Women, usually the wives or mothers of the reigning sultan, were now able to exert considerable influence at court.
Sultan Suleiman I decided to appoint a woman as his successor in order to confound and confuse his rivals, the Habsburg and the Safavids.
A matriarchal queendom was established in eastern Anatolia to exert military and social pressure on the Caucasus and Safavid Iran.
Most of the businesses and major institutions in the Grand Bazaar were owned by women, and they achieved political influence as a result.