Politics and Murder in the Harem

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On the night of September 2, 1651, 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 300 armed janissaries, the troops of the Sultan, were attempting to protect her against a troop of assassins, who were led by the chief black unit of the Imperial Herum. When the woman's chief private guard refused to let the assassins pass, they cut the guard

to pieces. The woman, hearing the struggle, tried to flee through the hidden passageways that connected her rooms to the Sultan's, but she didn't have time. She hid in a closet instead, but she made a fatal mistake. The hem of her dress was peaking 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

mutally. She was ultimately strangled to death, blood pouring from her nose and mouth,

strangled with either, depending on your source, accord torn from the curtains, or with her own braids. The death of Kazam Sultan in her 60s marked the end of a political career that had lasted nearly 50 years. Her long tenure in power began in 1605 when, as a young concubine, she gained the title of "Favorite" or "Haseqi Sultan". A title originally created for Sulaman the

Magnificent's wife, Roxalana, the subject of a previous noble blood episode. Kazam 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 Roxalana from a concubine to legal life and influential figure in her own right. From roughly 1534 to 1715, 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 Herum, making their eventual accumulation of wealth and power all the more exceptional. Kazam 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. As listeners of this show will

is that Kazam's legacy is one of power with all of the blood that that entails.

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Reconstructing Kazam's early life has not been an easy task for historians, who mainly

have to rely on unofficial second-hand 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, Kazam was kidnapped by raiders of the Ottoman slave trade and likely singled out as a candidate for the Herum because of her beauty. In the Herum, she was converted to Islam and given the name Mapekher for her soft moon-like face. However, she would become known as Kazam, which is believed to have derived from either Kazam meaning hairless or smooth

“skin, or Kazam meaning leader or free. The Imperial Herum 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 Ottoman writing on it. Among the varied extravagant tales and so-called "accounts" of Herum life from European travellers, historians generally agree that the most reliable portraits of the Herum 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 Herum was housed in the main palace. In the 16th century, Ottoman politics were being

“increasingly concentrated, not only within the capital, but within the palace itself, and”

the relocation of the Herum 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 Herum. Structurally, the reorganized Herum resembled, quote, "the third courtyard of the imperial palace, which housed and trained, ages and unics."

Expend to church registers detail the hierarchy inside the Herum, which divided its residence into three groups. The first of these was the elite of the Herum, the Sultan's mother, the Haseiki Sultan, or favorite consort, and princes and princesses. The second group was composed of the Herum's administrative and training staff, while the third and largest group was the service core. In that last class were enslaved girls like Kazem.

While the Herum 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 14th century, concubines had overtaken legal marriage as the dominant means of reproduction for rulers. There are a few explanations for this. For one, a concubine had no allegiance

to a family or foreign power. From a young age, she was forcefully converted to Islam, caught Ottoman 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 Herum, 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 attendance to the Valid Sultan, or mother of the current Sultan, who trained them to become concubines. According to Babovya, a Polish captive who became an interpreter and musician

have them instructed in all that they can learn, so that they might be capable of inspiring

“in the grants in your, 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 to be married to persons of quality outside the palace. And quote, "That was most likely how Kazem captured the attention of Ahmed I, shortly after his rise to power in 1603. We don't know exactly when their sexual relationship began, but we know their first child, Mehmed, was born in 1605. Ahmed had one even older son, Osman, but it's likely Osman'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 Kazem in a uniquely

“powerful position. She was not just the only living mother of the Sultan's son, but the most”

senior powerful mother in the imperial court. Kazem would go on to have the rest of Ahmed's children,

potentially four more sons and four daughters. In her position as Haseki or favorite, the quote, "One mother, one son, policy that had once defined Ottoman reproductive politics, was now a relic of the pre-Sulemonic 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 received a thousand aspers a day. A rumor even persisted at the time, and still persist today, that Ahmed and Kazem

legally married. Kazem likely developed an early interest in politics and held influence from the

early days of Ahmed's rule. In 1612, the Venetian ambassador to Istanbul described Kazem 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. And quote, "He noted, however, that Kazem, quote, restrains herself with great wisdom from speaking to the

Sultan, too frequently of serious matters and affairs of the state." And quote, "Likely, meaning that she understood how to appropriately appease his ego." We know Ahmed wanted Kazem constantly by his side, but how did Kazem feel about the man who was her maybe husband, whether legally or in effect? 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 Kankybine, such as those between Roxalana and Sulaman, 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 Kazem began her life in the herem as an enslaved Kankybine.”

