Valide Hirihmene Sultan

## Hirihmene Sultan

**Hirihmene Sultan** (Arab: هيريهمين سلطان; Tinos 1552- Topkapı Palace 21 November 1620) also known as **Hirihma** or **Mihrima** (Ottoman Turkish: مهرماه, "Sun and Moon"), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa I, valide sultan as the mother of sultans: Iskender I, Ibrahim I and Selim II. She served as regent during the minority of her son Selim between the 1614 until 1620. She became one of the most powerful and influential women in Ottoman history, as well as a central and controversial figure during the period known as the Sultanate of Women. She is known for her intent to save her children from being killed by Mustafa I, her husband.

## Early Life

She was born on Tinos, then part of the Republic of Venice, to a Greek Orthodox priest, was kidnapped and sold at the age of 12 or 13, into slavery in Bosnia by the beylerbey (governor-general) of the Bosnian Eyalet and later sent to the harem of Constantinople, the Ottoman capital.

In the harem she was taught religion, theology, mathematics, embroidery, singing, music and literature.

Mustafa was captivated by her beauty and intelligence and in 1587 she became his haseki. According to the Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle, after his conversion to Islam, his name was changed to Hirihma or Mihrima. After the birth of their first child, he renamed her Hirihmene.

Of all the sultans, Mustafa was the most devoted to his mother. When Hirihmene was given the rank of Haseki as soon as Mustafa became sultan, he became an influential sultan, albeit much less so than Handan.

Hirihmene wanted to have a say in state affairs, so she tried to influence Mustafa. His attempts were in vain, as Mustafa never listened to any woman except his mother. The details of the fight between Hirihmene and Handan were not known, but they probably had conflicts within the harem, as their hostility reached its peak in 1573 when Hirhimene's second son, Şehzade Muhmud, was born.

Hirihmene was promptly re-pregnant by the sultan and gave birth in 1574 to a girl, Ayşe Sultan in honor of Mustafa's aunt, Ayşe Sultan.

This increasingly increased Hirihmene's power in the palace, being the mother of two princes and a sultan.

## As Haseki Sultan

Mustafa favored Hirihmene above all his many concubines, bestowing her the finest jewels and a salary of 1,000 aspers a day. In the early years of their marriage, she gave Mustafa three princes: Şehzade Iskender, Şehzade Mahmud and Şehzade Orhan and two daughters: Ayşe Sultan and Hanzade Sultan. As the mother of several of the sultan's children, including many princesses she had the right to arrange suitable dynastic marriages for them. Ayşe Sultan married Nasuh Pasha in 1579 at the age of seven, while in the same year Hanzade Sultan married Nakkaş Mustafa Pasha at the age of five.

The Venetian ambassador Simon Contarini, bailo between 1609 and 1612, mentions Hirihmene in his 1612 report and portrays her as:

> "[A woman] of beauty and cunning, and besides... of many talents, sings excellently, whereby she continues to be exceedingly loved by the king... Not that she is respected by all, but she is listened to in some things and she is the favorite of the king, who always wants her by his side».
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George Sandys, an English traveler who visited Constantinople in the early 1590s, recorded Hirihmene's name as "Casek Cadoun" (haseki kadın) and believed her to be "a witch beyond beauty". She received the title of Haseki Sultan as soon as Mustafa ascended the throne and Başkadin, given that she was mother of the first born boy.He claimed that the sultan had a "passionate" love for Hirihmene, pointing out that this was the result of witchcraft. Sandys went on to characterize her as a woman with "a delicate yet shy nature".

### Abolition of fratricide

From a young age all of Mustafa's children did not have a good relationship with their father. This scared not only Hirihemene Sultan but also Handan Sultan, who feared for all her grandchildren whom she loved madly. Şehzade Iskender was the only one of Mustafa's sons to form a lasting relationship with his father, thanks also to the help of Handan. After Mustafa killed two of his sons, Şehzade Alaeddin and Şehzade Osman in 1587 the fear to protect, Handan his grandsons and Hirhmene his sons grew very much. On the one hand Handan obscured any wrongdoing by his grandsons in the eyes of the sultan and hirhmene tried to speak well of his sons to the sultan.

Contarini also reported that the sultan ordered a woman to be beaten for angering Hirihmene, who may have been Karihüse Sultan herself. The latter would later be exiled to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı), probably at the end of 1590.

Nasuh Pasha, Hirihmene's son-in-law as spouse of his daughter, Ayşe Sultan, was executed on Mustafa's orders in 1595, Hirhmene herself tried to prevent her husband from taking such action, but to no avail. Thus, he lost an important ally in government. From then on, he probably concentrated her efforts on keeping her sons alive.

Hirhmene's influence over the sultan increased after Handan's death, and she is said to have acted as one of his advisers.

When Handan died in 1601 the already unstable situation of Şehzade Orhan, son of Hirhemne became more and more critical, Şehzade Orhan was executed in 1602 in January. Hirihmene was certainly devastated and tried to protect more and more her sons: Şehzade Ibrahim and especially Şehzade Mahmud trying mainly to convince Mustafa to remove the law of fratricide using his close alliance with Mustafa Agha, the Agha of the Janissaries, and his client Nasuh Pasha (his son-in-law) to exert influence over the sultan. Simone Contarini reported in the same year that Hirihmene:

> "pressed Mustafa to remove the fate suffered by the princes of fratricide with the ulterior purpose of saving his own son from the same fate".
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Reports from 1602 state that Hirhmene was the most valuable ally to be had in Constantinople due to his influence over the sultan, before that Mustafa refrained from involving Hirhmene constantly in serious matters as the sultan refused to be overshadowed by his wife. Contarini also noted that Hirihmene:

> "refrained with great wisdom from speaking [to the sultan] too often about serious matters and affairs of state".
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Mustafa's reign is notable for having marked not the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide (since Kasim al became three sultan did not kill his two brothers, Şehzade Ahmed and Şehzade Suleyman) but the first idea of ​​abolishing the law of fratricide; henceforth the Ottoman sultans would no longer systematically execute their brothers upon accession to the throne.

