - 6 sons and 2 daughters.

The conqueror of Constantinople Fatih Mehmet 2 (ruled 1451-1481) was the father of 4 sons and 1 daughter.

Bayezid 2 (son of Mehmet 2, pr. 1481-1512) - 8 sons and 5 daughters.

The first Caliph from the Ottoman dynasty, Yavuz Sultan Selim-Selim the Terrible (pr. 1512-20), had only one son and 4 daughters.

2.

The famous Suleiman the Magnificent (Lawgiver), husband of the no less famous Roxolaa (Hurrem Sultan, 4 sons, 1 daughter), was the father of 8 sons and 2 daughters from 4 wives. He ruled for so long (1520-1566) that he outlived almost all of his children. The eldest son Mustafa (Makhidervan) and the 4th son Bayazid (Roksolana) were strangled by order of Suleiman 1 on charges of conspiracy against their father.

The third son of Suleiman and the second son of Roksolana Selim 2 (Red Selim or Selim the Drunkard, pr. 1566-1574) had 8 sons and 2 daughters from 2 wives. Despite his love for wine, he was able to expand his holdings from 14,892,000 km2 to 15,162,000 km2.

And now let’s welcome the record holder - Murad 3 (project 1574-1595). He had one official wife, Safiye Sultan (Sofia Baffo, the daughter of the ruler of Corfu, was kidnapped by pirates) and many concubines, from whom he had 22 sons and 4 daughters (they write that at the time of his death, the heir Mehmet 3 ordered all his pregnant wives to be strangled). But despite his love for the fairer sex, he was able to expand his possessions to 24,534,242 km2.

Mehmet 3 (pr. 1595-1603) was a record holder in another part - on the night of his father’s death he ordered all his brothers and sisters to be strangled. In terms of fertility, he was much inferior to his father - only 3 sons from 2 wives

The eldest son of Mehmet 3, Akhmet 1 (pr. 1603-1617, died of typhus at the age of 27), having ascended the throne, introduced a new dynastic law, according to which the eldest son of the deceased ruler became the ruler.

Mustafa 1, who sat on the throne due to the infancy of his son Akhmet 1 (pr. 1617-1623, d. 1639), apparently had to pay for the sins of his father - he was not only childless, but 6 years after his accession to the throne he began fall into madness, and by fatwa of Sheikh-ul-Islam he was removed from the throne.

Little-known facts from the life of the sultans...

When they start talking about the Ottoman rulers, people automatically have in their heads the image of formidable, cruel conquerors who carried out their free time in a harem among half-naked concubines. But everyone forgets that they were mere mortal people with their own shortcomings and hobbies...

OSMAN 1.

It is described that when he stood, his lowered arms reached his knees, based on this they believed that he had either very long arms or short legs. Another distinctive character trait of his was that he never put on outer clothing again. And not because that he was a dude, he just loved to give his clothes to commoners. If someone looked at his caftan for a long time, he took it off and gave it to that person. Osman loved to listen to music before meals, was a good fighter and skillfully wielded weapons. The Turks had a very interesting old custom - once a year, ordinary members of the tribe took away from the leader’s house everything that they liked in this house. Osman and his wife left the house empty-handed and opened the doors for their relatives.

ORKHAN.

Orhan's reign lasted 36 years. He owned 100 fortresses, and spent all his time visiting them. He did not stay in any of them for more than one month. He was a big fan of Mevlana-Jelaleddin Rumi.

MURAD 1.

In European sources, the brilliant ruler was a tireless hunter, a very gallant knight and a symbol of honesty. He was the first Ottoman ruler to create a private library. He was killed in the Battle of Kosovo.

BAESIT 1.

For his ability to quickly cover long distances with his army and appear in front of the enemy at the most unexpected moment, he received the nickname Lightning Fast. He loved hunting very much and was an avid hunter, often participating in wrestling competitions. Historians also note his mastery of weapons and horsemanship. He was one of the first rulers to write poetry. He was the first to besiege Constantinople, and more than once. Died in captivity of Timur.

MEHMET CELEBI.

He is considered the revivalist of the Ottoman state as a result of the victory over the Timurils. When he was with him, they called him the wrestler Mkhemet. During his reign, he introduced the custom of sending gifts to Mecca and Medina every year, which was not canceled even in the most difficult times until the First World War. Every Friday evening I cooked food with my personal money and distributed it to the poor. Like my father, he loved hunting. While hunting a boar, he fell from his horse and broke his hip bone, which is why he soon died.

And tell us how it happened that there are portraits, because Islam prohibits images of people.
Have you found Italian infidels to perpetuate yourself, the great ones?

• Mothers of the padishahs
  Murat, the 1st, 3rd ruler of the Ottoman Empire, was the son of Orhan and the Byzantine Holofira, (Nilüfer Khatun).

