Hürrem Sultan

Name

Leslie P. Peirce has written that her birth name may have been either Aleksandra or Anastazja Lisowska, but this is disputed. Primary sources of the 16th century do not record the premarital name and surname of Hürrem Sultan. In Polish tradition, her name was Alexandra, and in Ukrainian, she was called Anastasia. American researcher Galina Yermolenko suggests that the name Anastasia (or Nastya) had arisen in literature under the influence of folklore and, referring to Mykhailo Orlich, cites a Bukovinian folk song derived from Mauritius Goslavsky's poem "Podilla" (1827). It is not known how original those stories are and whether they date back to before 1880, when the name Anastasia Lisovska first appeared in Mykhailo Orlovsky's Roksolana or Anastasia Lisovskaya. Her father's supposed name — Gavrylo Lisovsky — first appeared in works of fiction as well.

In European reports and accounts, Hürrem was always referred to as Rossa, Rosselana, Roxelana, Roxolana, or Roksolana (the latter two are also transliterations from Ukrainian: Роксолана). This name was first used by the Holy Roman Empire ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq in his compendium Turkish Letters (published in 1581 under the name Itinera Constantinopolitanum et Amasianum).

Among the Ottomans, she was known mainly as Haseki Hürrem Sultan or Hürrem Haseki Sultan. Hürrem or Khurrem (خرم) means "the joyful and endearing one" in Persian. However, "Hürrem" was most likely not her first Ottoman name, especially as Suleiman is said to have named her himself. In the naming rite that masters arrogated to themselves, male and female owners often played the poet. They chose to confer — to impose — on their female slaves the names of flowers, precious stones, and other pleasures of life. For imperial concubines, endless variations of "rose", "grace", and "delicacy" were always in vogue. Hürrem must have acquired such a name upon her acceptance of Islam before she entered the imperial harem and became Suleiman's new concubine, but this name, if it existed, remains lost to history.

Origin

While no documentation exists about Hürrem's life before she entered the harem, legends about her origins arose in literary works. It has been claimed that she was of Ukrainian, Russian, or Polish, origin.

Many sources state that Hürrem came from Ruthenia, which was then part of the Polish Crown. Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq called her "Roxelana" based on her supposed origin from the Ruthenian territory in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, at the time often known as Roxolania (from the Roxolani people mentioned by Strabo as inhabitants of the northern Black Sea region). Samuel Twardowski in his poem "The Great Embassy" (written between 1621 and 1623, published in 1633) noted that her father was an Orthodox priest from Rohatyn (now a city in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine). Michalo Lituanus, former ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Crimean Khanate in the mid-16th century, wrote that "the wife of the present Turkish emperor who loves her dearly — mother of his primogenital [first] son who will govern after him, was kidnapped from our land".

The Venetian ambassador Bernardo Navagero called Hürrem "[donna] … di nazione russa". Another Venetian ambassador, Giovanni Battista Trevisano, called her "Sultana, ch'è di Rusi". The Venetian military leader Marco Antonio Bragadin also called Hürrem "donna di nazione russa". The belief that Hürrem was of Russian rather than Ukrainian origin may have resulted from the eventual misinterpretation of the words Rosselana and Rossa.

During the reign of Selim I, sometime between 1512 and 1520, the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate kidnapped her during one of their slave raids in Eastern Europe. The Tatars may have first taken her to the Crimean city of Kaffa, a major centre of the Ottoman slave trade, before she was taken to Constantinople.

According to Kutbeddin el-Mekki, an envoy of the sharif of Mecca, and the memoirs of Shaykh Qutb al-Din al-Nahrawali, a Meccan religious figure who visited Constantinople in 1558, she had been a servant in the household of Hançerli Hanzade Fatma Zeynep Sultan, daughter of Şehzade Mahmud and granddaughter of Sultan Bayezid II, who gifted her to Suleiman when he rose to the throne.

Relationship with Suleiman

Hürrem Sultan likely entered the harem around fifteen years of age. The precise year that she entered the harem is not recorded, but it's accepted that she became Suleiman's new favourite concubine around the time he became the sultan in 1520, because their first child was born in 1521.

Hürrem's unprecedented rise from a harem slave to Suleiman's legal wife attracted immense jealousy, acrimony and disfavor not only in the harem, but also from the general populace. By the early 1520s, she had become Suleiman's most prominent consort beside Mahidevran Hatun (c.1500), who was the mother of Suleiman's eldest surviving son. Before devoting himself exclusively to Hürrem and becoming monogamous, Suleiman had followed the precedent of his ancestors and taken a number of concubines when he was a prince but after becoming the sultan, he fell deeply in love with his new concubine, Hürrem.

