1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:13,039 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankie Listener discretion advised. On the 3 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: night of September second, sixteen fifty one, the most powerful 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: woman in the Ottoman Empire found herself afraid for her life. 5 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: Just on the other side of the doors of her apartment. 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: Her three hundred armed janissaries, the troops of the Sultan, 7 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: were attempting to protect her against a troop of assassins, 8 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: who were led by the chief black eunuch of the 9 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: Imperial Harem. When the woman's chief private guard refused to 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: let the assassins pass, they cut the guard to pieces. 11 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: The woman, hearing the struggle, tried to flee through the 12 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: hidden passageways that connected her rooms to the sultans, but 13 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: she didn't time. She hid in a closet instead, but 14 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: she made a fatal mistake. The hem of her dress 15 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: was peeking out, barely visible but visible beneath the door. 16 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: One of the assassins was said to have dragged her 17 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: out by her braids. While she struggled mightily, She was 18 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: ultimately strangled to death, blood pouring from her nose and mouth, 19 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: strangled with either depending on your source, a cord torn 20 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: from the curtains, or with her own braids. The death 21 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: of Cousem Sultan in her sixties marked the end of 22 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: a political career that had lasted nearly fifty years. Her 23 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: long tenure in power began in sixteen o five, when, 24 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: as a young concubine, she gained the title of Favorite 25 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: or has Seki Sultan, a title originally created for Suliman 26 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: the Magnificent wife Roxalana, the subject of a previous noble 27 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: Blood episode. Kazem held power during a unique era in 28 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: Ottoman history, referred to by historians as the Sultanate of Women, 29 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: a period that began with the rise of Rosalana from 30 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: a concubine to legal wife and influential figure in her 31 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: own right. From roughly fifteen thirty four to seventeen fifteen, 32 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: the concubines, mothers, and grandmothers of the Sultan exerted more 33 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: power over the political machinations of the empire than ever before. Notably, 34 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: all of these women began their lives enslaved in the Harem, 35 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: making their eventual accumulation of wealth and power all the 36 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: more exceptional. Ksem Sultan has been called both single handedly 37 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: responsible for the fall of the Ottoman Empire and also 38 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: the reason it held on for as long as it did. 39 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: As listeners of this show will suspect, the truth is 40 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: probably somewhere in between extremes. What can be said definitively 41 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,079 Speaker 1: is that Cosem's legacy is one of power, with all 42 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,959 Speaker 1: of the blood that that entails. I'm Danish Schwartz and 43 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: this is noble blood. Reconstructing Cosem's early life has not 44 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: been an easy task for historians, who mainly have to 45 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: rely on unofficial, secondhand reports. It's generally believed that she 46 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: was of Greek and Christian origin, though there are various 47 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: theories about her birthplace and birth name. As a teenager, 48 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: Kusem was kidnapped by raiders of the Ottoman slave trade 49 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: and likely singled out as a candidate for the Harem 50 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: because of her beauty. In the Harem, she was converted 51 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: to Islam and given the name ma Peker for her soft, 52 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: moonlike face. However, she would become known as Kosem, which 53 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: is believed to have derived from either kose meaning hairless 54 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 1: or smooth skinned, or kosem meaning leader or free. The 55 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: Imperial Harem has long been a source of both fascination 56 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: and titillation for Western audiences, probably in part because it's 57 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: cloaked in mystery due to a complete absence of contemporary 58 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: Ottoman writing on it. Among the varied extravagant tales and 59 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: so called quote accounts of Harem life from European trade travels, 60 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: historians generally agree that the most reliable portraits of the 61 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: Harem can be constructed from the writings of ambassadors to 62 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: Istanbul and captives who served in the palace at this 63 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: point in Ottoman history. Following a transition first made in 64 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: the era of Roxalana, the Harem was housed in the 65 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: main palace. In the sixteenth century, Ottoman politics were being 66 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: increasingly concentrated not only within the capital but within the 67 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: palace itself, and the relocation of the Harem from the 68 