Ketkhuda of The Imperial Harem Canfeda Khatun’s Wealth and Waqfs

Canfeda Khatun was appointed to a position called “ketkhuda woman” at the Sultan Murad III (1574- 1595) ’s imperial harem for twenty-one years. She was not related to royal family nor one of the sultan’s women. In official documents, Canfeda Khatun was the first concubine called as “ketkhuda woman” and her fame grown with this title. After the death of Sultan’s mother, Nurbanu Sultan (1583), Canfeda’s accompany to the Sultan became to such an extent that she had even impact on Sultan Murad’s political decisions. This study focuses on historical artefacts of her foundation, most of which are not survived to the present day, using the archival documents belonged to waqfs, particularly their accounting registers. The aim of this study is to reveal the new aspects of Canfeda Khatun who was a rare example of the harem, and analyse her waqfs.