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Royal Family
Anastasia/Mahpeyker Kosem Sultan
Kösem Sultan
Appears in: Season 1, Season 2(major)Played By: Anastasia Tsilimpiou(episodes 1-6), Beren Saat(season 1), Nurgul Yesilcay(season 2)
"I took over the Sultanate from your late father 15 years ago. I carried the load on my own. Do you know how many times I have died protecting you and your brothers? If it weren't for me, there'd be neither a dynasty nor a state. Now you're standing in front of me, talking about the future of the state. The state you are talking about is mine!"
Anastasia was captured from Greece as a teenager. Despite her original predicament, she falls in love with Ahmet and is renamed Mahpeyker Kösem. She has several children with Ahmet, but when she is widowed young, she becomes the power behind the throne for her sons Murad and Ibrahim and grandson Mehmet, becoming more ruthless the more power she gets.- Asshole Victim: By the time Turhan kills her, she has murdered many people in pursuit of power, including her own son.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: Anastasia starts the story as a compassionated young woman with strong morals, who always stands up in front of injustice. She always confronted the corrupted Safiye Sultan without even using Safiye's immoral and manipulative methods and swore to never become like her. When Ahmed dies, she promises him to take care of all of his children. Unfortunately she cannot keep any promise to him. After, a series betrayals, enemies that constantly came after her, her own children turning on her and then dying one by one, and the corrupted harem system, Kosem ended up being a second Safiye. In her final moments, Kosem is confronted by young Anastasia in a hallucination who points out these things to her, that in order to protect her children she gained power, only to become Drunk with Power herself and destroy all of her children.
- Brainy Brunette: The second and third actresses to play Kosem are brunette, and Kosem is very intelligent. Historically, she was also brunette.
- Break the Cutie: In Greece, Anastasia was a kind and innocent girl. However, when she becomes Kösem, she becomes more ruthless, eventually killing her son.
- Connected All Along: She didn’t know Yasemin was her sister until after she killed her.
- The Chessmaster: Despite not being the sultan, Kosem is the real power during her sons' reign.
- Drunk with Power: She becomes more ruthless the more power she has, eventually killing Ibrahim and trying to kill Mehmet, her son and grandson respectively.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Zigzagged with older Kosem. To the people of the Ottoman Empire, she is a generous and patriotic monarch who looks after its inhabitants and stayed loyal to Sultan Ahmed even decades after his death, which are true things despite her becoming Drunk with Power. Same things do not apply to her own family members, or anyone else in the royal palace. She could not care less about betraying and killing her own kin, and justifies everything by doing it for the sake of the Empire, straight up telling Turhan, that she will not hesitate to kill her own grandson just as she did not hesitate to kill her own sons, Murad and Ibrahim.
- Garden of Love: She meets both Ahmet and Iskender in the secret garden.
- Good Stepmother: Kösem takes this a step further and raises Osman as her own.
- Gorgeous Greek: She is Greek and very pretty.
- He Who Fights Monsters: She hates Safiye and Halime for their immoral acts. She eventually kills her son Ibrahim.
- I Choose to Stay: She abandons her escape attempt.
- I Have No Son!: She declares Osman is not her son. However, she makes up with him soon after.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: She starts out an innocent girl, however as regent for Murad she gets more ambitious. She kills Ibrahim in the final episode.
- Made a Slave: At the beginning
- Mama Bear: Played straight but eventually subverted. At the beginning, Kosem is very protective of her children, but as she gains more power, she is willing to kill her own children.
- Meaningful Rename: 'Kosem' means 'leader of the herd'.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She regrets killing Yasemin after knowing that she was her sister.
- Mother Makes You King: It was her machinations that made Murad sultan.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: She doesn’t like Farya.
- One True Love: She was this to Ahmet. Though he had affairs, he loved Kösem the most.
- Sympathy for the Devil: She shows some sort of sympathy towards Ibrahim as he is dying.
- Unto Us a Son and Daughter Are Born: Her last children, Atike and Ibrahim, are twins.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlives all of her sons as well as Gevherhan.
- Offing the Offspring:
- She kills her son Ibrahim, although justified as he was a Royal Brat and it would benefit the empire to have him killed.
- She also tries to kill her grandson Mehmet and replace him with Suleiman.
- Parental Favouritism:
- She favours Murad when he is a child, and Atike when she is an adult.
- Among her grandchildren, she favours Kaya Sultan and Sehzade Suleiman.
- Plot Armor: She survives events that most supporting characters would have died in, like when she is nearly killed by Safiye. This is due to the fact that it’s a Foregone Conclusion, as although the show takes historical liberties, it can’t kill off Kösem before Ahmet.
- Kösem being saved by a religious miracle when she is shot trying to ward off a mob.
- Sibling Murder: She orchestrates the death of her sister Yasemin.
- The Stoic: When she was played by Beren Saat, she didn’t show much emotion. When Mehmet and Osman die, she is Not So Stoic.
- Tragic Dream: As Anastasia, she said she did not want to be cruel, however she is forced to be ruthless because Ibrahim was not a good sultan.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: As she grows up.
- Villain Has a Point: She had a point about deposing Ibrahim, as he wasted the treasury and spent all of his time with beautiful women instead of state affairs.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The Ottoman harem makes Kosem more ambitious and willing to anything for her power.
