Murad’s favorite consort is Safiye, whose name means “pure one”; she is said to have been a native of Rezi, a mountain town in Albania.

Until the death in 1583 of Nur Banu, the valide sultan (mother of the sultan on the throne), Safiye's influence has been limited.

Hereafter, as haseki sultan (mother of the heir to the throne, Murad’s son Mehmed III), she will wield great influence at the Ottoman court.