ROXELANA AS A GOOD MOTHER and GRANDMOTHER IN THE OTTOMON EMPIRE

While her husband Suleyman the Magnificent was away at war, the once-slave Roxelana wrote him letters daily saying how much she and their children - missed him.  She did not want him to forget them or forget that they waited on his return.

The Prince had an older son by another, older woman of the harem who had also started out in slavery. That son had reportedly tried to dethrone his father.  Perhaps it wasn't true but a set up when he was strangled to death in a coup when he went to visit his father, Suleyman. This got blamed on Roxelana but it might have been Suleyman himself who was behind the killing. Roxelana had long had to do her best getting along with this older woman who had given Suleyman his first son, but when that son died, his mother was left without any life purpose or power in the situation.

Suleyman's own mother had been a Slavic slave woman!  One does wonder, and the book does not answer this, if perhaps the prince was raised to be more Slavic by his mother than indoctrinated into the Moslem Turk ways. It seems to me that this program of breeding women to bear sons meant a change in their DNA. It's the old question of nature versus nurture.

Boys were raised to be soldier, leaders, a high administrator or boss, even a ruthless one. In this world in which roles were restricted and defined by gender, few people had choices about what they might want to do with their lives. However, there was still some wisdom and compassion in assigning men their position.

After Roxelana had her first son, Suleyman did not leave her bed as was expected. They had five children, four sons and a daughter.  Mehmed, Mihrumah - the daughter, Abdullah, Bayezid, and  Cihangar. In the end one of the sons was too disabled in some way to rise up into an important role. He remained at home with her. They grew up quickly and were assigned important positions while still teenagers. 

The three sons who made it into their teens were sent away to Anatola to important jobs and with the duty to get women pregnant to continue their line. They were not considered to be soldiers but I do wonder if perhaps it was that Roxelana prevailed, not wanting to loose her children in war. Another rule was broken. She did not go with any of them. The oldest son died there of the plague. If she had not had more children, Roxelana would have had the fate of her predecessor, and lost her power. They were deeply grieved - another sign that this family was extraordinary. Three sons each had a daughter by a concubine and finally one of them had a son. Roxelana broke another rule and established relationships with each of the mothers of her grandchildren. However, one of the sons was also executed. That left her and Suleyman with two sons to count on.

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