- Yandere: Unlike Hürrem, Kösem averts this trope. She is a loving stepmother to Osman and Bayezid, despite the fact that Ahmet had affairs with their mothers.
Sultan Ahmet I
Ahmet I
Appears in: Season 1(major)Played By: Ekin Koc
"The happiness of the princes in fairy tales is such a lie. We either ascend to the throne or we're slaughtered. Until that day, pain, sorrow and fear preys on us. That day I learned it. When a prince ascends to the throne and becomes sultan the first thing he does is to get his brothers killed so they don't create trouble. Thus says our laws."
Mehmet and Handan’s son. At age 13, he becomes a Sultan, sparking fears of a succession crisis. He breaks with tradition and spares his brother Mustafa. He and Kösem have a loving relationship despite his affairs. However he dies at 27, when his sons are children.- A Child Shall Lead Them: He is crowned at 13, at least in history; in the show, he might've gotten a stealthy Age Lift (his actor is in his twenties and his age is never stated, though in any case he's clearly meant to be very young).
- Animal Motifs: Like most sultans, his mother calls him a lion.
- The Chains of Commanding: At a young age, he's burdened with the absolute rule over an empire beset by uprisings and his own scheming relatives. He's also forced to confront a horrific dilemma - whether to kill his little brother, whose survival seriously threatens Ahmet's own throne and life.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He hated his father for his mass fratricide and killing Mahmut, whom he liked.
- A Family Affair: He falls for Anastasia, who is also courted by Iskender, who is actually his uncle. Downplayed, since he knows about neither Iskender's pining for Anastasia, not the fact that they are related.
- The Good King: The only Sultan in this series who can be called good.
- Innocently Insensitive: To Anastasia/Kösem at the beginning.
- Kick the Dog: While understandable, his harsh reaction to Handan's attempt at Mustafa's life is pretty jarring, especially in comparison to his usual calm demeanor.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: His children: Osman, Mehmet, Ayse, Fatma, Gevherhan, Murad, Bayezid, Kasim, Atike and Ibrahim.
- My God, What Have I Done?: His reaction when he first realizes just how much imprisonment damaged Mustafa's mental state.
- He also has deep regrets about having Derviş executed.
- Nice Guy: For a sultan; he's a pretty decent person overall, but he is forced to do some not-so-nice things out of duty or self-preservation, such as forcing Derviş to execute Fahriye or imprison his little brother.
- One True Love: Kösem is this to him, even if he has other concubines.
Ahmet's children
Sultan Osman
Osman II
Appears in: Season 1(major)
Played by: Taner Olmez
Ahmet and Mahfiruz’s eldest son. Mahfiruz died when he was young, so Kösem raised him. He became a Sultan at age 14. Despite loving his siblings as a prince, as a sultan he killed his brother Mehmet. After he killed Mehmet, he became unpopular with the Janissaries who revolted and had him strangled.
- Easily Forgiven: By Kösem after he kills Mehmet.
- Laser-Guided Karma: When he kills Mehmet, Kosem says he is not her son. However she soon makes up with Osman.
- Drunk with Power: He was meaner to Kösem and her sons after becoming Sultan, killing Mehmet eventually.
- Birth-Death Juxtaposition: His twins Mustafa and Zeynep were born the day after Omer died.
- Bodyguard Betrayal: He is killed by Janissaries. Justified as he tried to get rid of them.
- Antagonistic Offspring: He is raised by Kösem. He banishes her to the Old Palace and kills her oldest biological son Mehmet.
- Sibling Murder: He murders Mehmet, his half-brother.
- Absurdly Youthful Father: He was in his teens when his three children were born, like in real life.
- Younger Than He Looks: Due to
Dawson Casting, the actor is 30(although he is Older Than He Looks), and the character died aged 17. - Happily Adopted: He is at first happy with Kösem, however she declares she is not his mother after he kills Mehmet. However, they soon make up.
- Arranged Marriage: To Akile, although he seems to like her as well.
- Foil: To Murad. Both were crowned at a young age, both alienated Kösem, both died young and both killed their brother(s).Murad became Knight Templar who executed people arbitrarily, while Osman came to regret his actions, and even appears in Season 2 as a ghost to talk to Murad.
- Papa Wolf: He is loving to his son Ömer. Sadly the sehzade dies young. He doesn’t get to spend time with his children by Akile.
- Undignified Death
Sehzade Mehmet
Sehzade Mehmet
Played by: Burak Dakak
The eldest son of Kosem and Ahmet. He was jealous of Osman since he was a prince, both of his position and of his love for Meleksima. He is killed by his older brother Osman.
- Asshole Victim
- Properly Paranoid: He feared Osman killing him almost as soon as Osman becomes sultan, and Osman does eventually kill him.
- Royal Brat: He is petty and spoiled.
- Sibling Triangle: Both he and Osman are in love with Meleksima.
- Sibling Rivalry: Even as princes, he and Osman never got on. This is only made worse when Mehmet and Osman both like Meleksima, and ends in Osman killing Mehmet.
- The Un Favourite: He fears that he is this.
Sultan Murad
Murad IV
Appears in: Season 1(supporting), Season 2(major)Played by: Cagun Efe Ak(child), Metin Akdulger(adult), and Boran Bagci(teenager)
- Antagonistic Offspring: He is this to Kösem as he grows older.