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: old Palace to the new palace further blurred the lines 69 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: between the domestic and the political spheres. Even princes who 70 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: historically had spent their adolescence governing a provincial capital under 71 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: the supervision of their mothers now grew up within the 72 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: confines of the Harem. The reorganized Harem resembled quote the 73 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: third courtyard of the imperial palace, which housed and trained 74 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: hages and eunuchs. Expenditure registers detailed a hierarchy inside the Harem, 75 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: which divided its residence into three groups. The first of 76 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: these was the elite of the harem, the sultan's mother, 77 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: the Haseki Sultan or favorite consort, and princes and princesses. 78 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 1: The second group was composed of the Harem's administrative and 79 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: training staff, while the third and largest group was the 80 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: service corps. In that last class were enslaved girls like Kozem. 81 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: While the Harem had a number of different functions, the 82 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: purpose most relevant to this episode was, unsurprisingly, to produce 83 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: concubines for the sultan. There were no legal restrictions barring 84 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,159 Speaker 1: the son of a ruler and a concubine from inheriting 85 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: the throne, and by the end of the fourteenth century, 86 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: concubinage had overtaken legal marriage as the dominant means of 87 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: reproduction for rulers. There are a few explanations for this. 88 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: For one, a concubine had no allegiance to a family 89 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: or foreign power. From a young age, she was forcefully 90 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: converted to Islam, taught Oddman cultural values, and promised eventual 91 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: elevation or even freedom through having the child of the 92 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: Sultan or another powerful man. But as we will see, 93 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:47,679 Speaker 1: greater political power was attainable for Kazem. During her time 94 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: in the Harem, she would have been taught by senior 95 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: members to read, write, and speak Turkish, to understand Islamic law, 96 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: to play the harp and sing, and to embroider. Girls 97 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: who showed the most promise were chosen to be the 98 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: attendants to the valid Sultan or mother of the current Sultan, 99 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: who trained them to become concubines. According to Bobovius, a 100 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: Polish captive who became an interpreter and musician in the 101 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: Sultan's court, quote, she takes care to keep them splendidly 102 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: outfitted and to have them instructed in all that they 103 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: can learn, so that they might be capable of inspiring 104 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: in the grand signor the love, which might allow them 105 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: to become concubines, and perhaps one among them the favorite 106 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:45,839 Speaker 1: and the honored mother of his eldest son, or else 107 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: to be married to persons of quality outside the palace 108 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: end quote. That was most likely how Kosem captured the 109 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: attention of Ahmed, the first shortly after his rise to 110 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: power in sixteen o three. We don't know exactly when 111 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: their sexual relationship began, but we know their first child, Mehmed, 112 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 1: was born in sixteen o five. Ahmed had one even 113 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: older son, Osmon, but it's likely Osmd's mother died before 114 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: his fifth birthday. Ahmed's own mother died in the early 115 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: years of his reign, and his grandmother was exiled to 116 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:31,679 Speaker 1: the Old Palace. The absence of those other women put 117 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: Kusem in a uniquely powerful position. She was not just 118 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 1: the only living mother of the Sultan's sons, but the 119 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: most senior powerful mother in the imperial court. Kusem would 120 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: go on to have the rest of Ahmed's children, potentially 121 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: four more sons and four daughters in her position as 122 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: Hasseki or favorite, the one mother, one son policy that 123 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: had once defined Oddoman reproductive politics was now a relic 124 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: of the pre Sulemanic era. Haseki was not simply a 125 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: title either. A raise in her status meant a raise 126 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: in her stipend, with Privy purse records showing that Kazem 127 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:26,559 Speaker 1: received one thousand aspers a day. A rumor even persisted 128 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: at the time and still persists today that Ahmed and 129 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: Ksem legally married. Kasem likely developed an early interest in 130 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: politics and held influence from the early days of Ahmed's rule. 131 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: In sixteen twelve, the Venetian ambassador to Istanbul described Ksem 132 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: as a woman of quote, beauty and shrewdness, and of 133 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:55,559 Speaker 