Marco Minio, who was in Constantinople from September 1521 to January 1522, noted in his official report that Suleiman frequently visited the Old Palace around that time which was interpreted that as a sign of lasciviousness. However, these visits must have been related to the burgeoning relationship

between him and Hürrem as by the fall of 1524, it was common knowledge in Constantinople that the sultan spent his nights with the same woman and did not seek other sexual partners. Besides, the sultan having recently lost three of his children – Şehzade Mahmud, Şehzade Murad and Raziye Sultan in the fall of 1521, all of a sudden – must have also paid these visits to closely monitor the rearing and health of his children. For instance, a marginal note in a revenue register records significant sums of money paid by the sultan and his mother to a healer named Abdi Dede for Şehzade Mehmed's recovery from an unspecified illness. Indeed, by 1524, when Suleiman and Hürrem had [three] children, the ambassador Zen could comment that "the Seigneur is not lustful" and that he "remained constant to one woman". According to Luigi Bassano, Suleiman ignored the past custom of the sultans and did not take a succession of concubines; rather, to preserve his faithfulness to Hürrem, he married off, as virgins, nearly all the eligible concubines in his harem. While the relationship between Suleiman and Hürrem deepened through mutual devotion, love and many children, Mahidevran must have maintained a level of prestige as the mother of Suleiman's eldest surviving son. However, in 1526, the ambassador Bragadin reported that the sultan no longer paid any attention to Mahidevran, but concentrated and lavished all his love and affection on Hürrem. Bragadin further reported that, after Suleiman had turned away from her, Mahidevran spent all her time caring for her son who was her "whole joy".

State affairs

Hürrem Sultan is known as the first woman in Ottoman history to concern herself with state affairs. She was able to achieve what no concubine before her could. She officially became the sultan's wife, and although there were no legal barriers against the marriage, the weight of custom militated against it; custom often had the force of law in Ottoman society so that not only the entire Ottoman court but also the general populace were gravely astonished and displeased. The wedding probably took place around 1533, although the exact date of this event remains unknown. Hürrem's position was unique, as was the title of Haseki Sultan.

State Affairs and Administration

Suleiman, as a warrior sultan spent nearly 10 years of his reign on military campaigns away from the capital and consequently he needed someone very reliable to provide him with information about the situation in the palace, administration and on the situations of the capital – he chose Hürrem Sultan. In the letters to her husband beginning from the 1530s – when she had acquired dexterous command over Turkish – she conveyed the greetings of the statesmen and the Sheikh-ul-Islam and talked about the problems in Istanbul. A letter she sent to him during the Iranian campaign is one of the best examples of this:

"My Sultan, if you ask about the city; for now the disease is still continuing. But it is not like before... My Sultan, I beg you to send your blessed letter often. Because, God is not lying, if a week or two pass and the messenger does not come, the whole world will be in a panic. All kinds of things will be said. Otherwise, do not think that I only want it for my own self. My Sultan, now there is a noise in the city that the herald of good news is coming. Everyone is ready for the city fleet. My Sultan, you are wintering in Aleppo with the state, after that the kizilbash's (Shah Tahmasp's) son and wife were not caught, there is nothing yet. Now he is not there, there is not there; the coming of the herald of good news is not pleasant for anyone."

Hürrem was one of the most educated women in the world at that time and she played a central role in the political life of the Ottoman Empire. Thanks to her brilliance, she acted as Suleiman's chief adviser on matters of state, and had an influence upon foreign policy and international politics. She freely communicated with the ambassadors of European countries, corresponded and liaised with the rulers of Venice and Persia, and stood by Suleiman at receptions and banquets. She imprinted her seal, used to sign important state documents in his absence on behalf of him, personally attended Imperial council meetings even during the presence and absence of Sultan, held meetings with Grand Viziers and ministers to discuss regarding state affairs and corresponded with ambassadors and Foreign rulers, particularly with Sigismund II Augustus. She played a major role in the creation of the Polish-Ottoman alliance.

She also personally corresponded with ambassadors of various nations which includes Republic of Venice, Kingdom of Poland, Safavid dynasty and even the Habsburgs. She often received gifts from the courts of various nations and the ambassadors often conveyed their concerns and thanksgiving to the ottomans through her. She therefore acted as a mediator between the Ottoman Imperial court and foreign empires, reshaping the foreign affairs and conveying the concerns and thanksgivings of ambassadors of various nations to the Ottoman imperial court.