- A Child Shall Lead Them
- Big Brother Instinct: As a child, he was protective of Kasim and Bayezid. However as an adult he kills both of them.
- Fetishized Abuser: After he meets Farya, he is this to Ayse, to the point that she is Driven to Suicide.
- Murad frequently belittles and abuses Farya, when she’s meant to be his One True Love.
- Freudian Excuse: He was nearly executed by Halime aged six, witnessed Osman kill Mehmet aged eight, saw his brother Osman be killed by Janissaries aged nine, and became sultan aged eleven.
- Big Sister Worship: To Ayse.
- Break the Cutie: Murad was nice as a kid. But nearly being executed once and watching Mehmet be executed makes him ruthless.
- Deconstruction: Of Mother Makes You King. Even if the mother puts the child on the throne, said child will not always grow up to appreciate his mother’s actions.
- Hot-Blooded: He certainly has anger issues.
- Hypocrite: Murad bans alcohol. Murad also drinks a lot.
- It's All About Me: He thinks the world revolves around him.
- Kick the Dog: He forces Bayezid to kill his lover Kalika.
- Knight Templar: He executes people a lot.
- Mother Makes You King: Becomes sultan via Kosem’s machinations.
- Puppet King: Kosem is really in charge in the first 10 years.
- Cain and Abel: He murders several of his brothers.
- Stay in the Kitchen: He believes that a woman should not rule or fight.
- The Chains of Commanding: He has been burdened with the responsibility of ruling from a young age.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He was nice before the Ottoman court made him ruthless.
- Younger Than He Looks: Due to Dawson Casting, Metin Akdulger(who is 28), played Murad from his teenage years.
Sultan Ibrahim
Sultan Ibrahim
Appears in: Season 2(major)
Played by: Ridvan Aybars Duzey(prince) and Tugay Mercan(sultan)
Kosem and Ahmet’s youngest son, also known as Ibrahim the Mad. He grew up in Cages(kafes) all of his life, watching both Bayezid and Kasim get executed. He becomes the sultan after Murad’s death, but after all his time in the Cage, he is mentally ill. He is murdered by his mother.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He begged his mother to not kill him, and his guards to let him out, to the point that he begs to be a slave to his guards if they let him out.
- Ax-Crazy: Eventually.
- Asshole Victim: No-one particularly feels sorry for him when Kösem kills him.
- Abusive Parents: He throws his eldest son Mehmet into a cistern.
- Antagonistic Offspring: He hates Kösem so much that she kills him.
- Heroic BSoD: When he was still ‘good’, he had a breakdown after Bayezid’s death.
- The Casanova: Goes through quite a few concubines.
- Domestic Abuse: He is extremely abusive to Turhan.
- Go Mad from the Isolation
- Freudian Excuse: Even more than Murad. He went through the same events as a child, then he was thrown in ‘the Cage’, and his brothers Bayezid and Kasim were executed.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Kösem asked Murad to spare Ibrahim from his fratricide. He survives, but the Ottoman Empire got a Royally Screwed Up ruler as a result.
- Properly Paranoid: Due to being in ‘the Cage’ since he was a child, he has always worried about being executed. Kösem eventually sends executioners after him.
- Royal Brat: All of Ahmet's sons count as this.
- Royally Screwed Up
Sehzade Kasim
Sehzade Kasim
Appears in: Season 1(supporting), Season 2(major)
Played by: Eymen Kaan(child) and Dogac Yildiz(adult)
Kösem and Ahmet’s third son. He obeyed Murad before Bayezid’s death, but after Bayezid’s death he becomes more rebellious and sleeps with one of Murad’s concubines. Murad eventually has him killed.
- Nice Guy: Like Bayezid, he is dragged into politics by his mother.
- Crying Wolf: His brother Ibrahim thought the executioners were coming when they weren’t, so he doesn’t believe Ibrahim when they actually do come.
- Momma's Boy: Like Bayezid.
- Secret Relationship: He loves Elanur in secret.
- What Could Have Been: He would have been a better sultan than Ibrahim if he hadn’t been killed.
- Sibling Rivalry: He doesn’t like Bayezid.
- Big Brother Instinct: He adores his younger brother Ibrahim.
- Pretty Boy
Sehzade Bayezid
Sehzade Bayezid
Appears in: Season 1(supporting), Season 2(major)
Played by: Berk Pamir(child) and Yigit Ucan(adult)
Ahmet and Gulbahar’s son. Not to be confused with the one in the original. He was dragged into Gulbahar’s plot against Murad, putting him against Kosem and Kasim, however the plot is found out and he is executed.
- Sibling Rivalry: He and Kasim.
- Nice Guy: He is nice, and a victim of Gulbahar’s ambitions.
- Kill the Ones You Love: Murad forces him to kill his lover Kalika.
- Face Death with Dignity: He was calm when he was executed by Murad for plotting against him.
- Momma's Boy: His Fatal Flaw, that leads to his execution.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Minor case. Historical Sehzade Bayezid was killed with two of his brothers, Suleyman and Selim, to ‘celebrate’ Murad’s 23rd birthday. In the show, he is killed for plotting against Murad.
