Roxalena in Istanbul

Gokce Nacar

Nov 02 910 read

Roxalena in Istanbul

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent's principal consort and wife was Hurrem Sultan, also known as Roxelana. During the Sultanate of Women, she ascended to become one of the most powerful and prominent women in Ottoman history, as well as a popular and polarizing personality.

Hurrem Sultan was born in Ruthenia, which was under Polish rule at the time. She was born in what is now Ukraine, in the Ruthenian Voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, in the town of Rohatyn. According to late 16th- and early 17th-century records, Hurrem was born to a man called Lisovsky, who was an Orthodox priest of Ruthenian heritage. Her first tongue was Ruthenian.

Who is Hurrem Sultan?

Hurrem comes from the Persian word Khorram, which meaning "joyous." Her name was given to her because of her upbeat personality and lively demeanor. In the Istanbul harem, Hurrem became a competitor to Mahidevran, and her influence over the Sultan swiftly became legendary. Hurrem was allowed to have many sons, an obvious violation of the traditional imperial harem norm of "one concubine mother — one son," which was meant to preclude both the mother's dominance over the sultan and blood sibling feuds for the throne. Suleiman gave her the responsibility of bearing the bulk of his children.

Hurrem Sultan's popularity at the time made her one of the most powerful ladies in Ottoman and global history. Her status as a consort was equivalent to that of the Imperial Harem's most powerful lady, the Sultan's mother or valide sultan, who was typically the Sultan's mother. As a consequence, she has become a polarizing figure in Ottoman society, accusing her political opponents of scheming against and abusing her.

Hurrem went on to become the first woman to serve in the Sultan's court for her whole life. The wife of a sultan was only meant to reside in the harem until her son reached the age of adulthood, following which he would be sent away from the capital to govern a distant region, accompanied by his mother. This ritual was given the name Sancak Beylii. The consorts were not permitted to return to Istanbul until their sons ascended to the throne. Even when her sons were dispatched to oversee the empire's far-flung districts, Hurrem violated custom by staying in the harem. In Istanbul, she died quietly at 1558 and was buried in the Suleymaniye Mosque.

History of Hurrem in Istanbul

During a slave raid, Hurrem was abducted by Crimean Tatars and carried to Istanbul, the Ottoman capital. Hurrem was chosen as a present for Valide Hafsa Sultan's son, Suleiman, at Istanbul. Hurrem climbed through the ranks of the Ottoman harem to become the Haseki Sultan, which means "the favored." She joined the Imperial Harem, as her title indicates, and progressed through the ranks to become Sultan Suleiman's favorite. Sultans had usually only married foreign free noble women, therefore he married Hurrem, making her his lawful wife, breaching Ottoman tradition. The title of imperial consort was conferred to Haseki Sultan for the first time. Hurrem spent the rest of her life in the Sultan's court, where she had six children with him, including Selim II, the future Sultan. Murad III's grandmother is Hurrem.

In the Ottoman Empire, Hurrem grew to prominence and influenced Ottoman politics. Through her spouse, she was engaged in the affairs of the state. She most likely acted as the Sultan's secretary, addressed diplomatic letters to King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, and backed significant public works projects like the Haseki Sultan Complex and the Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse, both of which are among Istanbul's most beautiful historical places.