Turhan Hatice - Royal Patronage

Royal Patronage

Leslie Peirce sees the year 1656 as a turning point in Turhan’s life. By providing the grand vizier with “unlimited” authority, Turhan limited her own power on the political stage. However, she channeled her energies into other areas of life. Turhan began to build.

Her first building project began in 1658. Perhaps in answer to the Venetian threat, the Valide built two fortresses at the entrance to the Dardanelles. The fortresses, one on the European side and the other on the Asian side, can still be seen today. This project put Turhan in the same league as Mehmed the Conqueror and other sultans who built fortresses in the same area.

However, Turhan’s greatest accomplishment would be built in the capital of the empire, Constantinople. Yeni Mosque has an interesting story. The initial construction was started by one of Turhan’s predecessors, Safiye Sultan. She had chosen the commercial quarter of the city, Eminonü as the location of the mosque. This area was inhabited by non-Muslims. By building a new mosque in Eminönü, Safiye wanted to Islamize the area. To build on this site meant that land had to be appropriated from the local non-Muslim residents, an act that had not gone smoothly. In the year 1597, the first stones were laid. At the death of Safiye’s son, Mehmed III, the construction of the mosque stopped as she was no longer the Valide. The construction was abandoned for 57 years and in 1660 the area was damaged by fire. The mosque received a second chance when Turhan decided to complete what had been started by Safiye Sultan. After its completion in 1665, the complex contained not only the mosque, but also a school, public fountains, a market and a tomb. According to Peirce the Yeni Mosque. gained the distinction of being the first imperial mosque built by a woman. The mosques in this list are only those of the sultans.

Turhan was the last woman to wield such great power as to act as a regent to a young son. As women were not seen in public in the Ottoman Empire, it was through her patronage of building that Turhan showed herself to her subjects. To defend the entrance to the Dardanelles, Turhan built two fortresses and thus became the guardian of the empire.

Turhan Hatice, Valide Sultan and regent to her young son, Mehmed IV, died in 1683. She was buried in the tomb of the Yeni Mosque. She lies alongside her son and her descendents.