Suleiman and Roksolana historical facts. Historical information about Hurrem Sultan or Roksolan

The image of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska in the series The Magnificent Century is very vivid. Crazy and ready to do anything for her love. Alone with herself, Hurrem often cries, yearning for her murdered relatives. Burns with love for the Sultan. But she doesn't show her weaknesses to anyone. Cunning, smart, impudent - she knows how to get her way.

In the series Magnificent Century, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gains many enemies. In this struggle for power, she becomes cruel and does not spare any of her enemies.

Whether she really was like that, we will never know. But these days there is a lot of information about it.

The real origin still remains a mystery. Disputes on this matter continue to this day. And her name is not known for certain. According to legends, her name is Anastasia or Alexandra Gavrilovna Lisovskaya. Only one thing is known for sure, that Hurrem Haseki Sultan was of Slavic origin.

She is also called by the beautiful name Roksolana. It is under this name that she is known in Europe. For the first time, the ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire called her by this name. In his writings, he mentioned that the girl was from the territory of what is now Western Ukraine. At the end of the 16th century, these lands were called Roxolania (from the Roxolans tribe). That is why they began to call her Roksolana.

Captured Roksolana (Alexandra)

The Crimean Tatars often carried out their raids. And in one of them the girl was captured by them. After captivity, Alexandra was resold several times. As a result, it was presented to Suleiman, who at that time was the crown prince and managed important state affairs in Manisa. They also say that Alexandra was given to 26-year-old Suleiman in honor of his accession to the throne.

The girl received the name Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska when she entered Suleiman’s harem. She received it thanks to her cheerful character. There is an assumption that Hurrem appeared in Suleiman's harem in the period from 1517 to 1520. She was about 15 years old then.

The young, beautiful and smart girl quickly captured Suleiman’s attention. But the Sultan at that time already had another favorite, Mahidevran, mother of Shehzade Mus

tafas. She could not calmly accept her new rival and jealousy got the better of her. Makhidevran and Khyurrem had a big quarrel. There was even a fight between them. Mahidevran beat Hurrem. She mutilated her face, tore out chunks of her hair and tore her entire dress.

Sultan Suleiman, who did not know what happened between his concubines, invited Hurrem to his chambers. The girl refused him because she could not appear in front of him in this form. But, nevertheless, the Sultan called her to him and Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska had to tell him everything.

Then he called Mahidevran to his place to find out if Khyurrem told him the truth. To which he received an answer from Makhidevran that the main woman of the Sultan was only she and that other concubines should obey her. And that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska still got little from her. Sultan Suleiman became furious at these words. Makhidevran's trick played into the hands of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and the Sultan made her his only favorite concubine.

Children of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska

There was a high mortality rate in those days. Death did not spare the Sultan’s family either. And in 1521, two of Suleiman's three sons died. Shehzade Mustafa remained the only heir to the throne. And in conditions of such high mortality, this was a threat to the Ottoman dynasty. There was a risk of interruption of the Sultan's line.

Due to the fact that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska had every chance of becoming the mother of the future heir, the girl received the necessary support in the palace. And in 1521, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gave birth to her first child from Sultan Suleiman, who was given the name Mehmed. Then, in 1522, Hurrem gave birth to Mehrimah, the only daughter of Suleiman who survived infancy. Then Shehzade Abdallah was born, who died at the age of only three years. In 1524, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gave birth to Shehzade Selim, and in 1525 Shehzade Bayazid was born to her. Hurrem gave birth to her last son, Cihangir, in 1531.

From slave to lawful wife

In 1534, the mother of Sultan Suleiman leaves this world. But before that, in 1533, Shehzade Mustafa, having reached his majority, went to rule in Manisa. His mother Mahidevran also goes with him. Two years after the death of Valide Sultan, left without the support of Hafsa, on the orders of Sultan Suleiman, the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha was executed. After all these events, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska strengthened her power.

Wedding of Hurrem Sultan and Sultan Suleiman

After Hafsa Valide Sultan died, Suleiman officially made Hurrem his legal wife. By all accounts, their wedding was very lavish. But for some reason there is no mention of it in Ottoman sources. Presumably the wedding of the Sultan and Hurrem took place in the summer, in June 1534. Hurrem's special position was marked by the title Haseki, which was introduced by Suleiman especially for her. He was so much in love with Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska that he decided to award her the second most important title after Valide. So a new title appeared in the harem.

Haseki, who had no blood connection with the Sultan, was more important than the Sultan's sisters and aunts. Because she could become the mother of the heir to the throne. Even her salary was much higher than that of her sisters.

Ruler Hurrem

Sultan Suleiman spent a lot of time on campaigns. Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska conducted an active correspondence with him. She wrote to him about affairs in the palace and in the harem. Their letters have survived to this day, containing not only the state of affairs in the palace, but also love messages. In them you can see the great love and painful longing of the Sultan for Hurrem.

Hurrem was not only his beloved wife, but also Suleiman’s political partner. She had a strong influence on both the Sultan and his mother when she was alive. The Venetian ambassador Pietro Bragadin wrote about this. He wrote that one of the sanjak beys gave the Sultan and his Valida a gift. He gave them one Russian beauty each. Valide decided to hand over her slave to the Sultan. But Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was very unhappy with such a gift. And Havsy Valide Sultan was forced to take the concubine back and even apologized to Hurrem. Later, the Sultan also sent away the girl given to him, marrying her to another sanjak bey. Because the presence of at least one concubine in the palace made Hurrem very sad.

Hurrem Haseki Sultan was a very educated woman. She led meetings with foreign ambassadors. She responded to letters from the rulers of other states. She built several mosques, a bathhouse and a madrasah in Istanbul.

She could not accept slavery and achieved a very high position in the palace, while occupying a special place in the heart of Sultan Suleiman. She was the first woman to be both a mistress and the mother of children

Sultan. But in those days, a woman in the palace could play only one role, either the favorite or the role of the heir’s mother.

It was impossible to be both a favorite and a mother at the same time, since according to the rules of the palace, the favorite did not have the right to give birth to more than one heir. The favorite who gave birth to the heir was exclusively concerned with the child.

Hurrem, having given birth to six children to the Sultan, violated all these established rules, which irritated the entire Ottoman court. In addition, when her adult shehzades each went to their own sanjak, she did not leave with them, but remained in the capital. Which was also a violation of the rules, since Shehzade’s mother had to go with her son.

Unable to explain how Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska managed to break all the rules with impunity and achieve such a high position, they began to credit her with simply bewitching Sultan Suleiman. Thanks to this, she was credited with the image of an insidious and power-hungry villain.

Death of Hurrem

Hurrem's life was cut short shortly after her trip to Edirne, April 15-18, 1558. Some write that she was very ill for a long time, and others that she was poisoned. A year after her death, Hurrem’s body was transferred to the Mausoleum of Hurrem Haseki Sultan, specially built for her. It is clear that Suleiman loved his Hurrem very much. He ordered the mausoleum to be decorated with exquisite ceramic tiles, which depicted the Gardens of Eden, and also included poems that were written by Suleiman himself in honor of her beautiful smile.

Mausoleum of Hurrem Haseki Sultan

Tomb of Hurrem Haseki Sultan

4) Mehmet (1521 - November 6, 1543 in Manisa) Proclaimed heir to Vali Ahad on October 29, 1521. Governor of Kutahya 1541-1543. Son of Hurrem.
5) Abdullah (before 1522-October 28, 1522) Son of Hurrem.
6) Selim II (1524-1574) eleventh Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Son of Hurrem.
7) Bayezid (1525 - July 23, 1562) in Iran, Qazvin. Proclaimed 3rd heir of Vali Ahad on November 6, 1553. Governor of Karaman 1546, governor of the provinces of Kutahya and Amasya 1558-1559. Son of Hurrem.
8) Jihangir (1531- November 27, 1553 in Aleppo (in Arabic Aleppo) Syria) Governor of Aleppo 1553. Son of Hurrem.

It is also worth remembering that it was Suleiman, and not Hurrem, who executed his two sons, namely Mustafa and Bayazid. Mustafa was executed along with his son (the remaining of the two, since one of them died a year before the death of Mustafa himself), and his five little sons were killed along with Bayezid, but this happened already in 1562, 4 years after the death of Hurrem .

If we talk about the chronology and causes of death of all the descendants of Kanuni, it looked like this:
Sehzade Mahmud died of smallpox on 11/29/1521,
Sehzade Murad died of smallpox before his brother on 11/10/1521.
Sehzade Mustafa ruler of Manisa province since 1533. and the heir to the throne was executed along with his children by order of his father on suspicion of plotting against his father in alliance with the Serbs.
Sehzade Bayezid "Sahi" was executed along with his five sons by order of his father for rebelling against him.

Accordingly, what mythical forty descendants from Sultan Suleiman, killed by Hurrem, are being discussed remains a mystery not only to skeptics, but also to history itself. Or rather, a bike. One of the 1001 tales of the Ottoman Empire.

Legend two. “About the marriage of twelve-year-old Mihrimah Sultan and fifty-year-old Rustem Pasha”
The legend says: “As soon as her daughter was twelve years old, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska offered Mihrimah as a wife to Rustem Pasha, who took the place of Ibrahim, who at that time was already fifty. The difference between the bride and groom of almost forty years did not bother Roksolana.”

