Talking about the life of this outstanding woman is not easy. After all, her biography contains a lot of conflicting facts. Roksolana was born in the small town of Rogatin, which is located in Western Ukraine. Since at that time (approximately 1506) the territory of the modern Ivano-Frankivsk region was captured by the Poles, Roksolana is often called Polish. According to official figures, she was Ukrainian by nationality.
As for her real name, there are also heated discussions. In the sources of the XVI century about him there is no reliable data. But later a tradition appeared to call her Anastasia. Historians who tend to consider her Polish call this famous woman Alexandra. According to the most popular version, Anastasia was the daughter of a priest Gavrila Lisovsky.
Around 1520, the Tatars captured the girl. Then she was transported to the Crimea, to the city of Kafu (now Feodosia), and from there ended up in Istanbul. In the Turkish capital, she was noticed by the vizier Ibrahim Pasha, who gave it to Suleiman I. From that moment, her magnificent biography begins. Roksolana became the love of the life of the Sultan.
Once in the palace as an ordinary concubine, the girl was able to very quickly charm the ruler. There is evidence that Suleiman even dedicated poetry to her. In a harem for a good sense of humor and booming laughter Roksolana received the nickname Hurrem, which means "Merry."
After the wedding of Hurrem and the Turkish Sultan, it can be reliably said that her biography began to develop in a completely different way. Roksolana has now become an influential person in the Ottoman Empire, because she was considered the main wife of Suleiman. Prior to this, the sultans had never tied the knot. To get married, a Ukrainian woman had to convert to Islam.
In addition to its outward appeal, Roksolana was very wise and educated. She was well versed in art and politics, often personally received foreign rulers. When the couple separated, they corresponded in beautiful verses in Arabic and Persian.
A lot of dark spots are hidden in her biography. Roxolana, according to one version, was able to set up her husband against his son from the third wife of Mustafa. One way or another, but there is reliable evidence that, on the orders of the
Sultan, Mustafa was strangled.
The couple had five children - 4 sons and a daughter. True, only one of the sons survived Suleiman the Magnificent - Selim. All the rest died in the bloody struggle for the throne.
They say that even the mother of the Sultan was shocked by the cruel methods by which she won the power of Roksolan. The biography of this amazing woman indicates that she was feared even outside the palace. Hundreds of people displeased by her quickly perished in the hands of the executioners.
Fortunately, not only insidiousness and cold calculation glorified the Hurrem Sultan. She managed to do a lot for the prosperity of Istanbul: she built several mosques, opened a school, organized a house for the mentally retarded, and also opened a free kitchen for the poor, established contacts with many European countries.
Around 1561, at the age of 55, her biography ends. Roksolana was buried with all honors, the sultan survived his beloved for only eight years. Their tombs still stand nearby, near the Suleiman mosque. After the death of the Sultan, the throne was taken by the son of Roksolana Selim. Unfortunately, the decline of the empire began during his reign, and the people nicknamed him Selim-Pyanitsa.
Of course, we have no right to judge the actions that Roksolana committed. The biography, the life and death story of Suleiman I's beloved wife is the story of a woman who lived in difficult times. Hurrem every minute had to fight for the right to be a worthy companion of the great ruler and for the lives of his children. She only accepted the rules of the game, which acted in the palace of the Sultan.