Mihrimah Sultan

Mihrimah was born in Istanbul in 1522; she was the daughter of Sultan Süleyman I (aka The Magnificent) and his concubine, Hürrem Sultan. Her mother was freed in 1533 or 1534 and became the Sultan’s legal wife.

On 26 November 1539, Mihrimah, aged 17, married Rüstem Pasha, who later rose to become her father’s Grand Vizier. Though this union was unhappy, Mihrimah flourished as a patroness of the arts and continued her travels with her father until her husband’s death. Mihrimah had two children: Osman and Hümaşah.

Mihrimah travelled the Ottoman Empire with her father as he surveyed the lands and conquered new ones. In international politics, her mother sent letters to the Sigismund II, King of Poland, and the contents of these letters were mirrored in the letters Mihrimah sent.

Although there is no proof of Hürrem and Mihrimah’s direct involvement in her half-brother Mustafa’s downfall, Ottoman sources and foreign accounts indicate that it was widely believed they worked first to eliminate Mustafa to ensure the throne to Hürrem’s son and Mihrimah’s full-brother, Bayezid. Although these stories were not based in first-hand sources, the fear of Mustafa was not unreasonable. Had Mustafa ascended the throne, all Mihrimah’s brothers (Selim, Bayezid and Cihangir) would have been executed according to the fratricide custom of the Ottoman dynasty.

Mihrimah became Süleyman’s advisor, his confidant and his closest relative, especially after Süleyman’s other relatives and companions died or were exiled: Mustafa was executed, Mahidevran Sultan lost her status after Mustafa’s death, Cihangir, Hürrem and Rüstem died, Bayezid was executed and Gülfem died. After Hürrem’s death, Mihrimah took her place, urging her father to undertake the conquest of Malta, and sending him news and forwarding letters to him when he was absent.

Besides her great political intelligence, Mihrimah also had access to considerable economic resources and often funded major architectural projects. She promised to build 400 galleys at her own expense to encourage Süleyman’s campaign against Malta, and when her brother ascended to the throne as Selim II, she lent him money to satisfy his immediate needs. Her most famous foundations are the two Istanbul mosque complexes that bear her name, designed by Mimar Sinan: Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, also known as İskele Mosque, built between 1546 and 1548; and the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, located at the Edirne Gate, built between 1562 and 1565.

Mihrimah’s life was uncertain after Selim II’s death in 1574. Some say she lost all her power and retired to the Old Palace; however, it is most likely that she kept her position at Topkapı Palace and continued to share her power with Nurbanu Sultan, the new Valide Sultan, until her own death. Mihrimah was the only Imperial Princess to be ranked with Nurbanu (Sultan Murad III’s mother) and above Safiye Sultan (Sultan Murad III’s wife) in the royal court.

Mihrimah Sultan died in Istanbul on 25 January 1578, outliving all her siblings. She is the only one of Süleyman’s children to be buried in his tomb, the Süleyman Mosque complex.

Mihrimah Sultan was the most powerful imperial princess in Ottoman history and one of the most prominent figures during the Sultanate of Women (a nearly 130-year period during the 16th and 17th century when the women of the Imperial Harem of the Ottoman Empire exerted extraordinary political influence over state matters and over the Ottoman sultan. Most of these women were of slave origin).

Mihrimah Sultan

Cristofano dell' Altissimo

16th century