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 pre-measurenature in which the eldest son inherits the throne to agnatic seniority in which power goes to the eldest male in the dynasty. Pre-measurenature in practice resulted in systemic fratricide upon the new Sultan's ascension. Ahmed's situation was unique. He had a

living brother, Mustafa, who was most probably left alive because Ahmed was only 13 at the time of his ascension, and his reproductive capacity had not been confirmed. However, once several sons were successfully sired, Mustafa's survival was in question. The Venetian ambassador reported in 1612 that Kazem had prevailed upon Ahmed to spare his brother Mustafa. She argued that because Ahmed himself

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, Kazem's motive in sparing her brother-in-law was "to see if it was possible that this mercy which he displayed at the present to the brother might also be employed later toward her son, the brother of the firstborn Prince." In other words, she believed if she supported Mustafa, her sons might later be spared

“themselves. Ahmed, remember, had an oldest son, Osman, who would be more likely to simply kill his”

brothers despite his warm relationship with their mom Kazem. As a small boy, Osman could be seen going for carriage rides with Kazem, 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 Kazem'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, Kazem was already building a network of powerful allies. In 1616,

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 Herum and other concentrations of”

power, both inside and outside the palace. Kazem found a close ally in her son-in-law, the acting

grand vizier after he married one of her daughters, in a blow to Kazem's growing influence. Ahmed had that grand vizier strangled on charges of corruption in 1614. It's likely that around this time, Kazem 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 Valed Sultan, Kazem 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 17th century historian Mustafa Nima, 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 dowrys and jewels and several purses of money according to their talents and station, and ensuring that their husbands had suitable positions. She looked 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, Kazem is remembered for a tradition of charity work she began as Haseki 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 to the Holy City, and annually distributed clothing and shoes to both pilgrims and locals. Perhaps most surprisingly,

every year in the month of Reshab, Kazem 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. Kazem's time as Haseki or favorite

was successful, and Ahmed's brother, Mustafa, and not Ahmed's eldest son, succeeded his position.

“Unfortunately for Kazem, Mustafa was both mentally and physically ill, and he was deposed only”

96 days later. He was replaced by Osman, who ultimately killed Mehmed, Kazem'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. Kazem additionally maintained her daily 1000-asper stipend, through Mustafa and Osman's reigns, evidencing a level of respect. Osman proved to be another unpopular ruler, which some historians argue was in part due to his lacking a valide Sultan

“or mother to guide him. He was ultimately killed in a Janissary uprising in 1622.”

Power was briefly returned to his uncle, Mustafa, 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 10, 1623, Kazem's son Murad ascended the throne as Murad IV, and Kazem's time as valide Sultan began. Seeing as Murad was only about 11 years old when he came into power, Kazem was appointed official regent, and she governed in her son's place,

alongside the grand vizier, through his teenage years. 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, an English ambassador commented that Murad would be, quote, "governed by his mother, who governed his father, a man of spirit and wit. The title of valide Sultan came not only with power but with money too. Kazem had a greater income than any valide Sultan before her, at an astonishing

24 million aspers a year. Most of this money came from land grants,

endowed to her through Ahmed Murad and even Osman. During her regency, Kazem 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 too. How many times have I asked myself, I wonder if he's getting sick of me, but what else can we do?" Pretty relatable. Traditionally, the grand vizier was

responsible for day-to-day imperial affairs and leaving the empire in war, while the valide Sultan and chief UNIC ran the household and palace affairs. As regent, it seems Kazem's influence crossed these spheres. As you can imagine, as Murad became older, a level of conflict between Sultan and regent was inevitable. A 1625 Venetian report revealed Kazem and Murad 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. Kazem had a powerful ally in negotiations in this case, the governor of Egypt,

who, by no coincidence, was married to one of her daughters. In a letter from Kazem to the grand vizier, likely written around 1628, 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

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. 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 chance. 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." And, 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? 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 that 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." Murad sought to gain greater independence in his rule through limiting his mother's network of power. In 1628, 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. Murad gained full”

formal control in 1632, 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 1635, while celebrating a victorious campaign, Murad had two of his four remaining brothers murdered. In 1638, he used another victory celebration to mask the killing of a

third brother. Only at the intervention of Kazem was the final living brother Ebrahim spared.

She argued that his mental illness rendered him harmless, no threat to his brother's throne. Kazem's defense may not have only saved her son, but the existence of the Ottoman Empire. When Murad died of liver failure in 1640 with no surviving errors, Ebrahim was the only living male in the line of succession. During the first year of Ebrahim's reign, Kazem followed in the footsteps of the lead Sultans before 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 Kazem sped up her plan to endow a complex and cement her legacy before the potential fall. It was Kazem's responsibility as a lead to make sure her son Ebrahim produced errors to secure the future of the dynasty. Ebrahim turned out to be rather too enthusiastic about producing errors, and notoriously spent excessive time and money on his harem. Kazem may have

later regretted introducing him to his first concubine and future Haseki, a woman named Turan.

