Safiye Sultan (; 1550 – January/April 1619Tezcan, Baki (2007). "The Debut of Kösem Sultan's Political Career". Turcica. Éditions Klincksieck: 351–352.) was the chief consort and possibly legal wife of Ottoman sultan Murad III, and the mother of Mehmed III. She was one of the eminent figures during the era known as the Sultanate of Women. She lived in the Ottoman Empire as a courtier during the reigns of seven sultans: Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, Murad III, Mehmed III, Ahmed I, Mustafa I and Osman II.

After the death of Selim II in 1574, Murad took the throne as the new sultan in Constantinople. Safiye was by his side and moved with him to Topkapi Palace; less than a year into his reign she received the title of haseki sultan and was given a higher rank than the sultan's own sisters. Nurbanu Sultan, Murad's mother, was unhappy with Safiye's influence on her son, and wanted to replace her with other concubines from the harem. Safiye even led a faction in the court between 1577 and 1580 in opposition to her mother-in-law and her faction, with the support of Murad's cousins Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan and Hümaşah Sultan. The struggle of the two women to gain control over the sultan's life, his decisions and the government increased in 1579, as the death of the powerful grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha along with the sultan self-isolating himself, opened the door to the exercise of power for anyone who was close to the sultan. The conflict between Safiye and Nurbanu reached a crisis point in 1580, and Murad sent Safiye in exile to the Old Palace. She lived there for some years before Nurbanu's death, but Murad brought her back sometime after his mother's death in December 1583.

Without Nurbanu, she became the most powerful woman in the harem. Moreover, she was not contented with her position, and began to intervene in politics, ultimately becoming one of the most powerful figures of Murad's reign, and directing her network on a larger scale to once again influence state affairs. She strengthened her position in the court when she became the valide sultan upon the ascension of her son Mehmed III in 1595, after Murad's death. As valide sultan, her personal purse was three times that of the sultan, the highest level of salary for a person in the empire. During his reign, Mehmed consulted her on important matters and did not make decisions without consent.

Safiye Sultan did not only interfere in internal affairs but also in foreign affairs of the empire. It is known that she corresponded with foreign kings and queens (the most known of them being Elizabeth I of England) and established diplomatic relations with them. Like her mother-in-law Nurbanu, she supported a pro-Venetian policy.

In the last years of her son's reign, her meddling in state affairs caused three destructive rebellions and made her immensely disliked by the soldiers and the people. However, until the end of her son's reign, no one could break her dominance over the government. Upon the death of Mehmed III in 1603, she was sent to the Old Palace on 9 January 1604 by her grandson and new sultan Ahmed I, and lived there in retirement without political influence or returning to the court until her death. She died in 1619 and was laid to rest in the tomb of Murad III in Hagia Sophia.

Background According to the reports of the Venetian bailos Morosini (1585) and Lorenzo Bernardo (1592), she was of Albanian origin. This information was later confirmed by Lazzaro Soranzo (1598), who specified that she came from the village of "Rezi" (possibly modern-day Kriezi) in the Dukagjin Highlands. However, other contemporary sources attributed different origins to her: Stephan Gerlach described her as Moldavian in 1575 and Bosnian in 1576; the Venetian bailo Antonio Tiepolo identified her as a Slav in 1576; and the bailo Zane referred to her as Circassian in 1594. citing: Morosini, Bernardo, Tiepolo and Zane in Albèri (ed.), Relazioni Degli Ambasciatori Veneti III, iii p.283-286, ii p.259, ii p.166, iii p.439; Soranzo, L'Ottomano, p.2She is also often erroneouslyFranz Babinger, s.v. BAFFO, Cecilia in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 5 (1963) claimed to have been from the Venetian Baffo family. Modern academic scholarsincl. , , usually describe her as of Albanian descent.

In 1563, at the age of circa thirteen, she was gifted as a slave by Hümaşah Sultan, daughter of Şehzade Mehmed. Given the name Safiye, she became a concubine of Şehzade Murad, the eldest son of Şehzade Selim. On 26 May 1566, after two daughters, she gave birth to Murad's first son, Mehmed. The same year, Suleiman the Magnificent died and Selim ascended the throne as Selim II.

Haseki Sultan

Selim died in 1574 and Murad became the new sultan as Murad III. Safiye and her children immediately traveled to the capital to settle next to Murad. Safiye immediately received the Haseki rank and a salary of 800 aspers per day. However, her new life in Constantinople also meant that Nurbanu Sultan, Murad's mother, who was deeply loved and revered by him, would be a part of their private daily lives. Nurbanu, as the Valide and head of the harem, ruled over the entire palace and family, and Safiye lived as Haseki under Nurbanu's shadow. For the first few years, even if there were tensions in the harem, there was no open fight between the two women. However, Safiye sought to gain political power, which was a completely logical move as the mother of princes. However, Nurbanu did not appreciate Safiye's aspirations in political life, nor her attempt to influence Murad; Nurbanu saw Safiye as a threat to her influence over the family and Murad. At that time, Murad, being isolated in the harem, and also because of his commitment to his mother and love for his wife, allowed them to rule over him, and he depended on them.

