 Mihrimah Sultan

A Princess Constructs Ottoman

Dynastic Identity

Christine Isom-Verhaaren

The Ottoman Empire’s vast territories were united under the rule of the house

of Osman, highlighting that the dynasty was an essential component of imperial
identity, providing the ideology that held disparate lands together. The imperial
family included children of the sultan who competed with each other in a quest
for power and status. Generally, historians have focused on the accomplishments
of males of the dynasty because only they could reign. However, women of the
dynasty often wielded great power and influence, contributing to the survival
of the dynasty beyond bearing children. The most famous of these women were
the mothers of reigning rulers, the valide sultans. Ottoman princesses, the most
notable of whom was Mihrimah Sultan, could also influence events and increase
the power and prestige of the ruling family. During her lifetime, few individuals
beyond her immediate family glimpsed the princess; however, from the sixteenth
century until the present, millions—tourists and locals alike—have gazed on the
mosques that she created through her architectural patronage. These have be-
come enduring memorials to her name and to the glory of the house of Osman.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Ottoman sultans and their sons
contributed to dynastic glory through their military conquests, often described
anachronistically as gaza, or holy war. Early in the sixteenth century, conquest
remained the defining characteristic of Sultan Selim I (r. 1512–1520), although he
mainly fought against Muslim opponents. Sultan Süleyman (r. 1520–1566) added
luster to the image of the house of Osman by conquering Rhodes and Belgrade.
Additionally, the sultan and his elite, composed of his favorites, contributed to
Ottoman power and prestige through displays of architectural patronage in Is-
tanbul. This famous metropolis continued to be transformed from a Byzantine
to an Ottoman city by construction financed by the elite. Many mosques con-
structed during the reign of Süleyman proclaimed both the wealth and religion
of the rulers of the empire. A great architect, Mimar Sinan, provided the exper-
tise to make the ambitious projects of the ruling class a glorious reality. The elite