#circassian girl

[sorokill]

Ig : sorokill

[songs-of-the-east]

Fairy-tale about revenge and fear, and about loneliness of an abrek. [From Maria Mussova’s folkloric series “Circassian Fairy-tales”]

"Blood-revenge led to the common North Caucasian phenomenon of the abrek (абрэдж; abrej; protector of the weak and poor), the outlaw horseman who would live in the wild and without the norms of society until the feud was resolved, which could be never. In the Russian and Soviet eras the reference was extended to those wanted by the authorities, in this context becoming local and sometimes national heroes, eulogized in music and verse. North Caucasian literati were duly obliged to denigrate the abreks as anti-heroes.

“Abrekhood” evokes notions that corresponded to Western romanticism regarding Robin Hood and his eternal quest and struggle for social justice, and in general it had the same positive connotations in the Circassian ethos."

"These [ten] pictures are of large size, and are printed on canvas-like paper, making them look almost like paintings. Each item in the series represents a personal fairytale for the author, her allusions and impressions born in the depths of the national self-identity. Here we find chrestomathic characters (e.g., Sataney), cultural phenomena (e.g., ажэгъафэ – a jester in a mask of a he-goat), images inspired by folklore and literature (“abrek”, horseman), and some light associations from the depths of consciousness (boy with a wheel, wood nymph, prayer to a tree). They are all devoid of stereotypes: The author pays much attention to detail, retouching is moderate, and the composition and the content of each picture follow strict rules. Sataney-Guashe is as if unguarded and, with all her perfection, she is very human, clear, and close to one’s heart. A young girl staring off into the distance symbolizes the eternal waiting of women – waiting for love and for the loved ones, for the winds of change, and for destiny. The fully-armed horseman is in hesitation, and he is with his horse – the only creature that will ever see him in these moments of weakness. His sabre is casually hanging behind his back, and, with all his vital energy, his hand caresses his horse’s muzzle. Maria Mussova appeals to origins as they exist in her own imagination. This personal approach helps her create works that communicate with a wide range of spectators."

[1533-secrets-from-history]

10 most Influential women in the Ottoman Empire (plus five non- sultans)

I must say in advance, this is purely my opinion and it doesn't include legal power,but general influence. For example if one woman had more legal power but still was limited to some actions, that another woman could get away with, I will rank her higher. Let's start with non sultans.

Part I: Non-Sultans

Number 5: Çevri kalfa

Çevri kalfa was a woman of Georgian origin and previously loyal servant to Nakşidili Sultan (also Georgian). She became mistress head treasurer( Baş hazindar usta) after accession of Mahmud II, who she saved from executioners by throwing them hot coals and sneaking the prince out. After becoming Head treasurer, she attained so much wealth that she could afford expensive clothes not even sultans wore. A girls school, built in her name, is one of the first schools for girls and the biggest primary school in Istanbul. She remained in her office until her death and was Sultan's trusted and favoured advisor.

Number 4: Meleki Kalfa

Meleki kalfa was a servant of Kösem and Ibrahim, however following the deposition of the sultan, she secretly switched sides as an agent of Turhan. Meleki played an important role in Turhan's rebellion by giving her information about Kösem's plan to dethrone Mehmed. After Kösem's death and Turhan's accession, she became an important person in Valide Sultan's court, was freed and married to Şaban Khalife. The couple built a residence in Istanbul, where Meleki not only conditioned her line of information to Turhan, but also acted as a negotiator in the palace on behalf of people. The political influence of her and her husband grew so much and they were murdered in 1656 for abuse of power.

Number 3: Gulfem Hatun

I have spoken about her in my previous posts

Number 2: Mahidevran Hatun

I have thought a lot about where to put her. People would expect her to be Number 1,mostly because they are used to her being sultan. That is what I first thought,for other reasons,but here we are. She has several significant influences that not many other women had:

1. She was popular with janissaries and people

2. Had a spy network, allowing her to hear major events happening in the capital.

3. She had strong allies. Ibrahim Paşa supported her and Mustafa later in his life, Hatice and her husband were supporting her openly or indirectly.

4. She was a considerable rival to the first and one of the most powerful women in the ottoman empire.

5. She had powerful characteristics: Was an intelligent, educated woman. Could mask her resentment towards Hürrem and act calmly around him.

6. She was a trusted advisor to her son. Actually, she supported the idea of Mustafa revolting against Suleiman,but only after she received information about his imminent execution, through her spy network.

Number 1: Çanfeda Kalfa

Çanfeda was the woman of Circassian origin, who served as second in command of Nurbanu for 18 years and the ruler of harem for another 11, so we can say she was de-facto Valide sultan.

In her almost three decades of service, she acquired wealth, so great that it attracted negative attention of Janissaries and even the grand Vizier. Although she collected such affluence through her salary(that was extraordinarily high consisting of 200 akches a day, it was the average salary of an imperial princess) and bribery, she used it for selfless purposes. She built three mosques, fountains, hamams, two schools, irrigation systems and fixed the roads, costing her several million akches, still she remained as one of the wealthiest people in the empire. In 1595, when Safiye exiled her, she needed dozens of carriages to carry her holdings, which apparently did not consist of much of the furniture, because she bought it from Venice the next year. It's also considerable that as an exiled person, she had to give up some of her wealth to imperial treasury.

Apart from her vital involvements in harem management in which she dominated Safiye, she had considerable influence over state matters as well. Çanfeda used her connections to install her not so bright brothers as paşas and after the series of mistakes,they were imprisoned, Çanfeda not only defied Grand viziers orders and had them set free,but restored them to their offices as well. Her power, wealth and influence came to the attention of Janissaries, who demanded her dead, but she got away with this as well. Another indication of her power, was her attempt to free the second son of sultan Murad. Even though she was caught red handed, the power it would take to infiltrate the prison is still considerable.