Many think that it was Hirhmene herself who wrote the decree abolishing fratricide and signed it after Mustafa's death with the sultan's seal.

### Death of Mustafa I

Upon Mustafa's death from typhoid and stomach bleeding on January 16, 1603, Hirhmene had no problem concealing her husband's death, Iskender was already proclaimed heir by Mustafa and according to the new law no prince should have died. Iskender returned to Istanbul from Manisa and was proclaimed sultan.

According to Üluçay, after Mustafa's death many of his concubines who became childless with the accession of Iskender I remarried on the orders of Hirihmene Sultan.

## As Valide Sultan

### Reign of Iskender I

In 1603, her son, who was thirty-six, was brought to the throne as Iskender I. As the mother of the new sultan, Hirihmene, she was best placed to exert influence in the kingdom through the alliances she had built over time and before her ascent. She filled the void left by the death of her mother-in-law and predecessor Handan Sultan in 1601, becoming very influential, not least because her son listened to her a lot, which Handan would not have liked.

Even though she became Valide Sultan at the age of fifty, Hirihmene retained her beauty and was more beautiful than the consorts of her son, Iskender. Hirihmene was highly influential during his son's 6-year reign in state and palace matters. Foreign enemies and powerful local notables saw Hirihmene's rise as an opportunity to undermine the power and authority of the Ottoman state.

The imperial princesses were often involved in marriages thus enabling the imperial family to establish a network of alliances with the more powerful pashas. Hirihmene, in particular, used her daughters to keep her in power for nearly half a century. As he wrote to Ibşir Mustafa Pasha in 1614, a few months before he became his daughter Ayşe Sultan's fifth husband:

> "Greetings and prayers to His Excellency the Pasha. I am aware of everything you said in your letter. People are simply not aware of all the things that will be said for a handful of money. What to do? Maybe [something can be do] after the holidays, God willing. As for you, when you're ready let me know, and I'll act accordingly. We'll take care of you right away. The princess is ready. do exactly the same as I did when I sent mine Fatma Sultan. Write to us whenever you like, and I will arrange things accordingly. May God bless [the marriage]."
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Rejecting an offer of marriage in the imperial family was tantamount to treason, so statesmen could hardly refuse a marriage proposal. Hirihmene also paired numerous other women of the imperial household with men whose position would be advantageous to her. He also strategically allied with the Janissaries.

The agitator Patrona Halil, although he was already acting against the royal family at the time, found it necessary to speak to both Hirihmene and Khalil Agha, his secretary. However, the interview was not allowed by Hirihemene as he did not consider it important.

Soon after Hirihmene was installed in the Valide Sultan's suite in Topkapi Palace, the Venetian bailo, Angelo Emo, sent her twenty-four dresses, along with perfumes, mirrors and other feminine adornments.

Given his influence, Hirihemene was able to proclaim and resign the grand vizier in fact in the first years of Iskender's reign he often changed the grand vizier, since he considered it a mistake to keep Mahmud Pasha in government so he suggested Damat Ladikli Bayram Pasha husband of Hanzade Sultan, daughter of Hirihmene. The result of this new policy was necessary and no doubt intentional, the absence of a strong personality in the post.

During this period there were complaints about the excessive influence exerted by Hirihemene Sultan, and Ladikli Bayram Pasha, was said to have been elevated to the position only through his marriage to Hanzade Sultan. Ladikli Bayram Pasha was dismissed to avoid further controversy and Kemankeş Pasha was proclaimed grand vizier. Kemankeş Pasha however was not a good decision, the pasha became very influential in the sultan, Kemankeş led a very luxurious life given his position and through loyal pashas he seized the money of the commoners in Anatolia and Albania. When Hirihemene learned of this through the intervention of Damat Derviş Pasha, she tried to limit his influence in the sultan and dismiss him. However Iskender was adamant about his decision and kept Kemankeş in charge.

During the construction of the Blue Mosque, many houses were destroyed to make room for the mosque. This fact was used by Patrona Halil against the sultan. Numerous revolts broke out in Istanbul and the excessive power of Kemankeş Pasha did not favor the situation of the sultan.

Rumors were spreading in the capital of a conspiracy to poison Iskender given his unpopularity, in order to bring Mahmud to command of the empire. According to one version, if the conspiracy to assassinate the sultan failed, Mahmud was secretly taken to a province, where he could easily gather an army and fight for the throne.

Patrona Halil's uprisings were more and more frequent and threatened to storm the palace. Iskender ignored them, thinking they were just empty curses. Hirihmene insisted on reacting but the sultan did not listen to her and sent her to the Old Palace.

The relationship between Iskender and his brother, Şehzade Mahmud worsened once Hirihmene was exiled to the Old Palace. Hirihmene attempted to keep the relationship between his sons as peaceful as possible but after his absence the fragile relationship between Iskender and Mahmud started to be critical. Mahmud was accused of treason since he was the favorite among the janissaries, the relationship between Mahmud and the janissaries intimidated the sultan since his figure as sultan was already critical. Mahmud was executed by order of Iskender on 28 January 1609. Hirihmene hearing what his son wanted to do headed for Topkapi but once there she was not allowed to enter. Despite this Hirihmene managed to enter thanks to the help of some of his loyal ones inside the palace, but once he entered his son was already dead. It is said that once she was reunited with Iskender she told him she no longer considered him her son.

Here Hirihmene with the help of Damat Derviş Pasha established a government with Şehzade Ibrahim and they attempted to depose the sultan. Hirihmene's intent was to confine Iskender in the kafes and at the beginning Patrona Halil and the Janissaries agreed to Hirihemne's terms.