Historical facts: Rustem Pasha also Rustem Pasha Mekri (Croatian Rustem-pasa Opukovic; 1500 - 1561) - Grand Vizier of Sultan Suleiman I, Croatian by nationality.
Rustem Pasha married one of the daughters of Sultan Suleiman I - Princess Mihrimah Sultan
In 1539, at the age of seventeen, Mihrimah Sultan (March 21, 1522-1578) married the beylerbey of the province of Diyarbakir, Rustem Pasha. At that time, Rustem was 39 years old.
For those who find simple arithmetic operations of adding and subtracting dates unconvincing, we can only advise using a calculator to instill greater confidence.

Legend three. “About castration and silver tubes”
The legend says: “Instead of a sweet and cheerful laughing enchantress, we see a ferocious, insidious and ruthless survival machine. With the execution of the heir and his friend, a wave of repressions unprecedented in Istanbul began. One could easily pay with one's head for one too many words about bloody palace affairs. They cut off their heads without even bothering to bury the body...
Roksolana’s effective and terrifying method was castration, carried out in the most cruel way. Those suspected of sedition were completely cut out. And after the “operation” the unfortunate people were not supposed to bandage the wound - it was believed that the “bad blood” should come out. Those who still survived could experience the Sultana’s mercy: she gave the unfortunate people silver tubes that were inserted into the opening of the bladder.
Fear settled in the capital; people began to fear their own shadow, not feeling safe even near the hearth. The name of the sultana was pronounced with trepidation, which was mixed with reverence.”

Historical facts: The history of mass repressions organized by Hurrem Sultan has not been preserved in any way, either in historical records or in the descriptions of contemporaries. But it should be noted that historical information has been preserved that a number of contemporaries (in particular Sehname-i Al-i Osman (1593) and Sehname-i Humayun (1596), Taliki-zade el-Fenari presented a very flattering portrait of Hurrem, as a woman revered "for her numerous charitable donations, for her patronage of students and respect for learned men, experts in religion, as well as for her acquisition of rare and beautiful things." If we talk about the historical facts that took place in the life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, then she entered In history, not as a repressive politician, but as a person involved in charity, she became known for her large-scale projects.Thus, with the donations of Hurrem (Kulliye Hasseki Hurrem) in Istanbul, the Aksaray district of the so-called Avret Pazari (or women's bazaar, later named after Haseki) was built. , containing a mosque, a madrasah, an imaret, a primary school, hospitals and a fountain, it was the first complex built in Istanbul by the architect Sinan in his new position as chief architect of the ruling family. And the fact that it was the third largest building in the capital, after the complexes of Mehmet II (Fatih) and Suleymanie, testifies to the high status of Hurrem. She also built complexes in Adrianople and Ankara. Among other charitable projects, one can name the construction of hospices and a canteen for pilgrims and the homeless, which formed the basis of the project in Jerusalem (later named after Haseki Sultan); a canteen in Mecca (under the Haseki Hurrem Emirate), a public canteen in Istanbul (in Avret Pazari), as well as two large public baths in Istanbul (in the Jewish and Aya Sofya quarters, respectively). At the instigation of Hurrem Sultan, slave markets were closed and a number of social projects were implemented.

Legend four. “About the origin of Khyurrem”
The legend says: “Deceived by the consonance of names - proper and common nouns, some historians see Roksolana as Russian, others, mainly French, based on Favard’s comedy “The Three Sultanas,” claim that Roksolana was French. Both are completely unfair: Roksolana, a natural Turkish woman, was bought for the harem as a girl at a slave market to serve as a servant for the dalist women, under whom she held the position of a simple slave.
There is also a legend that pirates of the Ottoman Empire in the suburbs of Siena attacked a castle belonging to the noble and wealthy family of Marsigli. The castle was plundered and burned to the ground, and the daughter of the owner of the castle, a beautiful girl with hair the color of red gold and green eyes, was brought to the Sultan's palace. The Family Tree of the Marsigli Family states: Mother - Hannah Marsigli. Hannah Marsigli - Margarita Marsigli (La Rosa), so nicknamed for her fiery red hair color. From her marriage to Sultan Suleiman she had sons - Selim, Ibrahim, Mehmed."

Historical facts: European observers and historians referred to Sultana as "Roksolana", "Roxa", or "Rossa", since she was assumed to be of Russian origin. Mikhail Lituan, Lithuania's ambassador to Crimea in the mid-sixteenth century, wrote in his chronicle of 1550 "... the beloved wife of the Turkish emperor, the mother of his eldest son and heir, was at one time kidnapped from our lands." Navaguerro wrote of her as "[Donna]... di Rossa", and Trevisano called her "Sultana di Russia". Samuil Twardowski, a member of the Polish embassy to the Court of the Ottoman Empire in 1621-1622, also indicated in his notes that the Turks told him that Roksolana was the daughter of an Orthodox priest from Rohatyn, a small town in Podolia near Lviv. The belief that Roksolana was of Russian rather than Ukrainian origin probably arose as a result of a possible misinterpretation of the words "Roksolana" and "Rossa". At the beginning of the 16th century in Europe, the word "Roxolania" was used to refer to the province of Ruthenia in Western Ukraine, which was at various times known as Red Rus', Galicia or Podolia (that is, located in Eastern Podolia, which was under Polish control at that time time), in turn, modern Russia at that time was called the Moscow State, Muscovite Rus' or Muscovy. In ancient times, the word Roxolani denoted the nomadic Sarmatian tribes and settlements on the Dniester River (currently in the Odessa region in Ukraine).

Legend five. "About a Witch at Court"
The legend says: “Hurrem Sultan was an unremarkable woman in appearance and very quarrelsome by nature. She became famous for centuries for her cruelty and cunning. And, naturally, the only way she kept the Sultan by her side for more than forty years was through the use of conspiracies and love spells. It’s not for nothing that she was called a witch among the common people.”

Historical Facts: Venetian reports claim that Roksolana was not so much beautiful as she was sweet, graceful, and elegant. But, at the same time, her radiant smile and playful temperament made her irresistibly charming, for which she was named “Hurrem” (“joy-giving” or “laughing”). Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was known for her singing and musical abilities, her ability to do elegant embroidery, she knew five European languages, as well as Farsi, and was an extremely erudite person. But the most important thing was that Roksolana was a woman of great intelligence and willpower, which gave her advantage over other women in the harem. Like everyone else, European observers testify that the Sultan was completely smitten with his new concubine. He was in love with his Haseki for many years of marriage. Hence, evil tongues accused her of witchcraft (and if in medieval Europe and the East the existence of such a legend in those days can be understood and explained, then in our time the belief in such speculation is difficult to explain).
And logically we can move on to the next legend directly related to this.

Legend six. "About the infidelity of Sultan Suleiman"
The legend says: “Despite the fact that the Sultan was attached to the intriguer Hurrem, nothing human was alien to him. So, as you know, at the Sultan’s court there was a harem, which could not but interest Suleiman. It is also known that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska ordered to find in the harem and throughout the country other sons of Suleiman, whom wives and concubines gave birth to. As it turned out, the Sultan had about forty sons, which confirms the fact that Hurrem was not the only love of his life.”

Historical facts: When the ambassadors, Navaguerro and Trevisano wrote their reports to Venice in 1553 and 1554, indicating that “she is very loved by her master” (“tanto amata da sua maesta”), Roxolana was already about fifty and had been with Suleiman for a long time . After her death in April 1558, Suleiman remained inconsolable for a long time. She was the greatest love of his life, his soul mate and his lawful wife. This great love of Suleiman for Roksolana was confirmed by a number of decisions and actions on the part of the Sultan for his Haseki. For her sake, the Sultan violated a number of very important traditions of the imperial harem. In 1533 or 1534 (the exact date is unknown), Suleiman married Hurrem in a formal wedding ceremony, thereby breaking a century and a half of Ottoman custom in which sultans were not allowed to marry their concubines. Never before had a former slave been elevated to the rank of legal wife of the Sultan. In addition, the marriage of Haseki Hurrem and the Sultan became practically monogamous, which was simply unheard of in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Trevisano wrote in 1554 that once he met Roxolana, Suleiman “not only wants to have her as a legal wife, always keep her next to him and see her as a ruler in a harem, but he also does not want to know any other women: he did something that none of his predecessors had done, because the Turks were accustomed to hosting several women in order to have as many children as possible and satisfy their carnal pleasures.”

For the sake of love for this woman, Suleiman violated a number of traditions and prohibitions. In particular, it was after his marriage to Hurrem that the Sultan dissolved the harem, leaving only service personnel at court. The marriage of Hurrem and Suleiman was monogamous, which surprised contemporaries a lot. Also, the real love between the Sultan and his Haseki is confirmed by the love letters they sent to each other and have survived to this day. Thus, one of the indicative messages can be considered one of Kanuni’s many farewell dedications to his wife after her death: “The skies are covered with black clouds, because there is no peace for me, no air, thoughts and hope. My love, the thrill of this strong feeling, so squeezes my heart, destroys my flesh. Live, what to believe in, my love...how to greet a new day. I am killed, my mind is killed, my heart has stopped believing, your warmth is no longer in it, your hands, your light are no longer on my body. I am defeated, I am erased from this world, erased by spiritual sadness for you, my love. Strength, there is no greater strength that you betrayed to me, there is only faith, the faith of your feelings, not in the flesh, but in my heart, I cry, I cry for you my love, there is no ocean greater than the ocean of my tears for you, Hurrem ..."