P.S. I did not list Halime and Handan,because after becoming Valide Sultans and regents they reached a whole different level, leagues above almost every single woman in ottoman history, however their power and influence was immense even when they were Hatuns.

As there is only 10 images/Gif limit. I will speak about 10 most powerful women in second posts.

[nyenne-safina]

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ STAGE NAME. Safina

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ BIRTH NAME. Safina Niyne Tessema ❪ ሰተናይ ኒየነ ተሰማ ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ TAIWANESE NAME. Ci Xiulan

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ݁KOREAN NAME. Miyoung Deungjeong ❪ 미영등정 ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ݁NICKNAMES. sisi, fifi, safi, nene, nini, mimi, minnie, niymi, winter bunny, bimbo, bubble butt, kento's girl, danger prone daphne, senorita perfecta donna 

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ݁TITLES. sleeping beauty, aurora, briar beauty, miss un, miss international beauty, worldwide/universal beauty, haerin's pettier twin, twice's sugar baby

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ BIRTHDATE. December 31st, 2009 ❪ 17 ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ZODIAC SIGN. Capricorn ❪ ♑︎ ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ CHINESE ZODIAC SIGN. Ox

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ BIRTHPLACE. Circassia, Russia

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ HOMETOWN. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ NATIONALITY. Ethiopian ﹕Eritrean ﹕Russian ﹕Turkish

 ϑϱ⭒ ݁ RACIAL IDENTITY. East African꒰ horn of africa ꒱, Ciscaucasian | Transcaucasian ꒰ Ciscaucasian roots ꒱ half East Asian

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ETHNICITY. Tigrinyan, Tigrayan ﹕Ciscaucasian ﹕ Circassian ﹕Chechen ﹕Georgian ꒰ Ciscaucasian ꒱ ﹕Tawianses

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ SPOKEN LANGUAGES. English ﹕ Korean ﹕ Adyghe ﹕Kabardian ﹕ Ossetic ﹕ Chechen ﹕ Turkish ﹕Arabic ﹕Russian ﹕Ingush ﹕ Tigrinya ﹕Ge'ez ﹕ Natukha ﹕ Mandarin ﹕ Cantonese ﹕ Taiwanese Hokkien

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ HEIGHT. 162 cm ❪ 5'4'' ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ WEIGHT. ━━

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ HAIR COLOR. Light Golden Blonde ❪ naturally ❫ ﹕Ebony Black ❪ dyed ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ EYE COLOR. Baby Blue with a hint of Aqua | Sea Green with a hint of Turquoise

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ BLOOD TYPE. Rh-null

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ BODY TYPE. Hourglass ⌛| Pear 🍐

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ BRA SIZE IN CUPS. DD | E cups

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ MEDICAL HISTORY. Distichiasis ﹕Heterochromia ❪ all 3 types ❫ ﹕Ocular albinism ❪ without suffering from istrabismus or nystagmus ❫ ﹕ Oculocutaneous albinism type 2 ❪ OCA2 ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ NOTABLE FEATURES. big cartooni cat/kitty eyes && dambi/doe eyes, plump pink plush lips, ungodly beautiful beauty marks && hearth shape ones too!!!, dainty small, elegant hands, prefect little upturned doll nose slightly of the center, goddess asymmetrical, symmetrical face, exotic ambiguous features && exotic mixed, ethnic features.

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ LABEL . SM ❪ 2027 - present ❫ ﹕Esteem ❪ 2027 - present ❫ ﹕ Interscope ❪ 2031 - present ❫ ﹕WORLDSTARZ ❪ 2031- present ❫ ﹕VANTE ❪ 2031 - present ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ TRANING TIME. 3 years

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ DEBUTS. NYMPHENNE

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ POSTION. Visual ﹕ FOTG ﹕Center ﹕ Vocalist ﹕ Dancer ﹕Maknae

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI. 👼🏻|🦌

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ REPRESENTATIVE COLOR. Light Pink && White

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ SOLO FANDAM NAME. Yeppeunies, Pookies

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ LINES. Maknae Line ﹕ Visual Line ﹕Long Legs ﹕ Foreign ﹕ Vocal Line ﹕ Doll | Barbie Line ﹕ Mixed Line ﹕ Bambi Line ﹕Wasian | Eurasian Line

 ϑϱ⭒ ݁ CLAIMS.ꜜ

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ DOLL FACE 𓂅 𝒮akai ℳoka ˖ ׅ .ᐟ

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ ANGELIC VOICE 𓂅 𝒩ewℐeans ˖ ׅ .ᐟ

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ BARBIE RAP 𓂅 𝒟anielle ℳarsh ˖ ׅ .ᐟ

 ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ENDORSEMENTS.ꜜ

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Miss Sohee Couture |  ɢʟᴏʙᴀʟ ᴀᴍʙᴀꜱꜱᴀᴅᴏʀ﹕ᴍᴏᴅᴇʟ ❪ 2027 - since ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Sanrio | ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ﹕ɢʟᴏʙᴀʟ ᴀᴍʙᴀꜱꜱᴀᴅᴏʀ ﹕ᴍᴏᴅᴇʟ ❪ 2027 - since ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Dior | ᴀꜰʀɪᴄᴀɴ ᴀᴍʙᴀꜱꜱᴀᴅᴏʀ﹕ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʟ ﹕ ᴀʀᴀʙ ᴀᴍʙᴀꜱꜱᴀᴅᴏʀ ❪ 2028 - since ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Victoria's Secret | ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ﹕ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʟ ❪ angel ❫ ❪ 2027 - since ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Chanel | ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ﹕ɢʟᴏʙᴀʟ ᴀᴍʙᴀꜱꜱᴀᴅᴏʀ﹕ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʟ ❪ 2028 - since ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Miu Miu | ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ﹕ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʟ ❪ 2029 - since ❫

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ SCORING ꜜ

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ vocals ━━ ❪ 90 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ rapping ━━ ❪ 22 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ dance ━━ ❪ 90 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ visuals ━━ ❪ ∞ ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ stage presence ━━ ❪ 90 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ charisma ━━ ❪ ∞ ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ producing ━━ ❪ 0 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ songwriting ━━ ❪ 22 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ choreographing ━━ ❪ 0 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ acting ━━ ❪ ∞ ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ leadership ━━ ❪ 22 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ composing ━━ ❪ 22 ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ modeling ━━ ❪ ∞ ╱ 100 ❫

۪ ⋅ Ꮚ brand reputation ━━ ❪ ∞ ╱ 100 ❫

ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ FACTS.