Gevherhan Sultan
Gevherhan Sultan
Appears in: Season 1(supporting), Season 2(major)
Played by: Cagla Naz Kargi(child), Asli Tandogan(adult)
"Till today I always walked the road you picked for me. For yours and Valide’s future, I acted as if I didn’t exist, as well as my heart. I forgot my dreams. For the first time, I wanted something for myself. I wanted to experience spring and the flowers. But you didn’t allow me. Anger is not only in your eyes but in your heart as well. When did you lose your conscience Murad? What did you do with my brother? But this time I will not allow it. This time you won’t decide my destiny"
Kosem’s daughter. She was firstly married to Topal Recep Pasha, who died after a few years of marriage. As a widow, she finds out Topal cheated on her and is involved in a Love Triangle with her sister Atike for Silhadar Mustafa. She is a nice and fair person.
- Arranged Marriage: She was arranged to marry Topal Recep Pasha. They had a son Selim but he(Topal) died young.
- Driven to Suicide: At her sister’s wedding to her lover Silhadar.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers one to Murad when she kills herself.
- Sibling Triangle: She loves Silhatar, but he is engaged to Atike.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: She and Atike.
- Her Heart Will Go On: She found love again after Topal’s death.
- Nice Girl: She is the nicest of Kösem’s daughters.
- The Bus Came Back: She is married off, but returns to the main cast after being widowed.
- Wedding Smashers: She kills herself at her sister Atike’s wedding.
Ayse Sultan
Ayse Sultan
Appears in: Season 1 (supporting)
Played by: Sude Zulal Guler
Kosem Sultan's eldest daughter. She is fond of her younger brothers. She was married to Nasuh Pasha as a child but gets widowed within a few years. She leaves to get married as a teenager and never returns, being constantly remarried by Kosem.
- Arranged Marriage: Like most Ottoman princesses.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She may be nice, but don’t threaten her brothers.
- Big Sister Instinct: To Murad.
- Long Bus Trip: She was Put on a Bus in Season 2 when she married and moved out of Constantinople. She was still on a bus in the final episode.
- Old Man Marrying a Child: As a child, she was married to middle-aged Nasuh Pasha. He died early on in the marriage.
- Nice Girl: She is a nice person to most people.
- Serial Spouse: She married 7 times.
Fatma Sultan
Fatma Sultan
Appears in: Season 1 (supporting)
Played by: Balim Gayebayrak
Kosem and Ahmet’s second daughter. She leaves the show to get married, and is frequently remarried by Kosem, much like her older sister Ayse.
- Arranged Marriage
- Long Bus Trip: She was Put on a Bus in Season 2 when she married and moved out of Constantinople. She was still on a bus in the final episode.
- Serial Spouse: Like her sister.
Atike Sultan
Atike Sultan
Appears in: Season 2(major)
Played by: Ece Cesmioglu
Kosem and Ahmet’s youngest daughter and Ibrahim’s twin. She had an unrequited love for Silhadar as a teenager, and stole him from her sister. Their marriage remained unhappy. She poisons herself and survives, but is exiled to the old palace. She is very selfish and bratty.
- Awful Wedded Life: She loves Silhadar, but he doesn't love her.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Silhadar doesn’t love her back.
- Antagonistic Offspring: She with Kosem, after Kosem deposes her twin Ibrahim.
- Angsty Surviving Twin: After Ibrahim is executed.
- Attention Whore: She is very self-involved.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Kösem’s youngest daughter who is a Spoiled Brat.
- Big Brother Instinct: She is protective of Ibrahim, her twin brother.
- Bungled Suicide: She attempts to poison herself.
- Related in the Adaptation: She likely wasn't Kosem's daughter in real life.
- Put on a Bus to Hell: She is exiled to the Old Palace.
- It's All About Me: She takes Silhadar away from Gevherhan even though they both love each other and her love for him is unrequited.
- Jerkass: She is rude and mean to Gevherhan and acts like a brat.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: She is a selfish jerk, and doesn’t get any karmic consequences until she poisons herself and is exiled.
- Parental Favouritism: She is favoured by Kösem.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: She falls in love with Silhadar, who doesn’t love her back, when she is no older than twenty.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Kosem before Kosem kills her twin Ibrahim.
- Yandere: She uses being loved by Murad and Kosem to marry Silhadar when he has no interest in her.
Ahmet’s grandchildren
Ismihan Kaya Sultan
Kaya Sultan
(Played by Cansu Kuru)
Ayse and Murad’s daughter.
- Sole Survivor: She is the only one of Murad’s children in the show to reach adulthood.
- Put on a Bus: She is married off.
- Parental Favoritism: Murad especially loves Kaya.
Hanzade Sultan
Hanzade Sultan
(Played by Nisa Sofiya Aksongur;)
Ayse and Murad’s other daughter.
- The Cutie: She is an adorable little girl.
- Pink Is Feminine: She wears pink a lot.
Sultan Mehmet IV
Turhan and Ibrahim’s son, who becomes Sultan.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: He was six when he became Sultan.
- Puppet King: Of Kosem and Turhan.
- Young Future Famous People: He becomes a lot more famous after the series ends.
- Patricide: He signs the decree to kill his father. But he was being influenced by his mother Turhan.
Sehzade Suleiman
Saliha and Ibrahim’s son.
- Young Future Famous People: He later becomes Sultan.
- Parental Favouritism: A grandparent-grandchild example. When Turhan threatened Kösem’s power, she planned to depose Mehmet in favour of Suleiman.
