Hürrem Sultan

Hürrem Sultan's birth name is unknown. It is said that it may have been Anastasia or Aleksandra Lisowska. Sources indicate that she was from Ruthenia, which was part of the Polish Kingdom. She was born circa 1502/4, in the town of Rohatyn, a major city of the Ruthenian Voivodeship.

In the 1520s, Crimean Tatars captured her during one of their frequent raids into Ruthenia. Hürrem was first taken to the Crimean city of Kaffa, a major centre of slave trade, before she was taken to Istanbul. There, the Valide Sultan (the mother of the Sultan) Hafsa Sultan chose Hürrem as a gift for her son, Sultan Süleyman.

Hürrem probably entered the harem at the age of 15. The precise year is unknown, but scholars believe that she became Süleyman's concubine around the time he became sultan, in 1520. Hürrem's unprecedented rise from harem slave to Süleyman's legal wife and Queen of the Ottoman Empire attracted jealousy and disfavour, not only from her rivals in the harem, but also from the general populace. Hürrem soon became Süleyman's most prominent consort beside Mahidevran Sultan.

While the exact dates for the births of her children are disputed, there is consensus that they occurred quickly over the next four to five years. Hürrem gave birth to six children: Şehzade Mehmet, Mihrimah Sultan, Şehzade Abdullah, Şehzade Selim (the future Selim II), Şehzade Bayezid, and Şehzade Cihangir. The last child was born with a hunchback but, by then, Hürrem had had enough sons to secure the dynasty.

Her joyful spirit and playful temperament earned her a new name: Hürrem, from the Persian Khorram, meaning the cheerful one. In the harem, Hürrem became a rival to Mahidevran, and her influence over the sultan became legendary. Hürrem was allowed to give birth to more than one son, a stark violation of the old tradition "one concubine mother, one son", which was designed to prevent the mother's influence over the sultan and the feuds of blood brothers for the throne.

When Hürrem gave birth to Şehzade Mehmet, and then to four more sons, she completely destroyed Mahidevran's status as the mother of the sultan's only son. Süleyman's mother, Hafsa, partially surpressed the rivalry between the two women. However, because of this rivalry, a fight broke out and Mahidevran beated Hürrem, which angered Süleyman.

In 1533 or 1534, Süleyman married Hürrem in a formal ceremony, making him the first Ottoman sultan to wed since Orhan Ghazi (14th century), and violating a 200-year-old custom of the Imperial house according to which sultans were not to marry their concubines. Never before was a former slave elevated to the status of the Sultan's lawful wife! Hürrem also received the title of Haseki Sultan (chief consort) and became the first consort to hold it. The title of Haseki Sultan reflected the great power of the imperial consorts in the court, elevating them above Ottoman Princesses and equalizing them to European Empresses consort.

This marriage had other consequences, including creating the general belief that, by marrying, the Sultan had limited his autonomy and was dominated by his wife. Furthermore, the mother's role in her son's education and guidance became more prominent.

Hürrem became the first woman to remain in the Sultan's court for the duration of her life. In the imperial tradition, a Sultan's consort was to remain in the harem only until her son came of age. After, he would be sent away to govern a faraway province, and his mother would follow him. The consorts were never to return to Istanbul unless their sons succeeded to the throne. In defiance of this custom, Hürrem stayed in the harem with her son Cihangir, even after her three other sons left to govern their provinces.

In addition to remaining in Istanbul, Hürrem also moved out of the harem located in the Old Palace (Eski Saray) and permanently moved to Topkapı Palace. After Hürrem resided at Topkapı Palace, it became known as the New Palace (saray-ı jedid).

Under his pen name, Muhibbi, Süleyman composed this poem for Hürrem:

Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight.
My most sincere friend, my confidant, my very existence, my Sultan, my one and only love.
The most beautiful among the beautiful...
My springtime, my merry faced love, my daytime, my sweetheart, laughing leaf...
My plants, my sweet, my rose, the one only who does not distress me in this world...
My Istanbul, my Caraman, the earth of my Anatolia
My Badakhshan, my Baghdad and Khorasan
My woman of the beautiful hair, my love of the slanted brow, my love of eyes full of mischief...
I'll sing your praises always
I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi of the eyes full of tears, I am happy.

