Politics and Murder in the Harem

0:00Speaker 1:Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankie Listener discretion advised. On the night of September second, sixteen fifty one, the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire found herself afraid for her life. Just on the other side of the doors of her apartment. Her three hundred armed janissaries, the troops of the Sultan, were attempting to protect her against a troop of assassins, who were led by the chief black eunuch of the Imperial Harem. When the woman's chief private guard refused to let the assassins pass, they cut the guard to pieces.

0:50Speaker 1:The woman, hearing the struggle, tried to flee through the hidden passageways that connected her rooms to the sultans, but she didn't time. She hid in a closet instead, but she made a fatal mistake. The hem of her dress was peeking out, barely visible but visible beneath the door. One of the assassins was said to have dragged her out by her braids. While she struggled mightily, She was ultimately strangled to death, blood pouring from her nose and mouth, strangled with either depending on your source, a cord torn from the curtains, or with her own braids. The death of Cousem Sultan in her sixties marked the end of a political career that had lasted nearly fifty years. Her long tenure in power began in sixteen o five, when, as a young concubine, she gained the title of Favorite or has Seki Sultan, a title originally created for Suliman the Magnificent wife Roxalana, the subject of a previous noble Blood episode. Kazem held power during a unique era in Ottoman history, referred to by historians as the Sultanate of Women, a period that began with the rise of Rosalana from a concubine to legal wife and influential figure in her

2:29Speaker 1:own right. From roughly fifteen thirty four to seventeen fifteen, the concubines, mothers, and grandmothers of the Sultan exerted more power over the political machinations of the empire than ever before. Notably, all of these women began their lives enslaved in the Harem, making their eventual accumulation of wealth and power all the more exceptional. Ksem Sultan has been called both single handedly responsible for the fall of the Ottoman Empire and also the reason it held on for as long as it did.

3:13Speaker 1:As listeners of this show will suspect, the truth is probably somewhere in between extremes. What can be said definitively is that Cosem's legacy is one of power, with all of the blood that that entails. I'm Danish Schwartz and this is noble blood. Reconstructing Cosem's early life has not been an easy task for historians, who mainly have to rely on unofficial, secondhand reports. It's generally believed that she was of Greek and Christian origin, though there are various theories about her birthplace and birth name. As a teenager, Kusem was kidnapped by raiders of the Ottoman slave trade and likely singled out as a candidate for the Harem because of her beauty. In the Harem, she was converted to Islam and given the name ma Peker for her soft, moonlike face. However, she would become known as Kosem, which is believed to have derived from either kose meaning hairless or smooth skinned, or kosem meaning leader or free. The Imperial Harem has long been a source of both fascination and titillation for Western audiences, probably in part because it's cloaked in mystery due to a complete absence of contemporary

4:50Speaker 1:Ottoman writing on it. Among the varied extravagant tales and so called quote accounts of Harem life from European trade travels, historians generally agree that the most reliable portraits of the Harem can be constructed from the writings of ambassadors to Istanbul and captives who served in the palace at this point in Ottoman history. Following a transition first made in the era of Roxalana, the Harem was housed in the main palace. In the sixteenth century, Ottoman politics were being increasingly concentrated not only within the capital but within the palace itself, and the relocation of the Harem from the old Palace to the new palace further blurred the lines between the domestic and the political spheres. Even princes who historically had spent their adolescence governing a provincial capital under the supervision of their mothers now grew up within the confines of the Harem. The reorganized Harem resembled quote the third courtyard of the imperial palace, which housed and trained hages and eunuchs. Expenditure registers detailed a hierarchy inside the Harem, which divided its residence into three groups. The first of

6:20Speaker 1:these was the elite of the harem, the sultan's mother, the Haseki Sultan or favorite consort, and princes and princesses. The second group was composed of the Harem's administrative and training staff, while the third and largest group was the service corps. In that last class were enslaved girls like Kozem. While the Harem had a number of different functions, the purpose most relevant to this episode was, unsurprisingly, to produce concubines for the sultan. There were no legal restrictions barring the son of a ruler and a concubine from inheriting the throne, and by the end of the fourteenth century, concubinage had overtaken legal marriage as the dominant means of reproduction for rulers. There are a few explanations for this.