Her father is Tigrinyan, Tigrayan half Ciscaucasian, Circassian, Chechen and Georgian ꒰ Ciscaucasian ꒱ while her mother is Taiwanese.

She mainly has and comes from Ciscaucasian roots, on her Georgian side.

Some people don’t really believe that she is fully Tigrinyan, Tigrayan due to that side of the family having a LOT of Caucasian |  Ciscaucasian and Eurasian admixture, which doesn’t make them “True or Pure Africans”. ꒰ Some Highlander Ethiopian and Eritreans have an average of 50% Eurasian admixture, but her family has over 70% Eurasian admixture ꒱

She suffers for Oculocutaneous albinism type 2 or OCA2, where her skin color is a very pretty and light alabaster color, she can still tan but only lightly, as well as only making very light pigments.

She also suffers from Heterochromia ❪ all 3 types ❫ and Distichiasis, double rows or extra-long doll-like eyelashes.

ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Penelope's notes 💌 plan on making her parents profile next and a Miss Teen World story introducing her members and her sugar daddy relationship with the boys. tell me what yall want next and my taglist is open. toddles 💋

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824 - 1904) Femmes au bain, 19th century - Slavery gave rise to the figure of the Odalisque, that is the beautiful, white slave girl, a figure of quintessential beauty.

In the late 18th century Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, the father of physical anthropology, the father of scientific anthropology, an 18th century German scholar, assigned the name Caucasian to the people living in western Europe, to the River Ob in Russia to northern Africa, and to India. He called the people in Europe, over to India, well into Russia and North Africa, Caucasians because they were the most beautiful in the world. Blumenbach enjoyed a scholarly reputation that gave his designation enormous heft and it got picked up very quickly.

Immanuel Kant stated that the Caucasians, the Georgians, the Circassians, sell their children, particularly their girls to the Turks, the Arabs, and the Persians, for reasons of eugenics, that is, to beautify the race. The idea of the beauty of Caucasians is linked with the idea of the slavery of Caucasians. Before the Atlantic slave trade to the western hemisphere shaped our ideas about what slave trades are all about, there was slave trade from this part of the world, that goes back to before the reaches of time.

Herodotus writing in the fifth century BC, writing about the enumeration of taxes and tributes paid to the Persian kingdom, collected from the lands it had controlled and the lands even far away in the distance. He said that the voluntary contribution was taken from the Colchians, that is the Georgians, and the neighboring tribes between them and the Caucasus, and it consisted of and still consists of (that is in the 5th century BC) every fourth year 100 boys and 100 girls. This was before Herodotus could even see the beginnings of it. Herodotus also mentioned the tribute from the southern most part of the edges of the Persian world and that was for the people called Ethiopians, what they owed was gold and ivory, people were not mentioned. So, the Black Sea Slave trade was the slave trade in the western world until the 15th century when the Ottomans captured Constantinople and cut the Black Sea off from western Europe. At that point, 15th century, the Atlantic slave trade becomes the western slave trade.

Daniel Edward Clarke, our Cambridge don, also located Circassian beauty, in the enslaved. “The Cicassians frequently sell their children to strangers, particularly to Persians and Turkish Seraglios.” He speaks of one particular Circassian female who was 14, who was conscious of her great beauty, who feared her parents would sell her according to the custom of the country. The beautiful young slave girl became a figure, and she had a name; Odalisque. She combines the powerful notions of beauty, sex, and slavery. Ingres, Jerome, Powers and Matisse specialized in Odalisque paintings.

The figure of the Odalisque faded from memory as the Black Sea slave trade ended in the late 19th century, and the Atlantic slave trade overshadowed that from the Black Sea. Today, the word slavery invariably leads to people of African descent. Americans seldom associate the word Odalisque with with slavery in the Americas. Today many American painters use Odalisque figures, Michalene Thomas for instance who has done a series of what she calls American Odalisque. But the phrase and the figure of the Odalisque has lost its association with slavery. And now in American art history and in contemporary American art, Odalisque simply refers to a beautiful woman, usually unclothed.

If you want to learn more, listen to professor Nell Painter of Princeton University in the YT lecture “Why White People are Called Caucasian.”

[pwlanier]

ÉDOUARD DUBUFE

(Paris 1819–1883 Versailles)

A Circassian girl. 1867.

Oil on canvas.

Signed and dated lower left: Edouard Dubufe 1867.

Koller Auctions

[thejazzera]

Koringa- La Femme Fakir

"This Hindu woman child knows no fear and controls wild beasts."

Moss-Haired Girl — A "made" human oddity from the 19th century, also known as a "Circassian girl" (the Circassians are a Caucasian people living in the Caucasus but not speaking an Indo-European language). A white woman would stiffen and bush her hair, much in the style of the 'Afro' hairdo. The pitch which usually accompanied the act involved kidnapping by 'Arabs' and being forced into harem life, followed by a harrowing escape culminating in refuge there in the show.

1920s?

[magnificentcenturyfics]

Remembering Gübahar, part 1/2 - Circassian Beauty

Description: Mahidevran's backstory, as headcanoned by me. Featuring OCs and period typical attitudes so fair warning.

