Meleki Hatun

Meleki Hatun (Ottoman Turkish: ملکی خاتون‎; died 1656) was a lady-in-waiting to Valide Kösem Sultan and later to Valide Turhan Hatice Sultan. She also a lady-in-waiting (musahibe) to Sultan Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire.

Early years

Meleki Hatun had originally been a member of Kösem Sultan's suite. She became a lady-in-waiting (musahibe) to Sultan Ibrahim after he ascended the throne in 1640. In early 1648, the treasury of Egypt was lavished on Ibrahims favourite wives and women, which also included Meleki.^[1] In the same year Ibrahim was deposed, and replaced by his six-year-old son, Prince Mehmed as Mehmed IV. Instead of retiring to the Old Palace, Kösem was asked by the leading statesmen of the state to act as Valide Sultan to her grandson, the new Sultan, and Meleki remained with her. However, Mehmed's mother Turhan Sultan turned out to be an ambitious lady. Kösem planned to replace Mehmed by another grandson, whose mother could easily be controlled. However, her plan was expoited by Meleki Hatun.^[2] Kösem was killed in a palace coup in 1651 lead by Turhan's chief black eunuch.^[3][4][5]

Meleki became a favourite retainer of the new Valide Sultan because of her loyalty to her. She married Şabab Halife, a former page in the palace training school. The couple set up a residence in the imperial capital, Istanbul. They suited to act as channel for information and intercessors on behalf of individuals with petitions for the palace. Meleki received female petioners, and her husband received male petioners. Meleki exploited her relationship with Turhan Sultan, while Şaban exploited contacts he had formed while serving within the palace.^[6][7][3] Meleki was also accused of having an incestuous relationship with one of Turhan's step sons.^[8]

Death

The political influence of the couple grew so much that the lost their lives in 1656, when the troops stationed at Istanbul rebelled against alleged abuses in government.^{[9][7][10][3][11]}

In popular culture

In the 2010 film Mahpeyker: Kösem Sultan Meleki Hatun is portrayed by a Turkish actress Bulut Köpük. In the 2015 TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, Meleki Hatun is portrayed by Turkish actress Ahsen Eroğlu and later by Şeyma Burcu Gül.

References

1. Çelebi & Erkılıç 1954, p. 62.
2. Akalin 2016, p. 225.
3. Peirce 1993, p. 144.
4. Helly & Reverby 1992, p. 51.
5. Walthal 2008, p. 90-1.
6. Helly & Reverby 1992, p. 51-2.
7. Walthal 2008, p. 91.
8. Hunt 2014, p. 325.
9. Helly & Reverby 1992, p. 52.
10. Public 2016, p. 235.
11. Thys-Şenocak 2006, p. 60.

Sources

• Helly, Dorothy O.; Reverby, Susan (1992). Gendered Domains: Rethinking Public and Private in Women's History : Essays from the Seventh Berkshire Conference on the History of Women. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-801-49702-5.
• Walthall, Anne (June 10, 2008). Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25443-5.
• Hunt, Margaret (June 11, 2014). Women in Eighteenth Century Europe. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-88388-3.
• Peirce, Leslie P. (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-195-08677-5.
• Akalin, Esin (October 11, 2016). Staging the Ottoman Turk: British Drama, 1656Ð1792. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-3-838-26919-1.
• Ottoman Women in Public Space. BRIIL. May 9, 2016. ISBN 978-9-004-31662-1.
• Thys-Şenocak, Lucienne (2006). Ottoman Women Builders: The Architectural Patronage of Hadice Turhan Sultan. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-754-63310-5.
• Çelebi, Evliya; Erkılıç, Süleyman Cafer (1954). Turk Klasikleri - Issue 34.