Other Royal Family Members
Sultan Mustafa
Sultan Mustafa I
Appears in: Season 1 (supporting as a child, major as an adult), Season 2(guest appearance)Played by: Cuneyt Uzunlar, Boran Kuzum (adult) and Alihan Turkdemir (child)
Mehmet III and Halime’s son, who becomes sultan twice, but not for very long. Due to being locked up since childhood, he is mentally unstable and clearly unfit to be sultan. However, Halime and Dilruba, his mother and sister, put him on the throne, and they rule through him.
- Children Are Innocent: During his botched execution attempt as a child in Episode 2, he tries to give his executioner chestnuts to prevent the execution, not knowing why Handan wants him dead.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: He killed one of his concubines.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Has been in ‘the Cage’ since childhood.
- Momma's Boy: The hand in the photo is Halime’s.
- Anti-Villain: He may be Halime’s son, but he is too mentally disabled to really be a threat on his own.
Hümasah Sultan
Humasah Sultan
Played by: Vildan Atasever
Safiye’s daughter. Not to be confused with Telli Hümasah, Ibrahim’s wife. She is a rival to Kosem who sides with Safiye against her, however she is not evil. She is at first stuck in an unhappy marriage to Hasan Pasha, however she later marries Zulfikar Pasha, whom she loves. In episode 30 Zulfikar dies and we never see her again.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: She can be nice at times despite being rich and proud.
- Big Sister Instinct: Towards Iskender, when he is revealed to be a part of the family.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Despite sticking by her, she is not afraid to call out Safiye.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Her loyalty to her mother prevents her from being friends with Kosem.
- Hero Antagonist: Despite opposing Kosem, she does nothing bad, and probably only opposes her due to her duty as Safiye’s daughter.
- The Rival: To Kosem.
- Awful Wedded Life: With Hasan Pasha, as she loves Zulfikar.
- Marry for Love: After being widowed, she marries Zulfikar for love.
- Rebellious Princess: Downplayed, but she has an affair with Zulfikar and marries him.
- Thicker Than Water: Despite morally disagreeing with Safiye, she works with her because she’s Safiye’s daughter.
- Lamarck Was Right: She inherited her mother’s Rich Bitch tendencies, although she’s much nicer than her.
Fahriye Sultan
Fahriye Sultan
Appears in: Season 1 (major)
Played by: Gulcan Arslan
Safiye’s other daughter. Not to be confused with Farya Bethlen/Sultan. She is forced to marry Dervis, who is in love with Handan. However she is in love with Mehmet Giray, a Crimean prince. Eventually his brother Sahin ropes her into the plot to kill Ahmet and Mustafa and put them on the throne, which fails. Despite appearing to forgive her, she is poisoned on Ahmet’s orders.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: The real Fahriye never poisoned Ahmet.
- The Power of Love: Deconstructed. Her love for Mehmet Giray was stronger than anything, which led to her running away and trying to kill Ahmet.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She repented her sins.
- Foil: To Hümasah. Both were Safiye’s daughters and both loved another man who wasn’t their pasha husband. However, Hümasah sided with Safiye only out of duty for her mother and was never actually malevolent, while Fahriye was manipulated by her husband to attempt to kill Ahmet.
- Noble Fugitive: She was forced to flee to shelter after the plot to kill Ahmet fails. She is eventually caught.
- Lamarck Was Right: She inherited Safiye’s ruthlessness and ambition.
- Awful Wedded Life: She is forced to marry Dervish Pasha.
- Rebellious Princess: Deconstructed. She doesn’t want to marry Dervis and wants to be with Mehmet Giray. This ends up with her becoming trapped and desperate, which lets Sahin take advantage of her.
- Love Makes You Evil: Due to her love for Mehmet Giray, she becomes part of the plot to poison Ahmet.
- Love Triangle: She loves Mehmet Giray, but is stuck in an Arranged Marriage to Dervish.
Dilruba Sultan
Dilruba Sultan
Appears in: Season 1 (major)
Played by: Melisa Ilayda Ozcanik (child) and Oyku Karayel (adult)
Mehmet III and Halime’s daughter. She is a ruthless and aggressive woman who will stop at nothing to get Mustafa on the throne. Despite her evil, she is happily married to Davut Pasha, who is just as ruthless as her. After Mustafa’s second deposition, she is stabbed to death.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: She wants a ruthless man, due to her own ruthlessness.
- Big Sister Instinct: She is a loving sister to Mustafa.
- Evil Aunt: She sends Kosem's children to their deaths.
- She was the one who shot baby Omer.
- Even Bad Women Love Their Mamas: Despite being a villain, she loves her mother Halime.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: The real Dilruba did marry Davut Pasha, but little else is known about her.
- Knight Templar Big Sister: Is willing to kill to put Mustafa on the throne.
- Lamarck Was Right: Like Halime, she is ruthless and ambitious.
- Marry for Love: She chose to marry Davut, and made everyone else agree.
- Parent-Child Team: With Halime.
- Unholy Matrimony: She is Happily Married to Davut Pasha, and they are both villains.
- Adaptational Name Change: Halime and Mehmet III's daughter who married Davut Pasha was historically called Sah.
Mehmet III
Ahmet’s father.
- Posthumous Character: He is dead at the start of the series.
- Cain and Abel: He has 19 brother executed.
- Offing the Offspring: He kills his eldest son.
