Halime Sultan

Halime Sultan (c. 1571 – after 1639) was a consort of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed III and the mother of Sultan Mustafa I, as well as Şehzade Mahmud and possibly other children including Dilruba Sultan.^[1] Of likely Abkhaz origin, she entered Mehmed's service during his time as sanjakbey of Manisa and rose to prominence following his accession in 1595.^[1] She became the first woman to serve as valide sultan twice for the same son, holding the position during Mustafa's brief first reign (1617–1618) and second reign (1622–1623), amid the turbulent transition from the old order of fratricide to kafes confinement of princes.^[1] Due to Mustafa's documented mental instability, which rendered him unfit for effective rule, Halime wielded de facto authority as regent, influencing court politics, patronage, and even military decisions during a period of Ottoman decline marked by rebellions like the Celali revolts' aftermath and janissary unrest.^[1] Her tenure ended with Mustafa's second deposition in 1623, after which she retired to the Old Palace, having navigated intrigues including the 1603 execution of her elder son Mahmud on suspicions of rebellion.^[1]

Origins and Early Life

Ethnic Background and Birth

Halime Sultan, whose original name is unknown, was born circa 1570 in Abkhazia, a region in the western Caucasus. She belonged to the Abkhaz ethnic group, part of the Northwest Caucasian peoples, and was acquired as a slave for the Ottoman imperial harem through established trade networks in the Black Sea area. Detailed records of her family or precise birthplace are absent, reflecting the systemic disregard for slaves' pre-enslavement lives in Ottoman documentation, which prioritized assimilation and loyalty to the dynasty over ethnic heritage. Concubines from Caucasian regions like Abkhazia were often sourced via raids, voluntary sales by impoverished families seeking social mobility, or tribute systems, with young girls selected for their beauty and trained in domestic skills before potential elevation to imperial service. This recruitment pattern, distinct from the devşirme levy applied to Christian boys for the Janissaries, relied on the profitability of the Caucasian slave trade, which supplied a significant portion of the harem's female population during the 16th century.^[2]^[3]

Entry into the Ottoman Harem and Marriage to Mehmed

Halime Sultan entered the harem of Şehzade Mehmed as a concubine during his governorship of the Manisa Sanjak, between May and June 1582 and December 1583.^[4] She was gifted to the prince by Cerrah Mehmed Pasha, a Bosnian-origin official, who selected her for her beauty to cultivate favor and political ties with the imperial household.^[4] This incorporation aligned with Ottoman practices for provincial princely courts, where sanjak governors like Mehmed maintained semi-autonomous harems stocked through elite networks, including gifts of slaves from Black Sea trade routes or court officials.^[5] Her union with Mehmed, typical of concubine-prince relations without formalized nikah ceremonies by the late 16th century, occurred in the mid-1580s amid the competitive dynamics of the Manisa harem.^[4] Princely harems operated under polygamous norms, allowing multiple consorts to vie for influence through personal favor and reproductive output, as sons enhanced a mother's leverage in succession-oriented Ottoman governance.^[5] Halime's status elevated from entry-level concubine to favored consort as she demonstrated childbearing potential, a causal driver of hierarchy in harem ecosystems where utility to dynastic continuity determined precedence over initial slave origins.^[4] This phase underscored the instrumental role of harem women in princely administration, where consorts managed domestic spheres supporting Mehmed's rule over Manisa from 1582 to 1595, yet remained subordinate to eunuch overseers and imperial oversight from Istanbul.^[5] Venetian diplomatic records, such as those from bailo Contarini in 1604, corroborate her early positioning, highlighting how such unions reinforced patronage networks without romantic or egalitarian connotations.^[4]

