Draft:Nurbanu Sultan

Nurbanu Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: نور بانو سلطان; "queen of light", c. 1525/1527 – 7 December 1583) was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the legal wife of Sultan Selim II (reign 1566–1574), as well as Valide Sultan (Sultana mother) as the mother of Sultan Murad III (reign 1574–1583). She was one of the most prominent figures during the time of the Sultanate of Women. Conflicting theories describe her as of Venetian, Jewish[2] or Greek[3] origin. Her birth name may have been Cecilia Venier-Baffo[4]

Nurbanu Sultan (نور بانو سلطان; "queen of light", c. 1525/1527 – 7 December 1583) was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the legal wife of Sultan Selim II  (reign 1566–1574), as well as Valide Sultan (Sultana mother) as the mother of Sultan Murad III (reign 1574–1583). She was one of the most prominent figures during the time of the Sultanate of Women.

Theories about her origin
There are several theories about the ethnic roots of Nurbanu. Although no theory is definitively demonstrated, but that of Venetian origins is both the best known and the most accredited and which receives the greatest consensus among historians.

Cecilia Venier-Baffo
In 1900, Emilio Spagni claimed that she was a Venetian patrician, daughter of Nicolò Venier and Violante Baffo, abducted on Paros when it was captured by Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa in the Third Ottoman-Venetian War. The Sultana, herself, would often say she was of Venetian patrician descent, but never named her family.The opinion that Nurbanu Sultan was Cecilia Venier-Baffo has been followed by Franz Babinger in his article about Nurbanu Sultan for Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani.

Early life
Nurbanu who was said to be prominent in the palace with her beauty and extraordinary intelligence, was sent to Manisa as one of the concubines of the harem of Şehzade Selim in 1543, and she gave him a son, Murad, next Sultan of the Ottoman Empire after his father, and four daughters.

Haseki Sultan
Nurbanu became the most favored consort of Şehzade Selim (who became Ottoman Sultan as Selim II in 1566), and the mother of Şehzade Murad (the future Murad III, born 1546).

While her spouse Selim was still a şehzade, Nurbanu was the head of his princely harem at Manisa.

Once he became sultan, Selim let his favorite wife, the haseki Nurbanu, remain at the Topkapı Palace throughout his reign, as his predecessor (Suleiman the Magnificent) had done.

Even after Selim began to take other concubines, Nurbanu persisted as a favorite for her beauty and intelligence. As the mother of the heir-apparent, she acted as an advisor to her husband. Although it was far from normal at the time, Selim II would often ask Nurbanu for her advice on various subjects because of his respect for her good judgment. The Venetian ambassador Jacopo Soranzor reported: "'The Haseki is said to be extremely well-loved and honored by His Majesty both for her great beauty and for being unusually intelligent.'" She became a formidable figure with far-reaching influence during this time. According to some sources (mostly Venetian accounts), her influence was such that Nurbanu Sultan effectively ran the government alongside the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha. Selim handed over almost all of his power to Sokollu, who did indeed rule the empire in his stead. Nurbanu did not intervene directly in politics, however there is no doubt that she consulted regularly with Sokollu. The Ottoman Empire was far from stable at the top, and clashes over the imperial throne were common. It was also not unusual for the loser in such contests to be massacred along with his entire family to prevent any future challenges. Nurbanu Sultan was determined, however, that when the time came for her son to succeed his father, nothing would interfere. When Selim II's reign ended in 1574, the haseki Nurbanu received 1,100 aspers a day, while Selim's other consorts, each the mother of a son, received only 40 aspers. In addition, Selim repeatedly, publicly stated that Murad was his heir, thus securing the position of his firstborn son and sentencing his other sons to death.

Selim, to emphasize that there was only one woman for him, also legally married Nurbanu. Ambassadorial accounts date the marriage to the beginning of 1571.

Valide Sultan
Şehzade Murad had been sent to serve as Governor of Manisa on the Aegean coast and was there when Sultan Selim II died in 1574. Nurbanu first learned the news and then ordered everyone to keep their mouths shut. She did not share the sultan's death with anyone other than Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Grand Vizir. Her goal was to allow her son Murad to arrive to Istanbul in secret before anyone could take advantage of the situation. This is usually considered correct because this would have been the perfect opportunity for someone to seize power with the Sultan dead and his son away from the capital. Nurbanu realized this as much, if not more, than anyone and took quick action. Security and privacy in the harem were the most strict anywhere and no one knew when Selim II had actually died. Nurbanu told no one and hid the dead body of her husband in an icebox and sent word to Manisa for her son to come to Constantinople immediately. All the while no one was the wiser that Selim had died. It was not made known publicly until twelve days later when Murad arrived and Nurbanu delivered up Selim's body. Her son became sultan and Nurbanu became valide sultan, the highest position a woman could hold in the Ottoman Empire.

