Sultanate of Women

The Sultanate of Women (Ottoman Turkish: قادينلر سلطنتى, romanized: Kadınlar saltanatı) was a period when wives and mothers of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire exerted extraordinary political influence.

This phenomenon took place from roughly 1533 to 1656, beginning in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent with his marriage to Hürrem Sultan and ending with the regency of Turhan Sultan. These women were either the wives of the Sultan, referred to as haseki sultans, or the mothers of the Sultan, known as valide sultans. Many of them were of slave origin, as was expected during the sultanate since the traditional idea of marriage was considered inappropriate for the sultan, who was not expected to have any personal allegiances beyond his governmental role.

During this time, haseki and valide sultans held political and social power, which allowed them to influence the daily running of the empire and undertake philanthropic works as well as to request the construction of buildings such as the large Haseki Sultan Mosque complex and the prominent Valide Sultan Mosque, also known as the Yeni Mosque (Yeni Cami), at Eminönü.