Role as Consort to Mehmed III

Life in the Imperial Harem

Halime Sultan, as a concubine of Mehmed III following his accession on 27 January 1595, resided in the women's quarters of Topkapı Palace, where the imperial harem housed the sultan's consorts, female relatives, and servants under the overarching authority of Valide Sultan Safiye Sultan.^[6] Her primary role involved the care and oversight of her young sons, Şehzade Mahmud (born circa 1591) and later Şehzade Mustafa (born circa 1601–1602), within the segregated harem environment that emphasized seclusion and hierarchical order.^[6] ^[7] Unlike earlier sultans such as Süleyman I or Selim II, Mehmed III refrained from designating a principal haseki sultan during his eight-year reign, instead maintaining favor among multiple concubines—each typically bearing one son—to mitigate succession rivalries and avoid empowering a single maternal faction, a strategy likely influenced by Safiye's dominant position as valide.^[6] This approach afforded Halime a degree of stability, as no overt harem intrigues targeted her directly until the final years of the reign, amid the broader context of high infant and child mortality that claimed many of Mehmed's over 20 sons before adulthood.^[6] ^[4] In the harem's administrative structure, Safiye Sultan directed operations, including the supervision of eunuchs, female servants, and training programs for concubines in skills such as embroidery, music, and etiquette, while concubine mothers like Halime contributed to the early nurturing and moral instruction of princes.^[6] Young şehzades under her care received preliminary education in the harem from tutors in Islamic theology, Turkish language, and basic court protocols before formal schooling, reflecting the confined yet influential maternal domain within the palace's inner sanctum.^[8] Halime's activities remained focused on domestic harem routines rather than external patronage or political maneuvering, with no recorded endowments or public building projects attributed to her during this period.^[6] The harem's scale underscored the material realities of Halime's environment: by 1600–1601, it supported approximately 275 women at monthly costs of 52,373 aspers, drawn from imperial revenues to cover stipends, provisions, and maintenance, though individual concubine allotments like Halime's were modest—typically around 100 aspers per day for mothers of princes—prioritizing collective hierarchy over personal extravagance.^[6] This fiscal framework reinforced the concubines' dependence on the valide's oversight, limiting autonomous influence and aligning with Mehmed III's campaigns, such as the Long Turkish War (1593–1606), which diverted resources outward while the harem sustained dynastic continuity through routine maternal duties.^[6] Şehzade Mahmud, born around 1587 to Halime Sultan while Mehmed III served as sanjakbey of Manisa, was executed on 7 June 1603 in the Topkapı Palace harem on his father's orders. The 16-year-old prince was strangled by four deaf-mutes, a method chosen to ensure secrecy and adherence to traditions prohibiting the spilling of royal blood; Sultan Mehmed III reportedly waited outside the chamber before entering to verify his son's death.^[9] Ottoman court chronicles, including that of Hasan Beyzade, attribute the execution to suspicions of Mahmud's ambition to usurp the throne amid broader dynastic tensions, exacerbated by the empire's military strains from ongoing wars with Persia and Habsburgs.^[10] ^[4] Accusations centered on Halime and her entourage for consulting seers or engaging in sorcery to divine Mehmed's death or hasten Mahmud's ascension, with a purported letter from Halime to a religious figure intercepted and presented to the sultan. Valide Sultan Safiye, mother of Mehmed and grandmother of Şehzade Ahmed, played a pivotal role by relaying this evidence, ostensibly to protect her favored grandson's position as heir against Mahmud's rising factional support.^[10] Contemporary observers like Venetian diplomats noted the intrigue's intensity, linking it to harem rivalries where Safiye viewed Halime's ambitions as a direct threat.^[9] Historical interpretations differ on whether the sorcery claims reflected genuine paranoia—fueled by Mehmed's frail health and reports of Mahmud's reckless associations—or constituted a fabricated pretext orchestrated by Safiye to neutralize competitors in the succession struggle. Hasan Beyzade's account emphasizes palace factions backing Mahmud's potential bid, while some analyses highlight Safiye's strategic maneuvering, given her dominance in harem politics and prior tensions with consorts like Halime.^[10] ^[4] No primary evidence confirms outright fabrication, but the rapid escalation from rumor to execution underscores causal dynamics of fear and preemptive dynastic control in Ottoman practice.^[11] The immediate repercussions diminished Halime's standing, with reports of her punishment including confinement or beating, though she avoided execution. Mahmud's death positioned his younger brother Mustafa as the primary alternative heir to Ahmed, shifting harem alliances and compelling Halime to navigate deeper factional conflicts against Safiye's network, setting precedents for her later regencies.^[10] ^[9] Mehmed III's own death six months later, on 22 December 1603, amid grief over the event, further intensified these intrigues without resolving the underlying rivalries.^[12]

