Mihrimah Sultan

Mihrimah Sultan (, "sun and moon" or "light of the moon", ; 1522 – 25 January 1578) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and his wife, Hürrem Sultan. She was the most powerful imperial princess in Ottoman history according to historian Mustafa Selaniki who described her as the greatest and most respected princess and a prominent figure in the so-called Sultanate of Women. In Europe she was known as Sultana Cameria, while in Constantinople she was known as Büyük Sultan (the Great Sultana). Name Mihrimah or Mihrümah means "Sun and Moon", or "Light of the Moon" in Persian. To Westerners, she was known as Sultana Cameria, which is a variant of Qamariyyah, an Arabic version of her name meaning "of the moon". Her portrait by Cristofano dell'Altissimo was entitled Cameria Solimani. She was also known as Hanım Sultan, which means "Madam Princess" or Büyük Sultan, which means "Great Princess", in reference to her prominent role during the reigns of her father Suleiman I, her brother Selim II and her nephew Murad III. Early life Mihrimah was born in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1522 during the reign of her father, Süleyman the Magnificent. Her mother was Hürrem Sultan, an Orthodox priest's daughter, who was the Sultan's concubine but was freed in 1533 or 1534 and became Suleyman's legal wife. Mihrimah had five brothers: Şehzade Mehmed, Şehzade Abdullah, who died at the age of three, Şehzade Selim (the future Selim II), Şehzade Bayezid, and Şehzade Cihangir. Well-educated and disciplined, she was also sophisticated, eloquent and well-read. Marriage