#Sehzade Suleyman

[magnificentlyreused]

This golden and silver kaftan was first worn by the court jester in the first episode of the first season of Magnificent Century. It was slightly altered before it was worn again by Şehzade Bayezid in the seventh episode of the third season. The kaftan can be seen again on Şehzade Murad (later Sultan Murad III) in the twenty-fourth episode of the fourth season.

The kaftan makes a final appearance on Şehzade Süleyman (later Sultan Süleyman II) in the thirtieth and final episode of the second season of Magnificent Century: Kösem.

[awkward-sultana]

Scenes I would have liked to see in Magnificent Century (always being updated)

These are just things I would have liked to see, or honestly just hyper specific scenes I’ve envisioned in my own head. Don't come at me about realism. That's not why any of us are here.

Would love to hear everyone's opinions and what you would have like to see in the show!

Hürrem telling Suleiman about Leo and him accepting it A big part of Hürrem’s power in the harem in the show is that she got away with a lot of things, whether it be through manipulation or Suleiman’s love for her, but mostly it was through being smart and manipulative. That’s a huge part of her character, but it would have been nice to see a moment where she doesn’t win and has to come clean to Suleiman. His acceptance of Leo would have made their love more genuine in my eyes. He knew she was a slave and had a life before him.

Hürrem's past as a priest’s daughter When Hürrem went to Edirne, it would have been great to see her open the palace to the sick and nursed them instead of sitting there helplessly in literally one spot the whole time. We saw her help Hatice medically in seasons 1 and 2 and she was a priest’s daughter so we know she saw a lot of sickness and has some basic idea of giving aid.

Hürrem seriously going off on Suleiman at least once Again, a big part of Hürrem's legacy was how nuts Suleiman was for her and how she could get away with things other concubines couldn’t. I would have liked to see her really loser her temper at him at least once. Maybe go off about how difficult it is in the harem, being a woman battling for her life and her kids’ lives. It would have made their relationship seem deeper than it was in the show.

Generally seeing Suleiman's absolute obsession with Hürrem That man was nuts about her in real life. True Gomez and Morticia Addams.

Some good moments between young Mustafa and Hürrem Like thanking him for saving Mehmet from drowning in the first season or saying, “Thank you for being such a good big brother to my son.” She protected him during the janissary riots, but we didn’t see much day to day interactions between them. It would have made the distancing between them more impactful.

Another grown sultana in the family, like Mahidevran’s daughter Raziye It would have been great to see the dynamic between Mihrimah and another daughter, especially one that was older but still within her age range. The aunts were older than her and she constantly had to show them respect, so it didn’t feel like a fair fight. And Esmahan had to defer to Mihrimah too because she was the Sultan’s daughter. Another daughter who is equal to Mihrimah in most ways would have been fun.

Hürrem pulling away during the whole Firuze thing Hürrem had to stay on Suleiman’s good side because he’s the sultan, but I would have loved to see her pull away from him in small ways, like not spending time with him or choosing to eat alone and not with him. I’m a sucker for a good grovel.

Suleiman actually apologizing for things he’s done Again, I love a good grovel and it never happens in this show.  He always just got sick and woke up and told Hürrem how much he loved her. This goes into Hürrem pulling away during the Firuze arc and showing Suleiman her love is reasonably conditional. Again, real life Suleiman was whipped for Hürrem.

Ibrahim and Hürrem bonding at least once over being slaves and considering what their lives might have been like at home This kind of goes into my last point of Hürrem pulling away from Suleiman when he was with Firuze. I always thought that would be a great scene when they’re having dinner with the dynasty members when Firuze was in the picture. I envisioned Hürrem mulling about her “home” in Eastern Europe and confusing the dynasty about what "home" to her seems to mean now that's she's pretty unhappy, then asking Ibrahim in front of all of them what he thinks his life might have been like if he hadn’t been taken. This could have given way to a deep scene between Hürrem and Ibrahim as well as a sweet scene later on of Suleiman asking Hürrem to share her memories of her home.

Firuze slowly losing favor instead of an instantaneous decision There are so many deus ex machinas in the show that act as resolutions to issues and the Firuze thing was one of them. I would have liked to see her slowly lose favor, like treating Cihangir without permission from Hürrem or Suleiman, being disrespectful to Hürrem in front of him, or butting in on the family grieving Mehmet’s injury. 

Hafsa and Hürrem bonding over something other than hating Mahidevran, like the loss of Hürrem's unmentioned son It was great to see her realize  Mahidevran’s manipulations, but I hoped for a deeper resolution between her and Hürrem. We only see Hafsa acknowledging Cihangir’s illness like once or twice, which is so out of character, but I know they were trying to keep her firmly in the area of antagonist (crappy writing). Hürrem had another son, Şehzade Abdullah, who died as a toddler. Losing a child would have been a good bonding moment for them and brought them back as mothers.

