The Eastern treasure of Sultan

“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”

From the poem by Sultan Suleiman to Hürrem Sultan – Roxelane

      She had been the one. Chosen. Stolen. A lady of glory, a slave, a queen… Roxelane, widely known as Sultana Hoyam.

    The name, that became a part of Ukrainian & Eastern history, simple girl, who was captured by the violent conquerors from  the Ottoman Empire, sold for the slavery… to become a beloved wife of Sultan Suleiman, the Magnificent, and the mother of his heritor.

     Till now historians and journalists are into arguments and discussion, of Roxelane’s Ukrainian origin, however, she had became a part of Ukrainian national folklore, and her story has always been and still remains popular.

     Suleiman, the only son of Sultan Selim the first, was the hope of the nation, a wise leader with brilliant education and a ruler, who brought his Empire to secede even more by new conquest in West and East. Suleiman the Magnificent never used to be conquered. Before he met her.

     She was one of hundreds Ukrainians sold in the Ottoman slave market. She was lucky enough to be picked for Sultan’s harem, however she could never be allowed even to parade before the Sultan.

     She got training, the hard one, under the supervision of the kagia-kadin, the top female attendant in charge of the harem. The candidates learned the right way of walking, dressing, talking, science and poetry, basics of Islam and etiquette: every little detail they might be required by their lord in order to please him.

     It was her day. She was introduced and he could barely hold his breath. Suleiman the Magnificent was conquered for the first time twenty-six-year-old experienced warrior surrendered before the beauty and charisma of a fifteen-year-old old Ukrainian concubine.

     Roxelane became the beloved wife of her lord, was allowed to give birth to more than one son. That was a stark violation of the old royal harem principle, “one concubine mother — one son,” she presented her husband the firstborn Mehmed in 1521, she bore the Sultan four more sons — Abdullah (b. 1522), Selim (b. 1524), Bayazid (b. 1525), Jihangir (b. 1531, a hunchback), and eventually the daughter Mihrimah (b. 1522)

     Later she reached the top by becoming of “walide sultan” (mother of the reigning sultan).  Her son Selim II, replaced his father on the throne of the Ottoman Empire.

     Roxelane died in 1558 and her beloved Suleyman in 1566. He had Roxelane’s remains buried in a resplendent tomb in the mosque he built, Suleymaniye, one of the great architectural landmarks of the Ottoman Empire. The later years of Suleyman were troubled by the conflict between his sons, the princes Selim and Bayezid over the succession to the throne, which ended with the defeat and execution of Bayezid. Suleyman himself died while besieging the fortress of Szigetvar in Hungary.

     The beauty of Ukrainian women must have been so magnetic (or maybe the memory of Roxelane’s powerful personality exercised a strong influence on later Ottoman rulers) that in the seventeenth century two more sultans, Suleyman II and Ibrahim I, were married to Ukrainian women.

     Roxolane was special; she had something stronger, than just beauty. She had her grip to steal the heart of the winner.

By Elena Aznekyan

Based on: http://www.uio.no

http://www.wumag.kiev.ua