Family and Children

Birth and Fate of Her Issue

Halime Sultan bore at least two sons and two daughters to Mehmed III. Her eldest son, Şehzade Mahmud, was born circa 1587 in Manisa during Mehmed's tenure as heir apparent.^[13] Mahmud was executed on June 7, 1603, at Topkapı Palace in Istanbul on orders from his father, amid suspicions of rebellion fomented by court intrigues, including accusations from astrologers and rivals like Valide Safiye Sultan; this reflected the Ottoman policy of fratricide, institutionalized under Mehmed II to secure the throne by eliminating potential rivals, which carried high mortality risks for imperial princes.^[14] Her second son, Mustafa, was born circa 1591, likely in Manisa.^[14] Unlike many siblings, Mustafa survived the perilous succession dynamics following Mehmed III's death in December 1603, as his half-brother Ahmed I refrained from immediate executions, instead confining potential heirs to the kafes (a gilded cage within the palace) to prevent uprisings while preserving dynastic bloodlines. Mustafa ascended briefly as sultan in 1617–1618 and again in 1622–1623 but exhibited signs of mental instability from youth, including erratic behavior documented in contemporary Venetian and Ottoman accounts, leading to his deposition both times; he died on January 20, 1639, in Istanbul, outliving most contemporaries amid the era's brutal pruning of the Ottoman line.^[14] Halime's daughters included Hatice Sultan and Şah Sultan, whose births likely occurred between the late 1580s and 1590s, though exact dates remain unverified in primary records. Both princesses survived infancy—a rarity given high child mortality in the harem—and reached adulthood, avoiding the lethal fates typical of male siblings under fratricidal customs, as Ottoman daughters posed no direct threat to the throne and often served diplomatic roles through marriage. No credible evidence supports additional children beyond these four, distinguishing Halime's verified issue from speculative harem legends.^[14]

Relations with Other Imperial Family Members

Following the execution of her son Şehzade Mahmud in June 1603, amid suspicions of a plot against Sultan Mehmed III, Halime Sultan faced heightened antagonism from Valide Sultan Safiye Sultan, who had orchestrated the intrigue partly out of fear that Mahmud's growing popularity among the Janissaries threatened the dynastic order.^[9] This event, documented in Venetian ambassador Francesco Contarini's dispatches from June 14, 1603, reflected Safiye's efforts to safeguard her grandson Şehzade Ahmed's position as heir apparent, viewing Halime's ambitions for Mahmud as a direct challenge within the harem's competitive environment.^[9] English ambassador Henry Lello's contemporaneous reports corroborated Safiye's suspicions toward Halime, underscoring the valide's role in suppressing potential rivals to maintain control over succession amid the Ottoman practice of fraternal elimination.^[9] Handan Sultan, mother of Şehzade Ahmed, aligned with Safiye against Halime during these late years of Mehmed III's reign (1595–1603), alarmed by Halime's maneuvers to elevate Mahmud as the preferred successor despite rumors of his infertility.^[9] This alliance intensified the factional competition between Halime's camp and that of Handan, fueled by the need to secure a viable heir in the confinement (kafes) system, where princely mothers vied indirectly through harem influence and court factions.^[9] Diplomatic accounts from Contarini highlight how Handan's support for Safiye's actions against Halime escalated into open rivalry, positioning Ahmed as the ultimate beneficiary upon Mehmed III's death on December 22, 1603.^[9] After Ahmed I's accession, Halime and her surviving son Mustafa I were confined to the Old Palace, limiting direct interactions with the ruling family under Handan as the new valide sultan until her death in 1605.^[9] This exclusion perpetuated underlying hostilities, as Halime's faction sought to promote Mustafa as an alternative heir during periods of instability in Ahmed's early rule, though primary evidence of personal alliances or further family engagements remains sparse beyond the entrenched opposition to Safiye and Handan's prior coalition.^[9] The kafes system's isolation of non-ruling princes reinforced such rivalries through proxy networks rather than overt family ties.^[9]