1: many talents. She sings excellently. She continues to be extremely 134 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: well loved by the king. Not that she is respected 135 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 1: by all, but she is listened to in some matters 136 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,079 Speaker 1: and is the favorite of the king, who wants her 137 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:10,679 Speaker 1: beside him continually end quote. He noted, however, that Cosem 138 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 1: quote restrains herself with great wisdom from speaking to the 139 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 1: Sultan too frequently of serious matters and affairs of the 140 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:23,679 Speaker 1: state end quote, likely meaning that she understood how to 141 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 1: appropriately appease his ego. We know Ahmed wanted Cosem constantly 142 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: by his side, but how did Cozem feel about the 143 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: man who was her maybe husband, whether legally or in effect. 144 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: That's a question I cannot answer, as no personal writing 145 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: regarding Ahmed survives. It's worth noting that even if we 146 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: did have access to letters between sultan and concubine, such 147 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: as those between Raksalana and Suliman. It's inherently difficult to 148 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,959 Speaker 1: parse the true nature of feelings in such a complex 149 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: power dynamic, when, of course, you have to remember that 150 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: kozm began her life in the Harem as an enslaved concubine. 151 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,959 Speaker 1: What we have a greater understanding of, however, is her 152 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: political career. Historians believe she potentially played an integral role 153 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,840 Speaker 1: in the shift in Ottoman succession politics from primogeniture, in 154 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: which the eldest son inherits the throne, to agnatic seniority, 155 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 1: in which power goes to the eldest male in the dynasty. 156 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:45,680 Speaker 1: Primogeniture in practice resulted in systemic fratricide upon the new 157 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: sultan's ascension. Ahmed's situation was unique. He had a living brother, Mustapha, 158 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 1: who was most probably left alive because Ahmed was only 159 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: thirteen at the time of his sension and his reproductive 160 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: capacity had not been confirmed. However, once several sons were 161 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: successfully sired, Mustapha's survival was in question. The Venetian ambassador 162 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: reported in sixteen twelve that Kozem had prevailed upon Ahmed 163 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: to spare his brother Mustapha. She argued that because Ahmed 164 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: himself was his father's second son, he should not harm 165 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: the brother whose place he once occupied. The story of 166 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 1: Ahmed's elder brother and his execution potentially organized by his 167 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: own grandmother based on a prophecy, is a story for 168 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 1: another time. But according to the ambassador, in this case, 169 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:52,480 Speaker 1: Kosem's motive in sparing her brother in law was quote 170 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: to see if it was possible that this mercy which 171 00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: she displayed at the present to the brother, might all 172 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: so be employed later toward her son, the brother of 173 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: the firstborn prince. In other words, she believed if she 174 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: supported Mustapha, her sons might later be spared themselves. Ahmed, 175 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: remember had an oldest son, Osman, who would be more 176 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: likely to simply kill his brothers despite his warm relationship 177 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: with their mom Kasem. As a small boy, Osmond could 178 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: be seen going for carriage rides with Kasem, tossing coins 179 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 1: to spectators. However, the Venetian ambassador claimed Ahmed later forbade 180 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: the two from speaking to each other, and speculated it 181 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: was because of Kasem's well known ambitions for her own sons. 182 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: When Ahmed died, Kazem would legally become a free woman, 183 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: but if she wanted to maintain power in the empire, 184 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: it would have to be through her children. To realize 185 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: those ambitions, Kosem was already building a network of powerful allies. 186 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: In sixteen sixteen, the Venetian ambassador reported that she was 187 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: the most valuable ally to have an Istanbul because of 188 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: her sway over the Sultan, and that she should be 189 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: rewarded for her contributions to Venice's good standing. But the 190 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: most valuable way a woman could build influence within the 191 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: empire was through the marriages of her daughters and other 192 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: women indebted to her. The marriages of Ottoman princesses especially, 193 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: were important links between the Harem and other concentrations of power, 194 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: both inside and outside the palace. Cosem found a close 195 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: ally in her son in law, the acting Grand Vizir, 196 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 1: after he married one of her daughters. In a blow 197 00:15:54,880 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 1: to Cosem's