Hurrem’s kids speaking Russian(?) One thing I always found wholesome is when children speak the language of both parents. It would have been a great homage to Hürrem's roots, since we didn’t see it a lot, especially in season 3. On that note, I would have liked to see Hürrem revert to her native tongue when she lost her temper, since that’s super common.

Mercan going over to Hürrem's side and staying in Season 4 One of Hürrem's best character traits was her ability to make her enemies her friends and Mercan was a great enemy. Convincing someone who was so zealously devoted to another dynasty member to come over to her side? Iconic. His and Sümbül's dynamic was also great and watching them being forced to work together would have been fun.

A reunion between Hürrem and Gulnihal, maybe Hürrem meeting Gülnihal's kids and husband and seeing Hürrem's kids grown Characters tend to disappear and never be mentioned again in this show despite their big influence on characters and their development. She should have gotten a kiss on the hand like Hatice and Suleiman did for Afife. She raised Hürrem's kids.

Ibrahim telling Suleiman to stay out of his marriage during the Nigar affair This is probably the most unrealistic thing I envisioned, but I love when one character beneath another in rank or station stands up to that person as a friend. And Ibrahim was getting bolder throughout the seasons so it wouldn’t have been totally out of character. 

Hürrem helping Nigar escape with her daughter instead of Firuze The whole Hürrem helping Firuze escape thing made no sense but it was in there to prove that Firuze was a spy. I think I speak for everyone in this fandom when I say I would have liked to see Hürrem help Nigar and Esmanur escape instead and the whole kidnapping Mihrimah’s baby thing not happen. But it would not hinge on the writer's hating Nigar's character and making her lose her mind and betraying Hürrem for a man.

Mihrimah being Selim’s valide sultan Mihrimah was well aware of the fratricide law, it was the whole reason she worked with Hürrem to kill Mustafa. She wasn’t so naïve to think her own brothers wouldn't get caught in each other’s crosshairs. Kösem forgave Osman for killing her own son, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of realism to see Mihrimah and Selim get back on good terms. It’s one of my favorite parts of her real life legacy.

Suleiman letting Hürrem do something really shady for him at least once He couldn't get his hands dirty, but he knew at least to some degree how cunning his wife was, even if he was willfully blind to it. Would have loved to see a "I won't ask questions" kind of conversation between them and Hürrem strolling from the room like a hitman for hire.

Cihangir seeing some sort of consequences for his naïve support of Mustafa As wise as he was, he was so painfully naïve when it came to Mustafa, seeing him face some consequences for that would have been satisfying.

Suleiman seeing more negative ramifications of sending Hürrem away in S3 Suleiman tended to send Hürrem off willy nilly because he could and not really take into account for the ramifications, especially in such a charged atmosphere. Seeing consequences to those choices would have been satisfying and would have reinforced Hürrem's importance as a partner, parent to adolescent children, harem ruler, etc.

Mihrimah’s trip back to the palace in S2 after Hürrem was ambushed being more difficult, like an actual kidnapping I really like antagonists being taken down by their own hubris and it would have been fun to see Hafsa suffer real consequences for her fake ambush. 

Hatice going off on Hafsa about how she treats Hürrem at least once in S2 She questioned her a few times in season 2, like when Hürrem's horse was stabbed. She did it a few times in calm ways in season 1 and once or twice in season 2, but seeing her lose her temper even a little would have been satisfying. I think this could have more happened if they had stuck to actual history and Hafsa had come as a slave and not a princess.

Suleiman seeking more comfort in Hürrem Suleiman was described as “weak” for Hürrem and it wasn’t really shown in his more emotional moments. The show expected us to be fine with his speeches and poems and see basic expressions of affection as “weakness.” When Ibrahim died, I would have really like to see him break down with Hürrem, his face in her stomach, the whole nine yards. He really just glared at her in that scene.

Hürrem and Suleiman being more of political and personal partners In the show a lot he tells her to “mind her business” and “don’t get involved in things that don’t concern you.” He also blew her off and treated her like a child when she voiced certain concerns (his condescending little smiles made me feral). A big part of her legacy was being an advisor to him and their abilities to share with each other what they couldn’t share with others.

The real importance of Hürrem's new haseki status and what that meant This was such a thing for me. Hürrem being the first with the haseki status was HUGE in the harem at the time but that whole story line was abandoned for the sake of rivalry between her and Mahidevran, which would have been there regardless. I hated seeing Hürrem curtsy to the sultanas in later seasons, especially in season 4 when Vahide was the actress. It was like having to watch Hafsa curtsy to anyone.

