Who was Turhan Sultan?
Turhan Hatice Sultan was the haseki of Ottoman sultan İbrahim and the mother of Mehmed IV. She is thought to have been born around 1627. In 1648 she became valide sultan, the sultan’s mother and the most powerful woman at court. She held that title until her death in 1683, about thirty-five years.
If you search “Turhan Sultan kimdir” (“who is Turhan Sultan”), this is the short answer. She was a consort who became a regent and then a builder. Her most visible legacy sits in Istanbul’s Eminönü district, where you can still walk through it.
Turhan Sultan’s real name and origin
Her name is a matter of dispute. A common claim says Kösem Sultan gave her the name Hatice Turhan. The writer Uşşakızade İbrahim tells it differently. He says she was first called Turhan, or Tarhan, and only later took the name Hatice.
Her origin is also debated. One view says she was Russian. Another, defended by Taras Chukhlib and Halime Doğru, says she was Ukrainian. A story says that at twelve she was captured by Crimean Tatars. Kör Süleyman Pasha then gave her to Kösem Sultan. That is a tradition, not a proven fact, so treat it with care.
Turhan Sultan’s husband and children
Her husband was Sultan İbrahim. On 2 January 1642 she gave birth to Mehmed IV. At that moment she received the title haseki sultan.
Mehmed IV is the child most tied to her story. On 8 August 1648 he took the throne, and she became valide sultan. She was the sultan’s mother, and he was still a boy.
Why was Kösem Sultan killed?
From 1648 to 1651 two women held the title of valide. Kösem was the grand valide. Turhan was the junior one, called Vâlide-i Sagīr. Their pay shows the ranking. Kösem received 3,000 akçe a day, and Turhan received 2,000.
The TDV Islamic Encyclopedia passes on one account. In it, a palace woman named Melekî Kalfa told Turhan about a plan. Kösem would have Mehmed IV poisoned and put Prince Süleyman on the throne. This is an assassination claim told in a source, and you should read it as an accusation.
What the same source states more firmly is how the killing happened. Fourteen aghas on Turhan’s side agreed to it. Then Lala Süleyman Agha acted, and Kösem was killed on the night of 2–3 September 1651. So the sources point to a palace group around Turhan, not to a single hand.
What happened to Turhan Sultan after Kösem?
After 1651 she ruled in the name of the child sultan. She served as regent until 1656.
Signs of her hands-on role survive. In 1652 she sent a letter to Gürcü Mehmed Pasha. It shows she was supervising the preparations of the fleet bound for Crete.
She also built fortresses. During the war with Venice she had two castles built at the entrance of the Dardanelles. Seddülbahir stands on the Rumeli side. Kumkale stands on the Anatolian side.
In 1656 she accepted the four conditions that Köprülü Mehmed Pasha set for becoming grand vizier. That choice opened a new period of government. Her regency ended the same year.
The record is not only about harshness. TDV reports that she prevented the killing of Mehmed IV’s brothers, Süleyman and Ahmed. This runs against the idea that she was simply ruthless.
Turhan Sultan and the New Mosque (Yeni Cami)
She did not start the New Mosque. Safiye Sultan began its construction on 9 April 1598. The project stayed unfinished for decades.
After the 1660 Istanbul fire, Turhan took on the job of completing it. Construction restarted in 1661 under chief architect Meremetçi Mustafa Agha. The mosque opened for worship with Friday prayer on 30 October 1665.
The complex was more than a mosque. Beside the mosque it held:
- the Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı)
- a royal pavilion (hünkâr kasrı)
- a tomb
- a Quran-reciters’ school (dârülkurrâ)
- a fountain for giving water (sebil)
- a drinking fountain (çeşme)
- a children’s school (sıbyan mektebi)
Here is the everyday link. If you have shopped at the Mısır Çarşısı in Eminönü, you have already walked inside her complex. The bazaar was part of the same charitable foundation as the mosque.
Timeline
- Around 1627 accepted approximate birth year.
- 2 January 1642 gave birth to Mehmed IV and became haseki sultan.
- 8 August 1648 became valide sultan when her son took the throne.
- 2–3 September 1651 Kösem Sultan was killed.
- 1652 wrote to Gürcü Mehmed Pasha about the fleet for Crete.
- 1653 had a fountain built in Beşiktaş.
- 1656 accepted Köprülü Mehmed Pasha’s conditions for the grand vizierate.
- 1661 Yeni Cami construction restarted.
- 1663 her tomb was built, by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s dating.
- 30 October 1665 Yeni Cami opened for prayer.
- 1683 died in Edirne.
- 28 June 2019 her tomb reopened after restoration.
Details you won’t find in guidebooks
Her first known charity was a fountain. In 1653 she had a fountain built in Beşiktaş. It is her first known charitable work, and it has not survived.
Her books arrived early. A palace document from 1652 shows that books set aside for the New Mosque’s library were sent about ten years before the complex was finished.
Borrowing had a deposit. Her 1663 foundation deed required a pledge worth twice the value of any book lent out. Think of a rental deposit that costs more than the item.
The library had staff. It employed a book keeper paid 15 akçe a day. It also had a book copyist and a bookbinder.
Her tomb became a family burial place. The Quran school next to her tomb, built in 1663, turned into the Havatin Tomb when women of the dynasty were buried there.
How did Turhan Sultan die?
She died in Edirne in 1683. The TDV entry states no specific illness or cause of death. So any claim about how she died goes beyond what this source says.
The date is also disputed. TDV gives 5 July 1683. The Turkish and English Wikipedia articles give 4 August 1683. Both agree on the year.
After her death her daughter-in-law Gülnuş Sultan became the highest authority in the harem.
Visiting Turhan Sultan’s tomb
Her tomb is in Eminönü, Istanbul, beside the Yeni Cami she completed. It stands with the Havatin and Cedid Havatin tombs. All three reopened on 28 June 2019 after a six-year restoration, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
You can combine the visit with the mosque and the bazaar. The three belong to one foundation she built.
FAQ
Who was Turhan Sultan’s husband?
Her husband was the Ottoman sultan İbrahim. She was his haseki, a consort with a formal rank, and she became haseki sultan when she gave birth to Mehmed IV on 2 January 1642.
What was Turhan Sultan’s real name?
She is recorded as Turhan Hatice Sultan. Her origin is disputed, and sources differ on how she got the names Turhan and Hatice.
How did Turhan Sultan die?
She died in Edirne in 1683. The TDV Islamic Encyclopedia entry gives no illness or cause of death. Sources also disagree on the date: 5 July 1683 in TDV, 4 August 1683 in the Turkish and English Wikipedia articles.
Who was Turhan Sultan’s daughter-in-law?
Gülnuş Sultan, wife of Mehmed IV. After Turhan’s death in 1683 she became the highest authority in the harem.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi — Turhan Sultan islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi — Yenicami Külliyesi islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi — Turhan Vâlide Sultan Kütüphanesi islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- Turkish Wikipedia — Hatice Turhan Sultan tr.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia — Turhan Sultan en.wikipedia.org
- Ministry of Culture and Tourism — Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan, Havatin and Cedid Havatin Tombs basin.ktb.gov.tr
Image: Turhan Hatice.jpg — Pieter de Jode II, Public domain
