13. Encouraging the Mad Sultan to Spend Time in the Harem
The years of isolation in the Kafes, and the constant terror that he might get executed at any moment, had unhinged Ibrahim and left him unfit to rule. Already known to be mentally unstable, his condition was worsened by depression over the death of his brother Murad IV, whom he apparently loved in a Stockholm Syndrome type of way. An early worrying sign was the new sultan’s habit of feeding the fish in the palace pool with coins instead of food.
As it became clear that Ibrahim was crazy, his mother Kosem ruled in his stead. She encouraged him to spend as much time as possible in the Harem with his nearly 300 concubines, to keep him out of her hair and out of trouble. She also wanted him to father male heirs since, by then, thanks to the tradition of Ottoman fratricide, Ibrahim was the dynasty’s last surviving male.