Legend seven. “About the conspiracy against Shehzade Mustafa and the entire Universe”
The legend says: “But the day came when Roxalana “opened the eyes” of the Sultan to the allegedly treacherous behavior of Mustafa and his friend. She said that the prince had developed close relations with the Serbs and was plotting against his father. The intriguer knew well where and how to strike - the mythical “conspiracy” was quite plausible: in the East during the time of the sultans, bloody palace coups were the most common thing. In addition, Roksolana cited as an irrefutable argument the true words of Rustem Pasha, Mustafa and other “conspirators” that her daughter allegedly heard... A painful silence hung in the palace. What will the Sultan decide? Roxalana’s melodious voice, like the chime of a crystal bell, murmured caringly: “Think, O lord of my heart, about your state, about its peace and prosperity, and not about vain feelings...” Mustafa, whom Roxalana knew from the age of 4, becoming adults, had to die at the request of his stepmother.
The Prophet forbade shedding the blood of the padishahs and their heirs, therefore, by order of Suleiman, but by the will of Roxalana, Mustafa, his brothers and children, the grandchildren of the Sultan, were strangled with a silk cord."

Historical facts: In 1553, Suleiman's eldest son, Prince Mustafa, was executed, at that time he was already under forty years old. The first sultan to execute his adult son was Murad I, who ruled at the end of the 14th century, and ensured that the rebellious Savji was put to death. The reason for Mustafa's execution was that he planned to usurp the throne, but, as in the case of the execution of the Sultan's favorite, Ibrahim Pasha, the blame was placed on Hurrem Sultan, who was a foreigner who was near the Sultan. There was already a case in the history of the Ottoman Empire when a son tried to help his father leave the throne - this is what Suleiman’s father, Selim I, did with Suleiman’s grandfather, Bayezid II. After the death of Prince Mehmed several years earlier, the regular army really considered it necessary to remove Suleiman from affairs and isolate him in the Di-dimotihon residence located south of Edirne, in direct analogy with what happened with Bayezid II. Moreover, letters from the shehzade have been preserved, on which the personal seal of the shehzade Mustafa is clearly visible, addressed to the Safavid Shah, which Sultan Suleiman later learned about (this seal has also been preserved and Mustafa’s signature is inscribed on it: Sultan Mustafa, see photo). The last straw for Suleiman was the visit of the Austrian ambassador, who, instead of visiting the Sultan, first went to Mustafa. After the visit, the ambassador informed everyone that Shehzade Mustafa would be a wonderful Padishah. After Suleiman found out about this, he immediately called Mustafa to his place and ordered him to be strangled. Shehzade Mustafa was strangled by order of his father in 1553 during the Persian military campaign.

Legend eight. “About the origin of Valide”
The legend says: “Valide Sultan was the daughter of the captain of an English ship that was wrecked in the Adriatic Sea. Then this unfortunate ship was captured by Turkish pirates. The part of the manuscript that has survived ends with the message that the girl was sent to the Sultan’s harem. This is an Englishwoman who ruled Turkey for 10 years and only later, not finding a common language with her son’s wife, the notorious Roksolana, returned to England.”

Historical Facts: Ayse Sultan Hafsa or Hafsa Sultan (born around 1479 - 1534) became the first Valide Sultan (queen mother) of the Ottoman Empire, being the wife of Selim I and the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Although the year of birth of Ayşe Sultan is known, historians still cannot definitively determine the date of birth. She was the daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey.
She lived in Manisa with her son from 1513 to 1520, in a province that was the traditional residence of the Ottoman shehzade, future rulers, who studied there the basics of government.
Ayşe Hafsa Sultan died in March 1534 and was buried next to her husband in the mausoleum.

Legend nine. “About soldering Shehzade Selim”
The legend says: “Selim acquired the nickname “Drunkard” due to excessive consumption of wine. Initially, this love for alcohol was due to the fact that at one time Selim’s mother herself, Roksolana, periodically gave him wine, so her son was much more manageable.”

Historical facts: Sultan Selim was nicknamed the Drunkard, he was so cheerful and did not shy away from human weaknesses - wine and a harem. Well, the Prophet Muhammad himself admitted: “Most of all on earth I loved women and fragrances, but I always found complete pleasure only in prayer.” Do not forget that alcohol was in honor at the Ottoman court, and the lives of some sultans were shorter precisely because of their passion for alcohol. Selim II, being drunk, fell in the bathhouse and then died from the consequences of the fall. Mahmud II died of delirium tremens. Murad II, who defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Varna, died of apoplexy caused by heavy drinking. Mahmud II loved French wines and left behind a huge collection of them. Murad IV caroused from morning to night with his courtiers, eunuchs and jesters, and sometimes forced the chief muftis and judges to drink with him. Falling into binges, he committed such harsh acts that those around him seriously thought that he had gone crazy. For example, he loved to shoot with arrows at people who were sailing on boats past the Topkapi Palace or to run at night in his underwear through the streets of Istanbul, killing anyone who got in his way. It was Murad IV who issued a seditious decree from an Islamic point of view, according to which alcohol was allowed to be sold even to Muslims. In many ways, Sultan Selim’s addiction to alcohol was influenced by a person close to him, in whose hands were the main threads of control, namely the vizier Sokolu.
But it should be noted that Selim was not the first and not the last sultan who revered alcohol, and this did not prevent him from participating in a number of military campaigns, as well as in the political life of the Ottoman Empire. So from Suleiman he inherited 14,892,000 km2, and after him this territory was already 15,162,000 km2. Selim reigned prosperously and left his son a state that not only did not decrease territorially, but even increased; for this, in many respects, he owed the mind and energy of the vizier Mehmed Sokoll. Sokollu completed the conquest of Arabia, which had previously been only loosely dependent on the Porte.

Legend tenth. “About thirty campaigns in Ukraine”
The legend says: “Hurrem, of course, had influence on the Sultan, but not enough to save her fellow countrymen from suffering. During his reign, Suleiman undertook campaigns against Ukraine more than 30 times.”

Historical facts: Restoring the chronology of the conquests of Sultan Suleiman
1521 – campaign in Hungary, siege of Belgrade.
1522 - siege of the fortress of Rhodes
1526 – campaign in Hungary, siege of the Petervaradin fortress.
1526 – battle near the city of Mohács.
1526 – suppression of the uprising in Cilicia
1529 – capture of Buda
1529 – storming of Vienna
1532-1533 - fourth campaign in Hungary
1533 – capture of Tabriz.
1534 - capture of Baghdad.
1538 – ruin of Moldova.
1538 - capture of Aden, naval expedition to the shores of India.
1537-1539 - the Turkish fleet under the command of Hayreddin Barbarossa ravaged and imposed tribute on more than 20 islands in the Adriatic Sea that belonged to the Venetians. Capture of cities and villages in Dalmatia.
1540-1547 - battles in Hungary.
1541 capture of Buda.
1541 – capture of Algeria
1543 - capture of the Esztergom fortress. A Janissary garrison was stationed in Buda, and the Turkish administration began to function throughout the territory of Hungary captured by the Turks.
1548 – passage through the lands of Southern Azerbaijan and capture of Tabriz.
1548 – siege of the Van fortress and capture of the Lake Van basin in Southern Armenia. The Turks also invaded Eastern Armenia and Southern Georgia. In Iran, Turkish units reached Kashan and Qom and captured Isfahan.
1552 – capture of Temesvar
1552 Turkish squadron headed from Suez to the shores of Oman.
1552 - In 1552, the Turks took the city of Temesvár and the Veszprém fortress
1553 - capture of Eger.
1547-1554 – capture of Muscat (a large Portuguese fortress).
1551-1562 the next Austro-Turkish war took place
1554 – naval battles with Portugal.
In 1560, the Sultan's fleet won another great naval victory. Near the coast of North Africa, near the island of Djerba, the Turkish armada entered into battle with the combined squadrons of Malta, Venice, Genoa and Florence
1566-1568 – Austro-Turkish war for the possession of the Principality of Transylvania
1566 – capture of Szigetvár.

During his long, almost half-century rule (1520-1566), Suleiman the Magnificent never sent his conquerors to Ukraine.
It was at that time that the construction of fences, castles, fortresses of the Zaporozhye Sich, the organizational and political activities of Prince Dmitry Vishnevetsky arose. In Suleiman’s letters to the Polish king Artykul August II there are not only threats to punish “Demetrash” (Prince Vishnevetsky), but also a demand for a quiet life for the inhabitants of Ukraine. At the same time, in many ways, it was Roksolana who contributed to the establishment of friendly relations with Poland, which at that time controlled the lands of Western Ukraine, the native lands of the Sultana. The signing of the Polish-Ottoman truce in 1525 and 1528, as well as the “perpetual peace” treaties of 1533 and 1553, is very often attributed to her influence. So Piotr Opalinski, the Polish ambassador to Suleiman’s court in 1533, confirmed that “Roksolana begged the Sultan to forbid the Crimean Khan to disturb the Polish lands.” As a result, the close diplomatic and friendly contacts established by Hurrem Sultan with King Sigismund II, as confirmed by surviving correspondence, made it possible not only to prevent new raids on the territory of Ukraine, but also helped to interrupt the flow of the slave trade from those lands.
Author of the article: Elena Minyaeva.

