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Nurbanu Sultan (full style: Haseki Afife Nûr-Banû Vâlide Sultân Aliyyetü'ş-Şân Hazretleri; Ottoman Turkish: نور بانو سلطان; c. 1525 – 7 December 1583) was the favourite consort and later wife of Sultan Selim II of the Ottoman Empire, mother of Sultan Murad III, and de facto co-ruler as the Valide Sultan for nine years from 1574 until 1583. She was either a Venetian of noble birth or a Spanish Jew.[1] Her birth name may have been Rachel Olivia de Nasi.[2], Cecilia Venier-Baffo, [or Kale Koutano (Quartano); please provide complete information]

Contents

• 1 Theories about her origin
• 1.1 Rachel Olivia de Nasi
• 1.2 Cecilia Vernier-Baffo
• [Provide information on another well-documented theory: Kale Kuartano (Quartano) from Corfu]
• 2 Time as consort
• 3 Valide Sultan and regent
• 3.1 Foreign politics
• 3.2 Charitable establishments and philanthropy
• 4 References
• 4.1 Notes
• 4.2 Sources
• 5 External links

Theories about her origin

Currently, there exist two [This is inaccurate--there is another well-documented theory that suggests she was born Kale Kuartano (Quartano) in Corfu; please fix this] .living theories about the ethnic roots of Nurbanu:

Rachel Olivia de Nasi

Yosef (Joseph) de Nasi, Duke of Naxos was the son of Samuel de Nasi, and the grandson of Yosef de Nasi, who was a tax farmer (collector) from Spain. Samuel de Nasi had a brother also named Yosef de Nasi who moved to Paros in the Greek islands.[4] At the time the Greek islands were under Venetian rule until the Muslim invasion of 1537.[4] The connections is revealed by the relationship of Rachel Olivia de Nasi who was born in Venice in 1525 to Yosef de Nasi, son of Samuel de Nasi, which places Rachel and Joseph de Nasi as second cousins, who was in a very close relationship with Nurbanu's husband.[4] Rachel was therefore related to Doña Gracia Mendes Nasi also known by her Christianised name Beatrice de Luna.[4] During the 1537 war on Páros, the Venetian born Rachel Olivia de Nasi was abducted and taken to the royal harem of Ottoman Prince Selim II in Istanbul and became his favourite wife.[4] She was renamed "Afife Nurbanu Sultan".[4] Being a Jew, she gave priorities to the Jewish people of Istanbul and Manisa.[4]

Cecilia Vernier-Baffo

There has been some debate as to whose daughter Rachel Olivia de Nasi was.[4] The Venetian claimed she was the daughter of Nicolò Venier whose brother Sebastiano Venier (1496-1578), who became Doge of Venice between 1577 and 1578.[4] While the Turkish Muslims recorded that she was the natural daughter of Venetian Judean named Yosef de Nasi and Violanta Baffo, who did end up marring Nicolò Venier.[4] Other entries confirm that Voilanta Baffo was a mistress to Nicolò Venier, yet Yosef de Nasi is also recorded as the husband of Voilanta Baffo.[4] More likely Nasi died and Nicolò Venier then married Baffo, which is proven by relationships.[4]

Joseph de Nasi, Duke of Naxos, fled Venice to the Ottoman Empire of Prince Selim II and Rachel de Nasi.[4] This relationship unequivocally confirms that Rachel was the daughter of Yosef Nasi, brother of Benedetto de Nasi, which directly links the two Nasi families to Joseph de Nasi and Doña Gracia Mendes Nasi.[4]

Time as consort

Nurbanu became the most favored consort of Ottoman Sultan Selim II, who was put on the throne in 1566, and the mother of Murad III. She had been the head of his princely harem, however, when he became sultan, she was not head of the imperial harem, as that was a position taken by Selim's elder sister, the acting Valide Sultan, Mihrimah Sultan. Even after Selim began to take other concubines, she persisted as a favorite for her beauty and intelligence. As mother of the heir-apparent, she acted as an advisor to her husband. Although it was far from normal at the time, Selim II would often ask Nurbanu for her advice on various subjects because of his respect for her good judgment. Jacopo Soranzo, Venetian Ambassador reported:

"The Haseki is said to be extremely well loved and honored by His Majesty both for her great beauty and for being unusually intelligent."[5]

She was a devoted wife and a very loyal mother as later events would prove. The Ottoman Empire was far from being very stable at the top and clashes over the imperial throne were common. It was also not uncommon for the loser to have his entire family massacred along with him to prevent any future challenge. Nurbanu Sultan was determined, however, that when the time came for her son to succeed his father, nothing would interfere with that.