- All Prophecies Are True: He is predicted to die within a year. Despite killing his son, he dies within a year.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: By trying to fight fate by killing Mahmut due to a prophecy that says he will die within a year, he does so anyway, possibly out of remorse for killing his son.
- Would Hurt a Child: Many of his brothers were childrem.
Wives and Mothers of Sultans
Ayse Sultan
Ayse Sultan
Appears in: Season 2 (major)
Played by: Leyla Feray
- Abusive Parents: Zig-Zagged. She kills two of her children, but was loving to them when they were alive.
- Best Friends-in-Law: She is very close to Gevherhan.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She is very jealous of Farya, to the point she causes a Forced Miscarriage.
- Disposable Fiancé: Murad ignores her in favour of Farya and she kills herself.
- Domestic Abuse: Murad chokes and shoves her.
- Driven to Suicide: After Murad falls in love with Farya.
- Goodbye, Cruel World!: The above quote is her suicide note.
- Harmless Villain: Her plots against Farya are always easily foiled. Even when Farya was deemed barren, Farya still had miracle babies.
- Hoist by Her Own Petard: When Kösem suspected Ayse, she used the tactic of bringing her son with her to try to save herself. This backfired as Sehzade Ahmet overheard their conversation and told it to Murad, which gets her slapped and choked.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: She never really hinders Murad and Farya.
- Am I Just a Toy to You?: When Murad marries Farya, she questions if Murad ever loved her.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Ayse had a cutesy image compared to Murad’s problems, and at first he found peace with her. Their romance doesn’t end well.
- Death by Adaptation: Historically, Ayse was Murad's only haseki until a second came at the end of his reign. She also outlived Murad.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: Her conflict with Farya, as neither of them are particularly innocent, but neither of them are evil.
- Irony: Her pregnancy with Kaya. Murad married a childless woman (Farya), yet his other woman, Ayse, was the one who got pregnant.
- Mercy Kill: She believes killing her children is this, because she believes Murad will take out his anger on them.
- Put on a Bus: Her daughter Kaya, who is not touched upon after her birth and whom she doesn’t kill before her death.
- Pater Familicide: As well as herself, she kills her children.
- Smug Snake: She is this towards Farya.
Farya Bethlen
Farya Bethlen/Sultan
Appears in: Season 2 (major)
Played by: Farah Zeynep Abdullah
A Hungarian princess. She is skilled with a sword and eventually captures Murad’s attention. He abandons Ayse Sultan for her and after her suicide she becomes his true love. Despite this, they have no surviving children. She is killed by Kosem and her death framed as a suicide.
- Action Girl: She is skilled with a sword.
- Alpha Bitch: She can be very mean at times.
- Artistic License – Linguistics: A Hungarian princess should not be called ‘Farya’, as that is not a Hungarian name.
- Best Friends-in-Law: With Atike.
- Imperiled in Pregnancy: Ayse aborts her unborn child due to jealousy.
- Kick the Dog: She tells Ayse that Murad will kill her, leading to her committing suicide
- Law of Inverse Fertility: Despite trying for years, none of her children survive young childhood.
- Never Suicide: Her murder at Kosem’s hands is framed as suicide.
- Marry for Love: Deconstructed. Even if the monarch is happy, sometimes the kingdom would benefit if he married someone else.
- Last Girl Wins: The final Love Interest of Murad, and the woman who marries him.
- Rebellious Princess: Farya is a Hungarian princess who has escaped her home country.
- Yandere: Like Ayse, she wants Murad all to herself.
Safiye Sultan
Safiye Sultan
Appears in: Season 1 (major)
Played by: Hulya Avsar
Murad III’s concubine, Valide Sultan and mother of Mehmet III, as well as Humasah and Fahriye’s mother. Ahmet, Mahmud, Dilruba and Mustafa’s grandmother, and Osman, Murad and Ibrahim’s great-grandmother. In her guest appearance in Episode 139 of the original, she was a normal girl, however years of power have corrupted her into a schemer.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She is majestic, beautiful, regal and also a scheming villain.
- Cool Old Lady: Because
Evil Is Cool. - Drunk with Power: She has power, which has corrupted her.
- Despotism Justifies the Means: She will do anything to keep her own power.
- Evil Matriarch: The matriarch of the Ottoman dynasty, and a scheming woman.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: It’s safe to say the real Safiye was not nearly as scheming as her fictional counterpart.
- Hypocrite: Despite talking about the dynasty and the country, she is willing to abandon both for power’s sake.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Given how much power she has, it’s implied she was this to Mehmet.
- It's All About Me: She thinks that everyone should respect her and looks down on everyone.
- Mama Bear: Even when Fahriye poisons Ahmet, she still sticks by her.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlives Fahriye when she is poisoned.
- Offing the Offspring: Before the series begun, she arranged her grandson Mahmut’s execution.
- Right-Hand Cat: She has one of these.
- Royal "We": She uses this as a mark of how power has changed her.
- Social Darwinist: She is convinced that the strongest should rule, and the weakest should be killed, even close family.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: She is evil and a Valide Sultan.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Young Safiye in the original show was a lot nicer than this one.
Turhan Sultan
Turhan Sultan
Appears in: Season 2 (supporting)
Played by: Hande Dogandemir
One of Ibrahim’s hasekis. She is very cold and ruthless. She is the mother of Ibrahim’s eldest son Mehmet, who becomes sultan after Kosem deposes him. She enters a power struggle with Kosem which leads to her killing Kosem.