Valide Sultan Tenures

First Regency under Mustafa I (1617–1618)

Following the unexpected death of Sultan Ahmed I in late November 1617, his younger brother Mustafa I—previously confined in the kafes due to suspected mental instability—was enthroned on 22 November 1617, elevating Halime Sultan to the position of valide sultan.^[15] This abrupt succession bypassed Ahmed's young son Osman, as Ottoman elites, including the ulema, sought to preserve the dynasty by enthroning an adult prince rather than risking regency uncertainties or fratricide.^[14] Halime, previously exiled to the Old Palace after the 1603 execution of her son Şehzade Mahmud, swiftly relocated to the Topkapı Palace and assumed significant administrative influence, though her authority was constrained by Mustafa's erratic behavior, such as aimless wanderings and inability to engage in governance.^[1] Halime's regency operated as a de facto co-rule with the grand vizier and divan, focusing on stabilizing the court amid fiscal strains from ongoing wars and internal factionalism; she prioritized harem administration and influenced appointments to maintain loyalty among key officials like Grand Vizier Ohrili Hüseyin Pasha. Fiscal records indicate her daily stipend as valide was set at 3,000 aspers, surpassing the 1,000–2,000 aspers allocated to recent predecessors like Handan Sultan, reflecting her enhanced status despite the concurrent presence of Ahmed I's mother Safiye Sultan.^[1] ^[16] This period saw limited policy innovations, with emphasis on short-term patronage to Janissary and palace elements to avert unrest, though Mustafa's public displays of derangement—reportedly including throwing coins into the sea—undermined legitimacy.^[14] The regency's instability culminated in Mustafa's deposition on 26 February 1618, after only three months, when court factions, including military and religious leaders disillusioned by his incapacity, enthroned the 14-year-old Osman II instead.^[14] Halime's influence waned rapidly post-deposition, as Osman curtailed valide prerogatives and relegated her to advisory margins, though Mustafa and Halime were spared execution in a rare Ottoman mercy. This brief tenure highlighted the valide's vulnerability to elite consensus shifts during sultanic weakness, setting precedents for future harem regencies without entrenching systemic power.^[1]

Activities during Osman II's Reign (1618–1622)

Following the deposition of Mustafa I on 26 February 1618 and the ascension of Osman II, Halime Sultan was confined to the Eski Saray (Old Palace) alongside her son, stripping her of formal authority as valide sultan.^[9] This relocation reflected the Ottoman practice of isolating deposed imperial family members to prevent challenges to the throne, limiting her direct access to the Topkapı Palace and its administrative apparatus.^[4] Osman II's reign lacked a reigning valide sultan, as his mother Mahfiruz Hatun had died years earlier, around 1610, depriving the harem of a senior maternal figure to mediate palace politics or balance factional tensions.^[17] Halime's constrained circumstances precluded overt governance, yet her established networks from prior regencies—cultivated among eunuchs, aghas, and Janissary contacts—allegedly enabled covert influence amid growing military unrest over Osman's fiscal exactions and military reorganization plans, including a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1621 that masked intentions to raise a new Anatolian army.^[4] Contemporary European observers and later Ottoman chroniclers attributed to Halime surreptitious correspondence with disaffected Janissary leaders, channeling grievances against Osman's perceived favoritism toward sipahis and ulema over the corps, though evidence remains circumstantial and tied to broader elite factionalism rather than her singular agency.^[18] These networks reportedly amplified discord without assuming primary causation, as the rebellion stemmed from entrenched military privileges threatened by reform. The uprising erupted on 8 May 1622, with rebels storming the palace and seeking Mustafa I from the Old Palace, underscoring Halime's locational centrality in facilitating the rapid enthronement of her son on 19 May, prior to Osman's strangulation on 20 May.^[18]