On 22 December 1609, a rebel revolt of seventeen janissaries, led by the Albanian Patrona Halil, aided by the citizens as well as by the military, resulted in an insurrection before which the Sultan was forced to renounce the throne. Iskender was captured by two of the Janissaries while Kemankeş Pasha was brought into Hirihmene's presence and had his head cut off. Iskender however was brought in the presence of Maryol Hüseyin Agha of Janissaries executed. When Hirihemene came to Topkapı to see how her son was doing she was informed that Maryol Hüseyin Agha had killed him, after Hirihmene saw her son's dead body she sent one of her loyal ones to kill Hüseyin Agha.

### Reign of Ibrahim I

Ibrahim was taken to Topkapi by the Janissaries and in a grand ceremony was crowned Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Hirihmene proclaimed Derviş Mehmed Pasha as grand vizier once his son was proclaimed sultan, Alvise Contarini had been sent to Constantinople by the Venetian government on the occasion of Ibrahim's accession, he presented congratulatory letters addressed to Hirihmene. However Alvise also wrote that the grand vizier in a moment of inebriation "told me that the mother queens of the Ottomans are slaves of the Grand Lord like all the others, not partners or heads of government, like those of Christian countries". This statement suggests that Derviş Pasha already from the accession of Ibrahim was already plotting against Hirihmene and the sultan and that he only pretended to be loyal to them to get to the office of grand vizier.

With Ibrahim's accession, Hirihmene once again became politically active as his chief adviser. Hirihmene enjoyed a compatible relationship with the Grand Vizier Derviş Pasha, this made his political involvement much more accessible, influencing not only his decisions but also those of the Grand Vizier.

During his ten years as governor of Trabzon, Ibrahim although having a large harem, Ibrahim failed to impregnate any of them. Ibrahim's present sexual impotence started to be a problem once he became sultan, he was psychologically evaluated and his mother summoned a number of hodjas to cure him, but all to no avail. In a desperate attempt, Hirihmene then invited the supposed sorcerer Cinci Hoca (Jinji Hojā) to the palace, after informing her that he had inherited some "magic formulas". After supposedly curing Ibrahim's impotence by offering him a cocktail of aphrodisiacs, pornography and seductive women, the sultan wanted to reward the hoca with a position of chief justice, the second highest position of the ulema, but Hirihemene intervened by stating that it was not appropriate and pointing out that the hoca was not mentally stable.

Hirihmene tried to remedy the situation by encouraging Ibrahim to distract himself with concubines supplied from the slave market by a confidant named Pezevenk, or the pimp. However, Ibrahim tried to propose to his mother one of the seductive women provided by hoca, Hirihemne was initially annoyed by Ibrahim's offer, since those women were initially prostitutes of a brothel. However Ibrahim got one of these pregnant in secret, when Ibrahim communicated it to his mother (by means of a letter probably because he feared her reaction) Hirihemene went to the sultan and ordered him to kill her but Ibrahim was irrevocable and did not kill her. This was the first instance where Ibrahim demonstrated his non-total submission to his mother. The child's name was Şehzade Murad son of Rahime Sultan.

Ibrahim's distraction for the women of the harem allowed Hirihemene to gain power and rule in his name, as well as ensure the survival of the dynasty. Bobovi, a Polish royal page who served at the palace from 1607 to 1627, wrote: "It is almost always among the slaves of Sultan Valide that the sultan chooses his mistresses. For it is she alone who has his son's love interest." in his heart, he is always looking for beautiful girls to introduce to him.'

#### Rivality with Derviş Mehmed Pasha

Grand Vizier Derviş Mehmed Pasha and Hirihemene continued to direct government affairs during the first years of Ibrahim's reign. The rivalry between them grew stronger as time went on, and at the beginning of 1613, Hirihemene allied with Ibşir Mustafa Pasha. The rivalry between Hirihemene and Derviş Pasha reached a critical point when on June 1613 Fahriye Sultan, daughter of Mustafa I died mysteriously, Fahriye and Hirihmene were allied against Derviş Pasha, Hirihemene claimed that the pasha had learned of their alliance and killed Fahriye by poisoning her . Hirihemene is said to have sent assassins to the pasha's house, but Derviş repulsed them.

Derviş Pasha asked Hirihemene for an audience, it is not known what they talked about during this meeting but it is supposed that the pasha threatened Hirihemene to tell about his assassination attempt to the sultan. Hirihmene somehow managed to prevent this. Hirihmene tried to convince Ibrahim to dismiss Derviş Pasha but in vain as Derviş Pasha had no flaws politically.

The competition between them was denounced by the Venetian ambassador Alvise Contarini:

> "In the present government, she is held in higher esteem [than at the end of Iskender's reign]. And so, with her commanding affairs within the palace and the grand vizier [commanding] those outside, it quite happens often that these two rulers collide with each other and in doing so offend each other, so that they may be said to outwardly agree, but secretly each seeks to bring about the other's downfall. "
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Hirihmene on February 1614 intercepted a letter between Derviş Pasha and Şekerpare Sultan, the sultan's concubine where he implied that the two were in a relationship. Hirihemene did not miss the opportunity and showed the letter to Ibrahim. Ibrahim decided to wait until the next meeting of the Divan where he came dressed in red and pierced the pasha with a blade.

#### Cretan War

Hirihemene concentrated his efforts on raising the pay of the Janissaries. However, the treasury had run out of money by 1612 when it came time to pay it off. Hirihemene tried to get financial assistance from Cinci Hoca, proclaimed chief treasurer of the sultan by Ibrahim, but he refused. He later explained this situation to the Janissaries, writing to them, "I want to distribute your service pay but Cinci Hoca won't let me", causing the Janissaries to regard Cinci Hoca as an enemy, causing the Janissaries to kill him. The Janissaries they attacked his carriage and killed the hoca.

Due to shortages of imperial funds, Hirihmene and her allies, Salih Pasha and Şeyülislam Abdürrahim Efendi urged Ibrahim to launch a naval assault on the Venetian-controlled island of Crete, Venice's largest and richest overseas possession. The campaign beginning in late 1612 and was largely unsuccessful and the enterprise further drained the treasury.