***

„Where are you from, anyway?“

Mahidevran has never been asked that, and she doubted any other sultana ever was. Women from high status families didn’t care, and elevated slaves such as herself knew better than to talk about certain things; for them, in silence was the solidarity. Only in the darkest of nights and trough the quietest of whispers, when as almost children they had to face their demons in the impersonal space of communal bedrooms, they dared to speak about it, and they did so with the utmost reverence and care for the then still fresh scars in their hearts – it was important that while they touch them, the stitches do not come off. It figures that Gabriella de Sfeo, who knew neither fear nor shame and who was so familiar with their society, yet understood so little of it at the same time, would be the first person she’d hear the question from.

   Mahidevran thus answered with only a practiced smile. „Ah, does it even matter, signora?“ Gabriela raised an eyebrow, unmoved by Mahidevran’s attempt to placate her curiosity. „It doesn’t, which is why I find it all the more strange that you’d be reluctant to tell me, sultana.“ „Oh, I am not!“ Mahidevran exclaimed, trying desperately to not sound defensive. „It’s just... Well, I need to talk to you about something else entirely, and now you are asking me to tell you some long-winded story, of which half I do not even remember, to tell the truth...“ „Oh, I do not need the whole story, sultana! Simply tell me, where you were born and of what nation.“ Mahidevran’s distaste for her curiosity (which must’ve been visible on her face) seemed to only feed it. „Surely, you must’ve shared this amusing little fact with other women of your station, have you not?“ Mahidevran pursed her lips together. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Gabriela sounded almost... Accusatory. „I do not keep any secrets from you, signora, or anyone else. I came from this palace, where my son was born and where His Majesty graced me with his love and care. Anything else, which might’ve come before, is irrelevant.“ Gabriela only smiled. „And yet...“ „Yet what?!“ „You are not willing to divulge such a pitiful nothing of an information in a casual conversation.“ Mahidevran raised her voice. „Signora de Sfeo, I value our friendship, and it deeply saddens me that you are apparently willing to sacrifice it for your own nosiness...“ „Nosiness?“ Gabriela chuckled. „Alright, then. I appologize, sultana, if in my question I might’ve been forcing you to reveal something shameful...“ „My past is not shameful, signora!“ said Mahidevran harshly. „I don’t know what kind of scandal you imagine me hiding about my younger years, but rest assured, they were perfectly ordinary and no different from any other woman here-“

   She cut her impassionate refute of Gabriela’s assertions in the middle, because despite her best efforts, signora made her admit things she didn’t put into words even in her head for all of those years. As a result, she was in such foul mood she needed to end her meeting with signora as soon as possible and order a glass of boza, which she had not drunk since she first got pregnant and elevated over her peers. If she was going to wrestle with unbidden memories called upon by her declaration, she might as well do so with a spot of something nostalgic, so to speak.

   It was perhaps for the best that she had no memmories of Circassia. She knew girls who remembered their homelands, even at the house of Zahide hanim, who raised most of her slaves just like she did Mahidevran. It wasn’t pretty, watching them when they first came; the lucky ones only cried a lot, especially at night, some also woke from nightmares, but it wasn’t rare for them to be... Broken, in one way or another. To not speak, or to only speak rarely and in that strange heavy monotone that she imagined rocks would have if they could speak. Or, on the contrary, to live in a constant state of panic, suspicious towards everyone and everything new, slow to trust and quick to attack (on the receiving end of these Mahidevran had found herself more often than she can count). One of her teachers seemed almost normal, except for the fact that she was obsessed with the idea of her or her surroundings catching fire, so she unlit every candle or fireplace that she could, making them shiver in their clasrooms and go to bed much sooner than even Zahide hanim ordered – and God forbid one of them didn’t do the same! They called that woman insane behind her back, and she might very well have been, but then, at least she had some company in that in Zahide hanim’s household. Of course, the woman had been a slave for years at that point, and most girls she met recovered much sooner... Eventually, Zahide hanim found her hysterics tiresome and had her sold away, never to be seen again. The woman seemed sad, but not as much as Mahidevran would expect; then again, for her, leaving Zahide hanim was at that time completely unimaginable, and all in all the worst thing that can happen to her, up to and including death.

   Mahidevran grew up as an orphan. She did not know if she in fact was one – it’s possible that somewhere in those massive green mountains Mahidevran’s mother or father still cried for her even after four decades, miraculously surviving whatever act of brutal violence led to her enslavement and living the rest of their life in mourning. That thought used to bother her once, when she was still small and trying to reconcile the theoretical concept of a normal family with the fact that she only had a mistress and fellow pupils. Her head back then was full of fantasies, about that place she knew little of and people who might not even be in the realm of the living anymore. With Zahide, she was always unsure of whether she could tell her about something so silly, but luckily when her fellow orphan Gevheri asked her mistress about their origin, she was rather understanding. Zahide patiently explained that she herself did not know anything about where they came from, except for the location; the man who sold them said no more than „this girl is named thus and is of that nation“, and that was, allegedly, for the best. After all, were they really convinced that learning of the home they did not have anymore and family they could not possibly ever come home to would make them feel better in any way? Nevertheless, she was then kind enough to tell them their names and places of origin – and so Mahidevran knew her parents, whoever they were, named her Sataney after a pagan goddess, information interesting enough to retain, but otherwise rather useless. Only much later, when she was sent to the palace of şehzade Süleyman, did she learn more. Upset at leaving the only home she had known, Mahidevran talked back to Zahide in a manner she never dared to before, leaving her mistress to lose her patience and scream at her the words Mahidevran never forgot.

