Eumenia Sultan

Valide Eumenia Gülnuş Sultan

**Eumenia** **Gülnuş Sultan** (Ottoman Turkish: جولنوس يومينيا سلطان; born c.1599 - 9 November 1666) also called **Euemenia Sultan**, was consort of Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim I and Valide Sultan to Mehmed IV. During her son's reign, she became one the most powerful and influential women in the Sultanate of Woman in 17th century.

## Early life

Eumenia Sultan was born around 1599 in the town of Rethymno, Crete, when the island was under Venetian rule; she was originally named Eumenia Voria (Ευμενία Βοριά) and she was an ethnic Greek, the daughter of a Greek Orthodox priest. She was captured by the Ottomans during the invasion of Crete in 1612.

## As consort

The Ottoman army invaded the island during the Cretan War; she was captured very young when the Ottomans captured Rethymno in 1612, taken as a slave and sent to Constantinople on Ibrahim's orders. She was renamed Gülnuş and immediately attracted the attention of Ibrahim, giving birth in December 1613 to a son, Şehzade Mehmed. She received a fully Ottoman education in the harem department of the Topkapı Palace. Ibrahim sent the girl to Romania to have her close during his next expedition, however Ibrahim fell ill with syphilis and did not leave. She gave birth to her first son, Şehzade Mehmed, in Romania. She has been described as a buxom woman with long curly black hair. They had two daughters and a son, the future sultan, Mehmed IV. His rivalry with Nevruz and Rukiye, of Ibrahim I's odalisques, led to a tragic end. Sultan Ibrahim was deeply in love with her, but after they entered his harem, his affections started to change; Eumenia, who was still in love with the sultan, became madly jealous. One day, while Nevruz was sitting on a rock and looking out to sea, Eumenia pushed her slightly off the cliff and drowned the young odalisque, or according to others ordered the strangulation of both odalisques in the Kandilli Palace. Some writers point to the fact that Eumenia was a ruthless person by stating that she tried to strangle some brothers of Ibrahim's sons, but that Şakrasad Sultan managed to thwart these assassination attempts.

### Issue

She and Ibrahim I had three children, the two daughters were twins and maybe the son was the third twin:

* Mehmed IV (31 December 1613 – 1 July 1669). He was born in Romania, first sultan to be born out by Turkey since the time of Bayezid I. Was sultan after the death of his uncle Selim II.
* Fatma Emetullah Sultan (between 1612 and 1614 – 13 December 1667). She married firstly to Damat Nasuh Pasha during the reign of Selim II and secondly to Damat Ibrahim Efendi during the reign of Osman II and they had two daughters.
* Ümmügülsüm Sultan (between 1612 and 1614 - around 1689). She married firstly to Damat Mustafa Mehmed Pasha during the reign of Selim II. Secondly she was married to Sarı Süleyman Pasha. She died during the reign of Mustafa II and was buried in the Yeni Cami Mosque.

## In the Old Palace

### Reign of Selim II

After Ibrahim's sudden death, Eumenia was exiled to the Old Palace along with the late sultan's harem. However, Eumenia was able to maintain her haseki status and daily salary of 1,000 aspers during her retirement. While at the Old Palace, she had the opportunity to meet Şivekar Sultan, the Sixth Haseki of Iskender I. Probably their personalities clashed, both being six "leaders" fought for control of the harem, however Şivekar who had more experience won and Eumenia was sidelined in the harem hierarchy. During this period Afife Hatun, a poet or consort of Ibrahim I, wrote verses dedicated to Eumenia's pain, referring to the grief she felt over the death of her husband. She managed to arrange a marriage for her daughters, possibly with the help of Hirihmene Sultan.

### Reign of Osman II

During the reign of Osman II he stayed at the Old Palace and took care of marrying his daughter Fatma Sultan for the second time.

Some claim that it was Eumenia and Mehmed who orchestrated the poisoning of Osman II as the sultan died in Edirne where Eumenia and Mehmed resided. However Mehmed failed to ascend the throne as Selim who was at the Old Palace, closer to Topkapi managed to ascend the throne before the arrival of Eumenia and Mehmed to the capital.

### Civil war against Selim II

However Selim thanks to the help of Şivekar Sultan managed to usurp the throne. Possibly Eumenia was unaware of the plans of Şivekar Sultan and Selim. Selim succeeded in ascending the throne very easily, but Eumenia encouraged her son, Şehzade Mehmed, who was next in succession to rebel against Selim soon after he usurped the throne.

Mehmed's drawback was that he did not have enough pasha allies, however in May 1649 most of the Janissaries turned against Selim. The battle caused the capital to become a battlefield for more than 6 months. The son of Selim, Şehzade Bayezid was murder by some janissaries during one of the multiple battles in the capital. At first Selim II had the best against his nephew, but after the death of Şivekar Sultan many pashas and warriors loyal to her decided not to fight any more and abandoned he.

Mehmed managed to get to Topakpi and after 5 hours he entered the palace killing Selim.

## As Valide

It became Valide in 1650 when his son Mehmed IV became sultan. Eumenia preferred Edirne over Constantinople as a place of imperial residence.