As you know, all births and deaths, and even more so when it concerned the ruling dynasty, were subject to clear accounting and control both in the harem books and in other documents. Everything was described - from how much flour it took to make dessert for the shekhzade and ending with the main expenses for their maintenance. Moreover, all the descendants of the ruling dynasty necessarily lived at court, in case it was he who had to inherit the throne, because one should not forget about the high infant mortality rate that took place in those days. Also, since the Ottoman dynasty and its possible heirs were in the area of close attention not only of the Muslim East, but also of Christian Europe, their ambassadors informed the European kings about the birth of a child to one or another shah, on the occasion of which they were supposed to send congratulations and a gift. These letters have been preserved in the archives, thanks to which it is possible to restore the number of heirs of the same Suleiman. Therefore, each descendant, and even more so the shehzade, was known, the name of each was preserved in history.
So, Suleiman had 8 sons shehzade, which is recorded in the family tree of the Ottoman family:

1) Mahmud (1512 – October 29, 1521 in Istanbul) Proclaimed heir to Vali Ahad on September 22, 1520. Son of Fülane.

2) Mustafa (1515 - November 6, 1553 in Eregli in Karaman Iran) Proclaimed heir to Vali Ahad on October 29, 1521. Governor of the province of Karaman 1529-1533, Manisa 1533-1541, and Amasya 1541-1553. Son Makhidevran.

4) Mehmet (1521 - November 6, 1543 in Manisa) Proclaimed heir to Vali Ahad on October 29, 1521. Governor of Kutahya 1541-1543. Son of Hurrem.

6) Selim II (1524-1574) eleventh Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Son of Hurrem.

7) Bayezid (1525 - July 23, 1562) in Iran, Qazvin. Proclaimed 3rd heir of Vali Ahad on November 6, 1553. Governor of Karaman 1546, governor of the provinces of Kutahya and Amasya 1558-1559. Son of Hurrem.

8) Jihangir (1531- November 27, 1553 in Aleppo (in Arabic Aleppo) Syria) Governor of Aleppo 1553. Son of Hurrem.

If we talk about the chronology and causes of death of all the descendants of Kanuni, it looked like this:

Şehzade Mahmud died of smallpox on November 29, 1521,
Şehzade Murad died of smallpox before his brother on 11/10/1521.
Şehzade Mustafa ruler of Manisa province since 1533. and the heir to the throne was executed along with his children by order of his father on suspicion of plotting against his father in alliance with the Serbs.
Şehzade Bayezid "Şahi" was executed along with his five sons by order of his father for rebelling against him

Legend two. “About the marriage of twelve-year-old Mihrimah Sultan and fifty-year-old Rustem Pasha”

The legend says: “As soon as her daughter was twelve years old, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska offered Mihrimah as a wife to Rustem Pasha, who took the place of Ibrahim, who at that time was already fifty. The difference between the bride and groom of almost forty years did not bother Roksolana.”

Historical facts: Rustem Pasha also Rustem Pasha Mekri (Ottoman: رستم پاشا, Croatian: Rustem-paša Opuković; 1500 - 1561) - Grand Vizier of Sultan Suleiman I, Croatian by nationality.
Rustem Pasha married one of the daughters of Sultan Suleiman I - Princess Mihrimah Sultan
In 1539, at the age of seventeen, Mihrimah Sultan (March 21, 1522-1578) married the beylerbey of the province of Diyarbakir, Rustem Pasha. At that time, Rustem was 39 years old.
For those who find simple arithmetic operations of adding and subtracting dates unconvincing, we can only advise using a calculator to instill greater confidence.

Legend three. “About castration and silver tubes”

The legend says: “Instead of a sweet and cheerful laughing enchantress, we see a ferocious, insidious and ruthless survival machine. With the execution of the heir and his friend, a wave of repressions unprecedented in Istanbul began. One could easily pay with one's head for one too many words about bloody palace affairs. They cut off their heads without even bothering to bury the body...
Roksolana’s effective and terrifying method was castration, carried out in the most cruel way. Those suspected of sedition were completely cut out. And after the “operation” the unfortunate people were not supposed to bandage the wound - it was believed that the “bad blood” should come out. Those who still survived could experience the Sultana’s mercy: she gave the unfortunate people silver tubes that were inserted into the opening of the bladder.
Fear settled in the capital; people began to fear their own shadow, not feeling safe even near the hearth. The name of the sultana was pronounced with trepidation, which was mixed with reverence.”

Historical facts: The history of mass repressions organized by Hurrem Sultan has not been preserved in any way, either in historical records or in the descriptions of contemporaries. But it should be noted that historical information has been preserved that a number of contemporaries (in particular Sehname-i Al-i Osman (1593) and Sehname-i Humayun (1596), Taliki-zade el-Fenari presented a very flattering portrait of Hurrem, as a woman revered "for her numerous charitable donations, for her patronage of students and respect for learned men, experts in religion, as well as for her acquisition of rare and beautiful things." If we talk about the historical facts that took place in the life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, then she entered In history, not as a repressive politician, but as a person involved in charity, she became known for her large-scale projects.Thus, with the donations of Hurrem (Külliye Hasseki Hurrem) in Istanbul, the Aksaray district, the so-called Avret Pazari (or women's bazaar, later named after Haseki), was built. , containing a mosque, a madrasah, an imaret, a primary school, hospitals and a fountain, it was the first complex built in Istanbul by the architect Sinan in his new position as chief architect of the ruling family. And the fact that it was the third largest building in the capital, after the complexes of Mehmet II (Fatih) and Süleymanie, testifies to the high status of Hurrem. She also built complexes in Adrianople and Ankara. Among other charitable projects, one can name the construction of hospices and a canteen for pilgrims and the homeless, which formed the basis of the project in Jerusalem (later named after Haseki Sultan); a canteen in Mecca (under the Haseki Hurrem Emirate), a public canteen in Istanbul (in Avret Pazari), as well as two large public baths in Istanbul (in the Jewish and Aya Sôfya quarters, respectively). At the instigation of Hurrem Sultan, slave markets were closed and a number of social projects were implemented.

Legend four. “About the origin of Hurrem.”

The legend says: “Deceived by the consonance of names - proper and common nouns, some historians see Roksolana as Russian, others, mainly French, based on Favard’s comedy “The Three Sultanas,” claim that Roksolana was French. Both are completely unfair: Roksolana, a natural Turkish woman, was bought for the harem as a girl at a slave market to serve as a servant for the dalist women, under whom she held the position of a simple slave.
There is also a legend that pirates of the Ottoman Empire in the suburbs of Siena attacked a castle belonging to the noble and wealthy family of Marsigli. The castle was plundered and burned to the ground, and the daughter of the owner of the castle, a beautiful girl with hair the color of red gold and green eyes, was brought to the Sultan's palace. The Family Tree of the Marsigli Family states: Mother - Hannah Marsigli. Hannah Marsigli - Margarita Marsigli (La Rosa), so nicknamed for her fiery red hair color. From her marriage to Sultan Suleiman she had sons - Selim, Ibrahim, Mehmed."

Legend five. "About a Witch at Court"

The legend says: “Hurrem Sultan was an unremarkable woman in appearance and very quarrelsome by nature. She became famous for centuries for her cruelty and cunning. And, naturally, the only way she kept the Sultan by her side for more than forty years was through the use of conspiracies and love spells. It’s not for nothing that she was called a witch among the common people.”

And logically we can move on to the next legend directly related to this

Legend six. "About the infidelity of Sultan Suleiman."

The legend says: “Despite the fact that the Sultan was attached to the intriguer Hurrem, nothing human was alien to him. So, as you know, at the Sultan’s court there was a harem, which could not but interest Suleiman. It is also known that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska ordered to find in the harem and throughout the country other sons of Suleiman, whom wives and concubines gave birth to. As it turned out, the Sultan had about forty sons, which confirms the fact that Hurrem was not the only love of his life.”

Historical facts: When the ambassadors, Navaguerro and Trevisano wrote their reports to Venice in 1553 and 1554, indicating that “she is very loved by her master” (“tanto amata da sua maestà”), Roxolana was already about fifty and she was next to Suleiman for a long time. After her death in April 1558, Suleiman remained inconsolable for a long time. She was the greatest love of his life, his soul mate and his lawful wife. This great love of Suleiman for Roksolana was confirmed by a number of decisions and actions on the part of the Sultan for his Haseki. For her sake, the Sultan violated a number of very important traditions of the imperial harem. In 1533 or 1534 (the exact date is unknown), Suleiman married Hurrem in a formal wedding ceremony, thereby breaking a century and a half of Ottoman custom in which sultans were not allowed to marry their concubines. Never before had a former slave been elevated to the rank of legal wife of the Sultan. In addition, the marriage of Haseki Hurrem and the Sultan became practically monogamous, which was simply unheard of in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Trevisano wrote in 1554 that once he met Roxolana, Suleiman “not only wants to have her as a legal wife, always keep her next to him and see her as a ruler in a harem, but he also does not want to know any other women: he did something that none of his predecessors had done, because the Turks were accustomed to hosting several women in order to have as many children as possible and satisfy their carnal pleasures.” For the sake of love for this woman, Suleiman violated a number of traditions and prohibitions. In particular, it was after his marriage to Hurrem that the Sultan dissolved the harem, leaving only service personnel at court. The marriage of Hurrem and Suleiman was monogamous, which surprised contemporaries a lot. Also, the real love between the Sultan and his Haseki is confirmed by the love letters they sent to each other and have survived to this day. Thus, one of Kanuni’s many farewell dedications to his wife after her death can be considered one of the indicative messages:

“The skies are covered with black clouds, because I have no peace, no air, no thoughts and no hope. My love, the thrill of this strong feeling, so squeezes my heart, destroys my flesh. Live, what to believe in, my love...how to greet a new day. I am killed, my mind is killed, my heart has stopped believing, your warmth is no longer in it, your hands, your light are no longer on my body. I am defeated, I am erased from this world, erased by spiritual sadness for you, my love. Strength, there is no greater strength that you betrayed to me, there is only faith, the faith of your feelings, not in the flesh, but in my heart, I cry, I cry for you my love, there is no ocean greater than the ocean of my tears for you, Hurrem ..."