Mihrimah pulling away from Hürrem more during her engagement/marriage to Rüstem "Yeah, I'm doing this for my brothers but do you expect me to happy about it? Gush and fawn over having a kid with a man who kind of repulses me? I have postpartum depression? I'm super unhappy so I can't imagine why." Like I've mentioned before, big fan of having a character's ego come back and bite them and I think Hürrem should have suffered more consequences for basically telling Mihrimah her happiness doesn't matter. She was a little delusional in S4, acting all coy, telling Mihrimah she still loves Rüstem and they would find their way back to each other. Girl...she never liked her husband, stop trying to act like her homegirl and push her to be happy in a marriage she would have rather died than be in.

Gülfem standing up to Hatice at least once Hatice had a real high horse sometimes and even if she was insulting someone else, I could tell it made Gülfem feel a certain way because she was also a slave. This is yet another character I would have liked to see lose their temper in a more aggressive way. Like, girl, have some character development.

Some sort of resolution between Mihrimah and Esmahan Mihrimah had pretty much know other girl her age to lean on, I think it would have been easier to invest inheritance character if you saw her break down maybe once with Esmahan instead of trying to be tough. Like when Esmahan went to comfort her before her wedding. Mihrimha’s fake tough persona in that moment seemed hollow and just like a young bratty kid. Or when Humasah was kidnapped.

Bali Bey manhandle the sultanas a little bit during their questioning about Hürrem's disappearance I’m going to get a lot of flack for this one. I don’t mean him really putting his hands on the actresses, I mean like grabbing Şah's arm when she leaves. I like seeing haughty characters being taken down a peg. They would have seen they’re not as infallible as their status makes them feel.

More bonding between Gülfem and Hürrem at least once Gülfem lost a child and saw what Mahidevran and Hürrem had to go through fearing for their own sons. Hürrem had the chance to pay Gülfem some sort of compliment on the balcony when Cihangir was sick, like "I'm not as strong as you." Out of character, but this is basically an OOC post.

Hürrem let some things take their natural course Like when Mahidevran discharged Esma when she took charge of the harem. Suleiman would have caught on eventually that Hürrem was constantly unable to spend time with him due to taking care of 5 kids, or having to train brand new concubines.

Hatice being happy with her new husband I really liked him.

Hatice getting some closure about Sadika A big part of Hatice’s early character was her empathy for those below her (most of the time). She liked Sadika and wanted to see her happy and I’m sure Sadika had grown some affection for Hatice. I would have like to see Sadika write a letter to Hatice before attempting to murder Suleyman saying something along the lines of “I’m sorry for lying to you, my friendship with you was real but this was more important.”

Hürrem coming together with one of Suleiman's's sisters just as a fellow woman Maybe when Lutfi hit Şah, Hürrem was there and Şah let her pull her up off the floor. They were all women and mothers stuck in a patriarchy.

Mahidevran give Helena permission to clap back at Fatma In that scenes when Fatma was like "Did you really think you were going to marry him?" Saying something like, "At least he wanted to marry me" and Mahidevran laughing.

More affection between the concubines and other harem members and the royal kids They were all raised in the same harem, I'm sad we didn't get to see some found family-ish dynamics. Those kids must have had a lot of "aunts and uncles" in the servants. I'm sure Mihrimah saw more than just one or two of the concubines as mother/aunt/sister figures, especially as the Sultan's only daughter.

A better ending for Gülfem Because what the fuck was that?

Mihrimah going off on her aunts at least once While she had to defer to them because they were older and was an unspoken respect thing, she could get away with talking to them a certain way more than maybe Hürrem could. "I know you're trying to kill my mother and that can't happen because then what happens to us?" or "I know you killed Nazil, who raised us, and you thought we'd never find out and see you differently? Stop acting like you give an absolute flying fuck about us when you know what will happen if our mother is killed or Mustafa becomes Sultan. This is war."

Hürrem showing more affection to adult Mihrimah She absolutely had to defer towards her sons' safety, but sometimes she acted like she actively disliked her only daughter in S4.

Mihrimah not being a brat when she was young (S2) It would have made her rise to power more impressive and more endearing. Sometimes older Mihrimah just seemed like a princess who had never been told no so she always expected to win.

Mahiedvran and Hürrem sharing one sincere hug They had more things in common than not. They were both women, mothers, slaves stuck in a patriarchy and both could lose their sons with one decision from a man who has complete control.

Hürrem having more quietly pervasive PTSD symptoms. She displayed plenty of symptoms like hyperarousal, emotional over-stress, emotional dysregulations, hypervigilance, etc, but a lot of symptoms can be more quietly sinister and they missed that chance. The symptoms they did display first and foremost took away from her character because we couldn't differentiate all the time between angry Hürrem and traumatized Hürrem. "She's angry and violent and irritable? Oh, that's jUsT HüRrEm."

