Kösem Sultan: The Ottoman Valide Who Ruled for Decades

Kösem Sultan (c. 1589–1651) was the consort of the Ottoman sultan Ahmed I and mother of two later sultans, Murad IV and Ibrahim. From 1623 she served as regent for her young son Murad IV, and in 1648 she became regent again for her grandson Mehmed IV. For almost three decades she was a central figure in Ottoman politics, until her murder in a palace struggle in September 1651.

Early life and rise in the harem

Kösem’s origins are obscure. She is generally thought to have been of Greek birth, taken into the imperial harem in Istanbul as a girl, as was usual for Ottoman royal consorts. Later tradition calls her Anastasia; in the palace she was named Mahpeyker (“moon-shaped”), while Kösem is usually explained as meaning a leader of the flock.

She became the favourite (haseki) of Ahmed I, who reigned from 1603 to 1617. She bore him several children, including the future sultans Murad IV and Ibrahim and a number of daughters, whom she later married to leading statesmen to build political alliances.

When Ahmed died in 1617, his brother Mustafa I took the throne, and Kösem was sent to the Old Palace, away from the centre of power. The following years were chaotic: Mustafa was deposed, the young sultan Osman II was killed by rebellious Janissaries in 1622, and Mustafa was briefly restored.

Regent for Murad IV

In September 1623 Mustafa I was deposed again and Kösem’s son Murad, aged about eleven, became sultan. As valide sultan (queen mother), Kösem acted as regent. She attended council matters from behind a curtain, corresponded with the grand vizier, and made appointments.

Her regency faced war with Safavid Iran, which had seized Baghdad in 1624, and repeated revolts by soldiers in the capital. Around 1632 Murad asserted personal rule and suppressed the rebels harshly, and Kösem’s formal regency ended. She remained influential, however, and Murad went on to retake Baghdad in the siege of 1638.

Ibrahim and the regency for Mehmed IV

Murad IV died in February 1640 without a surviving son. Ibrahim, the only remaining male of the dynasty, succeeded him. Ibrahim was unstable, and Kösem again played a large part in government. When his rule provoked widespread opposition, she agreed to his deposition in August 1648; he was executed days later.

Ibrahim’s six-year-old son became Mehmed IV. Unusually, the boy’s own mother, Turhan Sultan, was passed over and Kösem, as grandmother, became the senior regent, sometimes called the “great valide”. She relied on her alliance with the Janissary commanders.

Death in 1651

Rivalry between Kösem and Turhan grew dangerous in 1651. Reports circulated that Kösem planned to replace Mehmed IV with another grandson whose mother would be easier to control. Turhan’s supporters, led by the chief black eunuch Süleyman Agha, moved first.

On the night of 2–3 September 1651 palace officials entered Kösem’s apartments in the Topkapı harem and strangled her. Her Janissary allies were purged soon afterwards. She was buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmed I beside the Blue Mosque. Popular feeling in Istanbul is reported to have turned against her killers, and she was mourned as a charitable benefactor.

Patronage

Like other royal women, Kösem used her wealth for public works. Her Çinili Mosque complex in Üsküdar, completed around 1640, is famous for its tile decoration. The Valide Han, a large commercial inn near the Grand Bazaar, was built at her expense around the time of her death. She also endowed fountains and charities, including support for poor girls’ dowries and pilgrims to Mecca.

Myths and facts

Kösem has become a popular figure in Turkish television dramas, and some fiction presents her as a romantic heroine or a ruthless schemer. Historians such as Leslie Peirce stress instead that royal mothers exercised legitimate, recognised authority within the Ottoman system, especially when sultans were children.

Another claim is that she ruled entirely alone. In reality she governed alongside grand viziers and military factions, and her power depended on alliances that eventually failed.

Timeline

• c. 1589: Probable year of Kösem’s birth.
• 1603: Ahmed I becomes sultan; Kösem soon becomes his favourite.
• 1617: Ahmed I dies; Kösem moves to the Old Palace.
• 1623, September: Her son Murad IV becomes sultan, and she acts as regent.
• c. 1632: Murad IV takes personal control of government.
• 1640, February: Murad IV dies; Kösem’s son Ibrahim succeeds.
• 1648, August: Ibrahim is deposed and Mehmed IV enthroned with Kösem as senior regent.
• 1651, 2–3 September: Kösem is killed in the Topkapı harem.

Legacy

Kösem’s death ended the dominance of royal women at the Ottoman court. Turhan Sultan held power for several years, but in 1656 the appointment of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha as grand vizier opened the Köprülü era, in which strong viziers took the leading role.

Why it matters

Kösem Sultan shows how power worked in the seventeenth-century Ottoman Empire: through the harem, the dynasty and alliances with soldiers and officials. Her career helped hold the dynasty together through a series of child, deposed and unstable sultans.