#### Ibrahim's death

Ibrahim ordered to take 3 women during his campaign in Crete to make them concubines. It is believed that it was one that infected the sultan with syphilis. Ibrahim was treated by the best doctors but in February 1614 his condition worsened and he died at the age of 34 in 1614.

Rumors had circulated that on his deathbed Ibrahim had ordered the execution of his brother, Selim as he wanted his son Osman to take the throne. However, the order was opposed by Hirihemene and was not carried out.

### Rivalry with Şakrasad Sultan

Osman's mother Şakrasad Sultan was presented to Hirihmene as a gift by the Crimean Khan, when she was about 12 years old, she was Hirihmene who offered Şakrasad to Ibrahim as a concubine. To avoid the danger of dynastic extinction, Hirihemene tried to introduce as many women as possible to his son. One of these was Şakrasad, among her ladies-in-waiting.

Hirihmene sent the girl to Ibrahim so that she would bear children. Şakrasad promptly became pregnant and gave birth to her first son, Şehzade Osman on 2 February 1611. Şakrasad thus received the rank of Haseki and became an influential woman in the harem. According to Rycaut:

> "The two women were very vexed against each other, one to maintain her authority over her son and the other hers."
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Şakrasad wanted to have a say in state affairs, so she tried to influence Ibrahim, but this resulted in Hirihmene's dislike. Her attempts were in vain, Hirihmene thwarted Şakrasad, who failed to exert his influence until after Selim's death and Osman's accession to the throne.

When Selim ascended the throne Şakrasad remained in the palace together with her son Osman. The woman's power fell once Selim took the throne and Hirihmene decided to send her to the Old Palace. Hirihmene may have felt that she finally got rid of Şakrasad, but she could not win this battle that easily. Her daughter, Atike, openly disagreed with her mother and with sultan requested multiple times her mother and especially the sultan her brother to bring back her friend, Şakrasad Sultan, Selim agreed and took the woman back to the palace.

Less than two months later, in early 1616, Şakrasad and her exiled daughters returned to the royal harem. Şakrasad regained enough power and influence through her friendship with Atike Sultan, the sultan's twin sister. This friendship of hers caused disagreements between Atike and Hirihmene, driving them apart in 1619. Şakrasad was able to build a circle of supporters alongside herself and her son against Hirihmene.

### Reign of Selim

When her son ascended the throne on 29 March 1614, as Selim II since she was a minor, she was not only appointed Valide Sultan again but also the official regent (naib-i-sultanat).

In 1614, the Ottoman court sent a letter to the Republic of Venice, formally announcing Selim II's succession to the throne and referring to Hirihmene as Valide Sultan: "Her Majesty the Sultana Valide again [...]".

Shortly after Selim's enthronement, a message from the Venetian ambassador remarked on Hirihmene's political experience:

> "[All] power and authority [is with] the mother, a woman of high mind and spirit, [who already] ruled for years for her children."
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A month before the Venetian dispatch, the English envoy Thomas Roe predicted that the new sultan would be "deceived by his mother, as she deceived her previous sons sultans".

As regent, Hirihemene effectively ran the empire, attending and arranging divan (cabinet) sessions on her own without hiding behind a curtain as she formerly did. She was in charge of appointing political figures and overseeing the administration of the state, which enabled her to make connections with statesmen, judges, and other judicial figures.

She would meet foreign ambassadors from other countries to discuss international treaties. The leading viziers wrote letters to her directly, and in response, Hirihmene used her kira to compose letters to the viziers.

Hirihmene seemed to have distinct expectations of his role when he became regent. According to Turkish historian Özlem Kumrular:

> "It is clear from the request made by the grand vizier (Öküz Mehmed Pasha) that during this period Hirihmene acted as sultan in his son's place listening to any request made by the dignitaries and held power in his hands. The grand vizier very lordly stated that this wish was not in accordance with the law (kanûn): 'My Lord and Ruler, what you are doing is against the law. Please do not even articulate it. After all, I am your faithful servant and do not wish to be separated from you. '"
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In 1615, Öküz Mehmed Pasha was made grand vizier. His worst mistake was allowing the Safavid Shah Abbas to capture Baghdad and Erivan in 1615, and then withholding the news from Hirihmene and Selim, who was twelve at the time. Already displeased, Hirihmene immediately deposed him and had him strangled with the backing of chief black eunuch Mustafa Ağa. He was replaced as grand vizier by Ibşir Mustafa Pasha, newly married to Ayşe Sultan.

#### Foreign policy and domestic policy

Cossack raids into the Ottoman Empire were common throughout the early 17th century, disrupting the security of the Black Sea and forcing the Ottomans to consider fortifying the Bosphorus, especially after the 1615 Cossack raid. son, Hirihmene ordered the construction of two fortresses near the mouth of the Bosphorus, one in Anadolukavağı and the other in Rumelikavağı. The fortresses were erected in just one year.

During his regency, Hirihmene skillfully restored the state's finances after a period of high inflation. Thanks to the money raised, he stabilized the government and by smelting a large part of the palace's gold and silver, he was able to pay the janissaries. When the grand vizier, who was campaigning against the Safavids to recapture Baghdad, ran out of food for the army, he turned to Hirihmene for assistance. In a letter, she responded to his request, writing:

> "You say attention must be paid to arrangements for the campaign. If it were up to me, it would have taken care of it long ago. There is no fault either on my part or on my child."
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In another he sent good news:

> "You have written provisions. If I could, I would get them and send them right away. I do everything I can, my son too. God willing, it is scheduled that this Friday ten million aspers will be sent to Üsküdar, hopefully. The rest of the provisions have been loaded onto the ships."
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Damat Murad Pasha, the governor of Egypt and Hirihmene's son-in-law, wrote to her on a number of matters and she communicated the contents of her letters to the Grand Vizier Ibşir Mustafa Pasha along with her thoughts. Among the problems discussed were delays in the supply of gunpowder, the difficult situation in Yemen, and shortfalls in the province's revenue (in 1616 Egypt only sent half of its normal income due to the ravages of a known plague in the Egyptian annals as "the plague of Murad Pasha"). The extent of the collaboration between the Grand Vizier and Hirihmene is suggested by his frank comment:

> ''You really give me a headache. But I give you a terrible headache too. How many times have I asked myself. 'But what else can we do?''
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In 1616 Selim, who was already critical of his mother's foreign policy, opposed her proposed truce between the Ottoman Empire and Spain. According to a Venetian dispatch of 1615, "the imperialists and the Spaniards declared that the matter was proceeding favourably, being actively assisted by the sultan's mother". A year later, the Venetian ambassador reported that the sultan, "with a prudence beyond his years," opposed the truce, as did most of the leading statesmen except Admiral Recep Pasha and Murad Pasha, governor of Egypt He noted that the Spanish “base their hopes on these two and on the sultan's mother and sister." However, the treaty was revoked by order of the sultan. In addition to his correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain, Hirihmene also corresponded directly with Nur Jahan, the chief wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
A letter to Grand Vizier Damat Hilal Pasha, dated 1618, reveals Hirihmene's concern for Selim's health and his frustration at his lack of direct control over important decisions:

> "Greeting and prayers to his excellency the Pasha. And now, how are you and how are your affairs? Are you fine? May you enjoy good health and well-being. Should you ask after us, thanks to God (may his name be exalted) at present we are devoting body and soul and occupying ourselves night and day with the tranquility of Muhammad's community. And now it is declared: Letters have come from Egypt—apparently to you too—which describe the situation there. Something absolutely must be done about Yemen—it's the gate to Mecca. You must do whatever you can. You'll talk to my son about this. I tell you, my mind is completely distraught over this [the Yemen situation].... It is going to cause you great difficulty, but you will earn God's mercy through service to the community of Muhammad. How are you getting along with salary payments? Is there much left? With the grace of God, you will take care of that obligation and then take up the Yemen situation. My son leaves in the morning and comes back at night, I never see him. He won't stay out of the cold, he's going to get sick again. I tell you, this grieving over the child is destroying me. Talk to him, when you get a chance. He must take care of himself. What can I do—he won't listen. He's just gotten out of a sickbed, and he's walking around in the cold. All this has destroyed my peace of mind. All I wish is for him to stay alive. At least try to do something about Yemen. May God help us with this situation we are in.... You two know what's best."
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#### Battle of Focchies aftermath

Hirihmene and Grand Vizier Ibşir Mustafa Pasha grew at enmity after Selim's accession to the throne. It seems that the grand vizier considered himself regent as well as "temporary ruler". According to Naima, the Grand Vizier was deceived by "certain would-be doctors of religion" who cited legal texts that the guardian of a minor sultan had the right to exercise prerogatives of sovereignty; as a result, she resented Hirihmene's control over the government, hoping that he, rather than the sultan's mother, would act as regent. He once boasted:

> "The soldiers of this exalted state respect only the honor of the inherited nobility."
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According to the French historian Alphonse de Lamartine, in May 1617, following the defeat of the Ottomans at the Battle of Focchies, Hirihmene walked into the Divan, in agreement with the ağas, to discuss military disasters. He presided over the couch from behind a curtain as she sat on the sultan's throne, next to the sultan himself. Grand Vizier Ibşir Mustafa Pasha expressed disappointment at the difficult circumstances, but in a speech Hirihemene said: "Go, you are not worthy to be Grand Vizier; return the state seal. And you," he added, handing the seal to Kara Murat Pasha, the Ağa of the Janissaries, "take it; I'll see what you can do". Then, the grand judge Abdülaziz Efendi, an ally of Mustafa Pasha, turned to the sultan and asked: "My dear, who taught you this, at your age?" This insolence boiled up Hirihemne's anger and she listed the former grand vizier's faults, including his alleged plans to assassinate her:

> "When certain imperial orders were issued, they said [to the sultan], 'my dear, who taught you to say these things?' Such condescending behavior towards the sultans is inadmissible! What if the sultan is educated? It is the voice of the world that has taught him. [The children] themselves know our misfortunes and speak out against your iniquities, despite all the treasures you have extorted and bestowed you got. You want to kill me, but you haven't done it yet. I know, because my position [bothers you.] Thank God, I've lived through four kingdoms and ruled myself for a long time. The world doesn't it will neither be reformed nor destroyed by my death. Sometimes they want to [kill me], [and] sometimes they want to enslave [the sultan]; but the time has come to choose between [you] and him."
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In Naima's words, Abdülaziz Efendi "drowned in the sea of ​​mortification". Abdülaziz Efendi then fled.

According to Finkel, Hirihmene "continued to be the dominant personality ... coaching him [Kara Murat Pasha] in handed down decisions". Kara Murat Pasha's tenure was cut short a year later due to his incompetence in dealing with another merchant revolt. Hirihmene proposed that Licli Pasha replace Murat Pasha, but Hilal Pasha, favored by Selim, was instead appointed without his consent.

Between 1618 or 1619 Selim tried to take care of the affairs of the kingdom himself, without however forgetting his mother, always asking her for advice on how to act.

## Last years

Şakrasad Sultan was encouraged by her allies to resist Hirihmene's monopoly of power and patronage, and began to plot against her. The courtiers then took sides: the janissaries remained loyal to Hirihmene, while most of the harem and palace eunuchs, chief black eunuch Süleyman Ağa and grand vizier Hilal Pasha favored Şakrasad.

According to Naima, once Hirihmene realized this, she started plotting against Şakrasad Sultan, first sending her to the Old Palace. Naima further notes that Hirihemene secretly asked the palace guards to leave the gates open so the Janissaries could sneak in and kill Şakrasad Sultan. He also allegedly gave two bottles of poisoned sherbet to Üveys Ağa, the chief maker of helva (sweets) in the palace kitchen, to be given to the Şhezade Osman and promised to promote him if he succeeded in poisoning the child. The day before the plot was carried out, however, one of Hirihmene's slaves, Meleki Hatun, betrayed her and told Süleyman Ağa the facts. Selim was closely related to his twin sister Atike, who, due to her friendship with Şakrasad Sultan, prevented Hirihmene from freely killing her or Şakrasad's son.