More rank-opposite hand kissing One trope I will forever and forever always live for is shows of deference opposite of rank. When Suleiman and Hatice kissed Afife's hand? Loved it. Suleiman kissing Hafsa's hand? Not totally the same, but kind of still love it.

Afife telling Şah and Hatice she was ashamed of them at least once Would have rocked their shit. And you know she for sure was.

Mihrimah being happy with Taşlıcalı in the end Probably the second most implausible head canon. They had both lost a lot and know what war costs, why not end up with another person who can empathize with your unique pain?

More of Gülfem and Hürrem's real historical relationship Always going to touch on sticking to historical accuracy when I get a chance. Leslie Peirce touches on the fact that Gülfem was probably more of a mentor to Hürrem than she was in the show, guiding Hürrem through what was an unprecedented rise in the harem and, therefore, a huge and probably shocking rise in responsibilities that Hürrem didn't know how to manage on her own. Suleiman trusted Gülfem with Hürrem when he was on campaign and Gülfem was most likely there when Hürrem died. Instead of being the dynasty's emotional support pet in season 3, we should have seen her turn coats for the better.

Women lashing out at each other for their children and not for a man The real reasons Mahidevran and Hürrem probably lashed out at each other the most was because the fratricide law dictated every facet of their lives. Love, sex and jealousy were not half as much on their minds as the show made it out to be. Let me see vicious mothers, not jealous girls.

Hafsa and Hürrem having one good hug Self explanatory

More about Suleiman's late children He had I think 2-3 children before Mustafa that all died of the plague that we never really heard about. And it would have given even more credence of the severity of Mahidevran trying to poison Hürrem when she was pregnant.

More about the entire royal family's grief and trauma with Sultan Selim I That man was batshit and you hear offhanded comments such as "I see your father when I look at you" when Suleyman does something cruel. Go more into that. What was it like to fear for your life, your son's/brother's/uncle's lives? Selim I literally hunted half his family down and executed them. It would have given them so much more depth as characters.

Leo haunting Ibrahim In the back of scenes, the blurry character the audience only just notices, the specter standing over this shoulder in a quiet room, the beating heart beneath the floorboards. The start of the death of his innocence given form, standing at the end of the hall as his body is being carried away. Fucking art.

Nigar being on Hürrem's side in season 3 and being totally psycho about it I would like like to see Nigar regrow the brain cell she had in season 1, but maintained her scorched earth policy in season 3, but on Hürrem's side. Would have been great. Snapped: Harem Edition.

The Development of Esma and Hürrem's relationship Esma was one of the harem girls Hürrem didn't like at the beginning of the first season and then she was one of the only people Hürrem ever trusted with her children. I would have liked to see that development, or at least the moment Hürrem chose Esma to be her kid's nanny.

[palaceoftears]

I don't know why I am

The way I am

Not strong enough to be your man

- Not Strong Enough, boygenius

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

lol did anyone see the magnificent century most stable couple youtube poll from a few hours ago? nurbanu and selim having only 8% is a joke especially when the other couples on the list are ibrahim and hatice, suleiman and hürrem, and rustem and mihrimah.......

[garnetbutterflysblog]

“Let’s have a chat, man to man”- Good, Suleiman! Break the news in private and don't treat him like he can't understand. Children are often smarter than we realize.

“The baby changed his mind because you didn’t want him”- NO SULEIMAN! BAD SULEIMAN! No amount of “my Mustafa is worth the world” is going to fix you blaming him (or implying blame) when his concern is why is his mother crying!

What the hell did Yavuz Sultan Selim do to you that would make you think for a second that your response was ok on any level?!

Someone give this guy a parenting book! And a whack upside his head! Don’t tell me we have Bible fanfiction by Dante but no parenting books in this time period!

[skenosbisworld]

Ok, I need to rage about something for a sec.

WHY TF DOES HURREM BOW TO MUSTAFA?! AND ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS!! IT MAKES NO SENSE!!

But seriously, there is no logic in this, and the decision to make Hurrem do this repeatedly is so disrespectful to both her character and her position.

Hurrem is Haseki Sultan. She is Sultan Suleiman's only legal wife, and she is the mother of 4 of his sons. These 4 sons who are in equal standing to Mustafa. For some dumb reason, the show likes to forget that the Ottomans weren't European. The Ottomans did not abide by the eldest son being the heir rule ever. All sehzades had an equal right, and the Sultan only had a specific heir if he himself appointed him. But for some reason, the show completely ignores this, and it pretends that Mustafa was some "Crown Prince." I like Mustafa, but he was never the legal heir.

This is also comparable to whenever it has Mahidevran bow to Ibrahim, which is equally frustrating. The family of the Sultan (which includes his consorts) are always of a higher standing than any government official.

