Handan Sultan

Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1605

In this Ottoman Turkish style name, the given name is  Handan, the title is Sultan, and there is no family name.

Handan Sultan

Tomb of Handan Sultan in Mehmed III's mausoleum

Valide sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Tenure| 22 December 1603 – 9 November 1605
Predecessor| Safiye Sultan
Successor| Halime Sultan

Born| Helena
c. 1565/c. 1568
Bosnia
Died| (1605-11-09)9 November 1605
(aged 36–40)
Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Burial|

Mehmed III Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque, Istanbul

Consort| Mehmed III
Issue| Fatma Sultan
Şehzade Selim
Şehzade Süleyman
Ayşe Sultan
Ahmed I
Şehzade Osman
Religion| Sunni Islam (converted)

Handan Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: خندان سلطان, "smiling"; c. 1565/1568 - 9 November 1605) was a consort of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed III, and mother and Valide Sultan to their son Sultan Ahmed I. She acted as the most influential person during her son's reign and became the de facto ruler until her death in 1605. Handan Sultan was one of the prominent women during the era known as the Sultanate of Women.[1]

## Early life

[edit]

Handan was of Greek[2] or Bosnian origin,[3] probably born as Helena between 1565 and 1568.[4][5]

She was an enslaved servant in the household of Cerrah Mehmed Pasha, the Beylerbey of the Rumelia Eyalet, and his wife Gevherhan Sultan, daughter of Sultan Selim II, sister of Sultan Murad III, and aunt of Sultan Mehmed III. Mehmed Pasha was a surgeon ("cerrah") and had circumcised Şehzade Mehmed in 1582.[6][7]

## As imperial consort

[edit]

In 1583, when Mehmed was appointed the sancak-bey of Saruhan, Mehmed Pasha and Gevherhan Sultan decided to let Handan, described as beautiful, into his harem as concubine. Handan became quickly Mehmed's first favorite and gave him at least four sons and two daughters.[6][7][8]

When Mehmed ascended the throne after his father's death in 1595, Handan came to Istanbul with him. An epidemic ravaged the capital between 1597 and 1598, killing Handan's eldest son, Şehzade Selim. Then another illness killed her second son, Şehzade Süleyman, in 1602. In addition to mourning, Handan also had to deal with the fact that it was no longer his son the eldest (and so the heir) Prince, but the son of her rival Halime (Mehmed's second favorite), Şehzade Mahmud. Handan would do anything to keep her only remained son, Şehzade Ahmed, alive, so she allied herself with Safiye Sultan, even if she and Safiye didn't really like each other.[9] Handan also had an ally in Raziye Hatun, an harem staff member who had helped her to became Mehmed's favorite.

In the end, Mehmed, under pressure from Safiye Sultan, executed Prince Mahmud, in 1603, making Şehzade Ahmed the elder, and so heir, Prince.[10]

## Issue

[edit]

According to the Venetian ambassador Leonardo Donà, Mehmed had five children with Handan, three sons and two daughters:[11][12]

* Fatma Sultan (c. 1584, Manisa Palace, Manisa - ?). She married the governor of Cairo, Mahmud Pasha, in the early 1600s. She married Tiryaki Hasan Pasha in 1604 and had a son and two daughters. When Hasan died in 1611, she married Güzelce Ali Pasha in 1616, until his death in 1621.
* Şehzade Selim (1585, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 20 April 1597, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, buried in Hagia Sophia Mosque);
* Şehzade Süleyman (1586, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 1597, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, buried in Hagia Sophia Mosque);
* Ayşe Sultan (c. 1587 – after 1614), married to Destari Mustafa Pasha, with whom she had a son and two daughters who died young. Some sources also suggest that she remarried Gazi Hüsrev Pasha. She was buried in Destari's türbe (Şehzade Mosque) with their children.[13]
* Ahmed I (18 April 1590,[14][15] Manisa Palace, Manisa – 22 November 1617, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, buried in Ahmed I Mausoleum, Sultan Ahmed Mosque);