7:17Speaker 1:For one, a concubine had no allegiance to a family or foreign power. From a young age, she was forcefully converted to Islam, taught Oddman cultural values, and promised eventual elevation or even freedom through having the child of the Sultan or another powerful man. But as we will see, greater political power was attainable for Kazem. During her time in the Harem, she would have been taught by senior members to read, write, and speak Turkish, to understand Islamic law, to play the harp and sing, and to embroider. Girls who showed the most promise were chosen to be the attendants to the valid Sultan or mother of the current Sultan, who trained them to become concubines. According to Bobovius, a Polish captive who became an interpreter and musician in the Sultan's court, quote, she takes care to keep them splendidly outfitted and to have them instructed in all that they can learn, so that they might be capable of inspiring in the grand signor the love, which might allow them to become concubines, and perhaps one among them the favorite and the honored mother of his eldest son, or else

8:45Speaker 1:to be married to persons of quality outside the palace end quote. That was most likely how Kosem captured the attention of Ahmed, the first shortly after his rise to power in sixteen o three. We don't know exactly when their sexual relationship began, but we know their first child, Mehmed, was born in sixteen o five. Ahmed had one even older son, Osmon, but it's likely Osmd's mother died before his fifth birthday. Ahmed's own mother died in the early years of his reign, and his grandmother was exiled to the Old Palace. The absence of those other women put Kusem in a uniquely powerful position. She was not just the only living mother of the Sultan's sons, but the most senior powerful mother in the imperial court. Kusem would go on to have the rest of Ahmed's children, potentially four more sons and four daughters in her position as Hasseki or favorite, the one mother, one son policy that had once defined Oddoman reproductive politics was now a relic of the pre Sulemanic era. Haseki was not simply a title either. A raise in her status meant a raise in her stipend, with Privy purse records showing that Kazem

10:22Speaker 1:received one thousand aspers a day. A rumor even persisted at the time and still persists today that Ahmed and Ksem legally married. Kasem likely developed an early interest in politics and held influence from the early days of Ahmed's rule. In sixteen twelve, the Venetian ambassador to Istanbul described Ksem as a woman of quote, beauty and shrewdness, and of many talents. She sings excellently. She continues to be extremely well loved by the king. Not that she is respected by all, but she is listened to in some matters and is the favorite of the king, who wants her beside him continually end quote. He noted, however, that Cosem quote restrains herself with great wisdom from speaking to the Sultan too frequently of serious matters and affairs of the state end quote, likely meaning that she understood how to appropriately appease his ego. We know Ahmed wanted Cosem constantly by his side, but how did Cozem feel about the man who was her maybe husband, whether legally or in effect.

11:39Speaker 1:That's a question I cannot answer, as no personal writing regarding Ahmed survives. It's worth noting that even if we did have access to letters between sultan and concubine, such as those between Raksalana and Suliman. It's inherently difficult to parse the true nature of feelings in such a complex power dynamic, when, of course, you have to remember that kozm began her life in the Harem as an enslaved concubine. What we have a greater understanding of, however, is her political career. Historians believe she potentially played an integral role in the shift in Ottoman succession politics from primogeniture, in which the eldest son inherits the throne, to agnatic seniority, in which power goes to the eldest male in the dynasty.

12:39Speaker 1:Primogeniture in practice resulted in systemic fratricide upon the new sultan's ascension. Ahmed's situation was unique. He had a living brother, Mustapha, who was most probably left alive because Ahmed was only thirteen at the time of his sension and his reproductive capacity had not been confirmed. However, once several sons were successfully sired, Mustapha's survival was in question. The Venetian ambassador reported in sixteen twelve that Kozem had prevailed upon Ahmed to spare his brother Mustapha. She argued that because Ahmed himself was his father's second son, he should not harm the brother whose place he once occupied. The story of Ahmed's elder brother and his execution potentially organized by his own grandmother based on a prophecy, is a story for another time. But according to the ambassador, in this case, Kosem's motive in sparing her brother in law was quote to see if it was possible that this mercy which she displayed at the present to the brother, might all so be employed later toward her son, the brother of the firstborn prince. In other words, she believed if she supported Mustapha, her sons might later be spared themselves. Ahmed,