These instances are honestly more frustrating to me than when Hurrem continued to be called a hatun even after giving birth to Mehmed, which by show logic entitled her to the Sultan title, because it was done intentionally as an insult. Having Hurrem bow to Mustafa, and having Mahidevran bow to Ibrahim was both always done with all seriousness.

Everytime it happened, I felt both the overwhelming urge to slap all the characters involved and scream into a deep empty void.

I really hope that I am not alone in my intense frustration with the show's seeming lack of awareness/respect of any proper protocol or common sense.

[damaseclipsadas]

Mahidevran Hatun foi uma das concubinas de Süleyman I e a mãe de Şehzade Mustafa, o filho mais velho do sultão a atingir a idade adulta.

[nesiacha]

One of my posts in Youtube:

When I see Bayezid rebellion I think he share the most the character rebellious of his grandfather Selim ( when Mustafa can share the talents of his grandfather). These three share in commons the difficult relationship between them and theirs fathers, they were not favorised by the Sultan. But there is in high difference between Selim Yavuz and his two grandsons. Mustafa shared with his grandfather his exploits, the way he managed his province, they have the support of the Jannissaries (I don't know if Selim Yavuz had the support of the people unlike the historical Mustafa), also their capacities to act in the back of the sultan (even if still to this day the guilt of Mustafa is not clear with the venetians correspondance, but then he accepted to go to his father tent desarmed knowing there whould be a great risk for him as he was not naive unlike his character show) but in their defense we must emphasize the fact that their fathers doing everything for their brothers who inherit the throne no matter what they would have done ( Bayezid II favored hightly sehzade Ahmed, Suleiman favored Mehmet against Mustafa but in the case of sehzade Selim who will become Selim and sehzade Bayezid it was more complicated). But if Mustafa inherited his dutiful and efficient personnality as a sehzade, he lacked his grandfather's audacity and boldness (especially if he wanted to persist in this way). On the other hand Bayezid has inherited his grandfather's angry character, his rebellious side as he also did a rebellion in his father's time against his brother when the Sultan was still alive. But he lacked his grandfather's intelligence, sense of duty and prudence (Selim decided to rebel against his brother and force his father's abdication only when he was about to abdicate in favor sehzade Ahmed, at that time if he did not do something he would be killed because of Ottoman traditions , he had two distinct targets his father Bayezid II and sehzade Ahmed and a very specific plan unlike Bayezid who by some miracle thought he would win tears against his brother and nephew and that his father would accept that and will acept him as a heir).

Sultan Selim I and the sehzades Mustafa and Bayezid are interesting to compare in their trajectories.

[gulnarsultan]

Yandere sultan süleiman x princess 👸 reader headcanons please 🙏

You can meet Suleyman in a few ways.

~ Maybe you are getting married to Suleyman Sehzade.

~ Or you marry Suleyman after he becomes Sultan.

~ Maybe he sees you while you are at war with your country and demands to marry you.

As soon as he sees you, his love and obsession begins. He presents you with the jewelry he has prepared or ordered. It pampers you a lot. It doesn't allow anyone to injure or harm you. Even his mother and sisters have to get along with you. Suleyman will defend you against everyone. He forgives you when you make a mistake, no matter how bad it is. He is the perfect father for the children born to you. You are the only woman who has the mind and heart of Suleyman. Suleyman is ready to do anything for you.

[magnificentlyreused]

This kaftan was first worn by Huricihan Sultan in the eighth episode of the third season of Magnificent Century. It makes another appearance in the thirty-ninth episode of the same season on Şehzade Cihangir. The kaftan is worn twice in the fourth season, first by Anna Hatun in the thirty-first episode and then by Mihrimah Sultan's son Osman in the final episode.

Magnificent Century: Kösem uses the kaftan twice. It is worn by Şehzade Murad (later Sultan Murad IV) in the twenty-sixth episode of the first season and by Şehzade Süleyman (later Sultan Süleyman II) in the twenty-ninth episode of the second season.

[awkward-sultana]

Magnificent Century + Faceless: Nurbanu Sultan

[fishylife]

Watched episode 123 of Magnificent Century yesterday and I'm feeling dread for the rest of the show. In a good way because what happened in episode 123 was so big but I just feel like the rest of the show is going to be so intense.

Spoilers.

Episode 123 was the episode that Suleyman killed Mustafa.

The fact that Suleyman killed his own son is such a big irreversible step in his life. Mustafa was his firstborn, his special golden child. But now, Suleyman's become the kind of ruler who will kill his own sons and that has to do SOMETHING to Suleyman's character. He did not kill Mustafa with glee. It was a regretful and gruelling process to get to the point where he felt paranoid enough about Mustafa's power that he decided to kill Mustafa. Especially since he's his son, especially since Suleyman had told Mustafa once that he wouldn't be the kind of guy to kill his own son. But Suleyman will always be a politician first and a father second.