Legend seven. “About the conspiracy against Shehzade Mustafa and the entire Universe”

The legend says: “But the day came when Roxalana “opened the eyes” of the Sultan to the allegedly treacherous behavior of Mustafa and his friend. She said that the prince had developed close relations with the Serbs and was plotting against his father. The intriguer knew well where and how to strike - the mythical “conspiracy” was quite plausible: in the East during the time of the sultans, bloody palace coups were the most common thing. In addition, Roksolana cited as an irrefutable argument the true words of Rustem Pasha, Mustafa and other “conspirators” that her daughter allegedly heard... A painful silence hung in the palace. What will the Sultan decide? Roxalana’s melodious voice, like the chime of a crystal bell, murmured caringly: “Think, O lord of my heart, about your state, about its peace and prosperity, and not about vain feelings...” Mustafa, whom Roxalana knew from the age of 4, becoming adults, had to die at the request of his stepmother.
The Prophet forbade shedding the blood of the padishahs and their heirs, therefore, by order of Suleiman, but by the will of Roxalana, Mustafa, his brothers and children, the grandchildren of the Sultan, were strangled with a silk cord."

Legend eight. “About the origin of Valide”

The legend says: “Valide Sultan was the daughter of the captain of an English ship that was wrecked in the Adriatic Sea. Then this unfortunate ship was captured by Turkish pirates. The part of the manuscript that has survived ends with the message that the girl was sent to the Sultan’s harem. This is an Englishwoman who ruled Turkey for 10 years and only later, not finding a common language with her son’s wife, the notorious Roksolana, returned to England.”

Historical facts: Ayse Sultan Hafsa or Hafsa Sultan (from Ottoman Turkish: عایشه حفصه سلطان) was born around 1479. - 1534) and became the first Valide Sultan (queen mother) of the Ottoman Empire, being the wife of Selim I and the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Although the year of birth of Ayşe Sultan is known, historians still cannot definitively determine the date of birth. She was the daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey.
She lived in Manisa with her son from 1513 to 1520, in a province that was the traditional residence of the Ottoman shehzade, future rulers, who studied there the basics of government.
Ayşe Hafsa Sultan died in March 1534 and was buried next to her husband in the mausoleum.

Legend nine. “About soldering Shehzade Selim”

The legend says: “Selim acquired the nickname “Drunkard” due to excessive consumption of wine. Initially, this love for alcohol was due to the fact that at one time Selim’s mother herself, Roksolana, periodically gave him wine, so her son was much more manageable.”

Legend tenth. “About thirty campaigns in Ukraine”

The legend says: “Hurrem, of course, had influence on the Sultan, but not enough to save her fellow countrymen from suffering. During his reign, Suleiman undertook campaigns against Ukraine more than 30 times.”

Historical facts: Restoring the chronology of the conquests of Sultan Suleiman
1521 - campaign in Hungary, siege of Belgrade.
1522 - siege of the fortress of Rhodes
1526 - campaign in Hungary, siege of the Petervaradin fortress.
1526 – battle near the city of Mohacs.
1526 – suppression of the uprising in Cilicia
1529 – capture of Buda
1529 - storming of Vienna
1532-1533 - fourth trip to Hungary
1533 – capture of Tabriz.
1534 - capture of Baghdad.
1538 – ruin of Moldova.
1538 - capture of Aden, naval expedition to the shores of India.
1537-1539 - the Turkish fleet under the command of Hayreddin Barbarossa ravaged and imposed tribute on more than 20 islands in the Adriatic Sea that belonged to the Venetians. Capture of cities and villages in Dalmatia.
1540-1547 - fighting in Hungary.
1541 - capture of Buda.
1541 – capture of Algiers
1543 - capture of the Esztergom fortress. A Janissary garrison was stationed in Buda, and the Turkish administration began to function throughout the territory of Hungary captured by the Turks.
1548 – passage through the lands of Southern Azerbaijan and capture of Tabriz.
1548 – siege of the Van fortress and capture of the Lake Van basin in Southern Armenia. The Turks also invaded Eastern Armenia and Southern Georgia. In Iran, Turkish units reached Kashan and Qom and captured Isfahan.
1552 – capture of Temesvar
1552 - the Turkish squadron headed from Suez to the shores of Oman.
1552 - In 1552, the Turks took the city of Temesvár and the Veszprém fortress
1553 - capture of Eger.
1547-1554 – capture of Muscat (a large Portuguese fortress).
1551 - 1562 the next Austro-Turkish war took place
1554 – naval battles with Portugal.
In 1560, the Sultan's fleet won another great naval victory. Near the coast of North Africa, near the island of Djerba, the Turkish armada entered into battle with the combined squadrons of Malta, Venice, Genoa and Florence
1566-1568 – Austro-Turkish war for the possession of the Principality of Transylvania
1566 – capture of Szigetvár.

There are many versions of what exactly the life of the beautiful Roksolana was like. History is filled with many myths, conjectures and assumptions, but this does not make interest in the fate of Hurrem lessened even over the years.

After the release of the Turkish series Magnificent Century, a certain opinion was formed about the main character - they say, the girl had Slavic roots, was from the Crimea, ended up in a harem at the age of 15 and spent her whole life fighting with enemies, especially with the first wife of the Sultan and the Grand Vizier Ibrahim .

But in reality, there is no documentary confirmation of this fact. There are only stories that are passed down in Turkish families from generation to generation and are a folklore heritage.

In order to understand what is worth believing in the series, and what we, the viewers, have been fooled about, let’s look at different theories about Hurrem’s life.

Was Hurrem Slavic?

There are several opinions on this matter, one more contradictory than the other.

According to one of the theories, which was officially documented only in the 18th century, Hurrem was from Crimea. Perhaps she was Ukrainian, in any case, Slavic.

Hurrem's father was a priest, and his groom was a certain Luke, whom they showed us in the Magnificent Century. The Tatars attacked the girl’s village, killed many, and drove the beautiful girls into slavery.

Among the beauties was Hurrem. Later, some of them were resold to the Ottomans, some were selected for the Sultan's harem, others were also sold around the country.

The second theory says that Hurrem was actually Turkish. By the way. This opinion is quite widespread among the Turks themselves, who generally treated the Magnificent Century with great skepticism.

It is assumed that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was specially given to the harem by her own parents, since they were not able to support their daughter.

A very young girl was sent to serve in Topkapi as a laundress or dishwasher, but after a few years she was able to become one of the slaves, and then attracted the attention of Suleiman.

The third theory is based on the fact that Hurrem was French by birth. The girl's real name is Margarita Marsigli. She belonged to a noble family and lived in a castle that was attacked by soldiers, or rather, pirates of the Ottoman state.

Margarita. Or as her relatives called her, Rose, was captured, unlike her sisters, who were not so attractive and remained in their native country.

Rosa was sent to the Sultan's harem, logically assuming that her bright appearance would be in demand there.

How Hurrem met Suleiman

But there is practically no debate about how Suleiman and Hurrem met. According to a historical document, this happened during the holiday marking the ascension of Suleiman to the Ottoman throne. At that time, the ruler was 25, and the beauty was about 15.

Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was selected among other girls to dance in front of the Sultan. During the dance, she pushed aside the girl dancing in the center and took her place. Suleiman liked such a daring and at the same time funny prank and he threw a handkerchief to the concubine. This meant that at night he was waiting for her in his chambers.

How Hurrem and Ibrahim treated each other

This topic is also of interest to viewers of the Magnificent Century. There are several theories on this issue, but they all boil down to one thing - there really was a war between Suleiman’s closest people.

According to the first theory, it was Ibrahim who selected Hurrem for the holiday. He did not think that the girl would be so ambitious that she would decide to fight the competition and become the only love of the ruler. Ibrahim Pasha himself at that time supported Mahidevran and her son, so Khyurrem’s rapid ascent was just that. The fact that she began to give birth to the ruler’s sons one after another really spoiled our nerves.

The second theory is more intriguing and, again, more credible in the eyes of Turkish residents. According to it, Ibrahim initially bought Hurrem for his own, so to speak, use. She lived in the pasha’s house for several years, but she turned out to be too obstinate and did not let the man take a step closer to her.

As a result, angry, Ibrahim sent the concubine to the Sultan’s harem, assuming that she would not be able to live in an atmosphere of constant rivalry, would become flexible and ask to return. But it was as if Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was just waiting to be in Topkapi’s harem.