Valide Sultan and regent

Prince Murad had been sent to serve as Governor of Manisa on the Aegean coast and was there when Sultan Selim II died in 1574. This would have been the prefect opportunity for someone to seize power with the Sultan dead and his son away from the capital. Nurbanu realized this as much, if not more, than anyone and took quick action. Security and privacy in the harem were the most strict anywhere and no one knew when Selim II had actually died. Nurbanu told no one and hid the dead body of her husband in an icebox and sent to Manisa for her son to come to Constantinople immediately. All the while no one was the wiser that Sultan Selim II had actually departed this life. It was not made known publicly until twelve days later when Murad arrived and Nurbanu delivered up the body of her late husband. Her son became Sultan Murad III and Nurbanu became Valide Sultan (effectively “Queen Mother”), the highest position a woman could hold in the Ottoman Empire. However, once again, she was not completely in charge until the death of Mihrimah Sultan, four years after Selim's. When she did though, she became a formidable figure with far-reaching influence.

Foreign Politics

After Nurbanu became the valide sultan to her son Murad III, she effectively managed the government together with the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who acted as co-regent with the sultan during the Sultanate of Women. Her intermediary to the world outside the harem was her "kira", Esther Handali. "Kira" was so popular means of communication with the outside world when Nûr-Banû was the Valide Sultan that the two women were said to have been lovers. She corresponded with the queen Catherine de' Medici of France. Venetian accounts are the most prolific in describing Nurbanu Sultan as a woman who never forgot her Venetian origins.

During her nine years of regency (1574–1583), her politics were so pro-Venetian that she was hated by the Republic of Genoa. Some have even suggested that she was poisoned by a Genoese agent. In any case, she died at the palace in the Yenikapı Quarter, Istanbul on 7 December 1583. Moreover, it has been said that Nurbanu was related to Safiye Sultan, who was born Sofia Baffo, married Murad III, and consequently became the next valide sultan of the Ottoman Empire when her own son Mehmed III acceded to the throne. On the other hand, the Ottoman records claim that the Republic of Venice became highly dependent on the Ottoman Empire during the regency of Nurbanu because her policies were allegedly extremely pro-Jewish.

Charitable establishments and philanthrophy

During her nine years of regency, Nurbanu ordered the renowned Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan to build the Atik Valide Mosque and its surrounding külliye at the district of Üsküdar in Istanbul, where previously a "Jewish bath" was located. The construction of the külliye was completed and put in commission at the end of 1583, just before the demise of Nurbanu on 7 December 1583. She was buried at the mausoleum of her husband Selim II located inside the Hagia Sophia (then a mosque) at Sultanahmet in Istanbul, Turkey.

References

Notes

1. http://books.google.com.tr/books?id=Xd422lS6ezgC&pg=PA178 Stanford J. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, Volume 1. page 178
2. Godfrey Goodwin, The Private World of Ottoman Women, Saqi Book, ISBN 0-86356-745-2, ISBN 3-631-36808-9, 2001. page 128,
3. Valeria Heuberger, Geneviève Humbert, Geneviève Humbert-Knitel, Elisabeth Vyslonzil, Cultures in Colors, page 68. ISBN 3-631-36808-9, 2001
4. Peter D Matthews (13 Jun 2013). Shakespeare Exhumed: The Bassano Chronicles. Bassano Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-987-36526-2.
5. Peirce 1993, p. 228.