- Anti-Hero: Of the Unscrupulous sort.
- Ambition Is Evil: She is very clearly ambitious and kills Kösem to become sole Valide.
- Domestic Abuse: She experiences a lot of this from Ibrahim.
- Ice Queen: She is cold and calculating.
- Mama Bear: Will do anything to protect Mehmet.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: She was involved in her abusive husband Ibrahim’s death.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: She kills Kösem.
Handan Sultan
Handan Sultan 
Appears in: Season 1 (major)
Played by: Tulin Ozen
Ahmet’s mother. She is often forced to be ruthless due to her powerful rivals Safiye and Halime scheming to put Mustafa on the throne, but is one of the nicer sultanas. She ends up committing suicide after Dervis’s death.
- Good Parents: She is nice to Ahmet.
- Foil: Both she and Halime were Mehmet III’s concubines. However she is a generally nice person while Halime is a Wicked Stepmother.
- Also to Mahfiruz. Both were concubines who had the Sultan’s eldest son but fell out of favour. Mahfiruz is an Alpha Bitch who hates Kösem, compared to Handan’s lack of power despite being valide sultan.
- Ironic Name: ‘Handan’ means smiling, which is an odd name for a character who commits suicide.
- Sacrificial Lion: She is Driven to Suicide early on in the series, leaving space for Kösem to become powerful.
Halime Sultan
Halime Sultan
Appears in: Season 1 (major)
Played by: Aslihan Gurbuz
Mehmet III’s concubine and Mustafa and Dilruba’s mother. She is ruthless and scheming to put Mustafa, her son, on the throne. She only succeeds after Ahmed’s death, and her victories never last long because Kosem is her powerful rival. She is poisoned.
- Ambition Is Evil: A very ambitious person, as well as a villain.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: She is prone to betraying her allies.
- Foil: To Kösem. Both were later concubines who gained the Sultan’s favour. Halime turns evil and scheming, and represents what Kösem would have been had she been more ruthless. Eventually, Kösem becomes just like her in her pursuit of power.
- Did Not Think This Through: Trying to kill Kösem’s sons when Dilruba is Kösem’s hostage and Kösem would not hesitate to kill her.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: It’s safe to say real Halime was never as evil as in the show.
- Idiot Ball: Despite being good with poisons, she gets poisoned herself.
- It's Personal: She hates Ahmet and Kösem for locking up Mustafa. She even tries to kill Kösem’s sons so Kösem knows what it’s like.
- Mama Bear: Her sole motivation is to protect her son Mustafa.
- Wicked Stepmother: Not technically stepmother, but a concubine of Ahmet’s father. She is also a villain.
- Parent-Child Team: With Dilruba.
- Parental Favouritism: She adores Mustafa, yet she only raised her daughter as a protecter of him and is happy to sacrifice her for Mustafa,
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Again, not technically an in-law, but Ahmet’s wife Kösem causes her downfall.
- Ungrateful Bitch: It was thanks to Kösem that Mustafa was able to become sultan, however Halime betrays her almost as soon as Mustafa ascends and tries to kill Kösem’s sons.
- Would Hurt a Child: She has no problem killing Kösem’s children, even though the oldest, Osman, would have historically been fourteen and the youngest, Ibrahim, is only a baby.
Mahfiruz Hatun
Mahfiruz Hatun
(Played by Dilara Aksuyek;)
Sultan Ahmet’s First Love.
- Alpha Bitch: She tries to make Kosem’s life hell.
- Imperiled in Pregnancy: Halime poisons her while pregnant as Mustafa will no longer be needed as heir.
Akile Hanim
Akile Hanim
(Played by Bahar Selvi;)
Osman’s legal wife.
- Blue Blood: She comes from extremely high lineage.
- Happily Married: During their short Arranged Marriage, Akile and Osman seem happy together, and she conceives twins very quickly.
- Unto Us a Son and Daughter Are Born: She has twins, Zeynep and Mustafa.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Her children both die young, presumably murdered.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She disappears in Season 2. It is not mentioned what happened to her, but in history she married again.
Pashas
Dervish Pasha
Ahmet’s mentor and Fahriye’s husband.
- Evil Chancellor: He is an advisor who poisons Mehmet III.
- Awful Wedded Life: He is forced to marry Fahriye.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: He existed, but didn’t poison Mehmet.
- Undying Loyalty: To Handan, to the point he poisons Mehmet III for her.
Davut Pasha
Dilruba’s husband.
- Unholy Matrimony: He is evil and Happily Married to Dilruba.
- Undying Loyalty: To Dilruba, to the point he saves Kösem’s children from execution because Dilruba is Kösem’s hostage.
- The Kingslayer: He kills Osman II.
- Karmic Death: He is executed by Kösem for his role in killing Osman.
- Would Hurt a Child: He is implied to kill Osman’s baby son Mustafa.
Silhadar Pasha
Murad’s Number Two.
- Love Triangle: He is engaged to Atike despite loving Gevherhan.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Murad.
Servants and Concubines
Kalika Hatun
- Disproportionate Retribution: She is executed for selling alcohol.
