Mihrişah Valide Sultan

Mihrişah Valide Sultan
Reconstructed scene of a Valide Sultan and her attendants in her apartments at Topkapı Palace
Born	Agnès 1745 Genoa, Italy
Died	16 October 1805 İstanbul
Ethnicity	Most Serene Republic of Genoa
Known for	Valide Sultan
Religion	Catholicism at birth, converted to Islam after her capture
Spouse	Mustafa III
Children	Selim III

The son of Mihrişah Valide Sultan, Ottoman Sultan Selim III

Mihrişah Valide Sultan or Devletlu İsmetlu Mihr-î-Şah Valide Sultan Aliyyetü'ş-şân Hazretleri (or Sultana Mehr-î-Shah) (née Agnès) (ca. 1745 – 16 October 1805) was the Genoese or according to some sources Georgian^[1] spouse of Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III. She was the mother of Sultan Selim III^[2][3] of the Ottoman Empire and his de facto co-regent as the Valide Sultan for sixteen years from 1789 until 1805.

Biography

Mihrişah Valide Sultan was thought to be born as Agnès in Genoa. She is described as a willing protagonist of the reforms of her son's reign. She was especially preoccupied in reforming the military schools and establishing diplomatic corps. She occasionly approached her son to beg a favour or an act of mercy. She founded many schools and mosques in the 1790s. In 1795, she founded the Mihr-î-Şah Valide Sultan School and Külliye in the region of Eyüp in İstanbul. In 1805, she ordered the construction of The Mihr-î-Şah Valide Sultan Fountain at Yeniköy in İstanbul. The imaret, which was built by the order of Sultâna Mehr-î-Shah, is still in working order for more than two-hundred years in Eyüp in İstanbul.

"Mihr-î-Şah" means "Sun" (lit. endearment, affection, and clemency) and "Sultan". She was the subject of a poem. Mihrişah Valide Sultan and her son Selim III were both the members of Sufi Whirling Mystics that is known as The Legendary Sufi Whirling Dervishes.

Further reading

• Peirce, Leslie P., The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-19-508677-5 (paperback).
• Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009, ISBN: 978-975-269-299-2 (Hardcover).

References

1. ^ "The Ottomans, Sultan III". TheOttomans.org Mr. Korkut Ozgen. http://www.theottomans.org/english/family/selim3.asp. Retrieved 2011-11-09. 
2. ^ Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Resimli Osmanlı Tarihi, Nesil Yayınları (Ottoman History with Illustrations, Nesil Publications), 15th Ed., 2009, pages 364-385, ISBN: 978-975-269-299-2
3. ^ "Sultan III. Selim Han". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN/belge/2-1299/sultan-iii-selim-han.html. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 

External Links

• http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1770.htm

Succession

Preceded by Şehsuvar Sultan

Valide Sultan 1789-1805

Succeeded by Ayşe Sine