Nurbanu's real influence began at this time, she enjoyed absolute power between 1574 and 1583, although she was apparently not resident in the Palace after Selim II's death. Although in the past she also had influence over many things as a Haseki, she mostly just supported Selim from the background and gradually built up her own circles for the future. However, as a valide, she immediately started to work and put her own trusted people in ever higher positions to strengthen herself and her son through them. She was revered as Valide-i Atik Sultan ("the first strong mother of the reigning sultan") during her son's reign until her death.

The rivalry with Safiye
Of all the sultans, Murad was the most devoted to his mother. However, Nurbanu's monopoly and superiority was still threatened. Murad didn't keep many consorts, and was committed to a single woman, Safiye. Safiye Sultan was given the rank of Haseki as soon as Murad became Sultan, and thus became an influential sultana, albeit very much less than Nurbanu.

Safiye herself wanted to have a say in state affairs, so she tried to influence Murad, which in turn provoked Nurbanu's dislike. Her attempts were in vain, as Murad never listened to any woman but his mother. The details of the struggle between Safiye and Nurbanu are not known, but they probably had conflicts within the harem, for in 1582 their hostility peaked.

To avoid the danger of dynastic extinction, it would have been logical for Safiye to gave birth to more children, but she had been unable to get pregnant for years at that time. In the cases where she had become pregnant, she had a miscarriage or the child was born premature and subsequently died. Murad, however, refused to accept new concubines due to the fact that he loved Safiya strongly — so much so he was not able to perform sexually with anyone else. Nurbanu then devised a plan and accused Safiye of using black magic to make the sultan impotent. The rumor began to spread throughout the city, and Murad eventually exiled Safiye to the Old Palace due to his self-esteem. Doctors eventually solved Murad's impotence, who then produced dozens of children in the following years.

Nurbanu died suddenly in 1583, and less than two years later, in early 1585, Safiye regained her husband's trust and love. She and her exiled daughters returned to the royal harem. Thus Safiye regained enough power and influence, or far more than before, to protect her son and prepare for his reign. Safiye, like Nurbanu and her predecessor Hurrem Sultan, was able to build a circle of supporters alongside herself and her son and drive out the opposition. Even after Murad's death in January 1595, Safiye, like her late mother-in-law Nurbanu, hid the death of the Sultan until the arrival of her son to Constantinople.

Foreign politics
After Nurbanu became the valide sultan to her son Murad III, she effectively managed the government together with the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who acted as co-regent with the sultan during the Sultanate of Women.

Her intermediary to the world outside the harem was her "Kira", Esther Handali. She corresponded with the French queen Catherine de' Medici.

Issue
With Selim, Nurbanu had a son and four daughters:


 * Şah Sultan (c. 1543, Karaman Palace, Karaman – 3 November 1580, Constantinople, buried in Zal Mahmud Paşa Mausoleum, Eyüp), married firstly in 1562 to Hassan Aga, married secondly in 1575 to Zal Mahmud Pasha.
 * Gevherhan Sultan (1544, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 1624, Constantinople, buried in Selim II Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque), married firstly in 1562 to Piyale Pasha, married secondly to Cerrah Mehmed Pasha.
 * Ismihan Sultan (1545, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 8 August 1585, Constantinople, buried in Selim II Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque), married firstly in 1562 to Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, married secondly in 1584 to Kalaylıkoz Ali Pasha.
 * Murad III (4 July 1546, Manisa Palace, Manisa – 16 January 1595, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, buried in Murad III Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia)
 * Fatma Sultan (c. 1558, Konya Palace, Konya – October 1580, Constantinople, buried in Siyavuş Pasha Mosque), married in 1573 to Kanijeli Siyavuş Pasha.

= Death ==

Nurbanu died at Istanbul on 7 December 1583, during the reign of her son Murad III. {{Cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/death-in-the-topkapi-harem.aspx?