Sources

• Goodwin, Jason, Lords of the Horizons, (1998) - page 160
• A.D. Alderson, The Structure of the Ottoman Dynasty. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1956.
• Almanach de Gotha: annuaire généalogique, diplomatique et statistique, Justes Perthes, Gotha, 1880-1944.
• Burke's Royal Families of the World, Volume II: Africa & The Middle East, Burke's Peerage Ltd., London, 1980.
• Yılmaz Öztuna, Devletler ve Hanedanlar, Turkiye 1074-1990, Ankara, 1989.
• Osman Selâheddin Osmanoğlu, Osmanli Devleti'nin Kuruluşunun 700. Yılında Osmanlı Hanedanı, Islâm Tarih, Sanat ve Kültür Araştırma Vakfı (ISAR), Istanbul, 1999.
• Emine Fuat Tugay, Three Centuries: Family Chronicles of Turkey and Egypt, Oxford, 1963.

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Nurbanu Valide Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: نور بانو سلطان‎; c. 1525 – 7 December 1583) was Haseki Sultan of Ottoman as wife of Sultan Selim II and Valide Sultan of Ottoman as mother of Sultan Murad III. Conflicting theories ascribe her a Venetian, Jewish[1] or Greek[2] origin. Her birth name may have been Cecilia Venier-Baffo,[3] Rachel[4] or Kalē Kartanou.[5] Nurbanu was one of the prominent figure during the era known as Sultanate of Women.

Theories about her origin

There are several theories about the ethnic roots of Nurbanu, none of which is generally accepted: Jewish origin

Turkish historian Ahmet Refik believed she was of Jewish descent,[6] followed by some Turkish historians.[7] Cecilia Venier-Baffo

The Venetian[who?] claimed she was a daughter of Nicolò Venier and Violanta Baffo, abducted in Paros island when it was captured by Hayreddin Barbarossa.[5] Kalē Kartanou

In 1992, B. Arbel challenged the view that she was really of Venetian descent. For him the most plausible theory is that she was a Greek from Corfou named Kale Kartanou.[5] Haseki Sultan Nurbanu's husband Selim

Nurbanu became the most favored consort of Ottoman Sultan Selim II, who was put on the throne in 1566, and the mother of Murad III.

While her spouse Selim still a şehzade, Nurbanu had been the head of his princely harem at Manisa. However, when Selim ascended to the throne, she was not head of the imperial harem, as that was a position taken by Selim's elder sister Mihrimah Sultan.

Even after Selim as a sultan began to take other concubines, she persisted as a favorite for her beauty and intelligence. As mother of the heir-apparent, she acted as an advisor to her husband. Although it was far from normal at the time, Selim II would often ask Nurbanu for her advice on various subjects because of his respect for her good judgment. Jacopo Soranzo, Venetian Ambassador reported:

   "The Haseki is said to be extremely well loved and honored by His Majesty both for her great beauty and for being unusually intelligent."[8]

She was a devoted wife and a very loyal mother as later events would prove. The Ottoman Empire was far from being very stable at the top and clashes over the imperial throne were common. It was also not uncommon for the loser to have his entire family massacred along with him to prevent any future challenge. Nurbanu Sultan was determined, however, that when the time came for her son to succeed his father, nothing would interfere with that.

At the end of Selim II's reign, the haseki Nurbanu received 1,000 aspers a day, while Selim's other consorts, each the mother of son, received only 40 aspers.[9] Valide Sultan and regent Murad III, to whom Nûr-Banû was a Valide sultan during 1574 - 1583.

Şehzade Murad had been sent to serve as Governor of Manisa on the Aegean coast and was there when Sultan Selim II died in 1574. This would have been the perfect opportunity for someone to seize power with the Sultan dead and his son away from the capital. Nurbanu realized this as much, if not more, than anyone and took quick action. Security and privacy in the harem were the most strict anywhere and no one knew when Selim II had actually died. Nurbanu told no one and hid the dead body of her husband in an icebox and sent to Manisa for her son to come to Constantinople immediately. All the while no one was the wiser that Sultan Selim II had actually departed this life. It was not made known publicly until twelve days later when Murad arrived and Nurbanu delivered up the body of her late husband. Her son became Sultan Murad III and Nurbanu became Valide Sultan, the highest position a woman could hold in the Ottoman Empire. Unlike her predecessor Hürrem Sultan, Nurbanu outlived her husband and enjoyed absolute power between 1574 and 1583, although she was apparently not resident in the Palace after Selim II's death. Nurbanu had ultimate power, and she became a formidable figure with far-reaching influence. Foreign politics