growing influence, Ahmed had that Grand Vizir strangled 198 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: on charges of corruption in sixteen fourteen. It's likely that 199 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: around this time Kasem also began to build her alliance 200 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 1: with the leaders of the Janissary Corps, an alliance that 201 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: would last her entire lifetime. Later in her life as valid, 202 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: Sultan Ksem was known to free her slaves after relatively 203 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 1: short periods of service and to maintain ties with them 204 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,880 Speaker 1: in their new lives. According to the seventeenth century historian 205 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: Mustafan Naima quote, she would free her slave women after 206 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: two or three years of service and would arrange marriages 207 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: with retired officers of the court or suitable persons from outside, 208 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: giving the women dowries and jewels and several purses of 209 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: money according to their talents and station, and ensuring that 210 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: their husbands had suitable positions. She looked after after these 211 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,359 Speaker 1: former slaves by giving them an annual stipend, and on 212 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 1: the religious festivals and holy days she would give them 213 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 1: purses of money. This all was very nice, but it 214 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 1: wasn't just out of the goodness of her heart. As 215 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 1: with the marriages of her daughters, Arranging the marriages of loyal, 216 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: formerly enslaved girls to potentially influential husbands would be the 217 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: key to her political success. While her actions may not 218 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:36,640 Speaker 1: have been entirely magnanimous, Kuzem is remembered for a tradition 219 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: of charity work. She began as hesseki and continued throughout 220 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,639 Speaker 1: her career. She arranged dowries for a number of girls 221 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:49,199 Speaker 1: whose families could not afford them, and provided them with 222 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: lodgings and furnishings. She systematically delivered water to pilgrims traveling 223 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: to the Holy City, and annually distributed clothing and shoes 224 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:06,160 Speaker 1: to both pilgrims and locals. Perhaps most surprisingly, every year 225 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: in the month of Rajab, Kasem would leave the palace 226 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: in disguise and arrange for the release of imprisoned debtors 227 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: and criminals, with the notable exception of murderers through personal 228 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:25,639 Speaker 1: payment of their debts or equal compensation. Kuzm's time as 229 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: Hesseki or favorite ended when Ahmed died in November sixteen seventeen, 230 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: likely of typhus. Fortunately for Kuzm, her intervention was successful, 231 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 1: and Ahmed's brother, Mustafa and not Ahmed's eldest son, succeeded 232 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:50,959 Speaker 1: his position. Unfortunately for Kasem, Mustapha was both mentally and 233 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 1: physically ill, and he was deposed only ninety six days later. 234 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,880 Speaker 1: He was replaced by Osman, who altered timately killed Mehmed, 235 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: Kusem's oldest son, but sent the rest of her sons 236 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: to live with her in the Old Palace. It seems 237 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,879 Speaker 1: he still harbored some affection for the woman who briefly 238 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 1: acted as his stepmother, and he even paid her a 239 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: three day visit during his reign. Kuzm additionally maintained her 240 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: daily thousand asper stipend through Mustapha and Osmond's reigns, evidencing 241 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: a level of respect. Osmond proved to be another unpopular ruler, 242 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,959 Speaker 1: which some historians argue was in part due to his 243 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: lacking a valid sultan or mother to guide him. He 244 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:49,880 Speaker 1: was ultimately killed in a Janissary uprising in sixteen twenty two. 245 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: Power was briefly returned to his uncle Mustapha, but he 246 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: was once again deposed due to his instability, and he 247 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,719 Speaker 1: was sent to live in the Old Palace for the 248 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: rest of his days. On September tenth, sixteen twenty three, 249 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:13,479 Speaker 1: Kasem's son Murad ascended the throne as Murad the Fourth, 250 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:23,360 Speaker 1: and Ksem's time as valid Sultan began. Seeing as Murad 251 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: was only about eleven years old when he came into power, 252 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:31,880 Speaker 1: Kasem was appointed official regent and she governed in her 253 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: son's place alongside the Grand Vizier through his teenage years. 254 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: Shortly after Murad's enthronement, a Venetian ambassadorial dispatch read quote, 255 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: all power and authority is with the mother, in the 256 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,920 Speaker 1: prime of life and of lofty mind and spirit, who 257 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 1: often took part in the government during the reign of 258 00:20:55,760 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: her husband. Around the same time in English, and abassador 259 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: commented that Murad would be quote governed by his mother, 260 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 1: who governed his father a man of spirit and wit. 261 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:13,320 Speaker 1: The title of valid Sultan came not only with power, 262 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: but with money too. Kozim had a greater income than 263 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:22,680 Speaker 1: any valid sultan before her, at an astonishing twenty four 264 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: million Aspers a year. Most of this money came from 265 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 1: land grants endowed to her through Ahmed Murad and even Osman. 