PRINCESS HURREM IS ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT

People could accept that Roxelana, who was called Princess Hurrem, might be a crafty woman, a seductive woman, who Suleyman had come to love, perhaps because she had excellent sexual skills. Or perhaps she had mastered the politics of the harem and was manipulative and conniving.  No doubt this marriage ended the hopes and dreams of some other women. However, that the Sultan had actually married her led some to think it was more, that she was a witch who used magical spells to claim him for herself. (Page 146)

"Perhaps not surprisingly, similar tales of the rustic female witch existed in the Ruthenian land of Roxelana's birth, at least in the eyes of the inhabitant's Polish overlords." (Page 147)

There was no evidence of her guilt.

She had been captured at 13 and had entered the harem at 17.  She had caught his eye. It was his choice. He was not a weak man.

She focused on being a good mother to her children.

She gave him a real, nuclear family.

She wrote him letters when he was in battle, so he did not forget her.

She used her station to do good works.

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Empress of the East by Leslie Pierce is the reference for this post.