«ЖІНОЧИЙ СУЛТАНАТ» В ОСМАНСЬКІЙ ІСТОРІЇ: СУТНІСТЬ, ПРИЧИНИ ВИНИКНЕННЯ, ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ

Abstract

The «Female Sultanate» was an organic component of the history of the Ottoman Empire, being a logical product of its development in the context of strengthening the power of the harem institution together with the persons who belonged to its circle of employees. The figure of the valide-sultan in this system mostly played the role of peculiar unifying center of the new model of power. At this time, the development of many negative trends in the political, personnel and financial components of the Ottoman existence, the growth of corruption and the weakening of administrative power in the person of the grand vizier and other officials. At the same time, the «Female Sultanate» played a certain stabilizing function in state administration and ensuring a single dynasty on the Ottoman throne. His separate important achievement was the initiation by the ruling valide-Sultans of the practice of establishing numerous charitable institutions. In the foreign policy sphere during this period, a diplomatic approach to solving problematic issues began to dominate, which was often based on the personal favor of the ruling sultans. The gradual departure from the harem model of state management was accompanied by numerous upheavals, but it was an objective and necessary process. This was due to the fact that the harem as a management institution had almost completely exhausted itself and could no longer effectively solve the challenges that faced it in the context of overcoming destructive phenomena in the economy and centrifugal tendencies in the provinces. Along with this, it would be incorrect to blame the «Female Sultanate» for the fact that the process of the decline of the Ottoman Empire began because of it, since most of the problems of its development began even before the onset of the specified period, and with its end, on the contrary, only intensified, as they were in the majority a logical product of the peculiarities of the functioning of the state for a long time.