After Nurbanu became the valide sultan to her son Murad III, she effectively managed the government together with the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who acted as co-regent with the sultan during the Sultanate of Women. Her intermediary to the world outside the harem was her "kira", Esther Handali. "Kira" was so popular means of communication with the outside world when Nûr-Banû was the Valide Sultan that the two women were said to have been lovers. She corresponded with the queen Catherine de' Medici of France. Venetian accounts are the most prolific in describing Nurbanu Sultan as a woman who never forgot her Venetian origins. Afife Nûr-Bânû Valide Sultan's Ṣalāt al-Janāzah and her Islamic burial (Shahan-Shah-Namah-i Lokhmann)

During her nine years of regency (1574–1583), her politics were so pro-Venetian that she was hated by the Republic of Genoa. Some have even suggested that she was poisoned by a Genoese agent. In any case, she died at the palace in the Yenikapı Quarter, Istanbul on 7 December 1583. Moreover, it has been said that Nurbanu was related to Safiye Sultan, who was born Sofia Baffo, married Murad III, and consequently became the next valide sultan of the Ottoman Empire when her own son Mehmed III acceded to the throne. On the other hand, the Ottoman records claim that the Republic of Venice became highly dependent on the Ottoman Empire during the regency of Nurbanu because her policies were allegedly extremely pro-Jewish.[citation needed] Charitable establishments and philanthrophy

During her nine years of regency, Nurbanu ordered the renowned Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan to build the Atik Valide Mosque and its surrounding külliye at the district of Üsküdar in Istanbul, where previously a "Jewish bath" was located. The construction of the külliye was completed and put in commission at the end of 1583, just before the demise of Nurbanu on 7 December 1583. She was buried at the mausoleum of her husband Selim II located inside the Hagia Sophia (then a mosque) at Sultanahmet in Istanbul, Turkey. Death Afife Nûr-Banû Valide Sultan's name is inscribed at the entrance of her husband Selim II's türbe.

Nurbanu died in Istanbul, 7 December 1583, during reign of her son Murad III. She was buried next to that of Selim II in the courtyard of Hagia Sophia. See also

   Ottoman Empire

   Ottoman dynasty

   Ottoman family tree

   List of Valide Sultans

   List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire

   Line of succession to the Ottoman throne

   Ottoman Emperors family tree (simplified)

   List of consorts of the Ottoman Sultans

References Notes

Stanford J. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, Volume 1, p. 178, at Google Books Arbel, Benjamin, Nur Banu (c. 1530-1583): A Venetian Sultana? Godfrey Goodwin, The Private World of Ottoman Women, Saqi Book, ISBN 0-86356-745-2, ISBN 3-631-36808-9, 2001. page 128, Valeria Heuberger, Geneviève Humbert, Geneviève Humbert-Knitel, Elisabeth Vyslonzil, Cultures in Colors, page 68. ISBN 3-631-36808-9, 2001 Arbel, Benjamin, Nur Banu (c. 1530-1583): A Venetian Sultana?, Turcica, 24 (1992), pp. 241-259. Çağatay Uluçay, Padişahların Kadınları ve Kızları p.68, citing Kadınlar Saltanatı I p.95 A.H. de Groot, s.v. in Encyclopaedia of Islam vol.8 p.124 Peirce 1993, p. 228.

   Peirce 1993, p. 129.

Bibliography

   Arbel, Benjamin, Nur Banu (c. 1530-1583): A Venetian Sultana?, Turcica, 24 (1992), pp. 241–259.

   Peirce, Leslie Penn (1993). The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. Studies in Middle Eastern History. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507673-8.

   Goodwin, Jason, Lords of the Horizons, (1998) - page 160

   A.D. Alderson, The Structure of the Ottoman Dynasty. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1956.

   Almanach de Gotha: annuaire généalogique, diplomatique et statistique, Justes Perthes, Gotha, 1880-1944.

   Burke's Royal Families of the World, Volume II: Africa & The Middle East, Burke's Peerage Ltd., London, 1980.

