Mahpeyker (Māhpeyker) Kösem Sultan (Sulṭān, d. 1061/1651), who became a favorite concubine of Ahmed (Aḥmed) I (r. 1011-26/1603-17), was the most powerful of the queen mothers exercising authority in the eleventh/seventeenth century, as well as the most controversial. Kösem's stature and influence were facilitated by her astute grasp of Ottoman politics and the large number of children she bore. Two of her sons required her regency early in their reigns, and her daughters' marriages to prominent statesmen provided her with allies in government. But