„I am a daughter of a sultana, and you – who are you?! Some peasant girl from a burned village, taken as a war prize by a barbarian prince from the mountains, for whom serving my food and fetching my slippers is the best fate that might’ve befallen you...“

   Mahidevran did not know if it was something Zahide knew with any certainty, or if she just speculated based off of the fact that this was where most of the famous „Circassian beauties“ came from. Much later, as the mother of beloved şehzade Mustafa, she heard people spreading rumors about her having royal blood in her veins, but she was quite sure that wasn’t the case. If the slavers got their hands on an actual princess, they would mention it – after all, think of the price they could ask for such a girl...! Besides, the odds weren’t in her favour in this case. There was only so many princesses in Circassia, and peasant girls must‘ve outnumbered them greatly. No, Mahidevran sultan was no Ayşe Hafsa, she could not place herself above every other woman in the harem on her origins alone. But that is not to say she wasn’t better than them in some regards.

   Zahide hanim had planned out the education of her subjects to the smallest details. Cared for by the best teachers she could find amongst the eunuchs and slave women of Istanbul, Mahidevran and several other girls were schooled in good manners, rhetoric, religion, literature, Persian and Arabic languages, embroidery, music and dancing, as well as receiving some limited instruction in mathematics, history and philosophy. Admittedly, Mahidevran was never good in any of it, frustrating teachers with her slow and reluctant adoption of any „serious“ subject, and only ever truly excelling in the art of embroidery. But she was not completely immune to the effects of rigorous education she received at Zahide hanim’s household – unlike Hürrem, she at least never had any trouble keeping up with the ladies of high breeding, even if she could not measure up to the likes of Şah sultan or Ibrahim pasha. At any rate, she wasn’t top of the class by any means, and she didn’t manage to distinguish herself outside of classroom either.

   At any given moment, Zahide hanim cared for about a dozen slave girls of various ages, the relations between whom were always rather precarious. In their small, closed off collective, every friend was the dearest, most beloved person in the world (except for their mistress, of course), but every foe was in turn one more reason to despise even being alive. They could not torment each other openly, of course – not only for the fear of punishment, but also because the conscience of even the worst of them would not allow such severe transgression against their mistress. Instead, they attacked their foes only with more moderate weapons, but that much more relentlessly; Mahidevran spent her entire youth under the barrage of insults, petty pranks and small injustices, inflicting them in turn whenever she could. Unfortunately, she lacked inventiveness or quick wit, so she wasn’t any good in this kind of quiet warfare, which led to her relying on either inflicting physical violence on her foes (a difficult task for someone as small and unintimidating) she would then do her best to conceal or friendships with girls smarter than her. She got lucky in this regard: being naturally withdrawn, she never had many friends, but she managed to arouse the feelings of protectiveness in an older girl named Ümmülgülsüm, big, burly Greek known as the self-appointed peacekeeper of their group. Much like Mahidevran, she wasn’t good at any of the school subjects with the sole exception of embroidery, which (or so Mahidevran suspected) made her see herself in little Mahidevran; however, unlike her, Ümmülgülsüm was quite good at exerting authority over the other girls thanks to her size, common wisdom and dignified demeanor. Being her favourite was often the only thing standing between Mahidevran and relentless bullying, so naturally she had grown quite attached to Ümmülgülsüm. She stayed longer than any of her peers, too, which was lucky, because Mahidevran could not even imagine spending even part of her early youth relying only on herself.

   Even so, nothing lasts forever, and Ümmülgülsüm left when she was eighteen and Mahidevran herself only twelve. It happened so suddenly – one morning, an overseerer told Ümmülgülsüm to pack her things and then wait in Zahide hanim’s chambers. Once she left their common room to see their mistress, she only came back to say goodbye, explaning in a hurry that she was sold to pasha so-and-so and that they may not see her again. Mahidevran could not stop crying the rest of the day, no matter how much the overseerer tried to assure her what happened to Ümmülgülsüm will happen to every one of them eventually, and that it’s only for the best that she has gone off to do what she was always raised for: keeping company to men of high standing. Mahidevran remembered her old friend after giving birth to Mustafa, and so used the modicum of power given to her by this fortunate event for ordering aghas to locate Ümmülgülsüm at pasha’s household. It turned out that the elderly pasha has kept her as a concubine, a duty which she loathed with every fiber of her being, but luckily his failing health soon barred him from this kind of entertainment, relegating Ümmülgülsüm to a mere servant of pasha’s eldest daughter – an all around better mistress than him, if Ümmülgülsüm was to be believed. Alas, her lowly possition meant that she wasn’t able to maintain regular contact with Mahidevran, but at least her old protector was content with where she ended up.

   Regardless, Ümmülgülsüm’s sudden departure left a profound impact on Mahidevran. It was probably the first time she really thought of how fickle the fate is, and what that word even means. Fate, she realized soon, weren’t just the whims of nature, her own body or the supernatural, no; her fellow human beings could be the fate, if they are powerful enough. Questioning, for example, Zahide hanim, was just as futile and borderline blasphemous as questioning Allah above. Or that was what she told herself – really, the only alternative was to blame Zahide hanim, perish the thought. Unlike Hürrem, Mahidevran wasn’t defiant by nature, and with the exception of a few cases, such as the aforementioned incident around her departure, she had only ever shown perfect obedience towards Zahide hanim; a fact which, admittedly, might’ve surprised anyone who had known her in the Manisa palace.

   She was around eighteen when they were rounded up on Zahide’s orders in a courtyard, where they were visited by a burly older woman, who, as Mahidevran thought upon first seeing her, had a somewhat frog-like face. From her dress, Mahidevran could immediately tell she isn’t particullarly wealthy or important herself – this confused her at first, since how could someone ordinary even afford Zahide’s girls, who, as they were themselves told, meant for the most elite of households? And yet, there the woman was, eyeing them all critically and with a rather obvious intent of taking one of them away. Before she said a word, Mahidevran realized the woman must’ve been an attendant, sent by someone else, either because they weren’t able to come, or because they were too important to bother with such things. Nevertheless, she would never have guessed the identity of the woman’s mistress, since it was one of those things one would be too bold to even dream about, and Mahidevran was never much of a dreamer anyhow.