- Face Death with Dignity: Although she does shed a tear, she knows she has done something wrong and is willing to accept the consequences.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Her last words is that she will love Bayezid even after her death.
- Together in Death: Bayezid is executed not long after her.
Elanur Hatun
- Driven to Suicide: Due to the whole secret relationship thing.
- Secret Relationship / My Secret Pregnancy: Kasim isn’t allowed a relationship, but loves her anyway.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Gulbahar really doesn’t like her.
Sayeste Hatun
One of Ahmet’s other concubines.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She attacks Kösem after she was chosen to spend the night with Ahmet instead of her.
- Redemption Equals Death: She switches to Kösem’s side, but gets killed by guards.
- Sacrificial Lamb: She is one of the first main characters to die.
Gulbahar Hatun
Bayezid’s mother. She was a concubine of Ahmet. She plots against Kosem to put Bayezid on the throne. She is found out and executed.
- Antagonist in Mourning: When Bayezid is executed, it might have been her fault, but the scream she gives at her son’s death is heartbreaking.
- Ambition Is Evil: She is ambitious and plots against both Kösem and Murad.
- Defiant to the End: She tells Kosem she is innocent even when it is clear that she is guilty.
- Foil: Like Halime, Gulbahar is an ambitious concubine willing to do anything for Bayezid. However, she never becomes fully evil, representing what Halime would have been if she rained in her ambition.
- Mama Bear: Wants Bayezid on the throne.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Kösem was nice to Gulbahar as a young concubine, not knowing that Gulbahar would plot against her.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlives Bayezid but not for long as she is executed.
- Rival Turned Evil: She was originally a romantic rival to Kosem. She ends up plotting against Kosem.
- We Used to Be Friends: Kösem helped Gulbahar when she was young, but Gulbahar betrayed her.
Yasemin Hatun
Ahmet’s concubine and Kösem’s sister.
- Long-Lost Relative: She’s Kösem’s sister.
- Sibling Rivalry: With Kosem, though they didn’t know they were related.
- The Reveal: Two pertaining to her. The first is that she is a a spy, the second is that she is Kosem’s sister.
Meleksima Hatun
(Played by Beste Kokdemir;)
Osman’s favourite concubine.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She is prone to jealousy.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlives her son Ömer.
- Composite Character: She is based on two people: Osman’s haseki Ayse Sultan(not to be confused with Kösem’s daughter or Murad’s haseki) and Meylisah Hatun, the mother of Sehzade Ömer, who fell out of favour after Ömer’s death.
- Fake First Kiss: Osman nearly kisses her but stops because Mehmet likes her as well.
- Meet Cute: Osman sees her at a slave market and has her join the harem.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She is not mentioned after Osman’s death. Presumably she was sent to the old palace.
Sanavber Hatun
Murad’s concubine.
- The Mole: She is a Safavid spy.
- Romantic False Lead: She muddles the Ayse-Murad-Farya Love Triangle, but is found out as a spy.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She is similar to Firuze of the original.
Saliha Dilasub Sultan
The mother of Sehzade Süleiman(later Süleiman II)
- Younger than She Looks: She’s meant to be young, but the actress playing her looks around Kösem’s age.
- Good Parents: She is loving to her son Suleiman.
- Best Friends-in-Law: Kosem schemes to replace Mehmet with Suleiman.
- Pink Is Feminine: She mainly wears pink and purple.
Muazzez Sultan
Telli Hümasah Sultan
(Played by Muge Boz;)
Ibrahim’s haseki and legal wife.
- Age-Gap Romance: She’s a teenager(despite the Dawson Casting), and romancing a 33 year old Ibrahim.
- Undying Loyalty: She is the most loyal of Ibrahim’s hasekis.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Her son Orhan dies offscreen in the last episode.
- Pretty in Mink: She frequently wears fur, because Ibrahim believes it will ward off death.
- Heroic BSoD: She is mentioned as having a breakdown after Orhan died.
- You Monster!: She calls Turhan out after she refuses to let her feed her son.
Sivekar Hatun
One of Ibrahim’s favourites.
- Alpha Bitch: She is a rival to Turhan.
- Big Beautiful Woman: She is the fattest woman in Istanbul.
Zarife Hatun
Ibrahim’s concubine, the mother of his eldest son.
- First Love: She is the mother of Ibrahim’s eldest son.
Cennet Hatun
The chief treasurer of the harem.
- Old Retainer: She is the middle-aged treasurer of the harem.
- Saspiciously Similar Substitute: She is like both Daye Hatun and Afife Hatun in the original.
- Arranged Marriage: To Ömer Efendi.
- Dropped a Bridge on Her: She is mentioned as having been torn apart by a mob in the Janissary Revolts.
- Undying Loyalty: To Kösem, eventually.
Süleyman Agha
A eunuch of the harem.
- Eunuchs Are Evil: Although the series usually averts this trope, Süleyman kills Kösem.
Esther Hatun
Kösem’s economic agent. She also loves Silhadar.
- Love Triangle: Both she and Gevherhan love Silhadar.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She leaves Silhadar.
Meleki Hatun
One of Kösem and later Turhan’s servants.
- Backstabbing the Alpha Bitch: She leaks Kösem’s plot to dethrone Mehmet IV to Turhan.
Menekse Hatun
Halime’s servant.
- Alpha Bitch: As you’d expect from Halime’s servant.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Cennet after she is married off.