I know Mustafa was the rival to Hurrem's kids, but we (and Hurrem) watched Mustafa grow up. Yes Mustafa had a brat phase and he is kind of a thorn in Hurrem's side, but in her eyes, he is a child. From a narrative standpoint, Mustafa's only crime was not being Hurrem's child. I don't think she had anything personal against Mustafa the way she did against Mahidevran. But given how Mahidevran hates Hurrem's guts, Mahidevran would 10000% kill Hurrem if she ever ascended as Valide Sultan. So there's no choice for Hurrem but to put one of her own kids on the throne.

I had no doubt that Mustafa would be a good ruler. He was so good that so many subjects were praising him, and there was even the sublime state established because they were so invested in Mustafa becoming the next sultan. He was just, and he was human, and he was filial to his parents, and we never doubted that. Funnily enough, Suleyman always doubted his loyalty but more on this later. I guess Mustafa's one other crime was that he didn't know how to handle the politics. He didn't know how to humble himself in front of his father so as not to challenge his authority. And he treated his father as his father first rather than as a politician first. As he was summoned by his father (after he was framed for collaborating with the Persians), literally everybody was telling him not to leave. Mihrunissa was saying that the whole world loved him, that the trees and flowers will telling him not to go ;_; But Mustafa had such deep love for his father and he trusted him because Suleyman had said once. There was a sliver of Mustafa that knew there was a chance that his father would kill him, hence him writing the letter for if he ever died. He really wanted to believe that it wouldn't happen but Suleyman had once taught him that to be a sehzade was to be prepared for everything.

I know Mustafa's downfall was a long time coming, but let's be real, so much of it was manipulation and framing by Hurrem. She and Rustem were always whispering into Suleyman's ear to get him paranoid. With this whole ordeal, I actually felt guilt on behalf of Hurrem, Rustem, and especially Mihrimah. Mihrimah, who did love Mustafa at one point, but had to pick a side. I felt that these three were particularly guilty because this alliance between Mustafa and the Persians was built from nothing. It came from nowhere. Mustafa never spoke with the Persians.

The combined straw that broke the camel's back was both the frame job and Suleyman finding out about the sublime state. Ironically, the sublime state worked against Mustafa in this situation, because Suleyman felt so threatened by the overwhelming support for Mustafa. Mustafa tried to distance himself from it. I think he tried to shut it down but it didn't really work, and in the end, it was his downfall.

I want to talk about the kids. Mehmet was closest with Mustafa. Growing up, they were very close, but Mehmet was always a step behind on account of just being younger. Hurrem did all she could to keep him in the Capital and not send him out to the provinces until he was much older than a typical sehzade would have been, and then he was sent to Manisa, the province that most future sultans rule. Mehmet was Suleyman's golden child (the other one other than Mustafa), particularly because Mehmet had not grown old enough to lose his "innocence," as Suleyman would put it. He was just, a little naive, but in Suleyman's eyes, he was still a good boy. All the signs were pointing to Mehmet being crowned as well, including Suleyman having a dream where baby Mehmet was sitting on the throne. While Mustafa was friendly with Mehmet, he started to feel threatened. It really shocked me when Mehmet died. The show portrayed it that Mahidevran had ordered Mehmet's death by infecting him with the plague, and I suppose human life is only so strong. I expected there to be more vengeance against Mahidevran this season but I guess it only would have made sense if Hurrem and her family had definitive proof that Mahidevran had killed Mehmet. But the fact is after Mehmet died, Hurrem didn't really have a good candidate to support as the next sultan because Selim and Bayezid were both somewhat immature and Cihangir was in poor health.

Up until recently, Selim was still pretty immature. He was constantly getting drunk and getting into fights. Nurbanu had to babysit him and whisper into his ear which isn't really what you want from a wise ruler. As for Bayezid, he was impulsive and rash. Neither of them were really as good candidates as Mustafa or Mehmet. Originally, Hurrem was going to support Bayezid, and Rustem and Mihrimah were too. But later on, Selim appealed to Hurrem for her support. I don't know the history at all, so I really don't know who's going to ascend and I'm eager to know.

While Selim was regent, Bayezid and Cihangir had formed an alliance with Mustafa. I think Cihangir was more content in fully supporting Mustafa because he was never really a candidate for the job. But as things became intense, Cihangir noted that Bayezid was starting to worry that he'd be left out of the race. And I think towards the end, Bayezid realized that he needed to strike his own path. But up until the end, Mustafa believed in both Bayezid and Cihangir. Cihangir makes sense, he was on Mustafa's side until the end. But before Mustafa was going to meet Suleyman, he told Atmaca that if Mustafa died, Atmaca should throw his support behind Bayezid.

