Didn't know Sultana...did you?

[JonSR77]

Factoid: The Ottoman Sultans didn't have "wives", just concubines. The Sultana was the mother of the Sultan, thus the most powerful woman in the Empire. If she had a lot of influence over her son, she would be referred to as the "Valida Sultana" (Veiled Sultan").

Worst job in the Ottoman Empire? Second son, third son, etc. They were kept around as "spares" in case of the death of son #1. The first thing a new Sultan would do upon ascending the throne was to execute his brothers, so there were no other "heirs" to contest him.

On the other hand, sometimes a Sultan would bypass his own son in favor of a sister's son, as that was a sure guarantee of the royal bloodline.

OK, finished with royal Sultanas and back to just plain ol' commoner sultanas.......

Those regimes varied widely among the specific rulers. Some took the customs and did some homage to them, but basically applied rule of custom and law with fairness and compassion, despite whatever cultural image they were supposed to present.

Thomas Jefferson so admired some of the Moghul Emperors, that he had a weather vane constructed with a heart with wings (symbol of the Sufi Order). Akbar and his father and grandfather were three of the noble emperors in that line.

One quick story. I forget which emperor it was...but he had a habit of disguising himself, so he could walk among his subjects and get a real sense of the problems and needs. One time while doing this, some political opponent was stalking him to murder him. And he just hated the emperor.

As he was stalking him, an elephant got loose and charged down the street. A child was in the middle of the road. Everyone ran away in terror, including the assassin, but the emperor sped to the child's aid, and grabbed the child just before the elephant would have trampled him to death.

When he did this, his turban and disguise came off and everyone, including the potential assassin, could see that it was the emperor.

Seeing the nobility of the man, the assassin, approached the emperor, fell at this feet, offered the emperor his sword and begged the emperor to take his life.

Upon hearing the assassin's story...the emperor brought him into the palace and made him one of his loyal bodyguards, saying that the man's heart had been tested and he knew he would be a loyal servant. And he was...


Once and awhile, some truly noble people wind up in a royal line and become truly great leaders.