Wojciech Bobowski's book Saray-ı Enderun' (Life at the Ottoman Court) described the organization and daily life of the Ottoman court. He wrote some observations about Hirihmene's attempt to poison Şhezade Osman:

> "A true report of the designs handled by the old queen, wife of Sultan Mustafa, and mother of Sultan Iskender, Sultan Ibrahim, and Selim emperors, against her grandson Şhezade Osman and Şakrasad Sultan now reigning over the harem, and of the death of said queen and of his accomplices ; written by me Albert Bobovius, then musician of the seraglo and spectator of these things."
>
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Süleyman Ağa promptly invited Grand Vizier Hilal Pasha to the palace and told him that Hirihmene was usually in bed at the time, being entertained by "her eunuchs and favourites, with music, singing and other unusual delights". The Ağa and the sultan's eunuchs then attempted to force their way into Hirihmene's quarters after consulting with the grand vizier. According to a 1675 report, Hirihmene's entourage initially rejected them:

> "But Süleyman Agha, being a stout man, drew his dagger and struck Chief Chamberlain Bash Kapa Oglar in the face, upon which the other eunuchs accompanying Süleyman entered furiously with their daggers, whereupon the queen's eunuchs flew, she remained alone in the Chamber, where she was committed to the Custody of the Eunuchs [sultans].The fugitive Eunuchs were to immediately flee out of the Seraglio, but the Gates were first closed by order of Süleyman Agha, so that they with all the other favorites of the said that the queen was taken and secured in safe hands."
>
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Süleyman Ağa and his accomplices moved so quietly and quickly that most of the palace was asleep. They also shared a sign language so no one could hear their voices. Meanwhile, they summoned their forces to protect the palace from the Janissaries. The men went to Şakrasad Sultan's quarters in the Old Palace and told her about the conspiracy to poison the child, whereupon she begged Süleyman Ağa to protect him.
A procession from Şakrasad Sultan's quarters together with Süleyman Ağa's group then marched to Osman's chambers. The Guardsmen roused their sleeping comrades along with forty of their officers who asked what they could do to show their loyalty. Süleyman Ağa replied:

> "Then Süleyman Agha said: He who eats the bread [of the sultans], should devote himself to the service [of the sultans]; we have allowed the traitors to destroy Sultan Iskender, and now they would also take this from our hands; it belongs to you, who are His Majesty's [Şakrasad Sultan] chief retainers, to offer him utmost assistance.Eiginsi Mustapha Passa, [grand vizier's] sword-bearer and head of the Presence Chamber, a lion-hearted man of fearless resolution, understood something before of the Old Queen [Hirihmene]'s bad inclinations towards the [Sultan], they promptly replied, Grand Master don't be upset, tomorrow you will see (God willing) the Chiefs of your Enemies at your feet."
>
>

The Grand Vizier Hilal Pasha said to the Sultan: "My Sultan, the will of God is that you deliver your mother into the hands of justice, if you wish to appease these mutinies; a small evil is better than a great one; there is no other remedy; God willing, the end will be prosperous." The sultan summoned the sultan and slapped him in the face stating that such a thing should not be allowed to be said about a Valide Sultan. Selim still decides to punish his mother for trying to kill a prince belonging to the dynasty. Selim reduced Hirihmene's salary and ordered part of his treasury to be seized. This solution did not please either the Grand Vizier Halil Pasha or Şakrasad Sultan, who started plotting against Hirihmene and planning her death.

## Death

The rivalry between Hirihemene and Şakrasad Sultan reached an untenable point in 1620. Taking advantage of Sultan Selim's absence at the palace, Şakrasad along with his men stormed the palace.

On the night of November 21, 1620, the black chief eunuch Süleyman Ağa and his armed men, consisting of over 120 armed black and white eunuchs, descended upon the palace in support of Şakrasad, proceeded to Hirihmene's quarters, guarded by over 300 armed Janissaries and loyal black eunuchs. Süleyman Ağa and her men managed to kill some of the guards, while most escaped.

Hearing the commotion, Hirihmene thought the Janissaries had arrived, so he shouted, "Have they come?" “Yes, they have come,” Süleyman Ağa replied, hoping to deceive her. When Hirihmene recognized her voice, he began stuffing the jewels into his pockets and fled along the Via Aurea and through the Court of the Black Eunuchs to the Cupola with the Cupboards, probably hoping to escape from the palace through the Carriage Gate. The gate was locked, so she crept into a small locker, hoping that Şakrasad's eunuchs would pass her by and that the janissaries would come to her rescue. Süleyman Ağa's men broke into her room, but the only person they found there was an elderly woman who acted as Hirihmene's jester and who was armed with a gun, which she pointed at them as they asked her where she was. gone Hirihmene. The woman replied, "I am the valide sultan," but Süleyman Ağa shouted, "It's not her," and pushed her aside.

Eventually Hirihmene was betrayed by a halberdier by a piece of her dress sticking out from under the wardrobe door. Dragged out by one of her attackers, she told him, "O brave man, don't be cruel to me," while throwing gold coins on the floor as a distraction. One of the men then held her down, while they confiscated her clothing, jewellery, bracelets, garters and other valuables. Her earrings, two chestnut-sized diamonds with a ruby ​​under each diamond given to her by her husband Mustafa, were smashed to pieces by an Albanian man named Bostanci Ali Ağa; their estimated value was thought to equal Egypt's entire annual income. Rycaut also mentioned the theft of a beautiful locket engraved with the names of his late sons Iskender and Ibrahim.

