Roxelana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hürrem Sultan |
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Portrait by Titian titled La Sultana Rossa, c. 1550
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| Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Imperial Consort) |
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| Tenure | c. 1533 – 15 April 1558 | ||||
| Successor | Nurbanu Sultan | ||||
| Born | Alexandra or Anastasia c. 1504 Rohatyn, Ruthenia, Kingdom of Poland (now Ukraine) |
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| Died | 15 April 1558 (aged c. 53-54) Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) |
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| Burial | Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul | ||||
| Spouse | year disputed | ||||
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| Father | Lisovsky, possibly a Ruthenian Orthodox Priest | ||||
| Mother | Leksandra Lisowska | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam, previously Eastern Orthodox Christian | ||||
Roxelana (Ukrainian: Роксолана; lit. the Ruthenian one; c. 1504 – 15 April 1558), also known as Hürrem Sultan (Turkish: Hürrem Sultan), was a very important woman in the Ottoman Empire. She became the main wife of Suleiman the Magnificent, one of the most powerful Ottoman sultans. Hürrem Sultan was one of the most influential women in Ottoman history. She was a key figure during a time called the Sultanate of Women.
Hürrem was born in Ruthenia, which is now part of Ukraine. She was captured during a slave raid and brought to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. She joined the Imperial Harem, where her name was changed to Hürrem. She quickly became Sultan Suleiman's favorite. Breaking old traditions, Suleiman married Hürrem, making her his legal wife. Before this, sultans only married noble women from other countries. Hürrem was the first imperial wife to be given the special title Haseki Sultan. She stayed in the sultan's court for the rest of her life. She had a very close relationship with her husband and gave birth to six children, including Selim II, who would later become sultan.
Hürrem Sultan became very powerful and influenced the politics of the Ottoman Empire. She advised her husband on important state matters. She even wrote letters to King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. Hürrem also supported many public building projects, like the Haseki Sultan Complex and the Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse. She passed away in 1558 in Istanbul and was buried in a special tomb near the Süleymaniye Mosque.
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Who Was Hürrem Sultan?
Hürrem Sultan's birth name is not fully known. Some historians believe it was Anastasia or Aleksandra Lisowska. In the Ottoman Empire, she was mostly known as Haseki Hürrem Sultan or Hürrem Haseki Sultan. The name Hürrem comes from a Persian word meaning "the joyful one." The name Roxelana came from a term used by Ottomans for girls from certain regions who were captured in slave raids.
Early Life and Journey to the Palace
Hürrem was originally from Ruthenia, which was then part of the Kingdom of Poland. She was born in a town called Rohatyn, in what is now Ukraine. Sources say her father was an Orthodox priest. Her first language was Ruthenian, which is an old form of Ukrainian.
Around 1512 to 1520, Crimean Tatars captured Hürrem during a slave raid. She was likely taken to Kaffa in Crimea, a big center for the slave trade. From there, she was brought to Istanbul. In Istanbul, Hafsa Sultan, Sultan Suleiman's mother, chose Hürrem as a gift for her son. Hürrem later became the first Haseki Sultan, meaning the "favorite companion" in the Ottoman imperial harem.
European visitors at the time called her "la Rossa" or "Roxelana." These names meant "the Russian woman" or "the Ruthenian one," because of where she came from. Many portraits were made of her, but they were mostly imagined by painters.
Becoming a Sultan's Wife
Hürrem Sultan probably entered the harem when she was about seventeen years old. She became Suleiman's companion around 1520, when he became sultan.
Hürrem's journey from a captured girl in the harem to Suleiman's legal wife was very unusual. It surprised many people in the palace and the city. She soon became Suleiman's most important companion. Their relationship was very special, and Suleiman did not have other main companions. Hürrem quickly gave birth to five children: Şehzade Mehmed, Mihrimah Sultan, Şehzade Abdullah, Sultan Selim II, and Şehzade Bayezid. Their last child, Şehzade Cihangir, was born with a curved back. But by then, Hürrem had given birth to enough healthy sons to secure the future of the Ottoman dynasty.
Her happy and playful personality earned her the name Hürrem, meaning "the cheerful one." In the Istanbul harem, Hürrem became a rival to another companion, Mahidevran. Hürrem's influence over the sultan became very well known.
A Unique Marriage
Hürrem was allowed to have more than one son. This was against an old rule in the imperial harem. The rule was "one mother – one son." This rule was meant to stop mothers from gaining too much power and to prevent fights between brothers for the throne. Hürrem gave birth to most of Suleiman's children. Her first son, Mehmed, was born in 1521. She then had four more sons, which changed Mahidevran's position as the mother of the sultan's only son.