Though Kazem was not a formal region to Ebrahim 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 Murad's grand viziers, Kazem found herself in competition with Ebrahim's advisors. According to yet another Venetian

Kazem is held in greater esteem than at the end of Murad'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. 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 Kazem through the grand vizier. The vizier reportedly did not forward the

letters, quote, "as if scoring them." And in the words of the Venetian, quote, "told me that the queen mothers of the Ottomans are slaves of the grants in your 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. Well, the Valid Sultan was technically a free woman upon the death of her husband. She had begun her career as a clunky bind, enslaved for sexual purposes. This fact would unsurprisingly appear repeatedly in attempts to invalidate the power of both the Haseckes 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 Kazem 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 1644 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 Hasecki, who saw it as too great and indignity. Kazem was instead confined to one of the imperial gardens in the capital. "Ibrahim the mad," as he became known, was ultimately deposed and imprisoned in 1648, replaced by his son Mehmed. While they had detrimental effects on Ibrahim's capabilities as a ruler,

Kazem's efforts to secure the future of the empire were successful. Ibrahim's final words as assaulting 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. Kazem and Mehmed' young mother, Turan Sultan.

The chief justice ultimately appointed Kazem, the new sultant Grandmother, as regent,

potentially despite her wishes, because of her decades of experience. According to a 17th century Ottoman scholar, quote, "It being an ancient custom that upon the ascension of a new sultant, the mother of the previous Sultan removed to the old palace and thus give up her honored office, the elder believed requested permission to retire to a life of seclusion, but because the loving mother of the new sultant 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, the elder valid was re-appointed 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 sultant. Quote, training and guardianship appears to have been in understatement, as in actuality, Kazem resumed near full control, and gave herself the title

"Great Valied Sultan" as the highest-ranking Ottoman woman of all time, clashes with other

the young sultant dismissed his grandvazir and appointed the leader of the Janissaries to the position,

“all the while his grandmother was sitting behind a curtain, a practice employed by Valied sultans”

before her. Not content to use her grandson as a literal mouthpiece, however, Kazem made a speech from behind the curtain, defending her role and silencing her critics with a vehement that surprised the audience. She commented on the grandvazir's failed plan to assassinate her, declaring, quote, "Thanks to God I have lived through four rains 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 Toronto was up to during all of this. As her grandmother in law had done in her younger years, Toronto was building a faction of her own. Where Kazem had the allegiance

“of the Janissaries, Toronto had the influential palace unix on her side, including the chief Black”

Unic, an official position held by an enslaved, Black African Unic. Toronto's faction was built around discontent with the level of power and influence the Janissaries wielded, especially regarding their domination over provincial government. Kazem, of course, learned of the growing intent to

have her removed or killed. She began to formulate her own plan in which Ibrahim's second son,

Suleiman, would replace Mehmed, as she believed Suleiman's mother would be a lesser threat than Turhan. According to the chronicler Nima, Kazem 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 grand son.

The day before enacting the plan, however, one of Kazem'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 Kazem's entire wealth. Her vast estate and taxes, her jewelry,

precious stones, cash, and gold coins. According to Nima, the story goes that her wealth was so vast and varied across different enterprises that it took 50 years for the state treasury to confiscate it all. Commenting on Kazem's legacy, Nima 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 hills the result of the Valid Sultan having too much power, a departure from traditional Ottoman norms.

The reality is the nearly 200-year Sultanate of women saw the empire through the same peaks

and valleys it experienced with men at the homes of power. Just as Helen didn't destroy Troy, and Meghan 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 Kazem Sultan, but keep listening after a brief response of break to hear a little

bit about her legacy in pop culture.

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with a multi-part series on what happens after we eat. Okay, I just have to say that all of my favorite words apparently are digestive. Yeah, it's spinked her, parents do a lot of it's fascinating. It's funny, and it matters so much more than you think. Episodes of our new series run from January 20th through February 17th, with new episodes every Tuesday on the exactly right network. Listen to this podcast we'll kill you as part of the exactly right network

on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you've finished listening to this episode thinking, I would really like to watch the death of Cosem acted out in slow motion, then oh boy do I have the show for you. The 2011 Turkish television drama, Magnificent Century, Cosem, chronicles her entire life and of course, her dramatic end. In this depiction after she is strangled, the women of the Herum descend upon her like

vultures ripping the jewels off her body. In a 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 smuggly watching the entire scene from above. Perhaps it would be of solace to

Cosem to know that in the 21st century, she has stands. One commenter wrote, finally she got what

she herself had served many times. But another commenter replied, Cosem is better than all your faves. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO]

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“>> Ready for a different take on Formula One?”

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Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the story of the woman who last participated in a Formula One race weekend, the recent uptick in F1 romance novels. >> And plenty of mishab scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no grip on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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>> I'm Anna Navarro, and I'm a new podcast, bleep with Anna Navarro. >> I'm talking to the people closest to the biggest issues happening in your community and around the world.

>> Because I know deep down inside right now, we are all cursing and asking what the bleep is going on.

>> Every week, I'm breaking down the biggest issues happening in our communities and around the world. >> I'm talking to people like Julie K Brown, who broke the explosive story on Jeffrey Epstein in 2018. >> They just this department through, we count it for presidential administrations, fail to ease victims. >> Listen to bleep with Anna Navarro on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. >> This is an iHeart Podcast, guaranteed human.