- Safiye Sultan
Safiye Sultan was the wife of Ottoman
Sultan Murad III and mother of SultanMehmed III . It is believed she was ofVenetian descent. Her name "Safiye" means "the pure one". She was born about 1550, but her date of death is uncertain between 1605 and 1619. Born as Sofia Baffo,daughter of the Venetian Gouvenor of Corfu.Biography
She was captured by
corsair s and presented to theOttoman harem sometime in the 1560s, and became chief wife of the Sultan after the death of her stepmother in 1574.Following the steps of
Nur Banu , Safiye Sultan played an important political role during the reigns of both Sultans after this year. She was Valide Sultan between 1583 and 1594, and together with Nur Banu one of the most influential ones; she deserved the status of co-regent, which is sometimes the formal definition of a Valide sultan.Safiye followed Nur Banu's pro-Venetian policy and corresponded by letter with queen
Elizabeth I of England ; in 1599, Elizabeth presented Safiye with a carriage, which she actually used after having covered it, to excursions in the town, which was considered quite scandalous.She is also known of having been (or believed to have been) strongly influenced by her
kira ,Esperanza Malchi ; a kira was an agent employed to handle the economic affairs of the harem women. This was normally a Jewish woman, who as a non-Muslim was allowed to have an active life outside the harem, and Safiye's kira was the Jewess Esperanza Malchi; they were said to have been so close that people believed them to have been lovers, and Esperanza was killed by a lynch mob in 1600.She is also famous for starting the construction of the
Yeni Valide Mosque (New Mosque ) inIstanbul in 1598. TheAl-Malika Safiyya Mosque (Malika Safiya ) inCairo is named in her honor.References
* Maria Pia Pedani, "Safiye’s Household and Venetian Diplomacy",
Turcica , 32 (2000), pp. 9-32.External links
* http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1570.htm
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