affair between the two women, a rumour which was described by the English ambassador at the Ottoman court. Reportedly, she attempted to influence Safiye (and through her the sultan) to a policy against the Republic of Venice, and by doing so came in conflict with the Venetian spy Beatrice Michiel, who had the opposite intention: the two women once came in to open conflict in front of Safiye. She even acted as the intermediary between Safiye and the Queen of England, and wrote to Queen Elizabeth I of England on her mistress' behalf, mentioning discreet exchanges of diplomatic items. Death The position of Esperanza Malchi became a cause of widespread discontent. Her influence upon the sultan's mother and through her upon the sultan himself and the policy of the Ottoman Empire was resented, as well as her powerful role in the economic affairs of the court. In the spring of 1600, the imperial cavalry revolted because of the devaluation of the currency. Malchi became the target of their discontent, and the rebels successfully demanded of the sultan that he turn Esperanza Malchi over to them. On 1 April, Esperanza Malchi was intercepted and assassinated near the house of Halil Pasha, kaimakam of Constantinople, together with her eldest son, while her second son escaped and her youngest son converted to Islam. Her assassination was seen as a hard blow to the Jewish community of Constantinople. References Minna Rozen: A History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul, The Formative Years, 1453 – 1566 (2002). External links Women in power 16th-century births 1600 deaths Jews from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century businesspeople from the Ottoman Empire Lynching deaths 16th-century Jews 17th-century businesspeople from the Ottoman Empire Courtiers of the Ottoman Empire 17th-century businesswomen