Valide sultan in the context of Hafsa Sultan

The Ottoman Imperial Harem (Ottoman Turkish: حرم همايون, romanized: Harem-i Hümâyûn, lit. 'Imperial Harem') of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan's harem – composed of the wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives and the sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded portion (seraglio) of the Ottoman imperial household. This institution played an important social function within the Ottoman court, and wielded considerable political authority in Ottoman affairs, especially during the long period known as the Sultanate of Women (approximately 1534 to 1683).

Historians claim that the sultan was frequently lobbied by harem members of different ethnic or religious backgrounds to influence the geography of the Ottoman wars of conquest. The utmost authority in the imperial harem, the valide sultan, ruled over the other women in the household. The consorts of the sultan were normally of slave origin, including the valide sultan.

The list below contains some of the most important mosques in modern-day Turkey that were commissioned by the members of Ottoman imperial family. Some of these major mosques are also known as a selatin mosque, imperial mosque, or sultanic mosque, meaning a mosque commissioned in the name of the sultan and, in theory, commemorating a military triumph. Some mosques were commissioned by or dedicated to other members of the dynastic family, especially important women such as the mothers or wives of sultans. Usually, only a sultanic mosque or a mosque commissioned by a queen mother (valide) was granted the privilege of having more than one minaret.

The Sultanate of Women (Ottoman Turkish: قادينلر سلطنتى, romanized: Kadınlar Saltanatı) was a period when some concubines, mothers, sisters and grandmothers of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire exerted political influence.

This phenomenon took place from roughly 1534 to 1715, beginning in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent with the rise of Hürrem Sultan and ending with the death of Gülnuş Sultan. These women were either the concubines of the sultan, referred to as haseki sultans, or the mothers of the sultan, known as valide sultans. All of them were of slave origin, as was expected during the sultanate, since the traditional idea of marriage was considered inappropriate for the sultan, who was not expected to have any personal allegiances beyond his governmental role; however, Hürrem Sultan managed to become the legal wife of Suleiman, and Nurbanu Sultan, Safiye Sultan, and Kösem Sultan might have also married their respective sultans.