The girl became the ruler's favorite concubine, his only woman, and this made Ibrahim very angry. He put a spoke in her wheels in every possible way, and she did not stand aside, since she had no desire to endure the Pasha’s attacks.

By the way, according to this theory. One of the reasons why Ibrahim ultimately lost Suleiman’s favor was precisely his love for Hurrem.

How many children did Hurrem actually have?

In the acclaimed TV series Magnificent Century, Hurrem's five children were shown. In reality, the woman gave birth to five sons and a daughter:

Mehmed 1521-1543

Mihrimah 1522 - 1578

Abdullah 1523

Selim 1524 – 1574

Bayezid 1525 – 161

Cihangir 1531 – 1553

Is Hurrem involved in the death of Mustafa?

Historians claim that Suleiman’s eldest son, Mustafa, was indeed preparing a conspiracy against his father. The letter to the Shah of Persia really belonged to the hand of the Shahzade. Suleiman's heir discussed the possibility of mutual support in the event of a coup d'etat and the overthrow of Suleiman.

In fact, Mustafa’s desire to take his father’s place is quite understandable. Shahzadeh was 38 years old, he was full of energy and passion for conquest, while his father was no longer so strong. The Janissaries, also eager for military campaigns, since this was their only income, were ready to support Mustafa at any moment. So it was only a matter of time. A day earlier or later, Mustafa would have overthrown his father from the throne. And what fate awaits him after this, only Allah knows.

How did Hurrem die?

Hurrem Sultan was 57 years old when she left this world. Historical documents contain information about this. That in the last months of her life she suffered from severe pain throughout her body. Judging by the notes of contemporaries, modern researchers suggest that the Sultan’s wife could have died from breast cancer.

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Circassian rival Makhidevran: from love to hate

Hurrem Sultan is the only concubine who became the legal wife of the Ottoman Sultan. An amazing thing: the love of Suleiman I the Magnificent and his Haseki Hurrem lasted for 40 years! Hurrem Sultan is known for her bright and eventful life. And if there is no genuine news about her childhood and youth, then quite a lot is known about her adult life. Her role in the struggle for the installation of her sons on the throne, her touching love letters, and the charitable organizations she founded are known. She is considered the creator of the harem in the Topkapi Palace. One of the districts of Istanbul, Haseki, is named in her honor. She became a source of inspiration for many writers, artists, and composers.

There are no lifetime portraits of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska; all the sources presented to us are only variations on the theme of the real appearance of the depicted character. The Ottoman harem was closed to artists during the time of Sultan Suleiman; there are only a few lifetime engravings depicting Suleiman himself and variations on the theme of the appearance of his wife. However, there was a report in the press that not long ago the Turkish ambassador to Ukraine gave the city of Rohatyn and its residents... a lifetime portrait of Roksolana, which is now in the local history museum. However, this was hardly possible: to paint the padishah’s wife from life. So if such a portrait exists, it was painted, most likely, thanks to successful meetings with the “object” during festivities in the palace garden, or at embassy receptions, or generally from the words of the lucky ones who had access to the palace.

Meryem Uzerli as Roksolana in the Turkish TV series “The Magnificent Century”

Prefix Haseki It was not by chance that the Slavic concubine received her name. After being presented to the Sultan, the concubines who gave birth to his child were called “Iqbal” or “Haseki” (“favorite concubine”). For the first time, this title - Haseki - was introduced by Suleiman specifically for his beloved, thereby confirming Hurrem’s unique position in the palace and in Ottoman society itself. The concubine who received this title had to kiss the hem of the Sultan's caftan; as a sign of gratitude, the happy father gave her a sable cape and a separate room in the palace. This meant that from now on she would be under the personal subordination of the Sultan, and not a valide or kalfa from the harem.

The highest title that a concubine could achieve under fortunate circumstances was “mother of the Sultan” (valide sultan; valide sultan). A concubine could receive this title if her son ascended the throne. The first bearer of this title was Hafsa Sultan, mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Before this, according to the Seljuk tradition, the term was more often used khatun. The woman who received this high title enjoyed great respect and influence both in the palace and outside it, actively interfering in state affairs. After the Sultan's hall, the largest area in the harem was allocated to the Sultan's mother. She had many concubines under her command. In addition to managing the harem, she also intervened in government affairs. If someone else became the sultan, she was sent to the Old Palace, where she led a quiet life.

Hurrem was able to deprive her rivals in the harem of the Sultan's love, and, according to the testimony of the Venetian ambassador Pietro Brangadino, it came to assault. Another Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Navagero, in his report for 1533, wrote about the “duel” of Hurrem with Suleiman’s concubine, Mahidevran, who was the mother of Prince Mustafa. This slave of Circassian or Albanian origin had previously been the Sultan’s favorite concubine, and from the moment she appeared in Roksolana’s harem she experienced burning hatred, jealousy and anger. The ambassador described the quarrel that arose between Makhidevran and Khyurrem in the report as follows: “...The Circassian woman insulted Khyurrem and tore her face, hair and dress. After some time, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was invited to the Sultan's bedchamber. However, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska said that she could not go to the ruler in this form. However, the Sultan called Hurrem and listened to her. Then he called Mahidevran, asking if Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska told him the truth. Mahidevran said that she was the main woman of the Sultan and that other concubines should obey her, and that she had not yet beaten the treacherous Hurrem. The Sultan was angry with Mahidevran and made Hurrem his favorite concubine.”

Harem courtyard of Topkapi Palace

Behind these simple sentences lies the tragic fate of a woman, forever deprived of the love of her ruler. I think that the creators of the series “The Magnificent Century” showed us a true portrait of Makhidevran - an elegant, beautiful woman, forced to look for other priorities in life, except for the awareness of the betrayal of a loved one and revenge on her rival. And since our heroine had to wage a tireless struggle, first of all, with this favorite of Suleiman, then we’ll tell you a little about the Circassian woman. It should be said that at that time all residents of the North Caucasus were considered Circassian, and often it was from there that the desired concubines arrived at the court of the Ottoman sultans. Encyclopedias tell us the following about this character.

Mahidevran Sultan (1500 - February 3, 1581) - the third concubine of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman, mother of Shah-Zade Mustafa. She was born in Egypt and was the daughter of a Mamluk prince. She was of Karachay origin. It was presented by the brothers to the harem of Shah-Zade Suleiman.

Once in the harem, the heir liked her and became his favorite. In 1515 she gave birth to a son, Mustafa. Her name means: Makhidevran - Moon-faced Lady, this name was given to her after the birth of her son. Gulbahar - means Spring Rose, she received this name on the night when she “walked along the golden path”, it was given to her by Suleiman the Magnificent, then the heir - Shah-Zade Suleiman.

Interior of Topkapi Palace

Once upon a time, the “Spring Flower” had the opportunity to fight for the heart of the ruler with two other contenders. The first concubine who bore Suleiman a son was Fulane. But their son Mahmud died during a smallpox epidemic on November 29, 1521. And a few years later, in 1525, Fylane also died. Suleiman's second concubine was called Gulfem Sultan. In 1513, she gave birth to the Sultan's son Murad, who, like his half-brother, also died in 1521. Gulfem was excommunicated from the Sultan and did not give birth to any more children, but for a long time she remained a loyal friend to the Sultan. Gulfem was strangled by order of Suleiman in 1562.

After the death of Suleiman's first two sons, Mahidevran's son Mustafa was named heir. He will be prepared for the role of ruler, but will not escape a harsh fate. As the ruler of the province of Manisa (from 1533), he was executed on the orders of his father - strangled with a silk cord (in such cases, the highest Turkish nobility avoided blood). Historians will blame the insidious intriguer Hurrem for his death.

...In 1520, all the main and secondary “flowers of the harem” made way for the red-haired Slavic slave who captured the heart of the stern ruler of the Ottoman Empire. After the Sultan’s fourth concubine named Hurrem appeared, sweet Mahidevran, who believed in the inviolability of her charms, was excommunicated from the Sultan. Mahidevran Sultan will die in 1581 (he will be buried next to his son in the Cem Sultan Mausoleum in Bursa).

As we see, in 1521, two of Suleiman’s three sons died. The only heir was six-year-old Mustafa from Makhidevran. Such tragedies associated with high infant mortality posed a threat to the dynasty. Around the same year, a new concubine Roksolana appeared in Suleiman’s harem. Only Hurrem's ability to give birth to an heir could give the young woman the necessary support in the courtyard. And Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska did not hesitate to produce not one, but several heirs.

Nur Aysan as Mahidevran in the Turkish TV series “The Magnificent Century”

In 1521–1525, with a break of a year, Hurrem gave birth to Mehmed, (daughter) Mihrimah, Abdullah, Selim, Bayezid, and in 1531 - Jahangir. And all these babies were born as the desired fruits of strong, mutual love.

More than once, the conflict between the new favorite and Mahidevran was restrained by the authority of Suleiman’s mother, Valide Sultan Hafsa Khatun (died 1534).

As already mentioned, the mothers of the sultans came from concubines, and the mother of the famous Suleiman the Magnificent was no exception.

Ayşe Sultan Hafsa or simply Hafsa Sultan (1479 – March 19, 1534) was the first wife of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who bore the title Valide Sultan. Wife of Selim I and mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. From 1520 to 1534 she was co-ruler with her son and was considered the second person in the state after the Sultan.