## As Valide Sultan

[edit]

### Ahmed's accession

[edit]

When Ahmed ascended the throne following Mehmed III's death on 22 December 1603, Handan became the Valide Sultan. As the mother of the new Sultan, she received 1,000 aspers a day.[16] On Friday 9 January 1604, the former Valide Sultan Safiye Sultan, along with Şehzade Mustafa (future Mustafa I), were sent to live in the Eski (old) Palace located at the Beyazıt Square.[17] Soon after his succession, Ahmed wanted to express his gratitude to Mehmed Pasha and Gevherhan Sultan for the role they had played in bringing his parents together. By then, however, Cerrah Mehmed Pasha was old and ailing, and died on 9 January 1604. Ahmed, therefore, honored the late pasha's wife. He also named one of his daughters after her.[18]

Unlike other Valide Sultans, Handan Sultan gathered her family members in the Imperial palace and the capital. She took her sisters into the harem and his brother, Geysudar Mustafa, entered the dervish lodge of Mahmud Hüdayi.[19]

### As de facto ruler

[edit]

Handan Sultan personally ruled the state on behalf of her son from 1603 till her death in 1605, acting as the de facto ruler: she was the first Valide to act as a regent, although it has always been mistakenly reported that the first Valide to act as a ruler was Kösem Sultan.[20] The administrative level formed by Handan Sultan carried out an effective policy in the first years of her son's reign.[21] She was the most influential person in the first two years of Ahmed I's reign.

As the Valide Sultan, Handan protected the life of Şehzade Mustafa (second son of her ancient rival Halime), who was mentally ill, and the decision whether or not to kill him because of the law of Fraticide was continually postponed by Handan: in November 1604, Şehzade Osman, first son of Ahmed I, was born, definitively dropping out his possible killing.[22][23]

As a co-regent, she immediately began building up her network of clients, and was actively involved in the running of dynastic and imperial affairs together with Ahmed's tutor Mustafa Efendi (died 1607 or 1608).[24][25] Ahmed several times announced his eagerness to go to war. It seems that Handan Sultan and Mustafa Efendi advised him to behave in this manner in order to give the public the impression that he was capable of ruling the state.[26] He also began to spend a great deal of time outside the palace, notably hunting or conducting incognito inspections, regardless of the weather. Handan Sultan quickly realized that her son could easily put himself in danger and thus needed to be closely watched.[27]

She favored her fellow Bosnians at her son's court.[24][28] She convinced Ahmed to appoint Yavuz Ali Pasha as grand vizier,[29] and maintained a close relationship with him, especially during the first critical months of Ahmed's reign.[30] In spring of 1604, she and Mustafa Efendi ordered Ali Pasha to take command in Hungary.[31] In August 1604, Ahmed ordered the execution of deputy grand vizier Kasim Pasha, and in January 1605 of his successor Sarıkçı Mustafa Pasha, and in both cases his decision was approved and encouraged by Handan Sultan and Mustafa Efendi, who were trying to rid the court of clients of Safiye Sultan.[32]

Because of Handan Sultan's influence on her son, Dervish Mehmed Agha replaced Bayran Agha as chief gardener in summer of 1604. Whenever Handan, Ahmed, and Derviş gathered in the palace gardens, she made Ahmed promise that he will not do anything contrary to Derviş's words and thoughts.[33][34] Thanks to Handan's continuous support, he managed to become the first royal favorite of Ahmed.[25]

Handan Sultan also acted as an intermediary between her son and other government officials. Any vizier who wanted to communicate with Ahmed had to submit his petition first to her.[35] The contemporary historian Ibrahim Peçevi questioned her wisdom, but legitimized her authority over her son by an old and popular saying "a mother's right is God's right".[36]

### Charities

[edit]

Handan Sultan made an endowment for the maintenance of her husband Mehmed III's tomb and the salaries of its employees.[37] She also made endowments in Kütahya, Menemen and Kilizman.[38][39]

