Turhan Hatice Sultan

Turhan Hatice Sultan
Imagined portrait by L. Seculin, 19th century
Naib-i-Sultanat of the Ottoman Empire
Regency	2 September 1651 – 1656
Predecessor	Kösem Sultan
Successor	None
Monarch	Mehmed IV
Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Tenure	2 September 1651 – 4 August 1683
Predecessor	Kösem Sultan
Successor	Saliha Dilaşub Sultan
Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Imperial Consort)
Tenure	2 January 1642 – 12 August 1648
Predecessor	Ayşe Sultan
Successor	Rabia Gülnuş Sultan
Co-Haseki	Saliha Dilaşub Hatice Muazzez Hümaşah Ayşe Mahenver Șivekar Saçbağli
Born	c.1627–1628
Died	4 August 1683 (aged 55–56) Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire
Burial	New Mosque, Istanbul
Spouse	Ibrahim I
Issue	Mehmed IV Beyhan Sultan Gevherhan Sultan Şehzade Ahmed
Religion	Orthodox Christian at birth, subsequently converted to Islam after her capture.

Turhan Hatice Sultan (1627 – 4 August 1683; Turhan meaning "Of mercy"), was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim (reign 1640-1648) and Valide Sultan as mother of Mehmed IV (reign 1648-1687). Turhan Hatice was prominent for the regency of her young son and her building patronage. She and her mother-in-law, Kösem Sultan, are the only two women in Ottoman history to be regarded as official regents and had supreme control over the Ottoman Empire. Turhan Hatice herself was the only one in Ottoman history to equally share the power of running the entire empire with Ottoman Sultan legally, although in fact she transferred her political power to the grand vizier. This condition made Turhan became one of the prominent figure during era known as Sultanate of Women.

Turhan Hatice, whose original name is unknown, was considered to be of East Slavic origin, either Russian or Ukrainian. She was captured during one of the raids by Tatars and sold into slavery. When she was about 12 years old, Turhan was sent to the Topkapı Palace as a gift, from the Khan of Crimea, to the mother of Sultan Ibrahim, Kösem Sultan.

It was probably Kösem Sultan who gave Hatice to Ibrahim as a concubine. On January 2, 1642 Turhan gave birth to a son, the future sultan Mehmed IV.

Turhan Hatice was one of the eight Haseki Sultans of Ibrahim I. However, she was not his legal wife. She was ranked in the Harem as Dördüncü Haseki Sultan, which literally means fourth sultana consort.

Ibrahim's behaviour sparked talks of deposing the sultan. On August 8, 1648, Ibrahim was dethroned and several days later he was strangled. At the head of the Ottoman Empire stood the child sultan, Mehmed IV. With Mehmed's ascendancy, the position of Valide Sultan ("mother of the reigning sultan") should have gone to Turhan. However, Turhan was overlooked due to her youth and inexperience. Instead, the sultan's grandmother and the previous Valide Sultan, Kösem Sultan, was reinstated to this high position. Kösem Sultan was a Valide (mother) under two sons, thus having the more experience of the two women.

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Wikipedia