Suleiman's mother, Hafsa Sultan, tried to calm the rivalry between Hürrem and Mahidevran. After Hafsa Sultan died in 1534, Hürrem's power in the palace grew. She took charge of the harem. Hürrem became the sultan's only main partner and received the title of Haseki. When Suleiman freed her and married her, she became the Haseki Sultan. Adding "sultan" to a woman's name showed she was part of the royal family.
Around 1526 or 1534, Suleiman married Hürrem in a grand ceremony. This was a huge event because no former slave had ever become the sultan's legal wife before. Hürrem could only marry Suleiman after his mother, Hafsa Sultan, passed away. This was because a companion was not allowed to have a higher status than the Valide Sultan (Queen Mother).
Hürrem was the first to receive the title Haseki Sultan. This title showed the great power of imperial wives in the Ottoman court. It made their status higher than Ottoman princesses. Suleiman not only broke an old custom but also started a new tradition. Future Ottoman sultans would marry in formal ceremonies and give their wives important influence in the court. Hürrem's daily salary was very high, making her one of the highest-paid Hasekis. After the wedding, some people thought the sultan was controlled by his wife. In Ottoman society, mothers also played a big role in their sons' education and careers.
Life in the Palace
After Suleiman's mother, Hafsa Sultan, died in 1534, Hürrem became Suleiman's most trusted source of information. She would write to him about important matters, like the plague in the capital. She wrote, "My dearest Sultan! If you ask about Istanbul, the city still suffers from the plague. But it is not as bad as before. God willing, it will go away when you return. Our ancestors said the plague leaves when trees lose their leaves in autumn."
Hürrem was also the first woman to stay in the sultan's court for her entire life. In Ottoman tradition, a sultan's companion would usually leave the harem when her son became an adult. She would follow him to a faraway province where he would govern. This tradition was called Sancak Beyliği. The companions were not supposed to return to Istanbul unless their sons became sultan. Hürrem broke this old custom by staying in the harem, even after her sons left to govern provinces.
She also moved from the Old Palace to the Topkapı Palace after a fire damaged the old harem. Some say she moved to Topkapı because she married Suleiman. Either way, this was another big change from old customs. Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror had said that no women should live in the same building where government business was done. After Hürrem lived at Topkapı, it became known as the New Palace.
She wrote many love letters to Suleiman when he was away on military campaigns. In one letter, she expressed how much she missed him, saying she was "burning because I have been separated from you." She prayed that no one, not even his enemies, would feel such pain. She also wrote how happy she was to receive news from him, saying she "came to life once more" after hearing from him.
Sultan Suleiman, using his pen name Muhibbi, also wrote poems for Hürrem Sultan.
Hürrem Sultan's Influence and Power
Hürrem Sultan is known as the first woman in Ottoman history to be involved in state affairs. She was very intelligent and advised Suleiman on important government matters. She seemed to have an impact on foreign policy and international relations. She often went with him as a political advisor. She had her own seal and watched council meetings through a special window. With these new actions, she started a period in the Ottoman Empire called the Sultanate of Women. Hürrem's influence on Suleiman was so strong that some people in the court rumored that the sultan was under her spell.
Her influence with Suleiman made her one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history. Even as a companion, her power was similar to that of the sultan's mother, the valide sultan. Because of this, she has been a debated figure in Ottoman history. Some people accused her of plotting against and manipulating her political rivals.
Dealing with Challenges
Hürrem's influence in state affairs made her powerful, but also a controversial figure. This was especially true in her rivalries with Mahidevran and her son Şehzade Mustafa, and with the grand viziers Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha and Kara Ahmed Pasha.
Hürrem and Mahidevran had given birth to Suleiman's six sons, called şehzades. Four of them lived past the 1550s: Mehmed, Selim, Bayezid, and Cihangir. Mustafa, Mahidevran's son, was the oldest and was next in line to become sultan. Traditionally, when a new sultan took power, he would order all his brothers to be killed. This was to prevent power struggles and ensure a smooth transfer of power. This practice was called kardeş katliamı, meaning "fraternal massacring."
Mustafa was supported by Ibrahim Pasha, who became Suleiman's grand vizier in 1523. Hürrem has often been blamed for the events that led to choosing a successor. Even though she was Suleiman's wife, she had no official public role. However, this did not stop Hürrem from having strong political influence. Since the empire did not have a formal way to choose a successor until later, successions often involved the deaths of competing princes to avoid civil unrest. To protect her own sons from execution, Hürrem used her influence to remove those who supported Mustafa.
