Turhan Hatice Sultan

Turhan entered the palace around 1627 and became chief consort to Sultan Ibrahim. When he was deposed in 1648, their son Mehmed IV inherited the throne as a child. From 1651 to 1656 she served as official regent, sharing that rare designation with only one other woman in Ottoman history: Kösem Sultan. But her influence stretched far beyond the formal regency, shaping imperial decisions into the 1680s. She channeled power into architecture as well, commissioning buildings that broadcast her authority. Turhan died in August 1683, after decades at the center of what historians call the Sultanate…