Foreign policy

Hürrem acted as Suleiman's advisor on matters of state, and seems to have had an influence upon foreign policy and on international politics. Two of her letters to Sigismund II Augustus King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (reigned 1548–1572) have survived, and during her lifetime the Ottoman Empire generally had peaceful relations with the Polish state within a Polish–Ottoman alliance.

In her first short letter to Sigismund II, Hürrem expresses her highest joy and congratulations to the new king on the occasion of his ascension to the Polish throne after the death of his father Sigismund I the Old in 1548. There was a seal on the back of the letter. For the first and only time in the Ottoman Empire, a female sultan exchanged letters with a king. After that, although Hürrem's successor Nurbanu Sultan and her successor Safiye Sultan exchanged letters with queens, there is no other example of a sultana who personally contacted a king other than Hürrem Sultan. She pleads with the King to trust her envoy Hassan Ağa, who verbally delivered another message from her. Some sentences of the letter sent to Warsaw by Haseki Sultan are as follows:

"We learned that you became the king of Poland after your father passed away. Allah knows the truth of everything; we were very happy and pleased. Light came to our hearts, joy and happiness came to our hearts. We wish your reign to be auspicious, fruitful and long-lasting. The command belongs to Allah Almighty; we advise you to act in accordance with the decrees (orders) of Allah Almighty..."

In her second letter to Sigismund Augustus, written in response to his letter, Hürrem expresses in superlative terms her joy at hearing that the king is in good health and that he sends assurances of his sincere friendliness and attachment towards Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She quotes the sultan as saying, "with the old king we were like brothers, and if it pleases the All-Merciful God, with this king we will be as father and son." With this letter, Hurrem sent Sigismund II the gift of two pairs of linen shirts and pants, some belts, six handkerchiefs, and a hand-towel, with a promise to send a special linen robe in the future.

There are reasons to believe that these two letters were more than just diplomatic gestures, and that Suleiman's references to brotherly or fatherly feelings were not a mere tribute to political expediency. The letters also suggest Hürrem's strong desire to establish personal contact with the king. In his 1551 letter to Sigismund II concerning the embassy of Piotr Opaliński, Suleiman wrote that the Ambassador had seen "Your sister and my wife." Whether this phrase refers to a warm friendship between the Polish-Lithuanian monarch and Ottoman Haseki, or whether it suggests a closer relation, the degree of their intimacy definitely points to a special link between the two states at the time.

Charities and patronage

Aside from her political concerns, Hürrem was engaged in several major works of public buildings, from Makkah to Jerusalem (Al-Quds), which resembled in part the charitable model of the caliph Harun al-Rashid's consort Zubaida. However, the complete list of all the structures associated with Hürrem Sultan — some built at her personal instigation, others in her name — remains unknown.

Hürrem Sultan's foundations ensured that many thousands would have access to her philanthropy and thus be grateful for her concern (and that of the dynasty) for their well-being. They were situated at key sites in the empire: in the seats of the dynasty in Istanbul and Edirne, in the Muslim Holy Places and in Jerusalem. The earliest was the complex in Constantinople built for her – the first mosque complex sponsored by a royal woman to be built there. It was also the first complex constructed in Constantinople by Mimar Sinan, his largest commission to date which he received when he was appointed in his new position as the chief imperial architect in 1538 after Acem Ali (d.1539). This complex included a mosque, two Quranic schools (madrassa), a fountain, and a women's hospital near the women's slave market (Avret Pazary) in Constantinople (Haseki Sultan Complex). The mosque was designed between 1537 and 1539, the madrasa was completed a year later in 1539–40 and the soup-kitchen in 1540–41. The hospital only got completed around 1550–51. This hospital was beyond unique in not only being the earliest women's hospital in history but also for its concern for mental health catering to mad women for which – unprecedentedly – women attendants were employed. Although the original building has been destroyed, on its site today is Istanbul's modern hospital for women, which is named for Hürrem. The fact that it was the third largest building in the capital at that time, only after the Fatih mosque and Suleymaniye Mosque, testifies to Hürrem's exalted status.

The most famous of the Ottoman women's markets is the women's market established at the junction of Kocamustafapaşa Street and Yağhâne in Cerrahpaşa. According to sources, this market was first opened by Hürrem and was established on the site of Forum Arcadii in front of the Arcadius Column from the Roman period, near the Haseki Hospital and Soup Kitchen that belonged to her first complex. At the end of the 19th century, there was a pillared bazaar in Haseki Avratpazarı, smaller than Direklerarası in Şehzadebaşı, and that in 1905, the roof with the pillars was removed and the shops were given a different shape.