Ibrahim Pasha, a skilled commander, eventually lost favor with Suleiman. This happened after he made a mistake during a war against the Persian Safavid empire. He gave himself a title that included the word "Sultan." Another conflict happened when Ibrahim and his former teacher, İskender Çelebi, argued over military leadership. These events led to Ibrahim's execution in 1536 by Suleiman's order. Many believe Hürrem's influence played a part in Suleiman's decision. After three other grand viziers in eight years, Suleiman chose Hürrem's son-in-law, Damat Rüstem Pasha, who was married to Mihrimah, to become the grand vizier. Some historians think Hürrem's alliance with Mihrimah Sultan and Rüstem Pasha helped one of Hürrem's sons become sultan.
Many years later, near the end of Suleiman's long rule, the rivalry between his sons became clear. Mustafa was later accused of causing trouble. During a military campaign in 1553, Suleiman ordered Mustafa's execution because he feared a rebellion. Some sources say Mustafa was executed for planning to take his father's throne. His guilt is still debated. It is also rumored that Hürrem Sultan worked against Mustafa with her daughter and son-in-law Rustem Pasha. They supposedly tried to make Mustafa look like a traitor who secretly contacted the Shah of Iran. After Mustafa's death, Mahidevran lost her status and moved away. She did not live in poverty, as Hürrem's son, Selim II, who became the new sultan in 1566, gave her a good salary. Her situation improved after Hürrem died in 1558. Cihangir, Hürrem's youngest child, reportedly died of sadness a few months after his half-brother's death.
Stories about Hürrem's role in the deaths of Ibrahim, Mustafa, and Kara Ahmed are very popular. However, none of them are based on direct evidence from the time. All other descriptions of Hürrem, from Ottoman historians and European visitors, are mostly based on rumors and guesses. These people were not allowed into the inner parts of the imperial harem. So, they relied on what servants or courtiers told them, or on common gossip in Istanbul.
Even the reports from Venetian ambassadors at Suleiman's court, which are the most detailed Western sources, often included the authors' own ideas about harem rumors. Most other Western sources from the 1500s about Hürrem, like the writings of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq and Paolo Giovio, were also based on hearsay.
Helping the Sultan Rule
Hürrem advised Suleiman on state matters and seemed to influence foreign policy and international politics. Two of her letters to King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland have survived. During her lifetime, the Ottoman Empire generally had peaceful relations with Poland.
In her first short letter to Sigismund II, Hürrem expressed her great joy and congratulations to the new king. He had become king after his father, Sigismund I the Old, died in 1548. This was the first and only time in the Ottoman Empire that a female sultan exchanged letters with a king. Later, Hürrem's successors, Nurbanu Sultan and Safiye Sultan, exchanged letters with queens. But no other female sultan personally contacted a king. She asked the King to trust her messenger, Hassan Ağa, who carried another message from her by word of mouth.
In her second letter to Sigismund Augustus, Hürrem expressed her happiness that the king was healthy. She was also glad to hear that he promised friendship to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She quoted the sultan as saying, "with the old king we were like brothers, and if it pleases God, with this king we will be as father and son." With this letter, Hürrem sent Sigismund II gifts. These included linen shirts, pants, belts, handkerchiefs, and a hand-towel. She also promised to send a special linen robe later.
These letters were likely more than just polite diplomatic gestures. Suleiman's words about brotherly or fatherly feelings were probably not just for political reasons. The letters also show Hürrem's strong wish to build a personal connection with the king. In a 1551 letter to Sigismund II, Suleiman wrote that the Ambassador had seen "Your sister and my wife." This phrase suggests a special link between the two countries at that time.
Helping Others: Hürrem's Charity Work
Besides her political work, Hürrem built several important public buildings. These projects stretched from Mecca to Jerusalem. She might have based her charity work on the example of Zubaida, the wife of a caliph named Harun al-Rashid. Among her first projects in Istanbul were a mosque, two schools for studying the Quran (madrassa), a fountain, and a women's hospital. This was the first complex built in Istanbul by Mimar Sinan, who was the chief imperial architect.
She also had mosque complexes built in Edirne and Ankara. She ordered the construction of a bathhouse, the Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse. This bathhouse was for the people who worshipped at the nearby Hagia Sophia. In Jerusalem, she started the Haseki Sultan Imaret in 1552. This was a public soup kitchen that fed the poor. It was said to feed at least 500 people twice a day. She also built a public soup kitchen in Mecca.
Hürrem had a special assistant called a Kira. This person acted as her secretary and helped her with many tasks.
Her Family: Children of Hürrem and Suleiman
Hürrem Sultan and Suleiman the Magnificent had five sons and one daughter.