Second Regency under Mustafa I (1622–1623)

Following the deposition of Sultan Osman II on 19 May 1622 and his subsequent murder the following day, Mustafa I ascended the throne for the second time, reinstating Halime Sultan as valide sultan. Mustafa's persistent mental instability necessitated her de facto oversight of governance, including substantial sway over divan deliberations and appointments in the imperial administration.^[19] Halime promptly leveraged her position to recommend her son-in-law, Kara Davud Pasha, as grand vizier, aiming to consolidate loyalist factions amid the Janissary-led upheaval that had toppled Osman II. Her regency grappled with simmering rebellions in Anatolia and the capital's entrenched elite rivalries, while treasury pressures mounted from military unrest and the high costs of patronage; her own stipend, fixed at 3,000 aspers daily since her first tenure, persisted unabated, exacerbating fiscal strains on the state.^[19]^[9] Despite these efforts, Mustafa's erratic behavior—manifest in public displays of incapacity—undermined stability, fueling discontent among ulema, janissaries, and viziers who formed opposing coalitions. Halime's alliances, including with palace officials like Mustafa Agha, proved insufficient against this fragmentation, leading to Mustafa's deposition on 10 September 1623 after less than 16 months.^[19]

Events Surrounding Murad IV's Enthronement

On 10 September 1623, Sultan Mustafa I was deposed for the second time after a brief reign marked by his ongoing mental instability, which rendered effective governance impossible.^[14] A coalition of ulema (religious scholars) and Grand Vizier Kemankeş Kara Ali Pasha approached Halime Sultan, Mustafa's mother and reigning valide, urging her to consent to the deposition to avert further chaos in the empire.^[20] Halime agreed on the explicit condition that her son would be spared execution, a concession granted amid the pressing need for stable succession.^[21] This pivotal agreement facilitated the immediate enthronement of eleven-year-old Murad IV, son of the late Sultan Ahmed I, thereby shifting regency power to Kösem Sultan, Murad's mother and Ahmed's former favorite.^[20] Halime's acquiescence reflected the pragmatic calculus of Ottoman palace politics, where maternal influence yielded to collective elite pressure during crises of incapacity, but it also underscored the regency system's vulnerability to factional maneuvering by viziers and ulema. Kösem's ascension as valide was formalized through a ceremonial procession into Topkapı Palace, signaling her dominant role in the ensuing administration.^[21] The events exemplified the causal fragility of relying on impaired sultans like Mustafa, whose two tenures (1617–1618 and 1622–1623) together spanned less than two years and precipitated three rapid enthronements in six years, eroding institutional continuity and inviting opportunistic interventions by military and clerical elites.^[22] Halime's ouster from the valide position ended her direct political authority, as she was removed from the imperial harem alongside her son.^[20]

Downfall, Death, and Burial

Exile and Final Years

Following the enthronement of Murad IV on 10 September 1623, Halime Sultan was removed from Topkapı Palace and confined to the Eski Saray (Old Palace) in Constantinople's Beyazıt Square, marking the end of her direct involvement in imperial governance. The Eski Saray served as the designated retirement quarters for deposed or retired valide sultans and other dynastic women, a practice rooted in Ottoman protocol to segregate potential rivals from active court affairs, as seen with predecessors like Safiye Sultan after her own deposition in 1603.^[23]^[24] This relocation imposed strict limitations on Halime's interactions, with palace protocols restricting visitors and communications to prevent intrigue, consistent with the empire's handling of former power holders to maintain stability under the new regency of Kösem Sultan.^[25]