Death

Hürrem died on 15 April 1558 due to an unknown illness. The French ambassador, Jean de la Vigne, wrote a letter to a colleague in which he states the ''La Assaqui'' (the Haseki) had passed early in the morning. The ambassador reported that the sultan's sorrow was so enormous that he had aged greatly. He also noted a promise that Suleiman had allegedly made to Hurrem days before her death:"They say that the day before she died, he promised her and swore by the soul of his father Selim that he would never approach another woman". The French ambassador remarked that the news of Hürrem's death was a big blow to the government because the majority of the statesmen were of her making. According to the ambassador, a change in the establishment was now expected to take place.

Hürrem's coffin was carried by the viziers to the mosque of Sultan Bayezid II, a journey which was almost certainly observed by hundreds of thousands of people. There funeral prayers were led by the chief mufti Ebu Suud. She was buried in a domed mausoleum (türbe) decorated in exquisite Iznik tiles depicting the garden of paradise, perhaps in homage to her smiling and joyful nature. Her mausoleum is adjacent to Suleiman's, a more somber, domed structure, at the courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque.

Issue

Hürrem was an extremely affectionate mother who was very devoted to her children. With Suleiman, Hürrem had at least six children. Due to high infant mortality rates at the time, it is plausible that few of her children had died young and were thus excluded from historical records, especially if they were daughters who were not considered as politically consequential because generally no significant political constellation could be based on the mother-daughter relationship. Even Mihrimah's existence was ignored in the oft-quoted report of 1526 by Bragadin. By 1520, Suleiman was the father of four children from different concubines (of whom only Mustafa would survive), but after he met Hürrem upon assuming his sultanate, all his children henceforth were born of Hürrem. Among her six known children were five sons and one daughter:

Şehzade Mehmed (September 1522, Old Palace, Constantinople – 7 November 1543, Manisa Palace, Manisa, buried in Şehzade Mosque, Constantinople). Hürrem's firstborn. He became the sanjak-bey of Manisa and presumptive heir to the throne especially from 1541 until his death.

Mihrimah Sultan (September 1522, Old Palace, Constantinople – 25 January 1578, Old Palace, Constantinople, buried in Suleiman I Mausoleum, Süleymaniye Mosque). Hürrem's only daughter, she was named "Mihrümah", i.e."Sun and Moon" in Persian, however there are other versions of this name. She used to sign herself as "Hanım Sultan". She was married to Rüstem Pasha, later Ottoman Grand Vizier, on 26 November 1539, and had a daughter and possibly a son.

Selim II (28 May 1524, Old Palace, Constantinople – 15 December 1574, Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, buried in Selim II Mausoleum, Hagia Sophia Mosque). He was sanjak-bey of Karaman, then of Manisa after Mehmed's death and later governor of Konya and Kütahya. As Suleiman's only son that survived after him, he ascended to the throne on 30 September 1566 as Selim II.

Şehzade Abdullah (c. 1525, Old Palace, Constantinople – c. 1528, Old Palace, Constantinople, buried in Yavuz Selim Mosque).

Şehzade Bayezid (c. 1527, Old Palace, Constantinople – 25 September 1561, Qazvin, Safavid Empire, buried in Melik-i Acem Türbe, Sivas). He was governor of Karaman, Kütahya and later Amasya. He rebelled against his father for the throne and was, for this, executed by him, together with his sons.

Appearance and personality

Hürrem's contemporaries described her as a woman who was strikingly good-looking, and distinguished from everyone else because of her red hair. Another contemporary described Hürrem as: "She is a blonde with big bright blue eyes and long braids. The whiteness and brightness of her body was strikingly beautiful." A traveller who met her recounted: "She had a constant smile on her most beauteous face, a slightly upturned nose and a sarcastic expression on her lips." A French account described her thusly:

There is no empire in the world more absolute than that of beauty; a woman who knows how to manage her charms can call herself truly powerful. The masters of the universe have sometimes been governed by those who had been their slaves. We have seen these kinds of prodigies under several princes who could claim immortality through the glory of their actions, and the infinite complaisance of Soliman for the superb Roxelane provides a famous example ... Roxelane was beautiful beyond words or expressions, sprightly, possessed of an adroit mind and an artful and bold vanity, she appeared before him [Soliman] and made him fall more and more in love than he ever could have been, becoming the mistress of his heart and secrets..."