Hirihmene was then dragged to the door leading from the harem to the Third Court, where Süleyman Ağa ordered his men to kill her. A group of four men, all young and inexperienced, then strangled her with a piece of rope snatched from the curtains. As the others pulled at the rope, one assassin climbed onto her back and squeezed her neck, though he stopped when Hirihmene bit his thumb. In retaliation, he struck her forehead, possibly knocking her unconscious. Then, assuming she was dead, they cried, "She's dead, she's dead!" and went to warn Şakrasad. Once they were out of sight, she tried to get up, presumably hoping to escape through a secret passageway, but she was noticed.

According to Rycaut, the assassins then applied the rope a second time, although Ottoman renegade Bobovi, relying on an informant from the harem, claimed she had been strangled with her own hair. He is said to have struggled so much that blood from his ears and nose stained the killer's clothes. After he breathed his last, his body was dragged out and shown to the Janissaries, before being transferred to a room in the corridor of the Kuşhâne Kapısı (Aviary Gate).

The next morning, Hirihmene's body was taken from Topkapi Palace to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) to be washed. Rycaut described the funeral of the woman he referred to as the 'Queen': 'The black eunuchs immediately took the corpse, and reverently laid it flat in the Royal Mosch; plucking the hair from their heads in their barbarous way, he moved compassion throughout the court." She was buried unceremoniously in the mausoleum of her late husband Mustafa I. Her slaves were also taken to the Palazzo Vecchio and eventually married off to eligible Muslims with dowry money taken from her property. His vast estates and tax farms in Anatolia and Rumelia and other places, his jewels, precious stones and twenty boxes of gold coins which he had hidden in the Valide Han near the Grand Bazaar were all confiscated by the treasury.

### Aftermath

After Hirihmene's murder, Grand Vizier Hilal Pasha suggested displaying the Black Banner above the main gate of Topkapı Palace (it was usually taken down at the start of campaigns against Christian or Shia powers). The Grand Vizier ordered the town criers to pass through the streets of Constantinople shouting: "Whoever is a Muslim, rally around the banner of religion. Those who do not come are made unfaithful and are divorced from their [Muslim] wives." The morning after Hirihmene's assassination, huge crowds are said to have gathered outside the gates of Topkapı Palace, where they blamed the Janissaries and vowed to avenge his death. The people of Constantinople spontaneously observed three days of mourning while the city's mosques and markets remained closed for three days. At Topkapi Palace, he started a tradition of lighting candles "for his soul" every night, and this tradition continued until the palace was closed.

Şahin Ağa, the Ağa of the Janissaries, urged his troops to avenge Hirihmene's murder, saying, "We only want the atonement of the Valide!" "Are you then the heir, the son or the husband of the Valide?" a voice answered. The long silence with which he met confirmed that the janissaries did not agree with their commander. Şahin Agha would later be abandoned by his men, after which he and the other rebel leaders were hunted down and executed.

The assassination of this powerful, widely respected and widely feared woman caused a political crisis. The first phase involved the execution of Hirihmene's janissary supporters, while in the second, public outrage over the purge prompted Şakrasad Sultan's new administration to fire Grand Vizier Halil Pasha.

#### Civil War

When Selim learned of Şakrasad Sultan's coup, he promptly returned to Topkapi. A spy of Şakrasad in the army alerted the sultana of Selim's arrival. Şakrasad immediately deployed the Janissaries loyal to her, increased the security of the palace, and awaited Selim's arrival.

When Selim arrived in Constantinople, he tried to enter Topkapi, the Janissaries prevented him, Selim decided to attack with the army that had arrived from the war, but some deserted and allied with Şakrasad. Selim attacked the palace causing a civil war in the capital.

Selim finally prevailed and upon entering Topkapi ordered Şakrasad Sultan to be brought to his feet. When they arrived inside the palace, however, the sultana had already escaped with her son and daughters. Selim ordered her to be searched throughout the capital, tortured and killed. Şakrasad was nowhere to be found, and Selim thought she had escaped by now.

### Other opinions and reactions

Contemporary Ottoman chroniclers did not welcome Hirihmene's assassination and recorded it as an injustice committed against a woman of great talent and stature and a harbinger of greater social unrest.

Evliya Çelebi, a famous Ottoman traveller, writer and admirer of Hirihmene, described the assassination: "The mother of the world, wife of Sultan Mustafa (I); Iskender (I) and Ibrahim; the Great Hirihmene Valide—she was strangled by the Chief Black Eunuch Div Süleyman Agha. He did this by twisting her braids around her neck. So that beautiful benefactress was martyred. When the people of Istanbul learned about this, they closed the mosques and bazaars for three days and nights. There was a huge Several hundred people were executed, secretly and publicly, and Istanbul was in turmoil. A term usually reserved for the wives of the Prophet Muhammad - "and they looted most of his jewels." Regarding the events leading up to his assassination , declared: "It was divine wisdom that the respected valide, philanthropic and royal as she was, was martyred for the sake of those unjust oppressions." explicitly supported Şakrasad Sultan's decision to order his assassination and the punishment of his political faction.

Ismihan Sultan, daughter of Iskender and granddaughter of Hirihmene, condemned the Grand Vizier's apparent role in her grandmother's assassination:

> "Tyrant Hilal! You killed my grandmother, the mother of your lord Iskender. Isn't that you and my relatives? [...] For the soul of my grandfather [Sultan Mustafa I] I will curse you and you will get no pleasure from this seal ».
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## Charities

Hirihemen's philanthropic career is notable for the many charitable acts he has undertaken. According to Turkish historian Muzaffer Ozgules, his main concern was to avoid public censure.

Every year in the Islamic month of Rajab he left the palace in disguise to arrange the release of imprisoned debtors and other offenders (excluding murderers) by paying their debts or settling their crimes.

She was also known to seek out impoverished orphan girls and provide them with a mahr, a house and furnishings; women of all religious persuasions, both in Christian Europe and in the Ottoman Empire, bequeathed money to provide dowries for poor women, including special funds for noble girls whose families had fallen on hard times. He also visited hospitals, mosques, and schools to boost his popularity, and set up soup kitchens capable of feeding nearly all of Constantinople's starving people. In Egypt he also financed irrigation works from the Nile to Cairo.