### Illness

[edit]

Sinanpaşaoğlu Mehmed Pasha, who had been married to Piyale Pasha and Gevherhan Sultan's daughter Hatice Hanımsultan in November 1598,[40] was sent to quell the Jelali rebellions in Anatolia. However, he proved to be ineffective, and conducted himself so inappropriately as to arouse suspicions that he had turned a rebel himself. With Handan's intervention, he was forgiven by the sultan. He returned to Istanbul, and took up his duties as vezir. However, he was executed on 20 August 1605.[41][42][43] Handan, who was already ill at that time, was so shocked by the turn of events that her condition reportedly worsened.[44]

## Death and aftermath

[edit]

Handan Sultan died at the Topkapı Palace on Wednesday, 9 November 1605 after a long illness, possibly a stomach disease.[45][46][47] Another source claims that she was instead killed as a result of intrigue or poisoned by the Sultan himself.[48]

At her funeral, large amounts of food and alms were distributed for the sake of her soul.[49] She was buried next to her consort in his mausoleum in Hagia Sophia Mosque, Istanbul.[50][38] Ahmed despite appeals of the viziers for the customary mourning for seven days, didn't postpone his departure from Istanbul on campaign against the Jelali revolts.[41] After Handan's death, Kösem Sultan, Ahmed’s favorite concubine and Haseki, took control of the harem for the rest of his reign, and became the highest authority in the harem.[51][52]

## In popular culture

[edit]

In the 2015 TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Handan Sultan is portrayed by Turkish actress Tülin Özen.[53]

## See also

[edit]

* Ottoman dynasty
* Ottoman family tree
* List of Valide Sultans
* List of consorts of the Ottoman Sultans

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Imperial Harem : Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire 1993, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508677-5
2. ^ Iyigun, Murat (2015). War, Peace & Prosperity in the Name of God: The Ottoman Role in Europe's Socioeconomic Evolution. University of Chicago Press. p. 119\. ISBN 978-0-226-23228-7. "Handan Sultan... Greek..."
3. ^ Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 219.
4. ^ Yavuz Bahadıroğlu (2013). Fatih Sultan Mehmed (in Turkish). ISBN 978-9752699182.
5. ^ Ali Kemal Meram (1977). Padişah anaları: resimli-belgesel tarih romanı (in Turkish). p. 246.
6. ^ a b Börekçi 2010, p. 93.
7. ^ a b Börekçi 2009, p. 80.
8. ^ Börekçi, Günhan (2020). "A Queen-Mother at Work: On Handan Sultan and Her Regency During the Early Reign of Ahmed I". The Journal of Southeastern European Studies (34): 45–92. doi:10.26650/gaad.20213403. S2CID 236832964.
9. ^ Günhan Börekçi. İnkırâzın Eşiğinde Bir Hanedan: III. Mehmed, I. Ahmed, I. Mustafa ve 17. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Siyasî Krizi (PDF) (in Turkish).
10. ^ Günhan Börekçi. İnkırâzın Eşiğinde Bir Hanedan: III. Mehmed, I. Ahmed, I. Mustafa ve 17. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Siyasî Krizi (PDF) (in Turkish).
11. ^ Tezcan 2001, p. 329 n. 25.
12. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 69 n. 107.
13. ^ "Turkey5". www.4dw.net. Archived from the original on 2 May 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
14. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 85 n. 17.
15. ^ Börekçi 2009, p. 81 n. 75.
16. ^ Peirce 1993, p. 127.
17. ^ Shaw & Shaw 1976, p. 186.
18. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 94.
19. ^ Günhan Börekçi̇ (2009). İnkırâzın Eşiğinde Bir Hanedan: III. Mehmed, I. Ahmed, I. Mustafa ve 17. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Siyasî Krizi.
20. ^ Günhan Börekçi. İnkırâzın Eşiğinde Bir Hanedan: III. Mehmed, I. Ahmed, I. Mustafa ve 17. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Siyasî Krizi (PDF) (in Turkish).
21. ^ Günhan Börekçi (2020). A Queen Mother at Work: On Handan Sultan and Her Regency During the Early Reign of Ahmed I" [Faal Bir Valide Sultan: Handan Sultan ve I. Ahmed’in Hükümdarlığının Başlarındaki Naibeliği Üzerine] (PDF) (in Turkish).
22. ^ Enver Behnan Şapolyo (1961). Osmanlı Sultanları Tarihi (in Turkish).
23. ^ ASVe, SDC, filza 59, fol. 69v (27 Mart 1604 tarihli rapor)
24. ^ a b Börekçi 2010, p. 130.
25. ^ a b Ágoston & Masters 2010, p. 23.
26. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 108.
27. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 207.
28. ^ Graf 2017, p. 153.
29. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 131.
30. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 136.
31. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 216, n. 35.
32. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 121, n. 104.
33. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 205.
34. ^ Peirce 1993, p. 237.
35. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 137.
36. ^ Peirce 1993, p. 237-8.
37. ^ Peirce 1993, p. 210.
38. ^ a b Uluçay 2011, p. 77.
39. ^ Peirce 1993, p. 215.
40. ^ Ipşırlı 1976, p. 211.
41. ^ a b Peirce 1993, p. 243.
42. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 120.
43. ^ Haskan 2001, p. 337.
44. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 120-1.
45. ^ "Joseph von Hammer, Büyük Osmanlı Tarihi, 8. Cilt, Sayfa: 74" (PDF) (PDF).
46. ^ Tezcan 2008, p. 351.
47. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 124.
48. ^ John Freely (1998). Istanbul: The Imperial City. ISBN 978-0140244618.
49. ^ Peirce 1993, p. 196.
50. ^ Sakaoğlu 2008, p. 301.
51. ^ Börekçi 2010, p. 21.
52. ^ Ágoston & Masters 2010, p. 153.
53. ^ Muhtesem Yüzyil: Kösem (TV Series 2015– ), retrieved 20 October 2017

