Nurbanu Sultan was Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the legal wife of Sultan Selim II, as the mother of Sultan Murad III and the Valide sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 to till her death in 1583.
28 Facts About Nurbanu Sultan
2.
Nurbanu Sultan was one of the most prominent figures during the time of the Sultanate of Women.
3.
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.
4.
In 1992, historian Benjamin Arbel reassessed an older theory that Nurbanu Sultan was a Greek from Corfu named Kale Kartanou, daughter of Nikolaos Kartanos and abducted from the island in 1537, judging it plausible if not absolutely proven.
5.
Nurbanu Sultan became a formidable figure with far-reaching influence during this time.
6.
Nurbanu Sultan did not intervene directly in politics, however there is no doubt that she consulted regularly with Sokollu.
7.
Nurbanu Sultan was determined that when the time came for her son to succeed his father, nothing would interfere.
8.
When Selim II's reign ended in 1574, the haseki Nurbanu Sultan received 1,100 aspers a day, while Selim's other consorts, each the mother of a son, received only 40 aspers.
9.
Nurbanu Sultan first learned the news and then ordered everyone to keep their mouths shut.
10.
Nurbanu Sultan did not share the sultan's death with anyone other than Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Grand Vizir.
11.
Nurbanu Sultan's goal was to allow her son Murad to arrive to Istanbul in secret before anyone could take advantage of the situation.
12.
Nurbanu Sultan realized this as much, if not more, than anyone and took quick action.
13.
Nurbanu Sultan told no one, hid the dead body of her husband in an icebox, and sent word to Manisa for her son to come to Constantinople immediately.
14.
Nurbanu Sultan's son became sultan and Nurbanu became valide sultan, the highest position a woman could hold in the Ottoman Empire.
15.
Nurbanu Sultan was revered as Valide-i Atik Sultan during her son's reign until her death.
16.
Nurbanu Sultan became the first woman to hold both the rank of Haseki and Valide.
17.
Also because of her absolute and ultimate authority through her son, her favorites, Canfeda Hatun, Raziye Hatun, and Hubbi Hatun trusted ladies-in-waiting to Murad and Nurbanu Sultan appear to have been very powerful and influential during his reign.
18.
Safiye Nurbanu Sultan was given the rank of Haseki as soon as Murad became Nurbanu Sultan.
19.
Nurbanu Sultan's attempts were in vain, as Murad never listened to any woman but his mother.
20.
The details of the struggle between Safiye and Nurbanu Sultan are not known, but they probably had conflicts within the harem, for in 1582 their hostility peaked.
21.
Since Mehmed was already in a very bad relationship with his father, Nurbanu Sultan killed the girl to hide the news from Murad.
22.
Nurbanu Sultan died suddenly in 1583, and less than two years later, in early 1585, Safiye regained her husband's trust and love.
23.
Nurbanu Sultan corresponded with the French queen Catherine de' Medici.
24.
Nurbanu Sultan even integrated sounding vessels in the domes to ensure a beautiful performance of the holy text.
25.
Nurbanu Sultan has constructed imaret and bathhouse, which she built in Mercan, Alemdag and Langa, in Istanbul, she was the first Ottoman woman to build a library in this complex.
26.
Nurbanu Sultan was buried at the mausoleum of her husband Selim II, located inside the Hagia Sophia at Sultanahmet in Istanbul, Turkey.
27.
Nurbanu Sultan was buried next to Selim II in his turbe in the courtyard of Hagia Sophia, thus becoming the first wife of a Sultan to receive the honor of being laid to rest next to her spouse.
28.
Nurbanu Sultan attracted great respect not only during her life but after her death.