ROXELANA THE RUTHENIAN SLAVE GIRL WHO BECAME the QUEEN TO TURKISH SULTAN SULEYNMAN THE MAGNIFICENT

In July 2018 here at Mistress Manifesto, I featured Sally Hemmings, born a slave, who is rumored to have been the long-time mistress to widower Thomas Jefferson, who become President of the United States in 1801 and served till 1809. We wondered if their relationship was consensual and real love, which I think it was. Did you know the word slave comes from the word Slavic? This book tells the story of slavers who captured Slavic people in what is today Ukraine and walked them into Turkey to be bought and sold. Some of them survived this march and adapted to life under the Turks. This version of slavery was perhaps not as bad as what is depicted of slaves brought to the United States because Muslim law was that a man should free his slaves after seven years of service.  Some of them did.

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PRINCESS HURREM aka ROXELANA

Born about 1515 - 1558

Aleksandra Lisovska

The  Ruthenian woman who would become Princess Hurrem, was born Aleksandra** Lisovska in Rohatyn, Poland which is now in Ukraine, and died in Constantinople, which is now Istanbul, Turkey.  Roxlana was captured as a slave by Turks at thirteen and managed to emerge from the harem to become the beloved wife of a man who actually led tremendous violence, the massacre of the Hungarian people and the ruination of their country, Prince Suleyman The Great. Clearly, this woman tapped into another side to this man and achieved unusual power for a woman and also remarkable achievement. She kept the home fires burning while her partner was out soldiering. She made the very best of her situation, rising in status until she was able to build mosques, hospitals, and schools and that is inspirational.

The Turks got their slaves, girls and boys, women and men, from one of the poorest parts of Europe. There were slavers who included Tatars and even Venetians, from what is now Venice, Italy. Some slaves experienced a better standard of living than they had in their home country which they were not likely to see again. Slaves were used for a variety of activities including being soldiers in the military.

Up to 600 women lived together in a harem. For many women, their life in the harem was to be a servant to other women. The idea of the harem, in this case, was not for sexual pleasure. Women were to live separate of men in this Moslem culture, and so it was not just slave women who lived there.  A woman might live in the harem her entire life and remain a virgin because she had not been chosen by a Prince.  

A Prince could not marry a slave. If she was chosen, a Prince would have sex with her until she gave him a son. Then he would move on to another woman. His duty was to have as many sons as possible. You could say it was a breeding program with rules. Then it was the mother's job to raise this son, to entirely devoting herself to mothering him so that he could have a position of importance in the military or in the administration of the kingdom. Many women who had a son lost him to illness. She was then left to live her life without family.

Although this strategy for having heirs seems cold-hearted, we must realize that at the time there was nothing like modern medicine and even having many children did not guarantee one of them would live to adulthood or be capable. Interestingly, the Moslems did use contraception, had midwives and doctors, and might have been one of the most advanced cultures during this time.

The women in the harem could be competitive in attracting a Prince and becoming a favorite. It's suggested that Roxelana was intelligent and excellent at navigating the culture.

Here was how a woman born a poor peasant and taken out of her culture could be considered a "Royal Mother." I find it interesting that these Turkish princes found Slavic women to be desirable as mothers to their sons.

Because the Venetians (Venice, Italy) were involved in this slave trade and had ambassadors at the Turkish court. They were very interested in Roxelana and much of what we know of her comes from their reports.  

In 1534 a Venetian envoy reported that Roxelana and Suleyman were wed.  In Istanbul, the Turk's headquarters, just that she was a favorite.

C 2022 Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot

This post also includes information from Encyclopedia Britannica

You may also be interested in reading about :

JILLIAN LAUREN : FROM NEW JERSEY TO THE SULTANS HAREM TO LITERARY SUCCESS : MISTRESS OF THE MONTH June 2013

SALLY HEMINGS - WAS SHE A WILLING MISTRESS of THOMAS JEFFERSON or A RAPED SLAVE?  June 2018

SLAVIC WOMEN : IMPORTED AS BRIDES - MISTRESSES - TURNED OUT AS PROSTITUTES - RUSSIAN - UKRAINIAN - POLISH   July 2014

* The image of Roxelana on the book comes from a portrait by Titian, called La Sultana Rossa circa 1550 and therefore we can hope it is fairly accurate.  She was a red head. 

** Also called Nastia.