I was wondering whether Mihrunissa will wage war after she finds out that Mustafa is dead. She does have military power, and she has a son by Mustafa who would be part of the dynasty. It would make for an interesting storyline if Selim and Bayezid have to work together to fight them off and possibly restructure the janissaries, who are currently very loyal to Mustafa. I don't think it's likely though.

By the way, Mihrimah is becoming Hurrem-lite. She's picking up most of Hurrem's tactics. Things are different for her because she is a part of the dynasty and thus her priorities cannot be so clear. But with her helping with framing Mustafa (and getting rid of the person whom she has the most conflicted feelings about), I think her mind will be clearer from now on.

Not sure if Mihrimah is still going to go ahead with divorcing Rustem. Rustem was always kind of a rat. We knew that from the beginning, but it feels like maybe they might have become closer now that Mihrimah is looking at things more from a political angle than a romantic one.

There's also the question of Fatma Sultana, the only one of Suleyman's sisters who's still in the picture. She was always team Mustafa. She might try to impede Hurrem a bit but her drive might wane a bit now that Mustafa is dead. I don't know if she has any military power but she won't be able to help with that if Mahidevran and Mihrunissa do try to plan an uprising. But her husband is loyal to Suleyman so I think her hands are tied.

Ahhhhh I'm pretty anxious for the rest of the show but like in a good and bad way. Good because I'm excited, bad because I think we're going to see a lot of betrayals and deaths.

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

i like mustafa, but the way he's completely front and center of suleiman's sons and mehmed is basically just a prop for the fraying in mustafa and suleiman's relationship is annoying. i don't know much about ottoman history but according to this source, mehmed was a "prince of more exquisite qualities than even mustafa. he had a piercing intellect and a subtle judgment." it would have been nice to... i don't know... see that?

[davidcescleo]

While I was watching MC, I always wanted Hurrem to win and I really liked her, she always loved Suleyman and protected her children so she was a pretty rootable character.

Kosem on the other hand is a horrible person but for some reason, I liked her much more than Hurrem, I wanted her to kill Sehzade Mehmet and beat Turhan (because she sucks). This could be because the source of her existence and power is not a man but herself, unlike Hurrem whose all existence depended on Suleyman.

Kosem chose five padisahs (Mustafa, Osman, Murat, Ibrahim and Mehmet) and run the states for like 30 years. What did Hurrem do? She couldn't even listen to the divan without Suleyman exiling her, she had no power compared to Kosem.

I am not mad at her character don't get me wrong I am just annoyed at the writers for never showing (or showing too little) her "state relations" side.

[thejadedking]

A friendly reminder that Galeb was the son of Ahmed III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, originally born Sehzade Suleyman.... he really is the epitome of the Ventrue clan. 😂

[buildingislam]

The Architects of Islam: Mimar Sinan

Architecture created in the Islamic style was brought to fruition not on its own, but by some of the most outstanding architects to date (in my opinion).

In accordance to this blog, this following post will be dedicated three architects that paved the way to the present ideas and characteristics of Islamic architecture displayed across the world.

To begin this blog, I'll start with Mimar Sinan - who is arguably the most famous architect to build in the Islamic style.

(I apologise for spelling mistakes when it comes to the names of people and locations, through research, there have been several spellings of the same things, and so I used the most common spelling. Please correct me if it is wrong! This applies to all previous and future blog posts.)

Mimar Sinan

Mimar Sinan (1488/1490-1588) was the son of a Greek or Armenian convert to Islam, Abd al-Mannan. He joined the elite corps of the Ottoman army, the janissaries as a young man, like his father before him. During this time of Sinan's life, his talent as an engineer became known - he rose through the ranks in the military becoming an officer in the army who participated in several military campaigns under sultans Selim and Suleiman. As the Ottoman armies marched to new extents in Europe, Africa, and Persia - Sinan accompanied them and organised the engineering corps for the military as well as building mosques and other civil buildings in newly Ottoman cities. In 1539, Sinan was given the position of head architect of the sultan's government in Istanbul (Archive: Islam., 2023).

Mimar Sinan's career saw him undertake a number of projects; 79 mosques, 34 palaces, 33 public baths, 19 tombs, 55 schools, 16 poorhouses, 7 madrasahs, and 12 caravansaries - with the Şehzade Mosque, the Mosque of Süleiman I the Magnificent and the Selim Mosque being his most famous works (the latter was discussed in the previous blog post) - with all three residing in Turkey (Britannica., 1998).