266 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: During her regency, Kuzm enjoyed a good working relationship with 267 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: the Grand Vizier and had numerous allies in powerful governmental positions. 268 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: In one letter, she frankly tells the Grand Vizier quote, 269 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,119 Speaker 1: you really give me a headache, but I give you 270 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:55,200 Speaker 1: an awful headache. To how many times have I asked myself, 271 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,520 Speaker 1: I wonder if he's getting sick of me? But what 272 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 1: else can we do? Pretty Traditionally, the Grand Vizier was 273 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:07,359 Speaker 1: responsible for day to day imperial affairs and leading the 274 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 1: empire in war, while the valid Sultan and chief Eunuch 275 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: ran the household and palace affairs as regent. It seems 276 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: Ksem's influence crossed these spheres, as you can imagine, as 277 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:28,199 Speaker 1: Murad became older, a level of conflict between sultan and 278 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: regent was inevitable. A sixteen twenty five Venetian report revealed 279 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: Kzem and Murrad were clashing over the possibility of a 280 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: truce with the Spanish. The report reads quote the imperialists 281 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: and Spaniards declared that the matter was progressing favorably, being 282 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: actively assisted by the Sultan's mother, but also states that 283 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: the Sultan, quote with a prudence beyond his years, was 284 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: opposed to such a deal. Zizem had a powerful ally 285 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:06,360 Speaker 1: in negotiations, in this case, the governor of Egypt, who 286 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: by no coincidence, was married to one of her daughters. 287 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:14,880 Speaker 1: In a letter from Kozm to the Grand Vizier, likely 288 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: written around sixteen twenty eight, we see her frustrations as 289 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: both an anxious mother and an anxious regent. First, she 290 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 1: expresses political distress, writing quote, something absolutely must be done 291 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: about Yemen it's the gate to Mecca. You'll talk to 292 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:37,080 Speaker 1: my son about this. I tell you my mind is 293 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 1: completely distraught over this. The tone then shifts to worrying 294 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: about Murad. In equal measure, she complains, quote, my son 295 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,040 Speaker 1: leaves in the morning and comes back at night. I 296 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:51,959 Speaker 1: never see him. He won't stay out of the cold. 297 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: He is going to get sick again. I tell you 298 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: this grieving over the child is destroying me. Talk to 299 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: him when you get a chain, as he must take 300 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: care of himself. What can I do? He won't listen. 301 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,400 Speaker 1: He's just gotten out of a sick bed and he's 302 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,960 Speaker 1: walking around in the cold. All this has destroyed my 303 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: peace of mind. All I wish is for him to 304 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,879 Speaker 1: stay alive at least try to do something about Yemen. 305 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: End quote. Another letter to the Grand Vizier expresses similar concerns, 306 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:29,479 Speaker 1: but additionally reveals Kazem's fears for her own position should 307 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: something happen to Murad. She writes, quote, I wish you 308 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 1: would listen to me and have them stop practicing the 309 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: javelin in the hippodrome. Why can't they go play in langa. 310 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: My son loves it. I lose my mind over it. 311 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:48,160 Speaker 1: Whoever says it's good for him is lying. Caution him 312 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: about it, but not right away. What can I do? 313 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 1: My words are bitter to him. Now, just let him 314 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:59,200 Speaker 1: stay alive. He is vital to all of us. While 315 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: the last line may not be relatable to most, there's 316 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:07,280 Speaker 1: something at comforting in both of those letters, in knowing 317 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,159 Speaker 1: mothers throughout history have always been worried about their sons 318 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:15,920 Speaker 1: staying in the cold too long, playing dangerous sports, and 319 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 1: not stopping by often enough. Muraud sought to gain greater 320 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:26,639 Speaker 1: independence in his rule through limiting his mother's network of power. 321 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: In sixteen twenty eight, he dissolved the marriage between his 322 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: sister and a powerful admiral, one of Kazem's closest allies. 