14:15Speaker 1:remember had an oldest son, Osman, who would be more likely to simply kill his brothers despite his warm relationship with their mom Kasem. As a small boy, Osmond could be seen going for carriage rides with Kasem, tossing coins to spectators. However, the Venetian ambassador claimed Ahmed later forbade the two from speaking to each other, and speculated it was because of Kasem's well known ambitions for her own sons. When Ahmed died, Kazem would legally become a free woman, but if she wanted to maintain power in the empire, it would have to be through her children. To realize those ambitions, Kosem was already building a network of powerful allies.

15:06Speaker 1:In sixteen sixteen, the Venetian ambassador reported that she was the most valuable ally to have an Istanbul because of her sway over the Sultan, and that she should be rewarded for her contributions to Venice's good standing. But the most valuable way a woman could build influence within the empire was through the marriages of her daughters and other women indebted to her. The marriages of Ottoman princesses especially, were important links between the Harem and other concentrations of power, both inside and outside the palace. Cosem found a close ally in her son in law, the acting Grand Vizir, after he married one of her daughters. In a blow to Cosem's growing influence, Ahmed had that Grand Vizir strangled on charges of corruption in sixteen fourteen. It's likely that around this time Kasem also began to build her alliance with the leaders of the Janissary Corps, an alliance that would last her entire lifetime. Later in her life as valid, Sultan Ksem was known to free her slaves after relatively short periods of service and to maintain ties with them in their new lives. According to the seventeenth century historian

16:36Speaker 1:Mustafan Naima quote, she would free her slave women after two or three years of service and would arrange marriages with retired officers of the court or suitable persons from outside, giving the women dowries and jewels and several purses of money according to their talents and station, and ensuring that their husbands had suitable positions. She looked after after these former slaves by giving them an annual stipend, and on the religious festivals and holy days she would give them purses of money. This all was very nice, but it wasn't just out of the goodness of her heart. As with the marriages of her daughters, Arranging the marriages of loyal, formerly enslaved girls to potentially influential husbands would be the key to her political success. While her actions may not have been entirely magnanimous, Kuzem is remembered for a tradition of charity work. She began as hesseki and continued throughout her career. She arranged dowries for a number of girls whose families could not afford them, and provided them with lodgings and furnishings. She systematically delivered water to pilgrims traveling

17:55Speaker 1:to the Holy City, and annually distributed clothing and shoes to both pilgrims and locals. Perhaps most surprisingly, every year in the month of Rajab, Kasem would leave the palace in disguise and arrange for the release of imprisoned debtors and criminals, with the notable exception of murderers through personal payment of their debts or equal compensation. Kuzm's time as Hesseki or favorite ended when Ahmed died in November sixteen seventeen, likely of typhus. Fortunately for Kuzm, her intervention was successful, and Ahmed's brother, Mustafa and not Ahmed's eldest son, succeeded his position. Unfortunately for Kasem, Mustapha was both mentally and physically ill, and he was deposed only ninety six days later.

18:56Speaker 1:He was replaced by Osman, who altered timately killed Mehmed, Kusem's oldest son, but sent the rest of her sons to live with her in the Old Palace. It seems he still harbored some affection for the woman who briefly acted as his stepmother, and he even paid her a three day visit during his reign. Kuzm additionally maintained her daily thousand asper stipend through Mustapha and Osmond's reigns, evidencing a level of respect. Osmond proved to be another unpopular ruler, which some historians argue was in part due to his lacking a valid sultan or mother to guide him. He was ultimately killed in a Janissary uprising in sixteen twenty two.

19:50Speaker 1:Power was briefly returned to his uncle Mustapha, but he was once again deposed due to his instability, and he was sent to live in the Old Palace for the rest of his days. On September tenth, sixteen twenty three, Kasem's son Murad ascended the throne as Murad the Fourth, and Ksem's time as valid Sultan began. Seeing as Murad was only about eleven years old when he came into power, Kasem was appointed official regent and she governed in her son's place alongside the Grand Vizier through his teenage years.

