Pertevniyal Valide Sultan stood out as the strongest defender of traditional palace authority and conservative values against the reformist spirit of the Tanzimat era. Throughout the reign of her son, Sultan Abdülaziz, she engaged in a continuous power struggle with pro-Western statesmen like Âli Pasha and Fuad Pasha to protect her son’s absolute power. This struggle by Pertevniyal Sultan was not merely a personal ambition but also the most vivid and tragic reflection within the palace walls of the painful conflict between the old and the new in a changing empire. [Link: The Dynasty and women in Dolmabahçe -> /learn/the-dynasty-and-its-people]
The Last Representative of Traditional Power
Pertevniyal Valide Sultan can be seen as the last echo of the powerful valide sultans of Topkapı Palace. She represented a generation that believed the center of power was still the palace and that the sultan’s absolute authority could not be questioned. Understanding [Link: The difference between Valide Sultans in Topkapı and Dolmabahçe -> /haremin-son-kraliceleri-dolmabahcede-valide-sultanlik-neden-kosem-ve-hurrem-gibi-olmadi] allows us to see Pertevniyal’s position more clearly. The constitutional arrangements brought by the Tanzimat reforms, the idea of a parliament, and the increasing power of the bureaucracy meant, in her eyes, the usurpation of the power that rightly belonged to her son. Therefore, throughout her reign, she tried to use her influence in the Harem to create a focus of resistance against this “dangerous” modernization movement.
The Battle for Her Son’s Throne: Palace vs. Bâb-ı Âli
Pertevniyal Sultan’s greatest struggle was against powerful Tanzimat bureaucrats like Âli Pasha and Fuad Pasha, who shifted her son’s absolute authority from the Palace to the Bâb-ı Âli (the center of government). Pertevniyal believed that these pashas were curtailing the Sultan’s powers under the guise of reform and taking the state under their own control. Consequently, she constantly engaged in lobbying activities, using her influence within the palace to dismiss these pashas and replace them with loyal, more conservative figures. This situation triggered a chronic power struggle between the “Palace” and the “Bâb-ı Âli” in Ottoman governance, which lasted for years and exhausted the empire. For Pertevniyal, this was not politics, but a mother’s fight to protect her son’s legacy. [Link: The rise of the Tanzimat Pashas -> /padisahin-kulu-degil-devletin-mimari-dolmabahce-doneminde-sadrazamlik-nasil-saraydan-guclu-hale-geldi]
A Mother’s Dilemma: Sultan Abdülaziz’s Search
Caught in the middle of this power struggle, Sultan Abdülaziz was torn between his deep respect for his mother and the state’s necessity for modernization. On one hand, he listened to his mother’s conservative urgings, while on the other, he needed capable statesmen like Âli and Fuad Pasha to govern the empire. Steps such as [Link: Sultan Abdülaziz’s interest in the West -> /avrupa-seyahati-ve-sanat-tutkusu-sultan-abdulazizin-dolmabahceyi-batinin-kultur-elcisine-donusturmesi] and his European travel contradicted his mother’s traditional world and led to a mother-son drama within the palace. Sultan Abdülaziz was an indecisive and tragic figure, wavering between being a traditional Sultan under his mother’s protective wing and being a modern ruler alongside reformist pashas. This indecisiveness would ultimately be one of the most important factors leading to his own demise.
Tragic End: The Collapse of an Era
Pertevniyal Sultan’s fears came true in the bitterest way in 1876. A constitutionalist-bureaucrat group led by Mithat Pasha, using her son’s extravagant spending, unstable administration, and vulnerability to the Russian threat as a pretext, dethroned Sultan Abdülaziz through a military coup. Pertevniyal Sultan witnessed her son being taken from Dolmabahçe Palace, imprisoned in Topkapı Palace, and his suspicious death a few days later. She had lost everything she fought for: her son and his absolute power. This coup marked the absolute end of Pertevniyal Sultan’s political power. She spent the rest of her life in great sorrow as the mother of a deposed sultan. Her story summarizes the inevitable defeat of traditional authority against modern bureaucracy and the army as a personal drama. [Link: Tanzimat Era analyses by the Ottoman Historical Foundation -> https://www.ottomanhistoricalfoundation.org/tanzimat-era]
Conclusion
In conclusion, Pertevniyal Valide Sultan’s struggle for power is critically important for understanding the painful spirit of the Tanzimat era. She was the last and strongest representative of traditional palace power resisting change. However, her ordeal with the reforms and the reformist pashas ended tragically for both herself and her son. Pertevniyal Sultan’s story demonstrates that a mother’s personal struggle to protect her son’s throne was, in fact, the deadly struggle between the old and the new within an empire.