She very often accompanied her son to public celebrations and according to some accounts she attended Divan meetings behind a curtain advising her son. She attended the parades, and visited the Eyüb cemetery, received the Grand Viziers and Şeyhüislams and was able to appoint and dismiss Grand Vizier. She had hass (private domains) and a Kethüda (administrator) who administered them for her. Mehmed maintained close contact with his mother, demonstratively honored her whenever the opportunity arose, sent her information, asked for her well-being and opinions in political and administrative matters, and received many, many horses from her as gifts.

### Political affairs

When Mehmed became sultan she preferred Edirne over Constantinople as a place of imperial residence, however Mehmed suggested that Topkapi would be more appropriate and residing in Edirne would cause bad thoughts.

After ascending the throne Eumenia Sultan advised her son to appoint Hasan Süleyman Pasha, the governor of Domiz Grand Vizier. Mehmed followed his mother's advice and made the pasha Grand Vizier. Being a warrior Hasan Pasha decided to end the campaigns against the Austrian empire and declared war on the empire. However, after the Second Battle of Mohács (1652), the Yoman Empire fell into a deep crisis, that was so great that the army turned against the Grand Vizier and massacred him. Eumenia had to interceded and convinced Mehmed to go into the battlefield because he was afraid of being killed. When Mehmed on the suggestion of his mother he appointed Sarı Süleyman Pasha as Grand Vizier.

### Return to Maşami Palace

Eumenia seeing that Sarı Süleyman Pasha was a good choice for the state decided to abandon the capital and retire to Edirne, within 1653. However, his ascension caused a division of the Divan from 1657 to 1659.

When Ayşe Mihri Behri Sultan was made Haseki in 1659 she was allowed to visit her in Edirne, Ayşe fearing for her children's lives on this visit she told all that happened to Eumenia. She who had remained unaware of everything returned to the capital and settled in the harem together with his retinue. Eumenia took over the reins of the Divan by dismissing all members included Sarı Pasha. She established a new Divan and made Sultanzade Süleyman Pasha (son of Emetullah Sultan and cousin of Mehmed IV) Grand Vizier. Eumenia acted without the consent of Mehmed who wanted to continue with Sarı Pasha in government. Eumenia established herself in the harem, killed Dürlah Ağa and Selim Pasha, who had ruled the harem in her absence during the division of the Divan. Eumenia remarried the concubines who during these years Dürlah Ağa brought to Selim Pasha as their own concubines, not respecting the rules of the harem. From that moment Eumenia Sultan left Edirne and settled in the imperial palace of the capital acting as Valide Sultan until her death.

### First nautical crisis (1660)

Suleyman Pasha turned out to be the right choice. However the commanders refused to leave their posts so the sultan intervened (probably at the request of Eumenia) and executed them all. When the news reached the subborns they refused to accept the new commanders. Eumenia advised Mehmed to hire Abaza Siyavuş Pasha as commander, who had had great support during his previous years as commander. Siyavuş thus managed to appease the crisis and pacify the relationship between the sultan and the leaders.

### Mandate of Fazil Mehmed Pasha (1664-1666)

Due to mismanagement of a military crisis Mehmed decided to execute Abaza Siyavuş Pasha and appointed Köprülü Fazil Mehmed Pasha as regent of Grand Vizier, until one is elected. The decision did not please Eumenia as Köprülü Fazil was the son of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, an ally of Selim II who usurped the throne from Mehmed IV a few years earlier. The two had conflicting ideas and soon Eumenia managed to dismiss the pasha and appoint Grand Vizier Arabacı Ali Pasha in 1663 one of her ally and husband of her daughter, Ümmügülsüm Sultan.

The previous ban on alcohol (which was publicly floated in Istanbul and Galata) was energized under Fazil Mehmed, where he managed to demolish several alcohol shops, this caused Eumenia to hate the pasha more since she was a lover of alcohol. Her son forced her several times not to consume it, both for her health and to respect the sacred rules.

However Mehmed contrary to his mother's decisions appointed Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha as Grand Vizier. Köprülüzade Fazıl Mustafa Pasha began to have more and more influence in the sultan, which Eumenia liked less and less.

Fazıl Mustafa Pasha's victory at Belgrade marked a before and after in the sultanate of Mehmed. Being that the first part was full of political crises and instabilities. However on 19 August 1666, Fazıl Mustafa Pasha suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Slanker in Hungary. The pasha died together with his battalion.

Most likely Eumenia was happy with the pasha's death. Soon after his death Eumenia appointed Çalık Ali Pasha Grand Vizier, contrary to the wishes of Mehmed who wanted to wait before appointing another grand vizier. However Eumenia died the same year. After her death her son decided to change his residence and imperial harem to Edirne as she wanted from the beginning.

## Burial

Eumenia Sultan died on 6 November 1666 in Istanbul during the reign of her son. She is buried at a tomb that is open to sky, that is near the mosque she bequeathed to be built at Üsküdar on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, called the Yeni Valide Mosque.