   The woman looked less than impressed by them – and sounded so too. „Is this everything you have?“ Zahide hanim pursed her lips together. „Daye hatun, I know there aren’t many of them...“ „I was talking more about their quality than quantity, hanim.“ That hurt, though Mahidevran told herself that perhaps it wasn’t that the years of being told how beautiful, well-educated and all around exceptional they are were all lies; after all, what if the woman was just of an exceptionally curmogeonly character? (It was only later, when she was charged with buying slaves or really anything expensive herself that she realized talking cargo down was a standard practice for savvy buyers.) „I know they don’t seem like much compared to other girls dressed up to the nines by their owners, but consider, I only let them parade around you in such simple getup because I would not dare deceive you with makeup and jewelry into believing they are more beautiful than they are...“ The woman remained absolutely deadpan. „I do not think it’s the way they are dressed, hanim.“ Zahide hanim raised her eyebrows. „You do not consider them good enough? Well, that is unfortunate, but I suppose I cannot change what your eyes see. Shall I bid you farewell, then?“ Daye’s smile was slight, but still notable on her previously less than amused face. „Well, I suppose some of them are at least acceptable.“ She scaned them quickly with her gaze, then pointed to Mahidevran and two other girls. „Take those three to the hammam. I need to see... More of them, if you understand me. Just so I can be assured they are healthy and... Well, an all around quality material.“

   Mahidevran shivered at the thought of standing naked in front of the woman’s cold amphibian eyes. One of the other girls, Neslihan, outright defied the order and made a scene. The good news was, she didn’t have to stand naked in front of the old woman, but the whipping she was punished with was so brutal it hardly seemed worth it; really, even not knowing what she knew now about the strange woman’s identity, Mahidevran would still prefer standing naked in front of her for a few seconds than suffering so much pain she’d vomit. Mahidevran actually liked the spirited girl somewhat, so when she later visited Neslihan in the sickbay to make sure she’s well, she didn’t dare mention the opportunity the girl passed over by her defiance – though she must’ve found eventually. It was one of the cruelest punishments she had seen Zahide mete out, and though she could understand somewhat her anger and need to look tough in front of the representative of Ayşe Hafsa herself, she was still disturbed by the sight of Neslihan’s utterly butchered back. She suspected that might’ve contributed to her later outburst, which caused her to part with her beloved mistress on bad terms.

   Regardless, back in the baths, after looking around their bodies with a cold, clinical gaze, Daye proclaimed. „Ah, to hell with it. Let me take them both. What are they called, anyway?“ „The skinny one is Gülbahar, the other one Gülruh.“ answered Zahide. „So, two roses, then?“ noted Daye with a humorless smile. Then she turned towards them. „I know it might not seem that way, but this is the luckiest day of your life. Get dressed and then pack your things. You’re joining the household of şehzade Süleyman.“    Mahidevran almost fainted at the information. However, she overcame her dizziness and shaking feet, when the older woman saw her distress and propped Mahidevran up by her own shoulder. „Pull yourself together, girl. Where are you from?“ „Circassia, mylady...“ „One would think you of stronger stuff, considering you were born in the mountain air.“

   Just like Ümmülgülsüm, she was given only a short time to pack her bags and say her farewells. Though her mind was aware that, just like Daye said, she indeed got very lucky, she certainly didn’t feel it that way. Instead, she was grieving losing almost all of her friends, but also fearing disappointment – from her own side, if service in the royal household wouldn’t be as glamorous as she imagined it to be in the past, but more importantly also from the side of her new masters. After all, it would be bad enough to embarass herself in front of any high-born lady or gentleman, but sultan’s wife and eldest son...? She then briefly visited Neslihan, and as one negative emotion built upon another, it only took Zahide hurrying her up without any patience or understanding for Mahidevran to lose her temper. Mahidevran didn’t suffer any real consequences for it, as she left soon after, but she never forgave herself for the fact that this was the farewell she had given to the woman who raised her in her own household, perhaps not as her own daughter, but certainly not without affection. Or so Mahidevran chose to believe, as sometimes she had to argue over this point with a small voice in her head that doubted her most sincerely held beliefs. She suspected most people have such a voice in their head; perhaps it is the devil speaking, as Ayşe Hafsa once told her, but more likely it is just their reason overdoing it sometimes. After all, there is no sin in doubt, only in succumbing to it.

   Road to the royal palace in Manisa was rather short – around an hour in the carriage, certainly not enough for Daye to provide them with a comprehensive lesson on palace etiquette, much as she tried. She told them it would be a few months untill they could properly serve şehzade and his mother; in the meantime, their lot was to live amongst other low-ranking servant girls, doing chores, fulfilling small tasks and attending some lessons. Daye was andamant that they do not think themselves better than the other girls just because they have a guaranteed spot in sultana’s vicinity, and should she catch them causing unnecessary ruckus, the best they could hope for is losing that spot. Mahidevran’s heart sunk with every minute she spent in Daye’s company. It was one thing to leave the only home and almost all of the people she had known, but to exchange one mistress whom she loved dearly for this frog-faced harridan? (In hindsight, she considered her judgement of the venerable Daye hatun almost amusing in its wrongness and inappropriateness, though in fairness, she could not have known better.) Her first meeting with Ayşe Hafsa didn’t fill her with much hope either – the old woman took one look at the young women brought in front of her and apathetically ordered Daye to show them their rooms. Only later did she learn that valide just arrived in Manisa in the aftermath of her husband’s ascencion and after the bloodshed that followed, she wasn’t inclined to concern herself with the day-to-day running of the household. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, as she and Gülruh walked the gauntlet of curious slave girls to the common sleeping area, their meager belongings in hand, Mahidevran didn’t feel much optimism about her future.