## Sources

[edit]

* Ágoston, Gábor; Masters, Bruce Alan (21 May 2010). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-438-11025-7.
* Börekçi, Günhan (2010). Factions And Favorites At The Courts of Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603-17) And His Immediate Predecessors.
* Börekçi, Günhan (2009). İnkırâzın Eşiğinde Bir Hanedan: III. Mehmed, I. Ahmed, I. Mustafa ve 17. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Siyasî Krizi – A Dynasty at the Threshold of Extinction: Mehmed III, Ahmed I, Mustafa I and the 17th-Century Ottoman Political Crisis.
* Graf, Tobias P. (23 February 2017). The Sultan's Renegades: Christian-European Converts to Islam and the Making of the Ottoman Elite, 1575-1610. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-198-79143-0.
* Haskan, Mehmed Nermi (2001). Yüzyıllar Boyunca Üsküdar, Volume 1. Üsküdar Belediyesi. ISBN 978-9-759-76063-2.
* Ipşırlı, Mehmet (June 1976). Mustafa Selaniki's history of the Ottomans.
* Peirce, Leslie P. (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-195-08677-5.
* Sakaoğlu, Necdet (2008). Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları: Vâlide Sultanlar, Hâtunlar, Hasekiler, Kandınefendiler, Sultanefendiler (in Turkish). Oğlak Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-6-051-71079-2.
* Shaw, Stanford J.; Shaw, Ezel Kural (29 October 1976). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press. pp. 186. ISBN 978-0-521-29163-7.
* Tezcan, Baki (2001). Searching For Osman: A Reassessment of The Deposition of Ottoman Sultan Osman II (1618-1622). (unpublished PhD thesis)
* Tezcan, Baki (2008). "The Debut of Kösem Sultan's Political Career". Turcica. 40 (40): 347–359. doi:10.2143/TURC.40.0.2037143.
* Uluçay, Mustafa Çağatay (2011). Padişahların kadınları ve kızları. Ankara, Ötüken.

