Mihrimah Sultan – the Radiant Princess of the Ottoman Renaissance

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 02/09/2026 - 09:07

Mihrimah Sultan (1522–1578) was one of the most remarkable women of the Ottoman Empire's classical age — a princess whose life intertwined imperial politics, family devotion, and visionary patronage of architecture. The only daughter of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and his influential consort Hürrem Sultan (also known as Roxelana), Mihrimah grew up in the opulent surroundings of the Topkapı Palace, at the very heart of the empire's power. Her name, meaning "Sun and Moon," would prove fitting for a woman who illuminated her era through intellect, diplomacy, and enduring monuments of stone and light.

Titian's supposed portrait of Mihrimah, entitled Cameria, Daughter of Suleyman the Magnificent as St. Catherine, Public Domain

January 2026 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Sun, 02/01/2026 - 09:16

January 2026 brought a concentrated wave of archaeological breakthroughs in Turkey, spanning nearly a million years of human history. Highlights included new evidence pushing early human presence in Anatolia deep into the Ice Age, transformative Neolithic research at Çayönü Hill and Çatalhöyük, and a 7,500-year-old stone seal from the Upper Euphrates. Ancient power structures were rethought through an 8th-century BCE Phrygian royal tomb far from Gordion and the first local Aramaic inscription of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Sophene, offering rare written insight into elite identity in eastern Anatolia. Classical discoveries ranged from a Hermes head at Laodikeia to a unique Roman thermal complex at Myra, alongside striking evidence of early medicine from prehistoric cranial surgery to Roman pharmaceutical practice. Medieval and later periods rounded out the month with exceptional finds at Hasankeyf, early Turkish graves in Europe, and renewed focus on conserving Turkey's vast architectural and cultural heritage.

Sitti Şah – The Forgotten Bride of Edirne

Submitted by Iza on Tue, 01/20/2026 - 15:50

The vast meadows along the banks of the Tunca River shimmered in the summer light, stretching like a green sea beneath the walls of Edirne. It was here, most likely, that one of the grandest royal celebrations of the 15th century took place: the wedding of young Prince Mehmed, the future Mehmed the Conqueror, and Sitti Şah, daughter of Süleyman Bey, the sixth ruler of the Dulkadir principality. Chronicler Aşıkpaşazade left behind a detailed account of the preparations and festivities, describing an event as monumental as the destiny of the groom himself.

Prison of Anemas

Submitted by Iza on Tue, 01/13/2026 - 08:45

The Prison of Anemas, a brooding and formidable structure of stone, lies nestled within the ancient walls of Constantinople — modern-day Istanbul — standing as a grim testament to the intrigues, betrayals, and power struggles that plagued the waning centuries of the Byzantine Empire. Adjacent to the grand Blachernae Palace, the imperial residence in the empire’s later years, the prison was more than just a holding place for criminals — it was a symbol of imperial wrath and political downfall.

Rahime Perestu Sultan — The Swallow Who Became the Last Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

Submitted by Iza on Thu, 01/08/2026 - 10:36

In the quiet currents of the Ottoman palace, where power often arrived dressed in ambition and departed wrapped in intrigue, Rahime Perestu Sultan moved differently. Her story is not one of thunderous authority or political conquest, but of grace, restraint, and a rare kind of maternal sovereignty that arrived without blood ties and endured without spectacle.