Handan Sultan

Handan Sultan
Tomb of Handan Sultan in Mehmed III's mausoleum
Valide sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Tenure22 December 1603 – 9 November 1605
PredecessorSafiye Sultan
SuccessorHalime Sultan
Bornc.1565/1568
Sanjak of Bosnia, Rumelia, Ottoman Empire
Died(1605-11-09)9 November 1605
(aged 37-40)
Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Burial
Mehmed III Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque, Istanbul
ConsortMehmed III
IssueFatma Sultan
Şehzade Selim
Şehzade Süleyman
Ayşe Sultan
Ahmed I
ReligionSunni Islam (converted)

Handan Sultan (Ottoman Turkish: خندان سلطان; c.1565/1568 – 9 November 1605) was a consort of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed III, and mother and Valide Sultan to their son Sultan Ahmed I. She acted as de facto regent during her tenure from 1603 to 1605. Handan Sultan was one of the prominent women during the era known as the Sultanate of Women and lived during the reign of three ottoman Sultans: Murad III, Mehmed III and Ahmet I.