   At first, it seemed to have been warranted. The girls around her regarded her and Gülruh with curiosity, as unlike most of them, they didn’t come directly from the market, but were bred for service – a fate which the girls enslaved later in life could barely fathom. At every meal, they bombarded both newcomers with questions, which made Mahidevran profoundly uncomfortable. On the other hand, Gülruh answered them much more readily, soon earning her quite a lot of friends and immensely helping her adjust to their new home. This aroused jealousy in Mahidevran, which only made those first few months that much more bitter. Thus alienated from the only person she truly knew in this unfamiliar enviroment, she turned towards other outcasts of the palace, the chief among them a put-upon servant named Gülşah.

   She first stood out to Mahidevran by being somewhat more pudgy than most of the other girls, as well as by the fact that the rest of them acted as if she was disseased. When she once asked Gülruh about her during a meal, her old aquitance laughed. „Gülşah? Allah, don’t come close to that one. She was sent away from Topkapi as a punishment for constantly getting into fights, and even here noone likes her. If the girls saw you two together...“ ...they would’ve left me alone, she finished that sentence in her head.

   It was a spur-of-the moment decision, really. Gülruh barely moved another spoon of pilav to her mouth when Mahidevran got up from her seat and resolutely sat by Gülşah’s table. This move surprised her new companion so much that the only reaction she managed was a confused stare. Mahidevran for her part enjoyed having a silent companion at first, untill Gülşah broke the silence. „You’re the new one?“ Mahidevran didn’t react at first, slowly realizing she had no plan how to proceed with her new aquitance. She only nodded her head and tried to focus on her meal, hoping the situation settles itself somehow. Gülşah seemed slightly hostile, her anger dampened by the pleasant surprise of finally having someone at her side. „What are you doing at my table?!“ „Why? Do you want me to leave?“ Gülşah slowly blinked. „No, I mean... Why me? Why sit here, at this place?“ Mahidevran only shrugged. „You’re quiet. Everyone has been so annoying since I came here, I hoped that maybe you are different...?“ „I guess I am, but...“ Her eyes trailed across the room. „That’s because noone wants to talk to me out there.“ „Why?“ She seemed upset by that question. „The hell if I know. Ask them.“ „I already did.“ After a moment of silence, even more awkward than the first, Mahidevran tried her best to break it. „They say you used to serve at the palace of sultan himself.“ „And? All of the other girls did too. Well, I mean there’s that bitch Yasemin and her friends, who already served the prince in Kaffa... And Gülfem, if she comes back from Istanbul.“ „Why? What does she do there?“ „Sleeps with şehzade, probably.“ she shrugged. ���If he still wants her, that is.“ „Why wouldn’t he?“ „I mean, they’ve been together since Kaffa, maybe he’s tired of her or something. I don’t know, and honestly I don’t care about that kind of stupid gossip. I am not his concubine, and never will be.“ „Why are you so certain of it? I think you’re actually quite pretty.“ Gülşah’s eyes widened and cheeks turned light crimson. „Uh... Thank you.“ She drank from the glass of water near her plate, collecting herself. „But you’re probably the only person who thinks that. Everyone else calls me an owl and teases me constantly. Well, at least they used to – I... I made them stop.“

Only later did Mahidevran learn that Gülşah knows the other girls continue laughing at her in secret, she just didn’t care. If she couldn’t have any kind of respect, she was aiming for at least a small amount of fear; just enough that noone dared say anything to her face.

   From their first conversation, Mahidevran felt a strange draw towards the other girl. She could not properly explain it back then, aside from the fact that, as unpleasant as Gülşah could be, the hate towards her was nonetheless disproportionate. But when Gülruh asked why it must be Mahidevran herself who compensates for this unjust treatment, she had no proper answer. Her old aquitance must’ve thought her mad, to cling so closely to the one so hated by everyone else, even if Gülruh never said it out loud and most certainly didn’t leave Mahidevran’s side because of it (by then, Gülruh’s popularity was such that even association with Mahidevran couldn’t have undermined it). In hindsight, Mahidevran became certain that her inexplicable affection for her might’ve had something to do with the memmories of Ümmülgülsüm, which Gülşah aroused in Mahidevran despite having very little in common with her old friend. To put it simply, Mahidevran might’ve felt that it was time to pass on the protection she received and become a protector herself. A lookback at those times also revealed that she shouldn’t have bothered, but how was she to know Gülşah’s true nature back then? In day-to-day interactions, Gülşah didn’t seem all that bad – perhaps a little slow, and clinging to her only friend with a bothersome tenacity, but nonetheless surprisingly kind and caring. She shared Mahidevran’s passion for embroidery, and they had many a pleasant conversation in the corner with their threads and needles in hand. Finally accompanied by people who knew their way around the palace, Mahidevran started to get used to her new home; after all, in principle it was hardly that much different from the old one, up to its surpringly small size (harem in Manisa back then was staffed by never more than twenty women and ten aghas, and even now held only slightly more people).

   A few weeks into her stay in Manisa, şehzade Süleyman returned. Mahidevran barely saw him at first, since even during their rare encounters, she had to avert her gaze – besides, being young, naive and under the influence of tall tales during which maidens fall for handsome youths (as well as youths for maidens) at a mere glance, she was affraid of looking at a man who will likely never be hers for long. She tried not to think of him, to supress the myriad of questions she had about the master of not only this household, but soon the entire empire, and in this Gülşah was actually very helpful. Always aware of her supposedly plain looks (even if Mahidevran herself wouldn’t judge her so harshly), she didn’t dream about becoming a concubine, and several forgotten one-night women in harems of both Süleyman and his father only strenghtened her convinction that sultan’s bed simply isn’t worth fighting for. She seemed quite ambivalent about şehzade himself, too; when asked about him, she just shrugged. „He has beautiful eyes, I suppose.“ Then and especially now, Mahidevran found a certain kind of wisdom in Gülşah’s sober attitude towards the fate of concubines. Nonetheless, just like many girls around her, she could not help but look with immense jealousy at Gülfem and the newborn prince Murat she brought from Topkapi. Bearing a prince, after all, was the most women like them could strive for, and even besides that, the baby was the most loveable little thing Mahidevran had ever seen (presumably because she didn’t have to change its nappies and listen to its cries deep in the night). It was then that she slowly started to wonder what it would be like, to know a man and have a child of her own? The thoughts of this kind crept at her mind steadily, with Mahidevran herself fighting them at every turn, but she could never banish them for good.