20:38Speaker 1:Shortly after Murad's enthronement, a Venetian ambassadorial dispatch read quote, all power and authority is with the mother, in the prime of life and of lofty mind and spirit, who often took part in the government during the reign of her husband. Around the same time in English, and abassador commented that Murad would be quote governed by his mother, who governed his father a man of spirit and wit. The title of valid Sultan came not only with power, but with money too. Kozim had a greater income than any valid sultan before her, at an astonishing twenty four million Aspers a year. Most of this money came from land grants endowed to her through Ahmed Murad and even Osman.

21:33Speaker 1:During her regency, Kuzm enjoyed a good working relationship with the Grand Vizier and had numerous allies in powerful governmental positions. In one letter, she frankly tells the Grand Vizier quote, you really give me a headache, but I give you an awful headache. To how many times have I asked myself, I wonder if he's getting sick of me? But what else can we do? Pretty Traditionally, the Grand Vizier was responsible for day to day imperial affairs and leading the empire in war, while the valid Sultan and chief Eunuch ran the household and palace affairs as regent. It seems Ksem's influence crossed these spheres, as you can imagine, as Murad became older, a level of conflict between sultan and regent was inevitable. A sixteen twenty five Venetian report revealed Kzem and Murrad were clashing over the possibility of a truce with the Spanish. The report reads quote the imperialists and Spaniards declared that the matter was progressing favorably, being actively assisted by the Sultan's mother, but also states that the Sultan, quote with a prudence beyond his years, was opposed to such a deal. Zizem had a powerful ally

23:02Speaker 1:in negotiations, in this case, the governor of Egypt, who by no coincidence, was married to one of her daughters. In a letter from Kozm to the Grand Vizier, likely written around sixteen twenty eight, we see her frustrations as both an anxious mother and an anxious regent. First, she expresses political distress, writing quote, something absolutely must be done about Yemen it's the gate to Mecca. You'll talk to my son about this. I tell you my mind is completely distraught over this. The tone then shifts to worrying about Murad. In equal measure, she complains, quote, my son leaves in the morning and comes back at night. I never see him. He won't stay out of the cold.

23:52Speaker 1:He is going to get sick again. I tell you this grieving over the child is destroying me. Talk to him when you get a chain, as he must take care of himself. What can I do? He won't listen. He's just gotten out of a sick bed 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. End quote. Another letter to the Grand Vizier expresses similar concerns, but additionally reveals Kazem's fears for her own position should something happen to Murad. She writes, quote, I wish you would listen to me and have them stop practicing the javelin in the hippodrome. Why can't they go play in langa.

24:41Speaker 1:My son loves it. I lose my mind over it. Whoever says it's good for him is lying. Caution him about it, but not right away. What can I do? My words are bitter to him. Now, just let him stay alive. He is vital to all of us. While the last line may not be relatable to most, there's something at comforting in both of those letters, in knowing mothers throughout history have always been worried about their sons staying in the cold too long, playing dangerous sports, and not stopping by often enough. Muraud sought to gain greater independence in his rule through limiting his mother's network of power.

25:27Speaker 1:In sixteen twenty eight, he dissolved the marriage between his sister and a powerful admiral, one of Kazem's closest allies. She reportedly attempted to appease her son with elaborately outfitted horses and a lavish banquet, to no avail. Murraud gained full formal control in sixteen thirty two, ending his mother's regency. Despite earlier strife, it appears they ultimately came to respect each other's roles in the empire in the latter half of his reign, but respect did not mean peace. In sixteen thirty five, while celebrating a victorious campaign, Murad had two of his four remaining brothers murdered in sixteen thirty eight.

26:15Speaker 1:He used another victory celebration to mask the killing of a third brother. Only at the intervention of Kouzam, was the final living brother Ibrahim spared. She argued that his mental illness rendered him harmless no threat to his brother's throne. Kasem's defense may not have only saved her son, but the existence of the Ottoman Empire. When Murad died of liver failure in sixteen forty, with no surviving heirs, Ibrahim was the only living male in the line of succession.