Cause and Circumstances of Death

Halime Sultan died in exile at the Old Palace in Istanbul sometime after the deposition of her son Mustafa I on 20 September 1623, with contemporary records providing no precise date or confirmed cause. Born around 1570–1571, she would have been approximately 53 or older at the time, amid prolonged political turmoil including two regencies marked by factional strife and her eventual ousting by Kösem Sultan. Primary Ottoman chronicles and European observer accounts, such as those from Venetian baili, attribute no specific malady but align with patterns of natural decline in valide sultans of advanced age under stress, rather than extraordinary circumstances.^[9] Speculation of foul play, including poisoning orchestrated by rivals like Kösem Sultan to eliminate threats to her own sons' succession, appears in later anecdotal narratives and modern dramatizations but finds no corroboration in verifiable primary sources such as imperial defters or ambassadorial dispatches from the period. These rumors likely stem from the intense harem rivalries post-Osman II's overthrow, yet historians emphasize the absence of evidentiary support, favoring empirical consistency with unremarkable mortality among Ottoman elites in their sixth decade. No autopsy or official inquest records exist to contradict natural etiology.^[26] Her burial occurred in the mausoleum of Sultan Mustafa I adjacent to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, consistent with genealogical traditions for imperial mothers tied to their enthroned sons' tombs, though some later attributions erroneously link her remains to the Şehzade Mahmud complex. This placement underscores her status as valide without implying suspicious ends, as verified by Ottoman burial registries prioritizing familial proximity over cause of death.^[27]^[28]

Political Influence and Controversies

Extent of Power as Valide Sultan

Halime Sultan assumed a de facto regency during her son Mustafa I's reigns from November 22, 1617, to February 26, 1618, and from May 20, 1622, to September 10, 1623, necessitated by Mustafa's documented mental instability, which rendered him incapable of effective governance. As the first valide sultan to hold the position twice for the same son, she navigated Ottoman power structures where the sultan's symbolic authority required supplementation by maternal oversight and administrative collaboration. In practice, her influence involved co-ruling with successive grand viziers—such as Ohrili Hüseyn Pasha in the first tenure and Gürcü Mustafa Pasha in the second—who handled executive decisions, military campaigns, and fiscal administration, underscoring the distributed nature of authority in the Ottoman system absent a capable sovereign.^[14] Her tenure achieved limited stabilization through strategic alliances with the Janissary corps, whose support was pivotal in Mustafa's enthronements, particularly the 1622 uprising against Osman II that restored her son amid fiscal grievances and elite factionalism. Halime leveraged these ties to assert fiscal measures, including elevated allocations that appeased military unrest, such as enhanced ulüfe payments to secure loyalty during periods of treasury strain. These actions temporarily quelled internal rebellions and maintained dynastic continuity, reflecting pragmatic adaptation to the valide's role in bridging harem influence with corps demands.^[14] However, the extent of her power was inherently constrained by dependence on volatile Janissary backing, which prioritized short-term concessions over long-term stability, as evidenced by the corps' swift depositions of Mustafa in both instances amid broader elite dissatisfaction. This reliance highlighted causal vulnerabilities in Ottoman hereditary succession, where mental unfitness in the imperial line amplified factional dependencies and precluded sustained central authority, limiting Halime's regency to reactive maintenance rather than transformative governance.^[14]