323 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:40,879 Speaker 1: She reportedly attempted to appease her son with elaborately outfitted 324 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: horses and a lavish banquet, to no avail. Murraud gained 325 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: full formal control in sixteen thirty two, ending his mother's regency. 326 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: Despite earlier strife, it appears they ultimately came to respect 327 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,000 Speaker 1: each other's roles in the empire in the latter half 328 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:03,959 Speaker 1: of his reign, but respect did not mean peace. In 329 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:09,440 Speaker 1: sixteen thirty five, while celebrating a victorious campaign, Murad had 330 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: two of his four remaining brothers murdered in sixteen thirty eight. 331 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:19,399 Speaker 1: He used another victory celebration to mask the killing of 332 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:24,439 Speaker 1: a third brother. Only at the intervention of Kouzam, was 333 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: the final living brother Ibrahim spared. She argued that his 334 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 1: mental illness rendered him harmless no threat to his brother's throne. 335 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: Kasem's defense may not have only saved her son, but 336 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 1: the existence of the Ottoman Empire. When Murad died of 337 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: liver failure in sixteen forty, with no surviving heirs, Ibrahim 338 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,679 Speaker 1: was the only living male in the line of succession. 339 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: During the first year of Ibrahim's reign, Kusem followed in 340 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: the footsteps of Valid Sultan's before for her and constructed 341 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 1: a mosque complex. Despite her massive wealth, the complex was 342 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: considered more modest than her predecessors. As the fate of 343 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: the Ottoman Empire hung in limbo, It's very possible Kasem 344 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,160 Speaker 1: sped up her plan to endow a complex and cement 345 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: her legacy before the potential fall. It was Kasem's responsibility 346 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: as the lead to make sure her son Ibrahim produced 347 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: heirs to secure the future of the dynasty. Ibrahim turned 348 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:41,159 Speaker 1: out to be rather too enthusiastic about producing heirs and 349 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,920 Speaker 1: notoriously spent excessive time and money on his harem. Kasem 350 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 1: may have later regretted introducing him to his first concubine 351 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: and future hesseki, a woman named Turan. Though Kazm was 352 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: not a formal regent to Ibrahim the first, she maintained 353 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: the role in effect. His sheltered childhood, combined with his 354 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: alleged mental illness and fixation on his harem, made him 355 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:17,960 Speaker 1: an incapable ruler. This naturally left a power vacuum that 356 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:22,080 Speaker 1: many were eager to fill. As opposed to the harmony 357 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: Kazem had enjoyed with Maraud's grand viziers, Kuzim found herself 358 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 1: in competition with Ibrahim's advisers. According to yet another Venetian 359 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 1: ambassador quote in the present Government, to the extent that 360 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,320 Speaker 1: this son's capabilities are less. Kazm is held in greater 361 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:45,719 Speaker 1: esteem than at the end of Mrod's reign, and thus, 362 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: with her commanding affairs within the palace and the grand 363 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:53,840 Speaker 1: vizier commanding those outside, it happens quite often that these 364 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 1: two rulers come up against each other, and in doing 365 00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: so take offense at each other, so that one can 366 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: say that in appearance they are in accord, but secretly 367 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: each is trying to bring about the downfall of the other. 368 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: These attempts to bring about the downfall of the other 369 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: appear to have been quite caddy at times. When the 370 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: Venetian ambassador attempted to pass on a letter of congratulations 371 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 1: to Cozem through the Grand Vizier, the Vizier reportedly did 372 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: not forward the letters, quote as if scorning them, and 373 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 1: in the words of the Venetian quote, told me that 374 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: the queen mothers of the Ottomans are slaves of the 375 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:41,360 Speaker 1: Grand Signor like all others, not partners or heads of 376 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: government like those in Christian countries. It was an ironic 377 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 1: attempt to undermine her authority. After all, the Grand Viziers 378 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:57,640 Speaker 1: were also enslaved by the Sultan. There is obvious gender discrepancy. 379 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 1: While the valid Sultan was technically a free woman upon 380 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: the death of her husband, she had begun her career 381 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: as a concubine, enslaved for sexual purposes. This fact would 382 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly appear repeatedly in attempts to invalidate the power of 383 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 1: both the Hassekis and valides of the Sultanate of Women. 