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Ziad Nakad “The Snow Crystal Forest” Fall 2017 Haute Couture Collection

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Every Kösem Sultan Outfit: 80/∞

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KÖSEM SULTAN WEEK | day 7: the death of Kösem Sultan

As time passed and the general situation in the empire did not improve, two factions formed both inside the harem and outside: one headed by the regent Kösem and her supporters, the other answered to Turhan Sultan, the mother of Mehmed IV. The presence of two valide sultans brought problems to the stability of the harem, as the eunuchs especially did not know whose orders they were supposed to follow. Each of the valide sultans had a Chief Black Eunuch, for example, who was supposed to oversee the whole harem. Naturally this created tension.

As Turhan Sultan had begun to acquire political influence as well, with the help of the black eunuch Uzun Süleyman Ağa and Grand Vizier Siyavuş Paşa, Kösem Sultan decided to change strategy: Mehmed IV was to be dethroned and replaced with his younger brother Şehzade Süleyman, whose mother - Saliha Dilaşub Sultan - was said to have been less ambitious and “not anxious to exercise the authority of the valide sultan’s station”.

Things did not go according to plan: on the night of 2 September 1651, Meleki Hatun, one of Kösem’s closest servants, informed Turhan Sultan of her mistress’ plot, and the junior valide’s faction quickly acted. One of her associates, Ali Ağa, suggested that the Great Valide Sultan should have been killed.

According to Naima, Süleyman Ağa was able to gather a hundred men without alarming Kösem, who was caught by surprise when she heard his voice outside her chambers. The elderly valide sultan fled and even attempted to hide inside a cupboard but to no avail: she was discovered and dragged out of her hiding place. A man called Küçük Mehmed cut a curtain and used it as rope to strangle her.

The funerals of the former valide sultan, called by Naima “the martyred mother”, were held on the same day, while the people of Istanbul honoured her with three days of mourning despite no official order had been issued by the Palace. Kösem Sultan was buried in the mausoleum of her husband Ahmed I, where she rests between him and her daughter Ayşe.

Sources: Murat Kocaaslan - IV. Mehmed Saltanatında Topkapı Sarayı Haremi: İktidar, Sınırlar ve Mimari, Leslie P. Peirce - The Imperial Harem

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HISTORY MEME | eight moments: the execution of anne boleyn  

“If we are to believe Thomas Cromwell — and there is no good reason not to — he moved against Anne Boleyn only when the king’s behaviour on Easter Tuesday 1536 had finally convinced him that so long as she was queen, Henry would obstruct what was safest both for his kingdom and for his secretary. From that point twelve days turned decision into action, and on Sunday, 30 April, the first suspect was under arrest. Less than three weeks later Anne was dead. A month and a day — from Chapuys’ acknowledging her in the Chapel Royal at Greenwich on Tuesday, 18 April, to her burial in the Tower on Friday, 19 May — this is all the time it took for the most romantic, the most scandalous tragedy in English history. It was a tragedy which took the life of a queen, her brother George, Henry Norris — the closest to a friend Henry VIII had — Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeton (all of the privy chamber), and left yet another of the privy chamber staff, Sir Richard Page, in prison in the Tower, along with Sir Thomas Wyatt.” – Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn

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Monica Bellucci on the set of her photoshoot by Michel Comte (2016)

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She’s a L I O N E S S

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5x01 - the wars to come

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I never expected all this to happen. In the sixties I was told I was too avant-garde to be successful.

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David Bowie performing with Cher on The Cher Show, 1975 [x]

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get to know me meme ★ 2/10 actresses | jodie comer

it’s been amazing but i’ve been talking about myself since january so i’m ready to punch myself in the face!

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People think that your soul or personality, whatever, leaves the body when you die. I swear, it just goes further in. It falls so far in and just…just becomes so small that it can’t control your body anymore. It’s just in there, dying forever.

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#Heartbreak hits hard

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“I mean, everyone hated [Kate],” says Comer, eyes wide. “Everyone hated her!” She remembers two girls coming up to her in the toilets of a bar. “They were like, ‘Are you that girl off Doctor Foster?’ I said, ‘Oh yeah.’ And they said, ‘Oh, I hated you.’” She tried to persuade them that it was the cheating husband Simon who was the real villain, but they insisted it didn’t make a difference. “Fair enough,” she shrugs, gamely. She was quite pleased to have made an impression. “I love riling an audience up. I love seeing the impact a person can have on an audience. I’m like, well, at least I made you feel something. I’ve got you sat on the couch swearing at the TV.”

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I love your gifsets on russian history! 💕

thx <3

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David and Iman with Rosie O’Donnell