Hürrem became Süleyman's partner, not only in the Sultan's household, but also in state affairs. Thanks to her intelligence, she acted as Süleyman's chief advisor on matters of state. Her influence on Süleyman was so significant that rumours circulated that the Sultan had been bewitched.
Her influence with Süleyman made her one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history and in the world at her time. Even as a consort, her power was comparable with the most powerful woman of the harem who was, by tradition, the Valide Sultan. For this reason, Hürrem became a controversial figure in Ottoman history: subject to allegations of plotting against and manipulating her political rivals.

Hürrem and Mahidevran gave Süleyman six Şehzades, four of whom survived past the 1550s: Mustafa, Selim, Bayezid, and Cihangir. Of these, Mahidevran's son Mustafa was the oldest, and he preceeded Hürrem's son in the order of succession. Traditionally, when a new Sultan rose to power, all of his brothers were killed to insure the stability of the empire (kardeş katliamı).

Mustafa was supported by Ibrahim Pasha, who became Süleyman's Grand Vizier in 1523. Hürrem has usually been held responsible for the intrigues in nominating a successor. Although she was the Sultan's wife and she had no official public role, this did not stop her from wielding powerful political influence. Since the empire lacked any formal means of naming a successor, succession usually involved the death of competing princes. In an attempt to avoid the execution of her sons, Hürrem used her influence to eliminate those who supported Mustafa.

A skilled commander of Süleyman's army, Ibrahim eventually fell from grace after an imprudence, when he awarded himself a title including the word Sultan. Another conflict occurred when Ibrahim and his former mentor, İskender Çelebi, repeatedly clashed. These incidents launched a series of events which culminated in his execution in 1536, by Süleyman's order. It is believed that Hürrem's influence contributed to Süleyman's decision.

Many years later, towards the end of Süleyman's long reign, the rivalry between his sons became evident. It is believed that Hürrem helped turn Süleyman against Mustafa and Mustafa was accused of causing unrest. In 1553, because of fear of rebellion, Süleyman ordered the execution of Mustafa. After his death, Mahidevran lost her status in the palace and moved to Bursa.

Although the stories about Hürrem's role in the executions of Ibrahim and Mustafa are very popular, actually none of them are based on first-hand sources. All other depictions of Hürrem, starting with comments by 16th and 17th century Ottoman historians as well as by European diplomats, observers and travellers, are highly derivative and speculative in nature. Because none of these people were permitted into the inner circle of the imperial harem, they largely relied on the testimony of the servants or courtiers or on the gossip circulating around Istanbul.

Hürrem acted as Süleyman's advisor and it seems she had an influence upon foreign policy and on international politics. Two of her letters to King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland have survived. In her first letter, Hürrem expresses her joy and congratulations to the new King on the occasion of is ascension. In the second letter, written in response to his letter, Hürrem expresses her joy at hearing that the King is in good health and that he sends assurances of his friendliness and attachment to Sultan Süleyman.

Aside from her political concerns, Hürrem engaged in several major works of public buildings, from Mecca to Jerusalem. Among her first foundations were a mosque, two Koranic schools (madrassa), a fountain and a woman's hospital - the Haseki Sultan Complex. The fact that it was the third largest building in the capital testifies to Hürrem's great status. She also built mosque complexes in Adrianopole and Ankara. She commissioned a bath (the Haseki Hürrem Sultan Hamamı), to serve the community of worshippers in the nearby Hagia Sophia. In Jerusalem, she established the Haseki Sultan Imaret, a public soup kitchen to feed the poor and the needy. She also built Imaret Haseki Hürrem, a public soup kitchen in Mecca.

Hürrem Sultan died on 15 April 1558, in Istanbul. Her death brought throngs of mourners out to the streets, including Süleyman himself, who was traditionally supposed to seclude himself in the palace. Coins and food were distributed, to pay tribute to Hürrem's generous and caring nature.
Hürrem was buried in a domed mausoleum decorated in exquisite Iznik tiles representing the garden of paradise, perhaps in honour of her smiling and joyful nature.

Hürrem Sultan

Tizian

c. 1550