152 | A Princess Constructs Ottoman Dynastic Identity
rule, the mother of a prince was vital in assisting her son in the competition with
his brothers. When he was assigned to become the governor of a province, his
mother left the harem and accompanied him to supervise his provincial house-
hold.
A woman who produced a daughter could continue to be one of the sultan’s
sexual partners until she produced a son, but if she gave birth only to daugh-
ters, her status was limited. When Hurrem remained the sultan’s sexual partner
despite the birth of a son, her daughter’s life was also affected because together
they formed a powerful faction, which eventually included Mihrimah’s husband.
Moreover, Hurrem later moved into the same palace as Süleyman, allowing her
increased access to him.
When Süleyman’s reign began, it appeared that he would follow traditional
Ottoman practice regarding the policy of one son per concubine. One of his con-
cubines, Mahidevran, had produced a son, Mustafa, born 1515/H. 921. However,
Süleyman fell in love with his next favorite, Hurrem. When she produced a son,
Mehmed, he continued to have sexual relations with her. Thus, even before Mih-
rimah’s birth, her mother’s pregnancy signaled that Süleyman was deviating
from the reproductive policies of his ancestors. Hurrem produced several chil-
dren in rapid succession and became the sultan’s only sexual partner. Altogether,
she bore him five sons—Mehmed (b. 1521/H. 927), who died of natural causes in
1543; Abdullah (b. 1522/H. 929), who died as a child; Selim (b. 1524/H. 930), who
succeeded Süleyman; Bayezid (b. 1525/H. 931), who was executed in 1561; and
Cihangir (b. 1531/H. 937), who died of natural causes in 1553—and one daughter,
Mihrimah (b. 1522/H. 928). These changes in Ottoman reproductive policies that
developed from Süleyman’s passionate love for Hurrem influenced his relation-
ships with his sons and his daughter. Süleyman’s innovations affected the status
of Mihrimah, his sons, and the elite of the empire because he set precedents that
later sultans followed.
During Mihrimah’s early life the harem had been a place of great tension
as the women residing there competed for status and power. Mahidevran as the
mother of Süleyman’s eldest surviving son claimed a higher status than Hur-
rem. However, once Süleyman broke with precedent and had a second child with
Hurrem, status in the harem was in flux because their relative positions became
ambiguous. As long as Süleyman’s mother, Hafsa, lived, she was the highest-
ranking woman in the harem as valide sultan. But while Süleyman’s love was
given to Hurrem, Mahidevran retained the status of mother of his eldest son.
Mahidevran and her son, Mustafa, resided in the harem until Süleyman assigned
him to a provincial governorship in 1533 in Manisa and she accompanied him.
This appointment surely relieved some of the tension in the harem as a result
of the rivalry between Hurrem and Mahidevran. However, the question of the