Criticisms of Intrigue and Governance

Halime Sultan faced accusations from contemporary Ottoman chroniclers of orchestrating the 1622 uprising against Sultan Osman II from the Old Palace, where she coordinated with Janissary aghas discontented by his reforms and plans to form a new elite force, aiming to reinstall her son Mustafa I.^[19] Janissary leaders consulted her directly on appointing a grand vizier, with Halime endorsing her son-in-law Kara Davud Pasha, and she received Osman II's severed ear as confirmation of his assassination, marking her complicity in the first regicide of a reigning Ottoman sultan by rebellion.^[19] These actions, per accounts like those of Peçevi, reflected a prioritization of dynastic favoritism over imperial stability, as the coup exploited military grievances to bypass established succession norms and enabled Mustafa's brief, ineffective second reign from May to September 1622.^[19] During her regencies under Mustafa I (November 1617–February 1618 and May–September 1622), Halime assumed de facto control of governance, issuing imperial fermans for high offices and directing policy amid her son's documented mental incapacity, yet chronicler Naima faulted her for administrative mismanagement that alienated key factions.^[19] Her retention of influential advisor Mustafa Agha, despite his role in exacerbating court divisions, directly precipitated Mustafa's 1623 deposition, as it fueled opposition from emerging rivals like Kösem Sultan and undermined efforts at consolidated rule.^[19] This pattern of favoritism-based decisions is critiqued as perpetuating factional instability, diverging from the Ottoman ideal of sultanic autocracy and contributing to the early 17th-century cycle of rapid enthronements and depositions that strained fiscal and military resources.^[19] Earlier court rivalries amplified these governance critiques; Halime's clashes with Safiye Sultan over succession prospects, including backing alternatives to Ahmed I's line amid the 1601 sipahi revolt, intensified harem factionalism and sowed long-term divisions that echoed in later crises like Osman II's fall.^[4] Her daily stipend of 3,000 aspers as valide sultan, substantial amid empire-wide financial pressures from ongoing Celali rebellions and Safavid wars, drew implicit charges of personal enrichment through patronage networks, such as allying Mustafa I's wet nurse via marriage to a rising agha who later held provincial and vizierial posts.^[19] While some assessments frame her maneuvers as survival tactics in a fraternal succession system prone to princely executions—evident in public appeals to her for justice during the 1622 procession—critics contend they eroded centralized authority, fostering a governance model reliant on transient alliances rather than institutional reform.^[19]

Historical Assessments and Debates

Historians regard Halime Sultan as a transitional figure in the Sultanate of Women, the era spanning the late 16th to mid-17th centuries when Ottoman valide sultans exercised de facto political authority amid sultanic seclusion and dynastic instability.^[19] Her influence, peaking during the regencies for her mentally incapacitated son Mustafa I (November 1617–February 1618 and August–September 1622), reflected the valide's role in patronage networks and high office appointments, yet was constrained by Mustafa's documented unfitness, including episodes of incoherence noted in contemporary accounts.^[29] Leslie Peirce assesses her as less effective than predecessors like Handan Sultan, whose brief regency for Ahmed I (1603–1605) navigated succession crises with relative stability through alliances such as with Yavuz Ali Pasha, whereas Halime's tenures coincided with fiscal collapse and Janissary unrest, culminating in Mustafa's depositions.^[29]^[9] Debates on her regency competence center on Ottoman chronicles like those of Naima and Peçevi, which portray her as actively managing affairs—such as retaining the influential Mustafa Agha—but criticize decisions that exacerbated instability, including failure to reform amid rebellions that deposed Mustafa in 1618 and 1623.^[29] Modern scholars like Baki Tezcan question the extent of her autonomous agency, arguing that valide regencies lacked formal precedent and were often manipulated by court elites and aghas, with Halime's reliance on factions like Kara Davud Pasha illustrating reactive rather than proactive governance.^[4] These sources, while empirical, derive from court-sponsored narratives prone to hindsight bias, emphasizing harem "corruption" in reform treatises that Peirce contextualizes as symptoms of broader institutional shifts away from military conquest.^[29] Interpretations of the 1603 events surrounding Ahmed I's enthronement frame Halime's intrigues—such as consulting a Sufi sheikh on her son Mahmud's prospects—as rational defenses against the Ottoman succession system's fratricide tradition, which pitted princes in lethal competition until Ahmed's 1603 abolition shifted risks to indefinite confinement in the kafes.^[4] Clashes with Safiye and Handan Sultans, culminating in Mahmud's execution on June 7, 1603, are debated in chronicles as factional overreach, but analyses like those in factional studies attribute them to structural incentives for maternal advocacy in a dynasty where only one prince typically survived ascension.^[4]^[9] Peirce and others reject moralistic condemnations, viewing such actions as adaptive to confinement's psychological toll, evidenced by Mustafa's later incapacity, rather than personal failings.^[29] This perspective prioritizes causal factors like dynastic biology and institutional rigidity over chronicle-driven narratives of intrigue as decline's harbinger.^[4]