Ottoman royalty

Preceded by

Safiye Sultan

|  Valide Sultan
22 December 1603 – 26 November 1605  | Succeeded by

Halime Sultan

* v
* t
* e

Ottoman Dynasty

* Ottoman Empire
* Family tree (simplified)
* Family tree (detailed)
* Line of succession
* List of mothers

Sultans / Caliphs|

* Osman I
* Orhan
* Murad I
* Bayezid I
* Interregnum
* Mehmed I
* Murad II
* Mehmed II
* Bayezid II
* Selim I
* Suleiman I
* Selim II
* Murad III
* Mehmed III
* Ahmed I
* Mustafa I
* Osman II
* Murad IV
* Ibrahim
* Mehmed IV
* Suleiman II
* Ahmed II
* Mustafa II
* Ahmed III
* Mahmud I
* Osman III
* Mustafa III
* Abdul Hamid I
* Selim III
* Mustafa IV
* Mahmud II
* Abdulmejid I
* Abdulaziz
* Murad V
* Abdul Hamid II
* Mehmed V
* Mehmed VI
* Abdulmejid II (Caliph only)

Claimants|

* Savcı Bey
* Süleyman Çelebi
* İsa Çelebi
* Musa Çelebi
* Mustafa Çelebi
* Küçük Mustafa
* Sultan Cem
* Şehzade Ahmet
* Şehzade Korkut
* Şehzade Mustafa
* Şehzade Bayezid
* Sultan Yahya
* Abdulmejid II
* Ahmed Nihad Osmanoğlu
* Osman Fuad Osmanoğlu
* Mehmed Abdülaziz Osmanoğlu
* Ali Vâsıb Osmanoğlu
* Mehmed Orhan Osmanoğlu
* Ertuğrul Osman Osmanoğlu
* Osman Bayezid Osmanoğlu
* Dündar Ali Osmanoğlu

Valide sultans|

* Nilüfer Hatun
* Devlet Hatun
* Hüma Hatun
* Gülbahar Hatun
* Hafsa Sultan
* Nurbanu Sultan
* Safiye Sultan
* Handan Sultan
* Halime Sultan
* Kösem Sultan
* Turhan Sultan
* Aşub Sultan
* Gülnuş Sultan
* Saliha Sultan
* Şehsuvar Sultan
* Mihrişah Sultan
* Sineperver Sultan
* Nakşidil Sultan
* Bezmiâlem Sultan
* Pertevniyal Sultan
* Şevkefza Kadın
* Perestu Kadın

Haseki Sultans|

* Hürrem Sultan
* Nurbanu Sultan
* Safiye Sultan
* Kösem Sultan
* Ayşe Sultan
* Ayşe Sultan
* Turhan Sultan
* Muazzez Sultan
* Aşub Sultan
* Hümaşah Sultan
* Şivekar Sultan
* Gülnuş Sultan
* Rabia Sultan

* v
* t
* e

Mothers of the Ottoman Sultans

* Halime Hatun
* Malhun Hatun
* Nilüfer Hatun
* Gülçiçek Hatun
* Devlet Hatun
* Emine Hatun
* Hüma Hatun
* Gülbahar Hatun
* Gülbahar Hatun
* Hafsa Sultan
* Hürrem Sultan
* Nurbanu Sultan
* Safiye Sultan
* Handan Sultan
* Halime Sultan
* Mahfiruz Hatun
* Kösem Sultan
* Turhan Sultan
* Saliha Dilaşub Sultan
* Muazzez Sultan
* Gülnuş Sultan
* Saliha Sultan
* Şehsuvar Sultan
* Mihrişah Kadın
* Şermi Kadın
* Mihrişah Sultan
* Sineperver Sultan
* Nakşidil Sultan
* Bezmiâlem Sultan
* Pertevniyal Sultan
* Şevkefza Kadın
* Tirimüjgan Kadın
* Gülcemal Kadın
* Gülistu Kadın

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