The story of her origin is unclear, as is the story of the origin of her great daughter-in-law Hurrem. And while some claim that Aishe was the daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey I, others are sure that the daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey I was another wife of Selim I - Aishe Khatun.

A common version is this: the beautiful Aishe was born in the Crimean Khanate. After being “married” to Selim, Yavuz lived in the city of Manisa in Anatolia with her son, who ruled the region from 1513 to 1520. Manisa (Magnesia) - one of the traditional residences of the Ottoman princes (shah-zade), was also used to train future heirs and learn the skills of government. Attentive viewers of the film “The Magnificent Century” remember that it was here that Suleiman sent his grown-up son Mustafa from his concubine Mahidevran Sultan.

Turkish carpet from the 16th century

Aishe, like Hurrem, knew the joy of true love, for it was she who became the first to be awarded the highest title of Valide Sultan. After the birth of her son Suleiman I the Magnificent, who was born on November 6, 1494 in Trabzon, she gave birth to three more sons and four daughters, all three sons subsequently died from the epidemic. Her famous rival daughter-in-law Hurrem will also experience the same tragedy of the loss of her beloved sons.

Hafs Sultan is survived by 4 daughters and a son: Suleiman, Hatice, Fatma, Shah and Beyhan. In the beloved series “The Magnificent Century,” the main characters were her two children: the great ruler Suleiman himself and his beautiful-faced sister Hatice Sultan. But the series will also show the fate of the unfortunate Fatma, who lost her husband due to the fault of the ruler - her great brother, who ordered the death of his greedy son-in-law. This guest, by the way, will be useful to the filmmakers when it comes to the betrayal of Hatice’s husband, a close friend and chief vizier of the ruler, Ibrahim Pasha, already well-known to us. His betrayal will play into the hands of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, and will become the road leading Ibrahim straight to death.

And a few more words about Valida Sultan, who played one of the leading roles in the life of Hurrem, who taught her daughter-in-law wisdom, cunning, patience and... statesmanship. Like the Valide Sultan, Hurrem will also have to take part in the management of a huge empire. And if it were not for the example of Aishe Sultan, it is unknown how the worldview would have developed and to what extent the potential could have been demonstrated - in the field of charity or in the field of diplomacy - by Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska herself.

From the history of the Ottoman Empire, we know that Ayşe Hafsa Sultan built a large complex in Manisa, consisting of a mosque, a primary school, a college and a hospice. This amazing woman was the founder of the Mesir Festival in Manisa, and this ancient tradition is continued in Turkey today.

Valide Sultan. Artist Norman Mosley Penzer

Ayşe Hafsa Sultan died in March 1534 and was buried next to her husband in the mausoleum-mosque of Yavuz Selim, in Fatih (Istanbul). The mausoleum was severely damaged during an earthquake in 1884, but restoration work began in the first decade of our 21st century.

A year before the death of the Sultan’s mother, Khyurrem’s main rival, Mahidevran, went to Manisa with her 18-year-old son Mustafa. It would seem that for some time the conflict between women has been settled... and Hurrem can take carte blanche. And so it happened: from now on she was destined only to strengthen her power. And the first thing the mother of five shah-zade did was... she married the father of her children! Becoming the first concubine recognized as a legitimate wife before Allah, her beloved and people.

Monument to Aisha Hafsa Sultan in Turkey

Sultan Suleiman Khan Hazretleri – Caliph of Muslims and Lord of the Planet

But before we move on to the description of the magnificent wedding ceremonies, we will once again return to the personality of Sultan Suleiman, with whom our heroine had the opportunity to while away her entire life, and to whom she dedicated many beautiful lines, responding to his poetic confessions. Having first indicated another important nuance from the life of the concubines, which - like many others - was disrupted by the love that broke out between Suleiman and his Haseki.

At the Ottoman court, a custom was adopted: the Sultan’s favorite could have only one son, after whose birth she lost her status as a privileged concubine and had to raise her son, and when he reached adulthood, she followed him to one of the remote provinces as the mother of the governor. But, as already mentioned, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gave birth to her beloved five children, and, therefore, she did not get bored with the ruler, who neglected the palace foundations. Contemporaries, unable to explain what was happening, and not wanting to pay tribute to true love, insisted that Hurrem “wrapped” the Sultan with witchcraft.

But was it possible to bewitch the sensible Suleiman?

Here we can recall that historians, with great and deep interest in the personality of Suleiman the Magnificent, came to the conclusion that it was Sultan Suleiman who was a fair legislator, receiving the corresponding nickname Kanuni. The conditions for his emergence as the “ruler of the world,” great, just and at the same time merciless, were laid down in him from early childhood in his royal family.

Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gave birth to her beloved five children, and that means she did not get bored with the ruler, who neglected the palace foundations...

Sultan Suleiman was the long-awaited heir; he was born on April 27, 1494 into a family that already had four girls. This happened during the reign of Bayezid II. His son Sultan Selim “governor” in the province, mastering the craft of a ruler. His young beautiful wife Hafsa Aishe and his mother Gulbahar Sultan lived with him. This arrangement was consistent with the traditions of the Ottoman Empire in preparing sons for supreme government power.

The boy born in this family - the future ruler Suleiman - loved his grandmother Gulbahar Sultan very much, and was very worried when she passed away. After the death of his grandmother, the mother of Sultan Suleiman, Hafsa, took upon herself all the care and upbringing of her adored only son. The most eminent teachers of that time were assigned to the heir to the throne. In addition to teaching literacy, history, rhetoric, astronomy and other sciences, Suleiman studied jewelry. The boy was personally taught the subtleties of his intricate craftsmanship by the most famous and best jeweler of the era, Konstantin Usta.

Sultan Selim, with the help of his loyal assistants, overthrew Bayezid II from the throne, after which he was proclaimed the new ruler of the empire. He confirmed his son, Sultan Suleiman, who had matured by that time, as governor of Manisa, in order to thus accustom his son to power.

As we already know, after the sudden and sudden death of his father, being 25 years old, Sultan Suleiman ascended the throne. He ruled the Ottoman Empire for 46 long years, almost as long as his love for an earthly woman, who received the name Hurrem from him, lasted.

It is believed that with the coming to power of Sultan Selim, the Ottoman Empire reached its greatest prosperity, rightfully receiving the name “solar power”. This country and its richest treasury were guarded by perhaps the largest and most experienced army in the world.

Oriental jewelry

Historians always emphasize that Selim’s son, Sultan Suleiman, bore the nickname Kanuni, that is, fair, thereby emphasizing that this ruler did a lot to make life easier for the common people. Indeed, history has preserved cases when the Sultan - unrecognized - went into the city, into the market squares, wandered the streets and performed good deeds, identifying and punishing the guilty. Surely because of this, people spoke of him as the Caliph of all Muslims, not forgetting to point out something more significant: their Sultan is the Lord of the Planet.

During his reign, the empire successfully established trade, economic and other relations with neighboring countries. It is also known that this man was tolerant of the Christian religion, and people belonging to this faith could calmly live according to the laws and customs of their religion, just like the Muslims themselves. There was no religious confrontation in the empire, and this, of course, was primarily the merit of the ruler. However, not everything went as smoothly as we say, for any strong state, and especially an empire, tried to strengthen its influence in the world, most often resorting to bloody wars to achieve its goals.

Radio “Voice of Turkey” in a series of programs about the history of the Ottomans (broadcast in 2012) announced: “The first Ottoman rulers - Osman, Orhan, Murat, were as skilled politicians and administrators as they were successful and talented commanders and strategists. Among the factors that contributed to the success of the Ottoman cause, one can also point out the fact that even opponents saw in the Ottomans Islamic warriors, not burdened with purely clerical or fundamentalist views, which distinguished the Ottomans from the Arabs, with whom Christians had previously had to deal. The Ottomans did not convert the Christians under their control by force to the true faith; they allowed their non-Muslim subjects to practice their religions and cultivate their traditions. It should be said (and this is a historical fact) that the Thracian peasants, languishing under the unbearable burden of Byzantine taxes, perceived the Ottomans as their liberators. The Ottomans, combining on a rational basis the purely Turkic traditions of nomadism with Western standards of administration, created a pragmatic model of public administration” (etc.).

Carpet seller. Artist Giulio Rosati

If the father of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent pursued a policy of expanding the expanses of his possessions by conquering eastern countries, then his son expanded the borders of the Ottoman Empire in the European direction: in 1521 Belgrade was captured, in 1522 - the legendary island of Rhodes, after which the capture of Hungary was planned. This has already been partially discussed above. And yet, adding new information to quotes taken from historians about that period, we will receive the following valuable details, colorfully indicating the spirit of the times. Or rather, about the spirit of that time, which stained the completely enlightened “solar” empire with blood.

After the capture of Rhodes, Sultan Suleiman appoints the former slave Manis, his longtime friend, Ibrahim Pasha, who received an excellent education under the Sultan, as chief vizier. He was to be responsible for the outcome of the Battle of Mohács in Hungary. An army of 400 thousand soldiers was involved in the Battle of Mojacs. Troops after completing morning prayers with the cry: “Allah is Great!” and raising the Sultan's banner, they rushed into battle. It is known that on the eve of the battle, the eldest soldier entered the Sultan, dressed in armor and sitting on a throne near his tent, and, falling to his knees, loudly exclaimed: “O my padishah, what could be more honorable than war?!” After which this exclamation was repeated several times by the entire large army. Only after completing a series of obligatory ceremonies, the soldiers, on the orders of the Sultan, went on the offensive. According to tradition, a battle march was played from the very beginning of the battle until its completion. At the same time, the “military band” sat on the backs of camels and elephants, encouraging the soldiers with rhythmic music. The bloody battle lasted only two hours, ending in victory for the Turks. So Sultan Suleiman gained Hungary, leaving the whole of Europe to shake in feverish tension, awaiting the implementation of new plans for the conquest of the world by the padishah. Meanwhile, Turkish subjects began to calmly settle down in the very center of Germany.