The Ottoman mosques were largely inspired by the architecture of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey (537 AD). Originally built as a Christian church in 537 by the Byzantines, the Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque to to serve the new Muslim population after Mehmed II's conquest of the city in 1453 - and ever since, Ottoman architects such as Mimar Sinan used the Hagia Sophia's giant dome as a template for the design of Muslim mosques. Due to the grandness in scale and design of the Hagia Sophia, many architects made it their career mission to design something to top the it - including Mimar Sinan as he made it his goal to build a monument to Islam that was more magnificent than the Hagia Sophia.

This led to the one of the inspirations behind the construction of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1543, one of the Sultan Suleiman's sons, Prince Mehmed, died of smallpox - and in turn Suleyman insisted on building a large mosque in his honour that would serve the local community. Mimar Sinan was tasked with this project, and over four years he worked on what would transition into what is now known as the Şehzade Camii (the Prince's Mosque).

The Sehzade Mosque

Upon completion, the mosque became a landmark of the city, and included not only a mosque but a complex that included a soup kitchen for the poor, a place for travellers to sleep, and a tomb for Prince Mehmed. Sultan Suleiman was extremely pleased with it but Sinan was not satisfied - and insisted he would do better - which leads us back to the inspiration behind the Suleymaniye Mosque.

Sultan Suleiman wanted another giant mosque in Istanbul, with this one being named after himself so he can accumulate the good deeds of Muslims who pray in it after he dies. He wanted it to be a central part of Istanbul's skyline to show the supremacy and glory of Islam (Archive Islam., 2023), this led to the decision of placing the mosque on top of a hill near the Golden Horn - meaning it could be seen for miles around.

There is a rumour that once the foundation was laid, Mimar Sinan went missing for five years! Suleiman was furious with the missing Sinan, and demanded to know where his favourite architect had gone, once the five years had passed, Sinan returned with the explanation that because the building would be so massive, he needed to let the foundations to settle in the soil before above ground building could commence.

The Suleymaniye Mosque was completed in 1557, and the reveal of what is now one of the most significant pieces of Islamic architecture not only to Mimar Sinan's career, but to the architectural world as a whole. Like the Sehzade Mosque, the building did not only serve as a place of worship, but also a kulliye (complex) which held a hospital, public baths, a library - which is still used today - a soup kitchen, numerous schools teaching Quran, a school for Hadith, and a primary school for children. The cemetery in which Sultan Suleiman is buried is also in this location.

Like other mosques in Istanbul, the entrance to the mosque holds a forecourt and a central fountain, and the exterior of the building is decorated with rectangular blue coloured Iznik tile window lunettes. To the south of the mosque is where the madrassa housing a library containing 110,000 manuscripts. There are minarets at all four of the corners of the courtyard, half short and half tall, which is a sign that the mosque was endowed by a sultan, as princes and princesses could only construct two minarets and others could only construct one minaret. Unfortunately, in 1660 the mosque was ravaged by a fire and then restored by Sultan Mehmed IV, then in 1766 part of the dome collapsed during an earthquake, and due to repairs, what was left of the original decoration by Sinan was damaged (Islamic Landmarks., 2023).

And yet, even after Sinan created this masterpiece, which was received incredibly, he still believed he could do much better.

This then transitioned into the commissioning of the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, which rivalled Hagia Sophia after Suleiman died in 1566. This left his son and successor Selim II in charge and wanting a mosque built in his name, despite being much older when construction began for the Selimiye Mosque, Sinan was determined to make his masterpiece.

The architecture for his masterpiece was discussed in depth in the previous blog.

The Selimiye Mosque

Mimar Sinan died in 1588 at age 98 or 100 (his birth year is unknown) and was buried in the cemetery of the Suleymaniye mosque, near Sultan Suleiman. During life, Sinan built some of the greatest examples of Islamic architecture ever - and is as of 2023, one of the most successful and acclaimed Muslim architects to grace the planet - and the impact on the Muslim world being not limited to just mosques supports his reputation. His apprentices went on to build other major landmarks such as The Blue Mosque (discussed in the previous blog) and notably the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

His works remain some of the greatest symbols of Islam, centuries after his death and impressive career.

Thank you for reading the first half of this blog - the following blog will discuss my second chosen architect.

Thank you for reading, and hopefully you enjoyed! Please like and share if you did!

Summer Marshall-Miller

Bibliography:

Archive: Islam (2023) The Greatest Architect was a Muslim. Available at: 

https://archiveislam.com/the-greatest-architect-was-a-muslim.html (Accessed: March 1, 2023). 

Britannica (1998) Sinan. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sinan (Accessed: March 1, 2023). 

Islamic Landmarks (2023) Süleymaniye Mosque. Available at: https://www.islamiclandmarks.com/turkey/suleymaniye-mosque (Accessed: March 1 2023).