# The Sultanate of Women: Ottoman Queens Who Ruled from the Harem

An episode of [The Ottoman Empire: How It Ruled Three Continents for 600 Years — Fexingo History](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1895336292), 28 Jul 2026, 5:48.

Audio: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-ottoman-empire/episode-0185.mp3

We've discussed Janissaries, grand viziers, and the devşirme system, but the 17th-century Ottoman Empire was also shaped by the powerful women of the harem, especially the Valide Sultans. In this episode, we explore the Sultanate of Women—a period when queen mothers wielded immense influence behind the throne. We delve into the life of Kösem Sultan, the formidable Greek-born consort who became the most powerful woman in Ottoman history, ruling as regent for her son and grandson. We trace her rise from a slave in the harem to the architect of palace politics, her complex relationship with the Janissaries, and her tragic assassination at the hands of her own daughter-in-law, Turhan Hatice Sultan. Then we examine Turhan's own regency, her patronage of the Yeni Mosque in Istanbul, and how her reign marked the end of the Sultanate of Women. This episode uncovers the inner workings of the imperial harem, the political machinations of the Ottoman court, and the shifting dynamics of power during the empire's early modern period. #OttomanEmpire #SultanateofWomen #KosemSultan #TurhanHaticeSultan #ValideSultan #Harem #17thCentury #Janissaries #TopkapiPalace #YeniMosque #OttomanHistory #FexingoHistory #QueenMothers #EmpressDowager #History #WomenInHistory #Istanbul #MiddleEastHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

## Transcript

Lucas: So we've talked about the Janissaries, the grand viziers, even the devşirme system. But there's another force that really shaped the Ottoman court, especially in the 17th century—the women of the harem, specifically the Valide Sultans.
Luna: Valide Sultans—those are the queen mothers, right?
Lucas: Exactly. The Valide Sultan was the mother of the reigning sultan, and during the 1600s, a handful of these women wielded unprecedented political power. Historians call this period the Sultanate of Women—Kadınlar Saltanatı in Turkish.
Lucas: It started with a Greek woman named Anastasia, who was captured and sold into the imperial harem. She converted to Islam and took the name Kösem Sultan, and she became the most powerful woman in Ottoman history.
Luna: Wait—Kösem Sultan? I've heard that name before. She was the one who essentially ran the empire for decades, right?
Lucas: That's the one. She was the consort of Sultan Ahmed I, and later the mother of Murad IV and Ibrahim I. When her sons came to the throne as children, she served as regent—effectively ruling the empire from behind the curtain.
Lucas: But her story is full of contradictions. She was a foreign slave who became the empire's first lady, a patron of public works, and a master of palace intrigue. She even had a hand in the deposition and execution of her own son-in-law.
Luna: How did she get so much power? Wasn't the harem supposed to be a private space?
Lucas: You'd think so, but the harem was deeply connected to the court's political life. The Valide Sultan had direct access to the sultan, and in an age when sultans were often young, incompetent, or mentally unstable—like Ibrahim I, known as 'Ibrahim the Mad'—the queen mother became the de facto ruler.
Lucas: Kösem wasn't just a behind the scenes figure; she openly sat behind a curtain during Imperial Council meetings and communicated with the grand vizier. She also controlled the flow of information to her son.
Luna: I remember hearing that she was eventually killed by the Janissaries. Is that right?
Lucas: Not exactly. By the 1640s, Kösem's grandson, Mehmed IV, came to the throne as a child. His mother, Turhan Hatice Sultan, was the new Valide Sultan, and she and Kösem became bitter rivals.
Lucas: Kösem plotted to depose Mehmed and replace him with a younger prince, but Turhan's faction got word of it. One night, a group of Janissaries loyal to Turhan stormed Kösem's quarters in Topkapı Palace and strangled her with a curtain cord.
Luna: Wow. So the student became the master—or rather, the daughter-in-law became the executioner.
Lucas: Yes, and it's one of the most dramatic moments in Ottoman history. Kösem Sultan was around 60 years old, and she had ruled for nearly 30 years. Her death marked the end of the first phase of the Sultanate of Women.
Lucas: Turhan Hatice Sultan then took over as regent, and she was quite different from Kösem. She was less interested in political manipulation and more focused on visible patronage.
Luna: Like what?
Lucas: Her most famous legacy is the Yeni Mosque—the New Mosque—in the Eminönü district of Istanbul. She commissioned the great architect Mimar Mustafa Ağa to build it, and it's still one of the iconic silhouettes on the Golden Horn.
Lucas: Turhan also completed the Spice Bazaar nearby, which you might remember we talked about in an earlier episode about trade—the Mısır Çarşısı. That was her project too.
Luna: So Turhan used her power to build things. That's a different kind of legacy than Kösem's.
Lucas: Exactly. Kösem was a tactician, Turhan a builder. But both ruled as Valide Sultans during a period when the sultan himself was often a figurehead. The Sultanate of Women essentially lasted from about 1570 to 1683, peaking with Kösem and Turhan.
Lucas: After Turhan, the institution of the Valide Sultan became less dominant, partly because later sultans were older when they ascended, and also because the empire itself was in decline.
Luna: So these women were really running the empire at a time when the men were supposed to be in charge. That's a fascinating inversion of the typical narrative.
Lucas: Absolutely. And it shows you that the Ottoman Empire was far more complex than just a string of sultans. Power could flow through unexpected channels.
Lucas: You know, honestly, if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. These conversations take a lot of digging, and listener support really helps keep the show ad-free.
Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to say thanks for bringing these little-known stories to light.
Lucas: Anyway, back to the aftermath. After Kösem's assassination, Turhan ruled for a few more years until Mehmed IV came of age. The Sultanate of Women didn't disappear overnight, but it never reached the same heights again.
Lucas: One last thing: Kösem's story has been romanticized in novels and TV shows, but the real history is even more dramatic. She was a survivor who played the game of thrones better than almost anyone else in the empire.
Luna: It's a reminder that history isn't just about the men who wear the crown.
Lucas: Exactly. The Ottomans knew that too—they just didn't always advertise it.

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