   A.H. de Groot, s.v. in Encyclopaedia of Islam vol.8 p. 124

   Yılmaz Öztuna, Devletler ve Hanedanlar, Turkiye 1074-1990, Ankara, 1989.

   Osman Selâheddin Osmanoğlu, Osmanli Devleti'nin Kuruluşunun 700. Yılında Osmanlı Hanedanı, Islâm Tarih, Sanat ve Kültür Araştırma Vakfı (ISAR), Istanbul, 1999.

   Emine Fuat Tugay, Three Centuries: Family Chronicles of Turkey and Egypt, Oxford, 1963.

External links

   Women Leaders in Power

Note:

According to the previous above about Theories about her origin, that she was a daughter of Nicolò II Venier, Lord of Paros and Violanta Baffo, but also as daughter of Violanta Baffo and Yosef de Nasi , and also what historians gives a theories (?) Theories are some kind of assumptions as a rational kind of abstract thinking, not exact facts or as true. What exact physical evidence and written evidence confirm these above theories as true, provided by historians?

What is true, what is not ??? Is a speculations, or not ?

In 1507 Nicolò II Venier, Lord of Paros married a woman named Zantano, by whom he had a son Andrea Venier, who died during his father's life.[1]

There are speculations that he was the biological father of Italian concubine Cecilia Venier-Baffo, who was captured and sold to slavery. Then she became Nurbanu Sultan, the wife of Sultan Selim II, and the queen mother of Sultan Murad III.

However, maybe exists today a speculations, but is not questionable that she maybe was biological daughter Nicolò II Venier, Lord of Paros and Violanta Baffo, but which exact physical evidences and written proofs/records tells reverse about this facts, what historians above mentioned. Where are that proofs?

• http://italianmonarchist.blogspot.com/2012/10/nurbanu-sultan-italia...
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Venier-Baffo-1
• http://www.wargs.com/royal/venier.html
• http://madmonarchist.blogspot.com/2012/10/consort-profile-nurbanu-s...
• https://thinkvenice.com/the-venetian-sultana/?lang=en
• https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1051822
• https://fy-magnificentcentury.tumblr.com/post/185509397730/ceciliav...
• https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/cecilia-baffo_%28Dizionario-Bi...
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/25812332
• https://ermesverona.it/2022/03/12/cecilia-venier-baffo-la-sultana-v...
• https://aminoapps.com/c/world-history/page/item/valide-i-atik-hasek...
• https://www.biyografya.com/biyografi/14845
• https://isamveri.org/pdfdkm/14/DKM140724.pdf
• https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cemberlitas-hamami-in-ista...
• Baffo
• https://zadarski.slobodnadalmacija.hr/zadar/regional/senzacija-nako...

Yрбану Султан, или Нур-Бану Султан (1525-1583), е венецианска благородничка, съпруга на османския султан Селим II. Тя е майка и валиде султан на Мурад III. Нурбану е родена през 1525 г. на гръцкия остров Парос, тогава владение на Венеция, с името Сесилия Вениер-Бафо. Тя е дъщеря на Виолант Бафо и Николо Вениер. През 1537 г. турците завладяват остров Парос, а Сесилия е племенена и отведена в Истанбул, където попада в харема на принц Селим, който през 1566 г. заема престола като султан Селим II. В Истанбул Сесилия получава името Нурбану Султан ("принцеса на светлината"). Тя става любима съпруга на Селим, на когото през 1546 г. ражда и син, бъдещия Мурад II. Когато Селим II умира през 1574 г. Нурбану прикрива смъртта му, като в продължение на дванадесет дни крие тялото на покойния слтан в леден блок до завръщането на сина им Мурад от Маниса.

След възцаряването на сина си Нурбану получава титлата валиде султан и започва да управлява от негово име заедно с великия везир Мехмед Соколович. Издигането на Нурбану до върховете на властта поставя началото на т.н. Султанат на жените. Нурбану води активна кореспонденция с френската кралица Катерина Медичи и по време на деветгодишното си управление провежда провенецианска политика, която ѝ спечелва омразата на Република Генуа. Нурбану Султан умира при мистериозни обстоятелства през 1583 г. Според слуховете тя е отровена от генуезки агент.