THE STATUE OF HURREM SULTANA IN ROHATYN

"Statue of Nastia Lisovska in downtown Rohatyn.

You'll note that Roxelana's name has variations. 

Her given name may be Alexsandra or some version of Natasia.

According to the Wikipedia site about the town of Rohatyn, in 1520 the region was attacked by Crimean Tatars and she was captured there and then sold to the Ottomon Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.  The region has been part of Poland and is currently in Ukraine.

I find it very interesting that the town acknowledges her birth there.  I wonder what they knew during her lifetime.  Did her family know where she was?  That she was alive? Were they ever able to communicate by letter, perhaps?

THE WIDOWER SULEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT

Roxelana, Princess Hurrem, born Aleksandra Lisovska about 1515, died in the spring of 1558. She had chronic health conditions but it might have been malaria or another disease that swept through the Old Palace. Suleyman outlived her by about eight years and was near 90 years old when he died in Southern Hungary.  He had managed to survive many military campaigns and the deaths of children, for a few years after she died, another son was executed. He was reportedly in great grief over his wife's death, for they had been a married couple since 1535 and their relationship had gone on for years before that.

Something I was struck by while reading Empress of the East was how gender roles were so restricted and, by my way of thinking, were extreme. This was a world in which for women mothering was the ultimate expectation for which a woman could derive glory, but usually only through her hyper masculine sons and their importance, and men sought to achieve power through battle and a competitiveness that meant that they would have their own son's executed if they tried to usurp them. 

"So many slain princess led to rule of automatic succession of the oldest living dynast" and that continued until 1922. (Page 314)

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

MIHRUMAH, THE DAUGHTER OF PRINCESS HURREM and SULEYMAN IS MARRIED OFF

Because Roxelana managed to marry Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, against all odds, as Princess Hurrem she did well by her daughter as well, who was also now eligible to marry.

The rules for a Moslem woman who was not enslaved for marriage in the Islamic Caliphate were that if she was a virgin, and of course that was expected, she could refuse any proposal of marriage. She could also divorce. However, I do think there was pressure on these women to accept the matchmaking that was done on their behalf and to remain married, just as there is today.  Mihrumah was married at seventeen to a man of Croatian origin, Rustem, who was a statesman in Istanbul.  I find it interesting that this man also came from a culture that was mostly Christian, but do not know if he was Christian or Moslem.  A little more research revealed that there were people of other religions such as Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire  He was twice her age. (Page 207)

Roxelana as Princess Hurrem also rose to the responsibility and authority of matchmaking slave women. Interestingly, they were allowed to marry and a good Moslem was to free a slave after seven years of service.  A newly freed woman was also allowed to have her own slaves. Not to defend slavery, but this seems a bit like 16th century internships!

Another surprise I found in Leslie Pierce's book was that eunuchs were allowed to marry and also could reproduce. I thought eunuchs were men who had been castrated and thus trusted to be around the harem without having sex with the women or interfering in this breeding program.  However a little more research revealed that the term could simply mean that these were trusted slaves who protected the women in their bedchambers.

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

PRINCESS HURREM USES HER STATION TO DO GOOD WORKS

Princess Hurrem decided to make a mark on the society in which she lived by starting a tradition that her female lineage would continue, and that was to do good things for the people, to be charitable and to have a duty towards the people. Though she was born into a Christian family as a Ruthenian, she was raised to be a devout Moslem and was a sincere believer. Her husband was blood-thirsty, a man known for slaughter, but she managed to create civilization within their Moslem world. She had mosques built, was behind schools for the children, a hospital, a soup kitchen, and even waterworks such as fountains. Thousands went to work on these projects.

A philanthropic tradition in her name began and it was not just in Istanbul but also in Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, and other places of pilgrimage. She was behind hotels for those who traveled and made pilgrimages. In doing so, the women of her lineage had much to do besides being mothers. By doing what might have been considered impossible - rising up from harem slavery to being a married woman with more than one child - her daughters were not enslaved and could also marry.

She was exceptional.

When she traveled, her entourage of carriages and servants displayed her wealth and power so the people who saw her could gaze her way but she remained hidden and unseen.

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

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.

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.

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.

*

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.

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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.