According to Naima, "He freed his female slaves after two or three years of service, and arranged marriages with retired court officers or suitable persons from without, giving the women dowries and jewels and several purses of money according to their talents and of rank, and making sure their husbands had suitable positions. She cared for these former slaves by giving them an annual stipend, and on religious festivals and holy days she gave them purses of money. , who were entrusted with the custody of her apartment, he worked only five days a week.

In 1617 he paid for the construction of the Çinili Mosque (Tiled Mosque), richly decorated with the tiles that gave it its name, and the nearby Üsküdar school. The construction of this modest complex was probably an attempt to boost the popularity of his sons at a time when the Ottoman dynasty was in danger of extinction, with no heir apparent inheriting the throne. He also paid for fountains in Anadolukavağı, Yenikapı, Beşiktaş and Eyüp, as well as other fountains outside the capital, and converted Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha's medrese into a mosque with a large fountain beside it. In addition, in 1620 he financed the construction of the Valide Han in Constantinople, which served to provide accommodation for foreign traders, store goods and merchandise, house artisan shops and provide commercial offices (an urban legend states that he hid most of his precious jewels in the depths of one of its towers). After the Battle of Focchies in 1618, one of her many converted churches was renamed the Valide Sultan Mosque in Ortakapi in her honour, making her the first Ottoman noblewoman whose name was given to one of the converted religious structures of a conquered city.

As a devout Muslim, she also established a foundation to provide pilgrims on the Hajj with water, assist the poor and have the Quran read.

## Wealth

Hirihmene amassed a huge fortune through Iltizām (fiscal agriculture), owning and leasing commercial buildings, and investing extensively in different economic activities. In her memoirs, Karaçelebizade Abdülaziz Efendi, a leading member of the ulama, described a meeting of the imperial council where the subject of crown lands held by royal women was discussed. When it was reported that Hirihmene owned land whose annual income was three hundred thousand kuruş, Karaçelebizade protested: "A valide with so much land is unheard of!" He also argued that those who opposed him only did so out of enmity towards him or because they were recipients of the valide sultan's largesse.

Historian Şarih ül-Menarzade has argued that Hirihmene's extensive charities were also ill-conceived as they were funded by his immense personal fortune, viewing his wealth as an abuse of the fiscal management of the empire, especially at a time when the treasury was in dire straits, the peasants impoverished and the military unpaid. A century later, however, the historian Naima defended Hirihemene against such criticism, arguing that, had his large fortune remained in the treasury, it might have been squandered rather than spent on the benefit of the people.

Hirihemene's critics also recorded the depredations of his "violent tax collectors", who, in an effort to increase their own income, were responsible for his huge income. Naima related Şarih ül-Menarzade's critique: "The administrators of the valide sultan ... raised incalculable sums of money. The peasants of the Ottoman domains suffered much violence and disasters due to excessive taxes, but due to their fear of the administrators beyond to the annual taxes he collected from Lesbos, Euboea, Zile, Menemen, Gaza, Kilis and other places, he ran farms in Cyprus, Rumelia and other places in Anatolia.The port city of Volos was also his property.

When the Cretan War broke out in 1612, the Venetian bailo of Constantinople reported that the valide sultan was very benevolent despite being extremely wealthy.

Upon his death in 1620, his rooms were ransacked, and twenty boxes full of gold coins were reported to have been discovered in the Valide Han. In 1633, the profit on Hirihemene's cash investments accounted for nearly two-thirds of the income of the endowment established for Safiye Sultan's Karamanlu Mosque. Indeed, his wealth and commercial transactions were so vast that even his agents became very wealthy and enjoyed popular esteem. Recording Hirihemene's death in his history, Naima commented of his steward: "The above Behram Kethiida enjoyed great prestige, distinction and wealth. As manager of all the affairs of the valide sultan and of the pious institutions he had established, and as a man extremely trustworthy, he acquired a great deal of wealth and property. But his children and grandchildren did not maintain the high stature he had enjoyed, and his wealth and property were squandered." His wealth was so vast and spread across so many different businesses that, according to Naima, it took fifty years for the state treasury to confiscate everything.

## Legacy

Despite her notoriety as a woman who showed no mercy or compassion for the sake of government and power, Hirihemene was known among the Ottoman citizens for her charitable work, which she managed to secure the image she desired. The chronogram that appears on the courtyard gate of the Çinili Mosque reads:

"Mother of Sultan Ibrahim Khan, Her Majesty the Sultana, most munificent mother of the Sultan: she built this divine edifice as an act of charity. Behold, let it be a house of prayer for God's servants! May they be summoned to mercy of God in the five times [of prayer]! May it be a resting place for worshipers and ascetics! She has built a school, a fountain, a bath and a fountain, for which God grant her his favor and benevolence! Philanthropists and worshipers therein, O God, bring them to the eternal heavens! The charitable work of the sultan's mother was completed in [the Islamic year] one thousand and fifty".

Among her contemporaries the writer Michel Baudier described her as a woman politician "enjoyed in authority" while the merchant and traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described her as "a very wise woman and expert in state affairs".

Both Alphonse de Lamartine and Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall praised her charitable works, Hammer describing her as: "A high-minded and magnanimous regal woman of high spirit and noble heart, but with a lust for power. She, the mother of the greatest tyrant Iskender I, and of the greatest wastrel, Ibrahim I, the Greek Hirihemene who was called MoonandSun for beauty, through the commanding gaze of four emperors - her husband and three sons - was revered more in history than Agrippina , the mother of Nero, through her kindness and her desire for a woman's power Caesar."

## Children

#### Other possibly children:

* Şehzade Osman (1569?, Manisa Palace, Manisa - murdered 1587, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, buried in Iskender I Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque). Possible son of Sineperver or Hirihmene given that he was buried in Iskender I Mausoleum.