26:53Speaker 1:During the first year of Ibrahim's reign, Kusem followed in the footsteps of Valid Sultan's before for her and constructed a mosque complex. Despite her massive wealth, the complex was considered more modest than her predecessors. As the fate of the Ottoman Empire hung in limbo, It's very possible Kasem sped up her plan to endow a complex and cement her legacy before the potential fall. It was Kasem's responsibility as the lead to make sure her son Ibrahim produced heirs to secure the future of the dynasty. Ibrahim turned out to be rather too enthusiastic about producing heirs and notoriously spent excessive time and money on his harem. Kasem may have later regretted introducing him to his first concubine and future hesseki, a woman named Turan. Though Kazm was not a formal regent to Ibrahim the first, she maintained the role in effect. His sheltered childhood, combined with his alleged mental illness and fixation on his harem, made him an incapable ruler. This naturally left a power vacuum that many were eager to fill. As opposed to the harmony Kazem had enjoyed with Maraud's grand viziers, Kuzim found herself

28:27Speaker 1:in competition with Ibrahim's advisers. According to yet another Venetian ambassador quote in the present Government, to the extent that this son's capabilities are less. Kazm is held in greater esteem than at the end of Mrod's reign, and thus, with her commanding affairs within the palace and the grand vizier commanding those outside, it happens quite often that these two rulers come up against each other, and in doing so take offense at each other, so that one can say that in appearance they are in accord, but secretly each is trying to bring about the downfall of the other.

29:08Speaker 1:These attempts to bring about the downfall of the other appear to have been quite caddy at times. When the Venetian ambassador attempted to pass on a letter of congratulations to Cozem through the Grand Vizier, the Vizier reportedly did not forward the letters, quote as if scorning them, and in the words of the Venetian quote, told me that the queen mothers of the Ottomans are slaves of the Grand Signor like all others, not partners or heads of government like those in Christian countries. It was an ironic attempt to undermine her authority. After all, the Grand Viziers were also enslaved by the Sultan. There is obvious gender discrepancy.

29:58Speaker 1:While the valid Sultan was technically a free woman upon the death of her husband, she had begun her career as a concubine, enslaved for sexual purposes. This fact would unsurprisingly appear repeatedly in attempts to invalidate the power of both the Hassekis and valides of the Sultanate of Women. Despite the infighting, the early years of Ibrahim's reign are remembered as relatively peaceful and prosperous under the joint rule of Kozem and the Grand Vizier. The same cannot be said of the latter years. In the war for control, both of them ultimately lost. The increasingly unstable Ibrahim had his Grand Vizier executed in sixteen forty four after an attempted coup, and he planned to exile his mother to the island of Rhodes, despite no evidence of her involvement in the scheme. That plan was stopped thanks to the intervention of Ibrahim's own hesseki, who saw it as too great an indignity. Kozm was instead confined to one of the imperial gardens in the capitol quote. Ibrahim the Mad as he became known, was ultimately deposed and imprisoned in sixteen forty eight, replaced by his son Mehmed. While they

31:33Speaker 1:had detrimental effects on Ibrahim's capabilities as a ruler, Kosem's efforts to secure the future of the empire were successful. Ibrahim's final words as a saultan were allegedly, I am the father of a dynasty. Mehmed the fourth, the eldest, was only seven years old at the time of his ascension, thus requiring a regent. In a rare occurrence, there were two valid sultans to choose from, Cosem and Memid's young mother, Turan Sultan. The Chief Justice ultimately appointed Kosem, the new sultan grandmother, as regent, potentially despite her wishes, because of her decades of experience. According to a seventeenth century Ottoman scholar quote, it being an ancient custom that upon the ascension of a new sultan, the mother of the previous sultan removed to the old palace and thus give up her honored office. The elder valid requested permission to retire to a life of seclusion, but because the loving mother of the new Sultan was still very young and truly ignorant of the state of the world, it was thought that if she were in control of government, there would result the possibility of harm to the welfare of the state. Therefore,

33:00Speaker 1:the elder valid was reappointed for a while longer to the duty of training and guardianship, and it was considered appropriate to renew the assignment of crown lands to the Valid Sultan. Quote training and guardianship appears to have been an understatement, as in actuality, Kuseem resumed near full control and gave herself the title Great Valid Sultan as the highest ranking Ottoman woman of all time. Clashes with other officials were once again inevitable, calling an imperial audience with all leading statesmen, The young Sultan dismissed his grand Vizier and appointed the leader of the janissaries to the position.