Hürrem was also noted as being intelligent, intuitive, ambitious, "possessed of a crystalline laughter," grace, charm and good humour. She was known to have a pleasant personality, as well. Her love of poetry is considered one of the reasons which resonated with Suleiman, an admirer of poetry and an accomplished poet himself, who already loved and favoured her. However, Hürrem only gained a good command over written Turkish post mid-1520s, as Hürrem's early letters were written in high chancery style and in an elegant hand, i.e., most likely by a harem scribe; even then, though, she often appended personal notes in less stilted Turkish, which reflect a more personal register: "My Sultan, there's no limit to the burning anguish of separation. Now spare this miserable one and don't withhold your noble letters. When your letters are read, your servant and son Mir Mehmed and your slave and daughter Mihrümah weep and wail from missing you. Their weeping has driven me mad."

Hürrem is renowned as a munificent and charitable woman especially to the under-privileged. She built numerous mosques, madrasahs, hammams, and resting places for pilgrims travelling to the Islamic holy city of Makkah besides the abundant works built by her and in her name, the complete list of which remains unknown. One of her greatest and enduring philanthropical works was the Great Waqf of Al-Quds, a large soup kitchen in Jerusalem that fed the poor.

Legacy

Hürrem is well-known both in modern Turkey and in the West, and is the subject of many artistic works. In 1561, three years after her death, the French author Gabriel Bounin wrote a tragedy titled La Soltane. This tragedy marks the first time the Ottomans were introduced on stage in France. She has inspired paintings, musical works (including Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 63), an opera by Denys Sichynsky, a ballet, plays, and several novels written mainly in Russian and Ukrainian, but also in English, French, German and Polish.

In early modern Spain, she appears or is alluded to in works by Quevedo and other writers as well as in a number of plays by Lope de Vega. In a play entitled The Holy League, Titian appears on stage at the Venetian Senate, and stating that he has just come from visiting the Sultan, displays his painting of Sultana Rossa or Roxelana.

In 2007, Muslims in Mariupol, a port city in Ukraine opened a mosque to honour Roxelana.

In the 2003 TV miniseries, Hürrem Sultan, she was played by Turkish actress and singer Gülben Ergen. In the 2011–2014 TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Hürrem Sultan is portrayed by Turkish-German actress Meryem Uzerli from seasons one to three. For the series' last season, she is portrayed by Turkish actress Vahide Perçin. Hürrem is portrayed by Megan Gale in the 2022 movie Three Thousand Years of Longing.

In 2013, Croatian singer Severina made a song "Hurem" after national success of TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl, which was broadcast in Croatia. As of 2024 the song has 28 million views.

In 2019, a mention of a Russian origin for Hürrem was removed from the visitor panel near her tomb at the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul at the request of the Ukrainian embassy in Turkey.

Visual tradition

Although male European artists were denied access to the harem, Hürrem is the Ottoman imperial consort with the most portraits to her name. Scholars thus agree that European artists created a visual identity for Ottoman women that was largely imagined. The artists Titian, Melchior Lorich and Sebald Beham were all influential in creating a visual representation of Hürrem. Images of the chief consort emphasized her beauty and wealth, and she is almost always depicted with elaborate headwear.

The Venetian painter Titian is reputed to have painted Hürrem in 1550. Although he never visited Constantinople, he either imagined her appearance or had a sketch of her. In a letter to Philip II of Spain, the painter claims to have sent him a copy of this "Queen of Persia" in 1552. The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida, purchased the original or a copy around 1930. Titian's painting of Hürrem is very similar to his portrait of her daughter, Mihrimah Sultan.

In literature and popular culture

The novel Roxelana și Soliman (1987) by Romanian author Vintilă Corbul is a fictionalized account of the love story between Hürrem, who is identified as Polish noblewoman Alexandra Lisowska, and Suleiman the Magnificent.

Portrayed by Mine Manavoglu in the TV Mini Series Mimar Sinan (1988)

Portrayed by Claudia Cardinale in the film La batalla de los Tres Reyes (1990)

Portrayed by Olha Sumska in the Ukrainian series Roxolana (1997–2003)

Portrayed by Gülben Ergen in the Turkish miniseries Hürrem Sultan (2003)

Portrayed by Sólveig Arnarsdóttir in the documentary miniseries Mätressen – Die geheime Macht der Frauen (Mistresses – The Secret Power of Women) (2005)

Portrayed by Olena Yeremenko in the Ukrainian documentary Roxolana: Bloody Path to the Throne (2008)

Portrayed by Hülya Avşar in the documentary drama series 8 Ülke 8 Yönetmen & Sinan (2010)

Portrayed by Meryem Uzerli and Vahide Perçin in the Turkish series Muhteşem Yüzyıl (2011–2014)

"Hurem", a 2013 song by Severina, was inspired by Uzerli's portrayal.

Portrayed by Megan Gale in the film Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)