He Broke the Law for Her: The Story of the Greatest Love of the Ottoman Empire

Istanbul in the 16th century was a key geopolitical center of Eurasia, a city where global trade routes intersected and the fates of entire states were decided. In this monumental megacity, behind the high walls of Topkapi Palace, unfolded a story that forever changed the political landscape of the Ottoman Empire.

This is not a romantic fairy tale about a slave girl who enchanted a ruler, as European Orientalists of the 19th century often depicted it. It is a documented chronicle of unprecedented social mobility, political pragmatism, and intellectual partnership between Sultan Suleiman I and his wife Hurrem, known in the West as Roxelana.

Hurrem or Roxelana: what was her real name?

Modern Western historiography, including foundational studies by American scholar Leslie Pels and British Ottomanist Colin Imber, carefully separates historical facts from later literary overlays. In no 16th-century document are the names "Anastasia" or "Alexandra Lisovska" recorded—these are inventions of Polish and Italian writers of later eras. Venetian diplomats, such as Pietro Bragadino and Bernardino Navaggio, whose reports are among the most important European sources of the time, simply called her "La Rossa" (the Redhead) or noted her Ruthenian origins.

Hurrem was also called "La Rossa" / Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The name "Roxelana" was introduced into broad European circulation by Flemish diplomat Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire in Istanbul. He used this term because in contemporary European geography the lands of Ruthenia within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were called Roxolania. The girl’s real name, captured by Crimean Tatars during a raid in the early 1520-s and sold on a slave market in Kaffa (modern Feodosiya), remains unknown. In the harem she received the Persian name Hurrem, which translates as "The one who brings joy" or "Smiling."

The institution of the harem and the breaking of centuries-old rules

To understand the scale of Hurrem’s achievements, one must understand the nature of the Ottoman imperial harem. Western historians, such as Gülnur Nejiboglu, show that the harem was not a place for entertainments but functioned as a rigorous educational and political institution, parallel to the page school (Enderun) for men. Girls were trained in the Ottoman language, Islamic theology, music, calligraphy, and court etiquette. The hierarchy was strict, and at its apex stood the Valide Sultan—the mother of the reigning monarch.

Before Hurrem’s appearance, the Ottoman Empire operated under a rigid reproductive rule that Leslie Pels calls the policy of "one favorite—one son." Once a concubine bore a boy, her intimate relations with the sultan ended forever. Her only duty was to raise the heir, and when he reached adulthood, she would accompany him to the province (sanjak) where he learned governance. Hurrem became the first woman to break this fundamental law. She bore Suleiman six children: sons Mehmed, Abdul (died in childhood), Selim, Bayezid, Cihangir, and a daughter Mihrişah. The very fact that the sultan continued to share the bed with her after the birth of the first son shocked the court.

Hurrem changed the rules of the game in the harem / Photo: thecollector

Struggle for survival: the conflict with Mahidevran

Disrupting tradition inevitably led to a sharp conflict with Mahidevran—the mother of Suleiman’s elder son, Şehzade Mustafa. Venetian ambassador Bernardo Navagero, in his reports from the 1530-s, described in detail the incident that became a turning point in this struggle. According to eunuchs, Mahidevran, unable to withstand the loss of influence, attacked Hurrem, scratched her face, and tore her clothing.

Hurrem’s response demonstrated her deep understanding of the psychology of power. When Suleiman summoned her to come to him, she refused, stating that her scarred face and status as the "saleable flesh" (as Mahidevran called her) made her unworthy of the gaze of the Padishah. Intrigued and concerned, the sultan insisted on a meeting, after which, having learned the truth, he finally distanced Mahidevran. Soon she and her son Mustafa were sent to the Manisa province, which marked Hurrem’s complete triumph in the harem.

Financial revolution and the formal marriage

Hurrem’s status was cemented not only by emotional affection but also by unprecedented financial power. According to Ottoman registers studied by Leslie Pels, Hurrem’s daily salary (uluffe) amounted to 2000 akche. For comparison: Mahidevran, at the height of her influence, received only 40 akche per day. This colossal economic advantage enabled Hurrem to build her own network of loyalty within the palace.

In the 1533 or 1534 year (after the death of Valide Hafsa Sult An) Suleiman took a step without parallel in imperial history. He officially freed Hurrem from slavery and entered into a lawful marriage (nikah) with her. British historian Colin Imber notes that this act was so counter to Ottoman traditions that rumors spread among the people of Istanbul and the Janissaries that Hurrem was a witch who charmed the sultan with magic. For her, a unique title was created, "Khasaki Sultan" (Chief Wife), which placed her in a hierarchy higher than all dynastic members except the sultan himself.

