Nurbanu Sultana

**Nurbanu Sultan** (Ottoman Turkish: نور بانو سلطان; "*Queen of light*", c. 1525 – 7 December 1583) was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the principal consort of Sultan Selim II (reign 1566–1574), his legal wife, as well as Valide Sultan (Queen Mother) as the mother of Sultan Murad III (reign 1574–1583). She was *one of the most prominent figures during the time of **the Sultanate of Women***. Conflicting theories ascribe her a Venetian, Jewish or Greek origin. Her birth name may have been Cecilia Venier-Baffo, Rachel or Kalē Kartanou.

## Biography

### Early life

Nurbanu, who was said to be prominent in the palace with her beauty and extraordinary intelligence, was sent to Konya as one of the girls of the harem of Şehzade Selim in 1543, in 1544 she gave birth to her first child, a daughter Şah Sultan, in 1545 she gave birth to her second child Ismihan Sultan and on 4 July 1546 she gave birth to her third child, her only son Şehzade Murad who would later become the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

### Haseki Sultan

Nurbanu became the most favored consort of Şehzade Selim (who became Ottoman Sultan as Selim II in 1566), and the mother of Şehzade Murad (the future Murad III, born 1546).

While her spouse Selim was still a Sehzade, Nurbanu had been the head of his princely harem in Manisa.

Once he became Sultan, Selim let his favorite wife, the Haseki Nurbanu, remain at the Topkapı Palace throughout his reign, as his predecessor (Suleiman the Magnificent) had done previously, with his mother Haseki Hurrem Sultan.

Even after Selim began to take other concubines, Nurbanu persisted as a favorite for her beauty and intelligence. As the mother of the heir-apparent, she acted as an advisor to her husband. Although it was far from normal at the time, Selim II would often ask Nurbanu for her advice on various subjects because of his respect for her good and fair judgment. The Venetian ambassador Jacopo Soranzor reported:

> "The Haseki is said to be extremely well-loved and honored by His Majesty both for her great beauty and for being unusually intelligent."
>
>

She became a formidable figure with far-reaching influence during this time. According to some sources (mostly Venetian accounts), her influence was such that Nurbanu Sultan effectively ran the government alongside the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha. Selim handed over almost all of his power to Sokollu, who did indeed rule the empire instead, meanwhile Nurbanu did not intervene directly in politics. However, there is no doubt that she consulted regularly with Sokollu. The Ottoman Empire was far from stable at the top, and clashes over the imperial throne were common. It was also not unusual for the loser in such contests to have his entire family massacred along with him to prevent any future challenges. Nurbanu Sultan was determined, however, that when the time came for her son to succeed his father, nothing would interfere with that.

When Selim II's reign ended in 1574, Nurbanu received 1,100 aspers a day, while Selim's other consorts, each the mother of a son, received only 40 aspers. In addition, Selim repeatedly, publicly stated that Murad was his heir, thus securing the position of his firstborn son and sentencing his other sons to death.

Selim, to emphasize that there was only one woman for him, also legally married Nurbanu. Ambassadorial accounts date the marriage to the beginning of 1571 and conveyed the news with the remark that Selim wanted to express by marriage how much he loved Nurbanu and that *his only legitimate heir* was their son, *Murad*.

### Hürrem Sultan's Death

After the death of the great Hürrem Sultan, Nurbanu's role in the imperial court grew even more. She was now the wife of the future-to-be sultan Sehzade Selim, and the mother of his first prince, Murad, who was his main heir. Among the women in the imperial court, following the death of Hürrem Sultan, she was the one who held the most power.

### Valide Sultan

Şehzade Murad had been sent to serve as Governor of Manisa on the Aegean coast and was there when Sultan Selim II died in 1574. Nurbanu first learned the news and then ordered everyone to keep their mouths shut.  She did not share the Sultan's death with anyone other than Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Grand Vizier. Her goal was to allow her son Murad to arrive to Istanbul in secret before anyone could take advantage of the situation. This theory is usually considered correct because, this would have been the perfect opportunity for someone to seize power, with the Sultan dead and his son away from the capital. Nurbanu realized this as much, if not more than anyone and took quick action. Security and privacy in the harem were so strict, that no one knew when, how and where Selim II passed away. Nurbanu told no one and hid the dead body of her husband in an icebox and sent to Manisa for her son to come to Constantinople immediately. All while no one was the wiser that Selim had died. It was not known publicly until twelve days later, when Murad arrived and Nurbanu delivered up Selim's body. Her son had became Sultan. and Nurbanu became Valide Sultan, the highest position a woman could hold in the Ottoman Empire.

Nurbanu's real influence began at this time, and she enjoyed absolute power between 1574 and 1583, although she was apparently not resident in the Palace after Selim II's death. Although in the past she also had influence over many things as a Haseki, she mostly just supported Selim from the background and gradually built up her own circles for the future. However, as a valide, she immediately started to work and put her own trusted people in ever higher positions to strengthen herself and her son through them. She was revered as Valide-i Atik Sultan ("the first strong mother of the reigning sultan") during her son's reign until her death.

Nurbanu became the first woman to hold both the rank of Haseki and Valide. Although the Valide Sultan rank has existed since the reign of Bayezid II, it was Murad III who, for the sake of his mother, Nurbanu, transformed it into a legal registered position. This means that previously the Valide Sultan was only listed as “Mother of Sultan,” in every list. But thanks to Murad, the mother of the sultan acquired a formal title, that of valide sultan. With her formal title, the valide sultan joined the ranks of the most exalted officials of the empire, whose status was acknowledged by the omission of their personal names from their title. Thus, instead of “mother of Sultan Murad III,” Nurbanu has already been referred to as “Nurbanu Valide Sultan.” And with this change, not only did valide carry out the usual responsibilities according to tradition, but its tasks and possibilities also increased significantly.

    Nurbanu, with all her influence over her son, was involved in governing, and the Sultan himself did not seem to have a say in his rule. Murad felt immeasurable respect and love for his mother, perhaps no other sultan was as devoted to his mother as Murad. Murad asked his mother for her opinion in everything, and he took her advice. They managed to do all this in such a way that Murad's rank, authority and influence remained unquestionable.

Nurbanu did not seek to rule through her son, but merely helped her child to become a just and worthy sultan, who is loved, accepted and respected by the people. In this way, the valide became a high status and became an important and powerful position of the dynasty. Nurbanu's pocket money, which reached high amounts among both dynastic members and high level officials, is considered as an indicator of this power. As valide sultan she was allocated 2000 coins daily.

Also because of her absolute and ultimate authority through her son, her favorites, Canfeda Hatun, Raziye Hatun, and Hubbi Hatun trusted ladies-in-waiting to Murad and Nurbanu also appear to have been very powerful and influential during his reign.