Baezid 1 Lightning, the 4th ruler ruled from 1389 to 1403. His father was Murat 1, and his mother was Bulgarian Maria, who converted to Islam Gulchichek Khatun.

• • 
    Mehmet 1 Celebi, 5th Sultan. His mother was also Bulgarian, Olga Khatun.

    1382-1421

    Murat 2 (1404-1451) was born from the marriage of Mehmet Çelebi and the daughter of the ruler of the beylik, Dulkadiroglu, Emine Hatun. According to some unconfirmed sources, his mother was Veronica.

    

    Mehmet 2 the Conqueror (1432-1481)

    Son of Murat 2 and Huma Hatun, daughter of a bey from the Jandaroglu clan. It was believed that his mother was the Serbian Despina.

    Baezid 2 was also no exception - his mother was also a Christian Cornelia (Albanian, Serbian or French). After accepting Islam, her name was Gulbahar Khatun. Father was Fatih Sultan Mehmet 2.

    

    SELIM 1.(1470-1520)

    Selim 1 or Yavuz Sultan Selim, the conqueror of Egypt, Baghdad, Damascus and Mecca, the 9th padishah of the Ottoman state and the 74th Caliph was born from Bayezid 2nd and the daughter of an influential bey in western Anatolia from the Dulkadiroglu clan Gulbahar Hatun.

    

    SULEMAN 1 (1495-1566).

    Suleiman Qanuni was born on April 27, 1495. He became Sultan when he was 25 years old. An uncompromising fighter against bribery, Suleiman won the favor of the people with good deeds and built schools. Suleiman Kanuni patronized poets, artists, architects, wrote poetry himself, and was considered a skilled blacksmith.

    Suleiman was not as bloodthirsty as his father, Selim I, but he loved conquest no less than his father. Moreover, neither kinship nor merit saved him from his suspicion and cruelty.

    Suleiman personally led 13 campaigns. A significant part of the wealth received from military booty, tribute and taxes was spent by Suleiman I on the construction of palaces, mosques, caravanserais, and tombs.

    Also under him, laws (kanun-name) were drawn up on administrative structure and the situation of individual provinces, about finances and forms of land tenure, the duties of the population and the attachment of peasants to the land, about the regulation of the military-feudal system.

    Suleiman Kanuni died on September 6, 1566 during his next campaign in Hungary - during the siege of the Szigetvár fortress. He was buried in a mausoleum at the Suleymaniye Mosque cemetery along with his beloved wife Roksolana.

    The 10th Ottoman ruler and 75th Muslim caliph Suleman the Magnificent, also known for being the husband of Roksolana, was born from Selim 1 and the Polish Jew Helga, later Havza Sultan.

    

    

    Hawza Sultan.

    SELIM 2. (1524-1574)

    The son of the famous Roksolana (Hurrem Sultan) Selim 2 ascended the throne after her death. Her real name was Alexandra Anastasia Lisovska, she was Suleiman’s beloved wife.

    MURAT 3 (1546-1595).

    

    Born from Selim 2nd and Jewish woman Rachel (Nurbanu Sultan) Murat 3, was their eldest son and heir to the throne.

    MEHMET 3 (1566-1603).

    

    He ascended the throne in 1595 and ruled until his death. His mother was no exception; she was also kidnapped and sold into a harem. She was the daughter of rich family Baffo (Venice). She was captured while traveling on a ship when she was 12 years old. In the harem, the father of Mehmet the 3rd fell in love with Cecilia Baffo and married her, her name became Safiye Sultan.

    So I am for the friendship of peoples and faiths. Now is the 21st century and people should not differ based on race or religion. Do we see how many Christian women the sultans had? By the way, if I’m not mistaken, the last sultan had an Armenian grandmother. The Russian tsars also have German, Danish and English parents.

    Son of Murat 2 and Huma Hatun, daughter of a bey from the Jandaroglu clan. It was believed that his mother was the Serbian Despina -
    And I read that the mother of Mehmet II was an Armenian concubine.

    Palace intrigues of the wives of the padishahs

    

    

    Khyurem Sultan (Roksolana 1500-1558): thanks to her beauty and intelligence, she not only managed to attract the attention of Suleiman the Magnificent, but also became his beloved woman. Her struggle with Suleiman's first wife, Mahidervan, was the most famous intrigue of that time; such a struggle was not life or death. Roksolana surpassed her in all respects and finally became his official wife. As her influence on the ruler increased, her influence in state affairs also increased. Soon she managed to remove the veziri-i-azam (prime minister) Ibrahim Pasha, who was married to Suleiman’s sister. He was executed for adultery. She married the next vizier and azam, Rustem Pasha, to her daughter and with the help of whom she managed to discredit, by substituting letters, accusing her eldest son Suleiman Shahzade Mustafa of hostile ties with the main enemies of the Iranians. For his intelligence and great abilities, Mustafa was predicted to be the next padishah, but on the orders of his father he was strangled during the campaign against Iran.

