- Handan Sultan
Handan Sultan was a wife of
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed III . Born as Helena (Eleni) a native Greek.During the reign of
Ahmed I , she was the "valide sultan ", being Ahmed's mother. The contemporary historianIbrahim Pecevi questioned her wisdom.Leslie Peirce points out that Ahmed I tended to disregard her advice. While respecting the tradition "A mother's right is God's right", he ingeniously circumvented her will.References
*Peirce, Leslie P., The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire,
Oxford University Press , 1993, ISBN 0-19-508677-5 (paperback).
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