Who is Hürrem Sultan, where is he from, how did he die?

Since it was men who wrote the history, even if the records so far say that men rule the world, when we scrutinize these records a little, a woman will definitely come out. The most important of these women in Ottoman history is Hürrem Sultan. Hürrem Sultan, who came to the palace in the most magnificent period of the Ottoman Empire, She conquered the heart of Suleiman the Magnificent, who brought the world to its knees, with her beauty and quick wit.

Hürrem Sultan achieved a first in Ottoman history after a long time by marrying the Magnificent, but at the same time she intervened in the administration so much that later on, she started the period of women’s reign, which was thought to bring the end of the entire empire. In general, although there are admirable points Who is Hürrem Sultan, a figure criticized Let’s take a closer look and look for answers to the questions asked about in the dusty pages of history.

Who is Hurrem Sultan? Woman without a past:

There is not much information about Hürrem Sultan’s life until he came to the palace. According to the consensus of experts, she was born in the city of Rohatyn within the borders of today’s Ukraine, which was in the Kingdom of Poland at that time, in 1502 or 1504 as the daughter of an Orthodox family. Presumably in 1520. slightly older than 15 He was kidnapped by Tatar raiders who attacked the city.

The young girl, whose real name is thought to be Alexandra, was first given to the Khan of Crimea after she was kidnapped. After being sent to the Ottoman palace by the Crimean Khan as one of many slaves and concubines, she took the name Hürrem, which means cheerful person. According to the records of the European ambassadors of the period Hürrem, a beautiful woman with green eyes, white skin, red hair; He met Kanuni either in the last year of his princedom or in the first year of his sultanate, and entered his harem.

As soon as Hürrem enters the palace, she makes a mess and finally manages to get married to Kanuni:

The most important woman in the harem at that time was Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, and Mahidevran Sultan, the mother of Şehzade Mustafa, who had been together with Kanuni when he was still a prince. With the birth of Şehzade Mehmed in 1521 Hürrem became the third most powerful woman in the harem. Hürrem became the winner of the competition between these two women who gave birth to a prince and received the title Haseki, and Mahidevran was sent to his son in Manisa.

Ottoman sultans used to marry their beloved concubines before, but After Bayezid I lost the Ankara War, his married wife was used as a servant by Timur. this tradition disappeared and for a long time, no sultan had a wedding ceremony so that the wives of the sultans would not be subjected to such ill-treatment. Until Hürrem Sultan.

It is not known what happened in between, but according to estimates, in June 1534 Marriage between Kanuni and Hürrem and thus Hürrem became the most powerful woman in the harem, taking the title Haseki Sultan. Being the first concubine to be married by an Ottoman sultan after more than a hundred years added strength to Hürrem’s power. When Valide Hafsa Sultan died, the whole harem was left to Hürrem.

The blood of İbrahim Pasha is on Hürrem’s hand:

Of course, Hürrem wanted one of his own sons to ascend to the throne, like all Hasekis, but the favorite of Grand Vizier İbrahim Pasha, who was also Kanuni’s closest friend, was Şehzade Mustafa. Ibrahim Pasha on the night of March 14, 1536 when he was strangled in his palace apartment The obstacle in front of Hürrem was lifted. It is said that Hürrem had a great influence on this execution.

After İbrahim Pasha’s death, Hürrem became more and more involved in state affairs. Even so Worshiping the harem in the Old Palace After a suspicious fire in 1541, he managed to transport it to Topkapı Palace, the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire.

Although Hürrem loves the government, she continues her efforts to bring forward her sons, whom she cannot ascend to the throne. According to tradition, the prince ascending to Manisa Sanjak is the strongest candidate to ascend to the throne. Manisa Sanjak, where Prince Mustafa had been until that day, changed hands with the decision of Kanuni in 1541 and Prince Mehmet, the son of Hürrem, was sent there. Hürrem does not go to the starboard with her son by breaking all the traditions and stays in Istanbul.

The event that changed the history of the Ottoman Empire: The drowning of Şehzade Mustafa

Hürrem Sultan had become more and more interfering in state affairs after the execution of Grand Vizier İbrahim Pasha, but small obstacles still continued to appear in front of him. To eliminate this His daughter Mihrimah married the Governor of Diyarbakir Rüstem Pasha. and made him the grand vizier with the title of groom.

Of course, the biggest obstacle to the absolute dominance of Hürrem Sultan was Şehzade Mustafa, who was loved by everyone and had a high probability of ascending the throne. According to the rumor, Hürrem prepared a play with Rüstem Pasha and misled Kanuni. Suleiman the Magnificent, who believed that Prince Mustafa was preparing a rebellion. He had his own son strangled, and thus the biggest obstacle in front of Hürrem was removed. Şehzade Cihangir, who could not bear this pain, fell ill and died.

Hürrem Sultan takes the title of shah by expanding the business:

Hürrem Sultan, who now fully holds state affairs, By executing Kara Ahmed Pasha He secured the seat of the grand vizier of Rüstem Pasha. Hürrem, who exaggerates the management business, is the only haseki sultan who corresponds personally with the King of Poland. It is known that Hürrem has many international contacts like this.

Hürrem Sultan, distraught with power, started to sign his letters as Hürrem Shah by assigning a title to himself and He was addressed as His Holiness Ismetlu Hürrem Shah Sultan of the State, Aliyyetü’ş-Şan. Hürrem Sultan, who even has her own seal, presented her ideas to the sultan by watching the divan meetings and thus officially started the women’s reign in Ottoman history.

After his death, Hürrem Sultan became a worldwide legend:

Of course, the world that did not belong to anyone did not belong to Hürrem, and He died on April 15, 1558. Hürrem Sultan, who was buried in the courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque, has a tomb there today. It is interesting that he could not see the ascension of his son Selim, for whom he had hurt so many lives.

The second part of Austrian composer Joseph Haydn’s 63rd Symphony tells about Hürrem Sultan. There are countless ballet, opera and theater works about Hürrem Sultan. His life is described in a German documentary called Die Geliebte des Sultans. Among the many television series and feature films, of course, the production that we know best is the Magnificent Century series.

She is one of the few women in Ottoman history. Who is Hürrem Sultan, the wife of Kanuni We talked about the story of this interesting historical figure by answering the question. You can share your thoughts about Hürrem Sultan and the women’s reign that started after it, in the comments.

You can read the life story of Mahidevran, another sultan of the Ottoman Empire, here:

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