- Şehzade Mehmed (born 1521, died 1543): Hürrem's first son. He became the governor of Manisa.
- Mihrimah Sultan (born 1522, died 1578): Hürrem's only daughter. She married Rüstem Pasha, who later became a very important official called the Ottoman Grand Vizier.
- Selim II (born 1524, died 1574): He was governor of Manisa after Mehmed died, and later governor of Konya. He became Sultan on September 7, 1566, as Selim II.
- Şehzade Abdullah (born 1525, died around 1528)
- Şehzade Bayezid (born 1527, killed 1561): He was governor of Kütahya and later Amasya.
- Şehzade Cihangir (born 1531, died 1553): He was born with a curved back.
Hürrem Sultan's Legacy
Hürrem Sultan is well-known today in Turkey and in Western countries. She has been the subject of many artistic works. In 1561, a French writer named Gabriel Bounin wrote a play called La Soltane. This play was the first time Ottomans were shown on stage in France. She has inspired paintings, music (like Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 63), an opera, a ballet, other plays, and many novels. These novels were written in different languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, English, French, German, and Polish.
In Spain during the early modern period, she appeared or was mentioned in works by writers like Francisco de Quevedo and in plays by Lope de Vega. In one play, the painter Titian appears and shows his painting of Sultana Rossa or Roxelana.
In 2007, Muslims in Mariupol, Ukraine, opened a mosque to honor Roxelana.
Hürrem Sultan has also been portrayed in TV series. In the 2003 miniseries Hürrem Sultan, she was played by Turkish actress Gülben Ergen. In the popular 2011–2014 TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl, she was played by Turkish-German actress Meryem Uzerli for the first three seasons, and by Turkish actress Vahide Perçin for the last season.
In 2019, a mention of Roxelana's Russian origin was removed from a visitor panel near her tomb in Istanbul. This was done at the request of the Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey.
Visual Tradition
Even though male European artists were not allowed to see Roxelana in the Harem, many Renaissance paintings of her exist. Historians agree that European artists imagined how Ottoman women looked. Artists like Titian, Melchior Lorich, and Sebald Beham were important in creating these images of Roxelana. Her portraits often showed her beauty and wealth, and she was almost always depicted with fancy headwear.
The Venetian painter Titian is said to have painted Roxelana in 1550. He never visited Istanbul, so he either imagined her appearance or had a sketch of her. In a letter to Philip II of Spain, the painter claimed to have sent him a copy of this "Queen of Persia" in 1552. Titian's painting of Roxelana looks very similar to his portrait of her daughter, Mihrimah Sultan.
Personality
People who lived at the same time as Roxelana described her as a very beautiful woman. She was different from others because of her red hair. Roxelana was also smart and had a pleasant personality. Her love for poetry is thought to be one reason why Suleiman liked her so much, as he also loved poetry.
Roxelana was known to be very generous to poor people. She built many mosques, schools, bathhouses, and resting places for pilgrims. Her biggest charity project was the Great Waqf of AlQuds. This was a large soup kitchen in Jerusalem that fed the poor.
Some believe Roxelana was cunning and manipulative. They thought she would remove anyone who stood in her way. However, her charity work shows a different side, as she cared for the poor. A famous Ukrainian writer, Pavlo Zahrebelny, described Roxelana as "an intelligent, kind, understanding, openhearted, candid, talented, generous, emotional and grateful woman." He also said she cared more about the soul than the body, and was interested in science and art. In short, he called her a "perfect woman."
Images for kids
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18th century portrait of Hurrem Sultan kept at Topkapı Palace.
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A portrait of Roxelana in the British Royal Collection, c. 1600–70
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A painting of Hurrem Sultan by a follower of Titian, 16th century
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Roxelana and Süleyman the Magnificent by the German baroque painter Anton Hickel, (1780)
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Engraving by Johann Theodor de Bry, (1596)
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16th century oil on wood painting of Hurrem Sultan
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Tribute to Roxelana on 1997 Ukrainian postage stamp
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Serlevha (illuminated frontispiece) from the Endowment Charter (Waqfiyya) pertaining to the architectural complex commissioned by Hürrem Sultan in the Aksaray district of Istanbul. 1540. Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
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The Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse built in 1556
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See also
In Spanish: Roxelana para niños
- Ottoman dynasty
- Ottoman family tree
- List of mothers of the Ottoman sultans
- List of consorts of the Ottoman sultans
- Haseki Sultan Complex, Fatih, Istanbul
- Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse, Fatih, Istanbul
- Haseki Sultan Imaret, Jerusalem
- Suleiman the Magnificent
- Sultanate of Women
