- Also spelled:
- Roxolana
- Also called:
- Hürrem Sultan
- Original name (?):
- Aleksandra Lisovska
- Born:
- c. 1505, Rohatyn, Poland [now in Ukraine]
- Died:
- April 1558, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]
Roxelana
-
Who was Roxelana?
Roxelana, a Slavic woman born around 1505 in Rohatyn, Poland (now Ukraine), was captured and forced into concubinage. Later, she became the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent. Known as Hürrem, meaning "joyful one," in Turkish, she bore Süleyman at least five sons and, breaking with Ottoman tradition, was legally married to him, which freed her from enslavement.
Roxelana wielded considerable power through her influence and mastery of palace intrigue. She corresponded with foreign leaders, commissioned public works, and increased the importance of her harem by moving it to Topkapı Palace. Roxelana died in April 1558. Her son, Selim II, succeeded Süleyman as emperor.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who did Roxelana marry?
Roxelana, a woman of Slavic origin, was captured and later became the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent, an Ottoman sultan. Roxelana and Süleyman shared a close bond, expressing their feelings through poetry during his military campaigns. Their relationship was so strong that he legally married her, which was very unusual.
She was also known as Hürrem, meaning "joyful one" in Turkish. Roxelana bore Süleyman at least four more sons and remained in the capital even after they came of age. Roxelana died in April 1558, and Süleyman passed away in 1566. Their son, Selim II, succeeded him as the Ottoman emperor.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Roxelana become influential at the Ottoman court?
Roxelana, born in present-day Ukraine around 1505, was captured by Crimean Tatars and sold into the Ottoman court, where she became the wife of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Roxelana, also known as Hürrem, meaning "joyful one", gained influence through her relationship with Süleyman. They wrote poetry to each other, and she corresponded with foreign leaders on matters of state. Roxelana became a patroness of public works, commissioning projects such as the Haseki mosque complex. Roxelana's rise led to accusations of witchcraft from her enemies and suspicions that she plotted against rivals to increase her power. Roxelana's legacy is often linked to the "Sultanate of the Women," a period when the harem's influence overshadowed that of the grand vizier.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why was Roxelana unusual among Ottoman sultans' wives?
Roxelana, a slave who became the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent, broke with Ottoman tradition in several ways. A concubine was only allowed one son, and when that son came of age, she was required to leave the capital with him. Roxelana bore Süleyman at least four more sons and remained in the capital.
Süleyman legally married Roxelana, which was highly unusual, as the Sultan's concubines' sons were considered heirs, so marriage seemed unnecessary. As the Sultan’s bride, Roxelana was freed from slavery. Roxelana's influence increased the importance of her harem, and she arranged for it to be moved to Topkapı Palace, where Süleyman lived. Roxelana advised Süleyman on matters of state and corresponded with foreign leaders.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What changes did Roxelana help to bring about in the Ottoman Empire?
Roxelana, a wife of the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, wielded considerable power through her influence and palace intrigue. She corresponded with foreign leaders and became a patroness of public works, commissioning projects such as the Haseki mosque complex, schools, and a hospital.
Roxelana increased the importance of her harem by moving it to the Topkapı Palace. Some accused her of plotting assassinations to eliminate rivals. Her legacy contributed to the "Sultanate of the Women," where the harem's influence often overshadowed that of the grand vizier.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is Roxelana remembered in history today?
Today, Roxelana is remembered as a woman who, despite being forced into concubinage, became the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent and wielded considerable power through her influence and mastery of palace intrigue.
Roxelana and Süleyman had a close relationship, expressing their love through poetry and maintaining correspondence during his military campaigns. She also corresponded with foreign leaders and became a patron of public works, commissioning projects such as the Haseki mosque complex. Roxelana's enemies attributed her success to witchcraft and accused her of plotting assassinations to eliminate rivals. Her legacy includes increasing the importance of her harem and contributing to the "Sultanate of the Women" during the reign of her son, Selim II.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Roxelana (born c. 1505, Rohatyn, Poland [now in Ukraine]—died April 1558, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]) was a Slavic woman who was forced into concubinage and later became the wife of the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Through her influence on the sultan and her mastery of palace intrigue, Roxelana wielded considerable power.
Early life, capture, and marriage
Roxelana was born about 1505 in the town of Rohatyn, in what is now western Ukraine. According to some sources, her Christian name was Aleksandra Lisovska. The moniker Roxelana, by which she became known in Europe, probably originated as a reference to her Rusyn, or Ruthenian, roots. She was captured as a young girl by Crimean Tatar raiders and taken to Constantinople (now Istanbul), the Ottoman capital, where she was sold in a slave market to someone connected to Süleyman, who became sultan in 1520. She was then made to convert to Islam and entered the harem, the royal household in which hundreds of women were held in sexual servitude to the sultan. Roxelana was not strikingly beautiful, but she had a pleasing personality (her Turkish name, Hürrem, means “joyful one”), and she quickly made a special place for herself in the harem. She bore her first son, Mehmed, in 1521 and supplanted Gülbahar (also called Mahidevran) as the haseki, or royal favourite. By Ottoman imperial custom, a concubine was allowed to have only one son; when he came of age, mother and son were sent away together. However, Roxelana bore at least four more sons to Süleyman and remained in the capital even after they came of age. At some point, Süleyman legally married Roxelana, an even more extraordinary occurrence. Inasmuch as the concubines’ sons were regarded as the sultans’ heirs, few sultans saw the necessity of marriage. As the sultan’s bride, Roxelana was freed from slavery.
Political influence
Roxelana and Süleyman had a close relationship. During his frequent absences on military campaigns, they wrote poetry to each other. Roxelana also corresponded on matters of state with Sigismund II Augustus, king of Poland, and with the wife and sister of Ṭahmāsp I, shah of Persia. She also became a patroness of public works, commissioning many projects for the Ottoman royal architect Sinan. Their first big project, started by 1539, was the Haseki mosque complex in Constantinople. Two schools and a hospital were among its components. She also commissioned the Haseki Hürrem Ḥammān (1556), an Islamic bath, in Constantinople.
So extraordinary was Roxelana’s success that her enemies saw witchcraft as the only possible explanation for it. She was also characterized as a schemer who plotted the assassination of İbrahim Paşa, the sultan’s grand vizier (chief minister), in 1536, in order to eliminate a rival influence on the sultan. She increased the importance of her harem by arranging for it to be moved from the Old Seraglio (Eski Saray) to the Topkapı Palace, where Süleyman lived and held court. Süleyman and Roxelana grieved when Mehmed, the heir apparent, died in 1543. Their daughter Mihrimah was given in marriage to a courtier named Rüstem, who became grand vizier in 1544. Rüstem and Roxelana were suspected of plotting the execution in 1553 of Gülbahar’s son Mustafa, who, as Süleyman’s oldest surviving son, stood between Roxelana’s own remaining sons and the imperial succession.
Roxelana died in April 1558. Süleyman lived on until 1566 and was succeeded as Ottoman emperor by Selim II, sometimes known as “the sot,” a weak ruler who was nonetheless Roxelana’s last surviving son. During Selim’s reign, the influence of the harem often overshadowed that of the grand vizier, resulting in the so-called “Sultanate of the Women,” a state of affairs often attributed to Roxelana’s legacy.