Suleiman formally married Hurrem / Drawings by an unknown artist

Political partnership and intelligence

Suleiman spent a great part of his reign on military campaigns—from the walls of Vienna to Baghdad. During these periods Hurrem became his chief political informant in the capital. Their correspondence, preserved in the Topkapi Palace archives, is a unique historical source. Hurrem’s letters, written in refined Ottoman, contain not only expressions of deep affection but also detailed reports on the state of affairs in the realm.

She informed the sultan about mood among the janissaries, the epidemiological situation (notably plague outbreaks in Istanbul), the progress of fortifications, and the conduct of viziers. Suleiman, in turn, replied in verses under the pseudonym Muhibbî (The Loving). In these texts he called her "my musk, amber, sense of existence, spring and rose," indicating a deep intellectual and emotional bond that went far beyond the traditional relationship between a sultan and a concubine.

Haseki diplomacy on the international stage

Hurrem’s influence extended to foreign policy. She became the first woman in the history of the Ottoman Empire to conduct independent diplomatic correspondence with foreign monarchs. Western researchers, analyzing archives of the Polish crown, confirm her active correspondence with the King of Poland, Sigismund II Augustus. In 1548 and 1549, she sent him letters with assurances of friendship and support for peace treaties between the two states.

These letters were accompanied by symbolic diplomatic gifts. In particular, Hurrem personally embroidered and sent to the Polish king linen shirts, towels, and drawers, which in the diplomatic language of the time signified the highest degree of personal affection and political guardianship. She also corresponded with the sister of the Persian shah Tahmasp, trying to ease tensions on the empire’s eastern borders after the exhausting Ottoman-Safavid wars.

Crisis of succession and the Fatih Law

The most controversial aspect of Hurrem’s biography is her role in the execution of Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha (1536 year) and Şehzade Mustafa (1553 year). Western historiography of previous centuries often depicted her as a ruthless intriguer. However, modern scholars, such as Eburu Boyar, offer a more objective view, placing her actions in the context of the brutal realities of Ottoman politics.

In the empire there operated a law of fratricide (the Mehmed the Conqueror’s law), which legalized the execution of all brothers of the new sultan to avoid civil war. Hurrem understood well: if Mustafa sat on the throne, all her sons would be inevitably killed. She formed a powerful political alliance with her daughter Mihrihm and son-in-law, the great vizier Rustem Pasha.

Regarding Mustafa’s execution in the Ergili military camp, contemporary historians emphasize Suleiman’s own paranoia. The sultan feared that Mustafa, who enjoyed enormous support from the army, was planning a coup using a scenario the father of Suleiman, Selim I, once used to depose his father. Hurrem and Rustem Pasha only provided the sultan with intelligence (notably Mustafa’s intercepted correspondence with the Persian shah) that confirmed his worst fears. The decision to execute was made solely by Suleiman as absolute monarch.

Monumental philanthropy and architectural heritage

Beyond political activity, Hurrem Sult an left behind a vast architectural legacy, becoming the first woman patron of such scale. She commissioned the empire’s chief architect, the renowned Mimar Sinan, to construct the Hazaki Sultan complex in Istanbul. This large project included a mosque, a medrese (religious school), a primary school, a women’s hospital, and a charitable kitchen (imararet).

American researcher Ami Singer, in her book Constructing Ottoman Beneficence, analyzed Hurrem’s charitable foundation (waqf) in Jerusalem. Founded in 1552, the complex "Hazeki Sultan Imaret" included a mosque, a caravanserai for pilgrims, a bakery, and a huge kitchen that fed more than 500 poor, Sufis, and students daily, regardless of faith. She also funded the construction of luxurious public baths (Haseki Hurrem Sultan Hamam) right opposite the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, underscoring her enormous public status.

Roxelana – the first major woman patron / Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The final years and historical legacy

Hurrem Sultān died in April 1558 year. The exact cause of death is unknown, but medical historians, analyzing embassy reports of her prolonged weakness, suggest chronic malaria or heart failure. Her death dealt a devastating blow to Suleiman. Venetian ambassadors reported that the sultan fell into deep melancholia: he banned music in the palace, refused to use gold and silver tableware, and wore only dark clothing for the rest of his life.

Suleiman ordered Sinan the architect to build for her a luxurious octagonal mausoleum (tomb) within the Suleymaniye complex. The interior walls of the mausoleum were decorated with exquisite Iznik tiles depicting paradise gardens, symbolizing eternal life and the sultan’s love. Eight years later Suleiman was buried in the adjacent mausoleum, beside the woman who had defined the era of his reign.

The story of Hurrem Sultān is a testament to how sharp intellect, political intuition, and strategic planning enabled a woman, born with no rights, to become the most influential figure in the Middle East. She did not merely adapt to the harsh conditions of the Ottoman court; she transformed the institution of power itself, creating a precedent of the "Harem Sultanate" that defined Ottoman policy for the following century.