384 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 1: Despite the infighting, the early years of Ibrahim's reign are 385 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: remembered as relatively peaceful and prosperous under the joint rule 386 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 1: of Kozem and the Grand Vizier. The same cannot be 387 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: said of the latter years. In the war for control, 388 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 1: both of them ultimately lost. The increasingly unstable Ibrahim had 389 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: his Grand Vizier executed in sixteen forty four after an 390 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: attempted coup, and he planned to exile his mother to 391 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 1: the island of Rhodes, despite no evidence of her involvement 392 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 1: in the scheme. That plan was stopped thanks to the 393 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: intervention of Ibrahim's own hesseki, who saw it as too 394 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: great an indignity. Kozm was instead confined to one of 395 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:22,959 Speaker 1: the imperial gardens in the capitol quote. Ibrahim the Mad 396 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:27,960 Speaker 1: as he became known, was ultimately deposed and imprisoned in 397 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 1: sixteen forty eight, replaced by his son Mehmed. While they 398 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: had detrimental effects on Ibrahim's capabilities as a ruler, Kosem's 399 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: efforts to secure the future of the empire were successful. 400 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:48,400 Speaker 1: Ibrahim's final words as a saultan were allegedly, I am 401 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:52,960 Speaker 1: the father of a dynasty. Mehmed the fourth, the eldest, 402 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,960 Speaker 1: was only seven years old at the time of his ascension, 403 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: thus requiring a regent. In a rare occurrence, there were 404 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: two valid sultans to choose from, Cosem and Memid's young mother, 405 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 1: Turan Sultan. The Chief Justice ultimately appointed Kosem, the new 406 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:20,880 Speaker 1: sultan grandmother, as regent, potentially despite her wishes, because of 407 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 1: her decades of experience. According to a seventeenth century Ottoman 408 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 1: scholar quote, it being an ancient custom that upon the 409 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 1: ascension of a new sultan, the mother of the previous 410 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,479 Speaker 1: sultan removed to the old palace and thus give up 411 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 1: her honored office. The elder valid requested permission to retire 412 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:46,240 Speaker 1: to a life of seclusion, but because the loving mother 413 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: of the new Sultan was still very young and truly 414 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,600 Speaker 1: ignorant of the state of the world, it was thought 415 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,680 Speaker 1: that if she were in control of government, there would 416 00:32:55,760 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 1: result the possibility of harm to the welfare of the state. Therefore, 417 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:05,000 Speaker 1: the elder valid was reappointed for a while longer to 418 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,960 Speaker 1: the duty of training and guardianship, and it was considered 419 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:13,120 Speaker 1: appropriate to renew the assignment of crown lands to the 420 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:18,360 Speaker 1: Valid Sultan. Quote training and guardianship appears to have been 421 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:24,720 Speaker 1: an understatement, as in actuality, Kuseem resumed near full control 422 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:29,960 Speaker 1: and gave herself the title Great Valid Sultan as the 423 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,720 Speaker 1: highest ranking Ottoman woman of all time. Clashes with other 424 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:39,680 Speaker 1: officials were once again inevitable, calling an imperial audience with 425 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 1: all leading statesmen, The young Sultan dismissed his grand Vizier 426 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 1: and appointed the leader of the janissaries to the position. 427 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:51,440 Speaker 1: All the while, his grandmother was sitting behind a curtain, 428 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:56,880 Speaker 1: a practice employed by Valid sultans before her. Not content 429 00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:00,840 Speaker 1: to use her grandson as a literal mouth piece, however, 430 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,520 Speaker 1: Kazem made a speech from behind the curtain, defending her 431 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,920 Speaker 1: role and silencing her critics with a vehemence that surprised 432 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:14,280 Speaker 1: the audience. She commented on the Grand Vizier's failed plan 433 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,239 Speaker 1: to assassinate her, declaring quote, thanks to God, I have 434 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:22,120 Speaker 1: lived through four reigns, and I have governed myself for 435 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: a long while the world will be neither reformed nor 436 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:33,000 Speaker 1: destroyed by my death. You might be wondering what Turan 437 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:36,600 Speaker 1: was up to during all of this, as her grandmother 438 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 1: in law had done in her younger years. Turan was 439 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:44,040 Speaker 1: building a faction of her own. Where Kazem had the 440 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:49,320 Speaker 1: allegiance of the janisaries, Turan had the influential palace eunuchs 441 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:54,280 Speaker 1: on her side, including the Chief Black Eunuch, an official 442 00:34:54,360 --> 00:35:00,239 Speaker 1: position held by an enslaved black African eunuch. Turan's facttion 443 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:04,400 Speaker 1: was built around discontent with the level of power and 444 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:12,760 Speaker 1: influence the janissaries wielded, especially regarding their domination over provincial government. Kuzm, 445 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:16,239 Speaker 1: of course, learned of the growing intent to have her 446 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:21,000 Speaker 1: removed or killed. She began to formulate her own plan 447 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:26,600 Speaker 1: in which Ibrahim's second son, Suliman, would replace Mehmed, as 448 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,880 Speaker 1: she believed Suliman's mother would be a lesser threat than Turhan. 