33:48Speaker 1:All the while, his grandmother was sitting behind a curtain, a practice employed by Valid sultans before her. Not content to use her grandson as a literal mouth piece, however, Kazem made a speech from behind the curtain, defending her role and silencing her critics with a vehemence that surprised the audience. She commented on the Grand Vizier's failed plan to assassinate her, declaring quote, thanks to God, I have lived through four reigns, and I have governed myself for a long while the world will be neither reformed nor destroyed by my death. You might be wondering what Turan was up to during all of this, as her grandmother in law had done in her younger years. Turan was building a faction of her own. Where Kazem had the allegiance of the janisaries, Turan had the influential palace eunuchs on her side, including the Chief Black Eunuch, an official position held by an enslaved black African eunuch. Turan's facttion was built around discontent with the level of power and influence the janissaries wielded, especially regarding their domination over provincial government. Kuzm, of course, learned of the growing intent to have her

35:16Speaker 1:removed or killed. She began to formulate her own plan in which Ibrahim's second son, Suliman, would replace Mehmed, as she believed Suliman's mother would be a lesser threat than Turhan. According to the chronicler Naima, Kuzm secretly asked the guards to leave the palace gates open so that janissaries could sneak in and kill Turhan Sultan in her chambers. At the same time, she allegedly gave two bottles of poisoned sherbet to the head sweet maker in the palace kitchen to serve Mehmed yes, she was allegedly attempting to poison her own grandson the day before enacting the plan. However, one of Cosem's servants revealed the plot to Turhan. You know what happened next. When news of the violent death of the widely respected great Valid Sultan reached the people of Istanbul, they shut down the city's mosques and markets for three days in mourning. In the wake of her assassination, the Central Treasury confiscated Cosem's entire wealth, her vast estates and taxes, her jewelry, precious stones, cash, and gold coins.

36:39Speaker 1:According to Naima, the story goes that her wealth was so vast and varied across different enterprises that it took fifty years for the state treasury to confiscate it all. Commenting on Cosem's legacy, Naima praised her charitable contributions to the empire, but condemned the harsh taxes on the peasants of her estates who dared not complain. In his words, quote, it was divine wisdom that the respected Valid, philanthropic and regal as she was, was martyred for the sake of those unjust oppressions he considered these ills the result of the valid sultan having too much power, a departure from traditional Ottoman norms. The reality is the nearly two hundred year Sultanate of women saw the empire through the same peaks and valleys it experienced with men at the holms of power. Just as Helen didn't destroy Troy and Megan didn't destroy the British monarchy, yet one woman, no matter how powerful, cannot be responsible for the rise or fall of an empire. Kazem was ultimately right. The world was neither reformed nor destroyed by her death. That's the story of Kazm Sultan. But keep listening after a brief sponsor

38:16Speaker 1:break to hear a little bit about her legacy in pop culture. If you finished listening to this episode thinking I would really like to watch the death of Kosem acted out in slow motion, then oh boy, do I have the show for you. The twenty eleven Turkish television drama Magnificent Century Kosem chronicles her entire life and of course, her dramatic end. In this depiction, after she has strangled, the women of the Harem descend upon her like vultures, ripping the jewels off her body twist. She wakes up, gasping for air. It's only then that a curtain is ripped from a window, finishing the job, A ring is taken from her finger and presented to Turan, who is smugly watching the entire scene from above. Perhaps it would be of solace to Cosem to know that, in the twenty first century she has stands. One commenter wrote, finally she got what she herself had served many times, but another commenter replied, Kosem is better than all your faves.

39:43Speaker 1:Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milaney. The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il Kaali and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.