    

    Over time, during meetings, being in a secret compartment, Khyurem Sultan listened and shared her opinion with her husband after the council. From the poems dedicated by Suleiman to Roksolana, it becomes obvious that his love for her was dearer to him than anything in the world.

    Nurbanu Sultan(1525-1587):

    At the age of 10, she was kidnapped by corsairs and sold at the famous Pera market in Istanbul to slave traders. The traders, noting her beauty and intelligence, sent her to a harem, where she managed to attract the attention of Khyurem Sultan, who sent her to be raised in Manisa. From there she returned a real beauty and managed to win the heart of her son Hurrem Sultan Selim 2, who soon married her. The poems written by Selim in her honor were included as excellent examples of lyricism. Selim was the youngest son, but as a result of the death of all his brothers, he became the only heir to the throne, which he ascended. Nurbanu became the only mistress of his heart and, accordingly, the harem. There were other women in Selim's life, but none of them could win his heart like Nurbanu. After the death of Selim (1574), her son Murat 3 became padishah, she became Valide Sultan (queen mother) and for a long time held the threads of rule in her hands, despite the fact that this time her rival was Murat 3’s wife Safiye Sultan.

    Safiye Sultan

    

    A life of intrigue became the subject of many novels after her death. Just like Nurbanu Sultan, she was kidnapped by corsairs and sold to a harem, where she was bought for a lot of money by Nurbanu Sultan for her son Murat 3.

    

    The son's ardent love for her shook the mother's influence on her son. Then Nurbanu Sultan begins to introduce other women into his son’s life, but his love for Safiya Sultan was unshakable. Soon after the death of her mother-in-law, she actually ruled the state.

    

    Kosem Sultan.

    Murad's mother 4 (1612-1640) Kosem Sultan became a widow when he was still small. In 1623, at the age of 11, he was enthroned and Kosem Sultan became his regent. In fact, they ruled the state.

    

    As her son grew older, she faded into the shadows, but continued to influence her son until his death. Her other son, Ibrahim (1615-1648), was placed on the throne. The beginning of his reign was the beginning of the struggle between Kosem Sultan and his wife Turhan Sultan. Both of these women sought to establish their influence in government affairs, but over time this struggle became so obvious that it served to form opposing factions.

    

    As a result of this long struggle, Kosem Sultan was found strangled in her room, and her supporters were executed.

    Turkhan Sultan (Nadezhda)

    She was kidnapped in the steppes of Ukraine and given to a harem. Soon she became the wife of Ibrahim, after whose death her young son Menmet 4 was placed on the throne. Although she became regent, her mother-in-law Kosem Sultan was not going to let go of the threads of rule from her hands. But she was soon found strangled in her room, and her supporters were executed the next day. The regency of Turhan Sultan lasted 34 years and this was a record in the history of the Ottoman Empire.

  • • Roksolana, with the help of her son-in-law, slandered him in front of his father, letters were drawn up, allegedly written by Mustafa to the Shah of Iran, where he asks the latter to help seize the throne. All this is happening against the backdrop of an intense struggle between the Rumelian Turks (Ottomans) and the Iranian Turks for possession of the east. Anatolia, Iraq and Syria. Suleiman ordered Mustafa to be strangled.

      Could Mara save Krnstantinople? The 15th century was marked by the unrelenting Ottoman onslaught on Byzantium. By this time, essentially only Constantinople remained from Byzantium. As Sultan Mehmet II once said, “Either I will take Constantinople, or he will take me.”

  

All the sultans of the Ottoman Empire and the years of their reign are divided into several stages in history: from the period of creation to the formation of the republic. These time periods have almost exact boundaries in Ottoman history.

Formation of the Ottoman Empire

It is believed that the founders of the Ottoman state arrived in Asia Minor (Anatolia) from Central Asia(Turkmenistan) in the 20s of the 13th century. Sultan of the Seljuk Turks Keykubad II provided them with areas near the cities of Ankara and Segut for their residence.

The Seljuk Sultanate perished in 1243 under the attacks of the Mongols. Since 1281, Osman came to power in the possession allocated to the Turkmens (beylik), who pursued a policy of expanding his beylik: he captured small towns, proclaimed ghazavat - holy war with the infidels (Byzantines and others). Osman partially subjugates the territory of Western Anatolia, in 1326 he takes the city of Bursa and makes it the capital of the empire.

