KÖSEM SULTAN WEEK | day 7: the death of Kösem Sultan
As time passed and the general situation in the empire did not improve, two factions formed both inside the harem and outside: one headed by the regent Kösem and her supporters, the other answered to Turhan Sultan, the mother of Mehmed IV. The presence of two valide sultans brought problems to the stability of the harem, as the eunuchs especially did not know whose orders they were supposed to follow. Each of the valide sultans had a Chief Black Eunuch, for example, who was supposed to oversee the whole harem. Naturally this created tension.
As Turhan Sultan had begun to acquire political influence as well, with the help of the black eunuch Uzun Süleyman Ağa and Grand Vizier Siyavuş Paşa, Kösem Sultan decided to change strategy: Mehmed IV was to be dethroned and replaced with his younger brother Şehzade Süleyman, whose mother - Saliha Dilaşub Sultan - was said to have been less ambitious and “not anxious to exercise the authority of the valide sultan’s station”.
Things did not go according to plan: on the night of 2 September 1651, Meleki Hatun, one of Kösem’s closest servants, informed Turhan Sultan of her mistress’ plot, and the junior valide’s faction quickly acted. One of her associates, Ali Ağa, suggested that the Great Valide Sultan should have been killed.
According to Naima, Süleyman Ağa was able to gather a hundred men without alarming Kösem, who was caught by surprise when she heard his voice outside her chambers. The elderly valide sultan fled and even attempted to hide inside a cupboard but to no avail: she was discovered and dragged out of her hiding place. A man called Küçük Mehmed cut a curtain and used it as rope to strangle her.
The funerals of the former valide sultan, called by Naima “the martyred mother”, were held on the same day, while the people of Istanbul honoured her with three days of mourning despite no official order had been issued by the Palace. Kösem Sultan was buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmed I, where she rests between him and her daughter Ayşe.
Sources: Murat Kocaaslan - IV. Mehmed Saltanatında Topkapı Sarayı Haremi: İktidar, Sınırlar ve Mimari, Leslie P. Peirce - The Imperial Harem
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