Ibrahim Pasha

After his European conquests, Sultan Suleiman sets out to capture Iran and Baghdad, his army winning battles both on land and at sea. Soon the Mediterranean Sea also becomes under Turkish control.

The result of such a successful policy of conquest was that the lands of the empire turned out to be the largest in the world in terms of area occupied by one power. 110 million people - the population of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The Ottoman Empire extended over eight million square kilometers and had three administrative divisions: European, Asian, African.

Kanuni Sultan Suleiman, invested with sovereign greatness, acted as the compiler of a number of completely new effective laws. Turkish Kanuni means Legislator.

The inscription on the Suleymaniye Mosque, built in honor of Suleiman, reads: “Distributor of the Sultan’s laws. The most important merit of Suleiman, as a Legislator, was the establishment of Islamic culture in the world.”

The Sultan corresponded with the King of France François I. One of the letters addressed to the king and written by the ruler of the Ottoman Empire begins like this: “I, who rule in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, in the Rumelian, Anatolian and Karashan, Rum and Diyarbekir vilayets, rule in Kurdistan and Azerbaijan, in Ajem, in Sham and Aleppo, in Egypt, in Mecca and Medina, Jerusalem and Yemen, I am the ruler of all Arab countries and many more lands conquered by my ancestors. I am the grandson of Sultan Selim Khan, and you are a pathetic king of the French vilayet, Francesco...”

Halit Ergench as Sultan Suleiman in the Turkish TV series “The Magnificent Century”

By the way, as for enlightened France (for some reason this country is always identified with enlightenment). In 1535, Sultan Suleiman completed a monumental agreement with Francis I that gave France favorable trading rights in the Ottoman Empire in exchange for joint action against the Habsburgs. But what’s even more curious is that one of the French women, a relative of Napoleon himself, or rather, the cousin of Empress Josephine (Napoleon’s wife) Aimée Dubois de Riveri, was among... the ranks of the concubines of one of the Ottoman rulers. She went down in history under the name Naqshidil as the mother of Sultan Mahmud II. By the way, when Sultan Abdul-Aziz (1861–1876) visited France, Emperor Napoleon III, who received him, said that they were relatives through their grandmothers.

This is how Big History jokes with its loyal subjects...

Here we can cite another very significant case. One day, Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, on her way to the ceremony marking the opening of the Suez Canal, decided to stop by Istanbul and visit the Sultan's palace. She was received with appropriate pomp and, because she was bursting with curiosity, they dared to take her into the holy of holies - into the harem, which literally excited the minds of Europeans. But the arrival of an uninvited guest caused international embarrassment. The fact is that Valide Sultan Pertivniyal, angry at the foreigner’s invasion of her domain, publicly slapped the empress in the face. It is unlikely that Evgenia has ever experienced such humiliation, but how strong and protected one must feel in order to act in such a way as a valid Sultan. How highly a woman was raised (not only by power, but also by her inner essence) to give a slap in the face for intemperate curiosity. She took revenge, apparently, for what she felt: the European woman came running to inspect the harem, like a monkey nursery. This is what a fashion trendsetter, a sophisticated woman of noble blood, did to... a former laundress! Before becoming the wife of Sultan Mahmud II, Pertivniyal served as a laundress in a Turkish bath, where Mahmud noticed her either chiseled or curvaceous forms.

Turkish ceramics, 16th century

Let's return to our main character, who won the heart of the eastern concubine. Sultan Suleiman, just like his father, was fond of poetry, and until the end of his days he wrote talented poetic works, full of oriental flavor and philosophizing. He also paid great attention to the development of culture and art in the empire, inviting craftsmen from different countries. He paid special attention to architecture. During his time, many beautiful buildings and places of worship were built, which have survived to this day. The prevailing opinion among historians is that important government positions in the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan Suleiman were received not so much through titles, but through merit and intelligence. As researchers note, Suleiman attracted the best minds of the time, the most gifted people, to his country. For him there were no titles when it came to the good of his state. He rewarded those who were worthy of it, and they paid him with boundless devotion.

European leaders were amazed by the rapid rise of the Ottoman Empire and wanted to know the reason for the unexpected success of the “savage nation.” We know about a meeting of the Venetian Senate, at which, after the ambassador’s report on what was happening in the empire, the question was asked: “Do you think that a simple shepherd can become a grand vizier?” The answer was: “Yes, in the empire everyone is proud to be a slave of the Sultan. A high statesman may be of low birth. The power of Islam grows at the expense of second-class people born in other countries and baptized Christians.” Indeed, eight of Suleiman's grand viziers were Christians and were brought to Turkey as slaves. The pirate king of the Mediterranean, Barbari, a pirate known to Europeans as Barbarossa, became Suleiman's admiral, commanding the fleet in battles against Italy, Spain and North Africa.

Suleiman the Magnificent

And only those who represented the sacred law, judges and teachers were the sons of Turkey, brought up in the deep traditions of the Koran.

It is interesting that during the reign of Suleiman, the peoples of the world had to experience the same feelings that our compatriots, along with the whole world, who believe in... the end of the world will experience. Those who were afraid of the onset of December 21, 2012, will understand what the writer P. Zagrebelny was talking about when he mentioned: “Suleiman willingly accepted the advice of his mother and beloved wife to play a magnificent wedding for his youngest sister. He hoped that the wedding celebrations would drown out the dissatisfaction of the troops with little booty and terrible losses at Rhodes, the gloomy whispers of Istanbul, disagreements in the divan, bad news from the eastern provinces and Egypt, the enmity that had reigned in the harem since the expulsion of Mahidevran and the approach to Sultan Hurrem. 1523 was a difficult year everywhere. In Europe, they were waiting for a new flood, people fled to the mountains, stocked up on grub, those who were richer built arks, hoping to wait out the elements in them, and although the astrologer Paolo de Burgo convinced Pope Clement that heavenly constellations did not indicate the end of the world, the earth continued to be torn apart by wars , and the elements were raging in heaven. On January 17, 1524, in St. Peter's Cathedral, during a service presided over by the pope himself, a large stone fell off a column and fell at the feet of the Roman high priest; Terrible downpours began throughout Europe.”

Dagger from the collection of the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul

And since we have already mentioned the celebrations - the wedding of Suleiman’s beloved sister named Hatice, then we can remember what happened on this significant day with our Hurrem. According to P. Zagrebelny, Roksolana gave birth to her second heir on this day. We read: “At this time, a messenger arrived from the Sultan’s gray with good news: Sultana Haseki gave birth to the ruler of the world, the glorious Sultan Suleiman, another son! It was the twenty-ninth of May - the day Fatih captured Constantinople. But the Sultan had already named his first son Khyurrem after Fatih, so he solemnly proclaimed to the guests that he was naming Haseki’s second son Selim, in honor of his glorious father, and immediately ordered the Sultana to be sent a gift of a large ruby, his favorite stone, and a golden ladder so that to mount a horse or a camel, and some of those present thought: so that it would be more convenient to climb to the heights of power.” Following Haseki's lead, the Sultan resumed the festivities six days later, after his concubine had recovered slightly from childbirth. So that she too could take part in the magnificent celebrations and enjoy entertainment of unprecedented generosity. “It didn’t even occur to the Sultan that with this magnificent wedding, never seen in Istanbul, he was giving birth to and strengthening the two most hostile forces in his state, which sooner or later would have to collide and one of them would inevitably die. He carelessly showed one of these powers to the people and thereby weakened it a hundredfold, for, as highly exalted, the people immediately hated it, while the other power remained hidden for now and was therefore much stronger. The obvious force was Ibrahim, from now on not only the grand vizier, but also the royal son-in-law. By hidden power - Roksolana, whose time has not yet come, but someday could and should have come.”

Another researcher, a historian, one of the main witnesses of that era, wrote that to commemorate this wedding, a grand celebration was organized at the Hippodrome, which lasted fifteen days. The 16th-century Turkish historian Peshevi wrote about the wedding of Ibrahim and Hatice: “...before our eyes stretched such abundance and fun as had never been seen at the wedding of a princess.”

World famous oriental sweets

...Sultan Suleiman, having become a ruler, managed to overcome various difficulties, securing for himself many flattering epithets. In world history, the period of the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent is referred to as the “Turkic era”, since the Ottoman Empire was considered the most developed civilization of the 16th century. The Sultan received his prefix to the name “Magnificent” as the ruler who reached the highest peak for his empire. The great padishah of the Turks was great in different guises: from a warrior to an educator, from a poet to a legislator, from a lover to a lover...

Engraving by Agostino Veneziano depicting Suleiman the Magnificent wearing a helmet above the papal tiara. This helmet was not a typical headdress for the Sultan, and he did not wear it, but the helmet was often near him when receiving ambassadors