449 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:36,920 Speaker 1: According to the chronicler Naima, Kuzm secretly asked the guards 450 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,839 Speaker 1: to leave the palace gates open so that janissaries could 451 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 1: sneak in and kill Turhan Sultan in her chambers. At 452 00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:49,239 Speaker 1: the same time, she allegedly gave two bottles of poisoned 453 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,880 Speaker 1: sherbet to the head sweet maker in the palace kitchen 454 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 1: to serve Mehmed yes, she was allegedly attempting to poison 455 00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:03,680 Speaker 1: her own grandson the day before enacting the plan. However, 456 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:09,400 Speaker 1: one of Cosem's servants revealed the plot to Turhan. You 457 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:14,200 Speaker 1: know what happened next. When news of the violent death 458 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,760 Speaker 1: of the widely respected great Valid Sultan reached the people 459 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:23,560 Speaker 1: of Istanbul, they shut down the city's mosques and markets 460 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:28,360 Speaker 1: for three days in mourning. In the wake of her assassination, 461 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:34,560 Speaker 1: the Central Treasury confiscated Cosem's entire wealth, her vast estates 462 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:38,880 Speaker 1: and taxes, her jewelry, precious stones, cash, and gold coins. 463 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,520 Speaker 1: According to Naima, the story goes that her wealth was 464 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:46,839 Speaker 1: so vast and varied across different enterprises that it took 465 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:50,879 Speaker 1: fifty years for the state treasury to confiscate it all. 466 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:57,680 Speaker 1: Commenting on Cosem's legacy, Naima praised her charitable contributions to 467 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:02,400 Speaker 1: the empire, but condemned the harsh taxes on the peasants 468 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:07,480 Speaker 1: of her estates who dared not complain. In his words, quote, 469 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:11,759 Speaker 1: it was divine wisdom that the respected Valid, philanthropic and 470 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: regal as she was, was martyred for the sake of 471 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:20,880 Speaker 1: those unjust oppressions he considered these ills the result of 472 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 1: the valid sultan having too much power, a departure from 473 00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:31,320 Speaker 1: traditional Ottoman norms. The reality is the nearly two hundred 474 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:35,680 Speaker 1: year Sultanate of women saw the empire through the same 475 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:40,000 Speaker 1: peaks and valleys it experienced with men at the holms 476 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:45,640 Speaker 1: of power. Just as Helen didn't destroy Troy and Megan 477 00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 1: didn't destroy the British monarchy, yet one woman, no matter 478 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:55,640 Speaker 1: how powerful, cannot be responsible for the rise or fall 479 00:37:55,800 --> 00:38:00,839 Speaker 1: of an empire. Kazem was ultimately right. The world was 480 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:12,800 Speaker 1: neither reformed nor destroyed by her death. That's the story 481 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:16,680 Speaker 1: of Kazm Sultan. But keep listening after a brief sponsor 482 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:19,560 Speaker 1: break to hear a little bit about her legacy in 483 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:30,880 Speaker 1: pop culture. If you finished listening to this episode thinking 484 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:34,120 Speaker 1: I would really like to watch the death of Kosem 485 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:37,640 Speaker 1: acted out in slow motion, then oh boy, do I 486 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: have the show for you. The twenty eleven Turkish television 487 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:48,600 Speaker 1: drama Magnificent Century Kosem chronicles her entire life and of course, 488 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:53,520 Speaker 1: her dramatic end. In this depiction, after she has strangled, 489 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,120 Speaker 1: the women of the Harem descend upon her like vultures, 490 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:01,279 Speaker 1: ripping the jewels off her body twist. She wakes up, 491 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:04,840 Speaker 1: gasping for air. It's only then that a curtain is 492 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:08,839 Speaker 1: ripped from a window, finishing the job, A ring is 493 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:12,560 Speaker 1: taken from her finger and presented to Turan, who is 494 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 1: smugly watching the entire scene from above. Perhaps it would 495 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,200 Speaker 1: be of solace to Cosem to know that, in the 496 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:26,719 Speaker 1: twenty first century she has stands. One commenter wrote, finally 497 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,880 Speaker 1: she got what she herself had served many times, but 498 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:42,400 Speaker 1: another commenter replied, Kosem is better than all your faves. 499 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:47,400 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and 500 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:51,040 Speaker 1: Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me 501 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:55,600 Speaker 1: Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, 502 00:39:55,880 --> 00:40:00,239 Speaker 1: hannah's Wick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milaney. The 503 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:04,640 Speaker 1: show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising 504 00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:10,439 Speaker 1: producer rima il Kaali and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, 505 00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:14,960 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 506 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:19,160 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 507 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:21,520 Speaker 1: favorite shows.