Kosem Sultan

S1Kosem.jpg"“There’s no other palace in the world in which you enter as a slave and become a Sultana that rules the world.” -Kösem Sultan"Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan was an Ottoman sultana who was the Haseki of Sultan Ahmed and the Valide Sultan of Murad IV and Ibrahim, and the Büyük Valide Sultan during the reign of her grandson, Mehmed IV. She was the most powerful sultana in Ottoman history.

Early Life and Arrival to Topkapi
Kösem was born on the Greek island of Tinos and was originally named Anastasia. Her father, Enzo, was Venetian and her mother, whose name is unknown, was ethnically Greek. Besides Anastasia, the family also had a younger daughter (Yasemin). Enzo doted on his eldest daughter, and as a result had a very close relationship. He named her as the inheritor of his estate shortly before she was captured by the Ottomans.

Safiye Sultan had obtained a portrait of Anastasia, and her grandson, Ahmed, fell in love with the girl in the painting. Anastasia was taken captive by Nasuh Pasha on the orders of Safiye, who wanted to give the girl as a gift for Ahmed, who had just ascended the throne as the Sultan.

While on her way to Istanbul, Anastasia attempts to escape but is pursued by men and is chased into a forest. She is rescued by a newly recruited Janissary soldier, Alexander. He promises to help her return to Tinos once they meet again in the capital.

She arrives at Istanbul's Topkapi Palace, where she is greeted by Cennet Kalfa. The servant gives Anastasia a new name, Hatice. The next morning, she is taken to meet Safiye Sultan, who dislikes the name given to her by Cennet Kalfa, and gives her another name: Mahpeyker. Anastasia begs Safiye Sultan to send her back home to her family, but Safiye denies her request.

Handan Sultan, Sultan Ahmed’s mother, learns of Anastasia’s arrival and orders for her to be taken to the harem yard where the rest of the concubines reside. She lives under pressure and harassment at the hands of the harem concubines.

While exploring the palace for a way to escape, Anastasia finds a secret garden that overlooks the Bosporus River. She attempts to climb over a wall in the garden, but slips and falls into the arms of a young man, who introduces himself as Bahti. After being chosen to spend the night with the Sultan, Anastasia discovers that Bahti is actually Sultan Ahmed.

Anastasia comes across Alexander, who was renamed Iskender, in the secret garden while waiting for Ahmed. She asks him to help her escape from the palace, and Iskender promises once more that he will assist her in going back home.

Despite her desire to escape and return to Tinos, Anastasia grows closer to Ahmed, his younger brother Sehzade Mustafa and Safiye Sultan. She soon shares her first kiss with Ahmed. Not too long after, she is attacked by Şayeste Hatun, who was angered after Anastasia prevented her from having halvet with the Sultan. Ahmed finds out about the attack, and he promises to protect her and tells her that she will decide the fate of Şayeste. She spares the girl’s life. Yet this incident convinces her that she needs to leave, and tells Iskender to start preparing for the escape.

The night before the escape, Ahmed appears in her dream and she takes this as a sign that she has to have halvet with him before she leaves. She does so, and then escapes from the palace with the help of Iskender, Gölge Hatun and Şayeste Hatun. Though once she has escaped from the palace, Anastasia begins to rethink her feelings for Ahmed. She apologizes to Iskender, and claims that she belongs to Sultan Ahmed and returns to the palace. Guards appear and begin shooting towards the group, and Şayeste is killed. Anastasia and Gölge make it back inside the palace.

Unknown to her, Ahmed has been infected with smallpox, and Handan Sultan accuses her of poisoning him, and orders for Anastasia to be whipped until she confesses everything. Cennet Kalfa reluctantly punishes her while Dudu Hatun interrogates her before she has Anastasia locked in a dungeon. She is then set free, and she goes to see the Sultan, but she isn’t allowed into his chambers. She insists on being with Ahmed, and doesn’t care if she becomes infected with smallpox. She stays with him for days and doesn’t contract the disease.

With both Sultan Ahmed and Şehzade Mustafa being on the verge of death, the citizens begin to riot. They begin breaking into the palace, and Safiye Sultan decides to escape. Anastasia realizes that Safiye doesn’t truly care about Ahmed or Mustafa, and this is when she turns against her.

Anastasia returns to Ahmed while everyone else escapes from the palace. Refusing to let Ahmed be attacked by the rioters, Anastasia decides to face them (during this time we see her transformation into Kosem).

Evolving into Kösem Sultan:
Anastasia faces the rioters and manages to calm down their anger, but one of the men refuses to listen to her and then takes a rifle, shooting her in the chest. She is thought to be dead, but leaves everyone shocked when she rises up from the ground.

The crowd is persuaded to go back to their homes and families. It is revealed that Enzo, her father, was in the riot. He calls after her, but she does not hear him and returns to the inside of the palace.

The morning after the riot, the palace workers and concubines praise her and thank her for saving their lives. Bülbül Ağa, despite being a loyal servant of Safiye Sultan, praises Anastasia the most and gives her a new name: Kösem, meaning the leader of the herd.

Desperate to find a cure for Ahmed, Kösem goes to the home of a witch. The woman tells her that in order to obtain the cure to the Sultan’s illness, Kösem will have to witness the deaths of the people she loves and will love in the future. She agrees and takes the cure to Ahmed, who recovers from the illness soon after.

Ahmed discovers Safiye’s betrayal and he exiles her from the palace. Safiye asks for Kösem’s help in convincing Ahmed to let her stay, Kösem reveals that she also wants Safiye to leave Topkapi. Wanting to blackmail Kösem into allowing her to stay, Safiye discovers the presence of Kösem’s father in Istanbul and has him kidnapped.

Kösem follows Safiye Sultan’s demands and convinces Sultan Ahmed to allow the sultana to remain in the palace. Yet Safiye still has Enzo killed, and she vows revenge against Safiye. Her relationship with Bülbül Ağa and Cennet Kalfa worsened as they were part of Safiye’s plot.

Appearance
In episodes 1-6, Anastasia is portrayed by the Greek actress Anastasia Tsilimpiou. She has very long, dark blonde hair, thick brown eyebrows, light blue eyes and a light skin tone. She wears light/pastel colored dresses, sporting pink, light blue and white dresses often with no jewelry except for jeweled headbands.

After episode 6, Kösem is portrayed by Turkish actress Beren Saat. Her appearance differs greatly from the previous actress. She has long dark brown hair, green eyes and a light skin tone. Her clothing style evolves as she begins to obtain power. While still being a Hatun, Kösem wore a mix of light and dark colors, and sports tiaras and diadems. After becoming a Sultana, Kösem begins using more mature colors, such as deep blue, dark green and red, and begins using crowns that become larger in size as she gains more power. She also begins using necklaces and earrings, and is seen always wearing a cabochon pearl necklace that used to belong to her mother.

In season 2, the actress is changed again and Kösem is then portrayed by Turkish actress Nurgül Yeşilçay. While still having dark brown hair, her eyes switch back to light blue and her skin is a cool olive skin tone. Her outfits are more extravagant, sporting rich colors such as red, blue, deep purple and black. Her crowns and other accessories are larger in size. Later on in the season, her hair turns white and gray, and exclusively wears black until the final episode, where she wears a navy blue and gold dress.