Safiye had been Murad's only concubine before his accession, and he continued having a monogamous relationship with her for several years into his sultanate. Nurbanu advised him to take other concubines for the good of the dynasty, which by 1580 had only one surviving heir: Mehmed, Murad's son by Safiye. In 1580, Nurbanu accused Safiye of using witches and sorcerers to render Murad impotent and prevent him from taking new concubines. This resulted in the imprisonment, exile, torture and execution of Safiye's close friends and servants. His sense of masculinity also wounded, Murad – who tended to believe in witchcraft and astrology, so presumably seriously believed the rumor – finally, in 1580, banished Safiye to the Eski Saray (Old Palace). Murad's sister Ismihan presented him with two beautiful concubines, which he accepted. Cured of his impotence, he went on to father more than fifty children, although according to some sources the total, including children who died as infants, could exceed one hundred.

Venetian reports state that after an initial bitterness, Safiye kept her dignity and showed no jealousy of Murad's concubines. She even procured more for him, earning the gratitude of the Sultan, who continued to value her and consult her on political matters, especially after the death of Nurbanu.

After Nurbanu's death on December 1583 and her return to Topkapi Palace, by then, Safiye had perhaps been disillusioned with Murad and was only interested in gaining power. As Giovanni Moro reported in 1590: with the authority she {Safiye} enjoys as mother of the prince, she intervenes on occasion in affairs of state, although she is much respected in this, and is listened to by His Majesty who considers her sensible and wise. It was during this period that Safiye also built her own all-intertwined relationship system and began to immerse herself in every corner of politics. With the support of the chief eunuch, Gazanfer Agha, she influenced Murad's decisions more and gained more power, which made some Grand Viziers very uncomfortable. Of course, Koca Sinan Pasha, who is also Albanian, was Grand Vizier for three terms during Murad's reign, was her biggest supporter.

As much as Safiye could hate Murad's mother, she continued Nurbanu's pro-Venice policy under the influencer of Beatrice Michiel, Chirana and Esther Handali versus the anti-Venice Esperanza Malchi. She also stood openly in front of Murad for the sake of Venice interests as Haseki. Although she was able to influence the sultan in many ways, she did not always manage to shape the events according to her own taste. For example, in 1593, she tried to convince Murad in favor of the English ambassador she had favored. However, Murad hardly listened, already rejecting Safiye's offer. Thus, although her power and influence grew during Murad's reign and she managed to achieve many of her interests and goals, the Sultan also set serious boundaries for her.

The question of marriage Safiye arrived at the Istanbul palace as a Başhaseki (chief favourite) and during 32 years of their marriage with Murad, she remained his only woman for 20 of them. Selyaniqi called Safiye «the glorified and respected legal wife Safiye Hatun», from which we can conclude that Murad III granted her freedom and entered into a nikah. Pedani pointed out that foreign sources did not report this marriage until 1585. Moreover, the bailo Giovan Francesco Morosini responded to a question from the Venetian Senate in 1585 that Murad III did not marry his Haseki, although he granted her exceptional privileges. However, Pedani noted that Morosini left Istanbul that year, and rumors of the Sultan's marriage began to spread after his departure. Another ambassador, Lorenzo Bernardo, received information from kira Esther Handali in October 1585 that the wedding of Safiye and Murad's daughter Ayşe Sultan was being prepared with the vizier İbrahim Pasha and that Safiye wished to marry at the same time. On December 11, it was decided that the double wedding celebrations would be timed to coincide with the spring festival of Navruz. At the same time, the bailo sent information to Venice and received generous gifts for the Sultan and sultana. On December 24, Safiye Sultan sent a reply thanking Venice for the gifts and for the fact that «the Venetian gentlemen share her joy.» The Venetian Senate immediately sent a letter of congratulations on the occasion of the wedding.

However, Peirce noted that «Solomon the Jew», who prepared a report for the English envoy at the time of Murad III death, wrote that the Sultan had not married Safiye because «some bitter enemy of his mother advised him not to do so, otherwise he would not live long after the marriage, as his father had done». Akyıldız also believed that the marriage was never consummated, especially if foreign sources are taken into account. Ottoman scholar Anthony Alderson also refuted the information about this marriage, pointing out that after 1520, the Ottoman sultans entered into only three official marriages, and the union of Murad III and Safiye was not among them.Among these three marriages, Alderson lists the union of Suleiman I and Hürrem Sultan, Osman II and the daughter of Shaykh al-Islām Akile Hatun and Ibrahim I and Hümaşah Sultan. All three marriages were contrary to the traditions and interests of the empire, and in two cases even led to the overthrow of the sultans.

At the same time, Peirce, referring to the Genoese sailor Giovanni Antonio Menavino, captured by the Turks, wrote that from the end of the 15th century, the Ottoman sultans did not enter into legal marriages, although they could in fact marry during their tenure as Şehzade.

Valide Sultan