In 1324, Osman I Gazi dies. He was buried in Bursa. The inscription on the grave became a prayer said by the Ottoman sultans upon ascending the throne.

Successors of the Ottoman dynasty:

Expansion of the empire's borders

In the middle of the 15th century. The period of the most active expansion of the Ottoman Empire began. At this time, the empire was headed by:

• Mehmed II the Conqueror - reigned 1444 - 1446. and in 1451 - 1481. At the end of May 1453, he captured and plundered Constantinople. He moved the capital to the plundered city. St. Sophia Cathedral was converted into the main temple of Islam. At the request of the Sultan, the residences of the Orthodox Greek and Armenian patriarchs, as well as the chief Jewish rabbi, were located in Istanbul. Under Mehmed II, the autonomy of Serbia was terminated, Bosnia was subordinated, and Crimea was annexed. The death of the Sultan prevented the capture of Rome. The Sultan did not appreciate it at all human life, but wrote poetry and created the first poetic duvan.

  

• Bayezid II the Holy (Dervish) - reigned from 1481 to 1512. Almost never fought. Stopped the tradition of the Sultan's personal leadership of troops. He patronized culture and wrote poetry. He died, transferring power to his son.
• Selim I the Terrible (Merciless) - reigned from 1512 to 1520. He began his reign by destroying his closest competitors. Brutally suppressed the Shiite uprising. Captured Kurdistan, western Armenia, Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt. A poet whose poems were subsequently published by the German Emperor Wilhelm II.

  

• Suleiman I Kanuni (Lawgiver) - reigned from 1520 to 1566. Expanded the borders to Budapest, the upper Nile and the Strait of Gibraltar, the Tigris and Euphrates, Baghdad and Georgia. Conducted many government reforms. The last 20 years have passed under the influence of the concubine and then the wife of Roksolana. He is the most prolific among the sultans in poetic creativity. He died during a campaign in Hungary.

  

• Selim II the Drunkard - reigned from 1566 to 1574. There was an addiction to alcohol. A talented poet. During this reign, the first conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Principality of Moscow and the first major defeat at sea occurred. The only expansion of the empire was the capture of Fr. Cyprus. He died from hitting his head on stone slabs in a bathhouse.

  

• Murad III - on the throne from 1574 to 1595. A “lover” of numerous concubines and a corrupt official who was practically not involved in managing the empire. During his reign, Tiflis was captured, and imperial troops reached Dagestan and Azerbaijan.

  

• Mehmed III - reigned from 1595 to 1603. Record holder for the destruction of competitors for the throne - on his orders, 19 brothers, their pregnant women and son were killed.

  

• Ahmed I - reigned from 1603 to 1617. The reign is characterized by a leapfrog of senior officials, who were often replaced at the request of the harem. The Empire lost Transcaucasia and Baghdad.

  

• Mustafa I - reigned from 1617 to 1618. and from 1622 to 1623. He was considered a saint for his dementia and sleepwalking. I spent 14 years in prison.
• Osman II - reigned from 1618 to 1622. Enthroned at the age of 14 by the Janissaries. He was pathologically cruel. After the defeat near Khotin from the Zaporozhye Cossacks, he was killed by the Janissaries for attempting to escape with the treasury.

  

• Murad IV - reigned from 1622 to 1640. At the cost of great blood, he brought order to the corps of the Janissaries, destroyed the dictatorship of the viziers, and cleared the courts and government apparatus of corrupt officials. Returned Erivan and Baghdad to the empire. Before his death, he ordered the death of his brother Ibrahim, the last of the Ottomanids. Died of wine and fever.

  

• Ibrahim ruled from 1640 to 1648. Weak and weak-willed, cruel and wasteful, greedy for female caresses. Deposed and strangled by the Janissaries with the support of the clergy.

  

• Mehmed IV the Hunter - reigned from 1648 to 1687. Proclaimed Sultan at age 6. The true administration of the state was carried out by the grand viziers, especially in the early years. During the first period of reign, the empire strengthened its military power, won about. Crete. The second period was not so successful - the Battle of St. Gotthard was lost, Vienna was not taken, the Janissaries revolt and the overthrow of the Sultan.

  

• Suleiman II - reigned from 1687 to 1691. Enthroned by the Janissaries.
• Ahmed II - reigned from 1691 to 1695. Enthroned by the Janissaries.
• Mustafa II - reigned from 1695 to 1703. Enthroned by the Janissaries. The first partition of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 and the Treaty of Constantinople with Russia in 1700.

  

• Ahmed III - reigned from 1703 to 1730. He sheltered Hetman Mazepa and Charles XII after the Battle of Poltava. During his reign, the war with Venice and Austria was lost, part of the possessions in Eastern Europe, as well as Algeria and Tunisia.