   Eventually, as she and Gülruh properly started service in the entourage of Ayşe Hafsa, she got her first good look at şehzade Süleyman – and she was almost instantly smitten. Gülşah’s comment about his eyes was appropriate, yet somehow she forgot to also mention his elegant, yet manly profile, charming, approachable smile and tall figure, which was also decently built, though she didn’t have the pleasure to see it for herself untill later. As a servant of Ayşe Hafsa, Mahidevran was in Süleyman’s vicinity quite often, and was able to observe him quite closely, although he didn’t notice her at all. There was a strange kind of one-sided intimacy between them, as Mahidevran soon recognized all of Süleyman’s quirks and little ticks, whereas she was a non-entity for him. She also became somewhat knowledgeable when it came to his habits and personality.

   Şehzade Süleyman was a bright and lively youth, whose duties as governor couldn’t truly exhaust his endless supply of energy. Whenever the oportunity arose, he participated in more ambitious projects than was usual for a sanjakbey, which left his mother greatly concerned, as she knew her husband’s temper and soon realized Süleyman’s activities were seen as threatening by the paranoid old sultan. Süleyman once bitterly compared his father to the ancient pagan god Kronos, who, having deposed his own father Uranos, swallowed all of his children soon after birth so they would not do the same to him. Of course, his fear may or may not have been justified given that his wife managed to save his youngest son and, just as the old man feared, Kronos was cast down by his own son. Though Süleyman didn’t have the same intentions, he must’ve known that this comparison was unintentionally self-flattering; after all, in this story, he paralelled none other than Zeus, the king of gods and patron god of kings. Süleyman certainly dreamed of greatness – he strived to be not only a great conqueror like his father, but an arbiter of law and culture for centuries to come. Not having the oportunity to influence either much, Süleyman instead simply worked as hard as he could, and when he ran out of work, he instead took to writing poetry and surrounding himself with books and scholars.

   Süleyman also loved hunting, just like Mustafa, and indeed also became overly fond of his hunting companion, just like his eldest son seemed now. Of course, that was a bit unjust comparison – Taşlicali, for all of his inarguable literary talent, was as humble as he was dense, while Ibrahim even as a simple falconer lacked neither pride nor intelligence. Then again, the same could be said about their masters. In any case, Süleyman’s deep friendship with the young servant, together with his relative disinterest in women, created some truly vile rumors, of course only whispered quietly among the slave girls whenever their superiors were far away. After all, when Gülfem bore him a son, he lost all interest in women of the harem, and around this time he also brought Ibrahim from one of his hunts (cue the jokes about him „catching a fine stag“). Ayşe Hafsa probably didn’t know about these rumors, or else their perpetrators would suffer with their lives, but at the very least, she wasn’t satisfied with the future of the dynasty hinging on a single child. She reminded Süleyman of his duty to sire healthy sons as often as possible, but he didn’t seem very receptive; in fact, the more insistent she was, the more time Süleyman spend with everyone and everything else but harem concubines. If Mahidevran were to guess now, she would say he simply found mere intercourse unexciting and always needed more than a beautiful young body to arouse his senses. Süleyman craved emotions. Süleyman craved stories. Süleyman craved drama. And though Mahidevran didn’t know it yet, she was about to provide him with everything he wanted and more.

[dear-indies]

hey guys!! do you know of any ginger girl faceclaims with a lot of gifs? i'd really appreciate it!!

Amy Adams (1974)

Natasha Lyonne (1978) Ashkenazi Jewish.

Nur Fettahoğlu (1980) Turkish.

Deborah Ann Woll (1985)

Elçin Sangu (1985) Circassian Turkish.

Katie Leclerc (1986) - has Ménière's disease.

Evan Rachel Wood (1987) - is bisexual.

Sarah Snook (1987)

Jane Levy (1989) Ashkenazi Jewish / English, some Irish and Scottish.

Başak Gümülcinelioğlu (1991) Turkish.

Charlotte Spencer (1991)

Eleanor Tomlinson (1992)

Olivia Cooke (1993)

Sophie Skelton (1994)

Madelaine Petsch (1994)

Khadijha Red Thunder (1994) Chippewa Cree, African-American, Spanish - is pansexual. 

Ahsen Eroğlu (1994) Turkish.

Bree Kish (1996) ¼ African-American ¾ Spanish, Irish.

Luca Hollestelle (1996)

Katherine McNamara (1996)

Kennedy McMann (1996)

Ellie Bamber (1997)

Kiera Allen (1997) - is paraplegic.

Melis Sezen (1997) Turkish.

Erin Kellyman (1998) Afro-Jamaican / Irish - is a lesbian. 

Asena Keskinci (2001) Turkish.

If you mean women, since I don't suggestion faceclaims under the age of 21, here!

With help from the amazing @katherine-mcnamara!

[sorokill]

[nonrussian]

Portrait of a girl in national dress. Adygs (Circassians). 1908 Портрет девушки в национальном платье. Адыги (черкесы). 1908

From Kunstkamera archive. Shavlovsky S.A. (photographer)

[gulnarsultan]

》 Handan Sultan 《

Gerçek Adı : ?

Doğum tarihi ve yer : 1567

Ölüm tarihi ve yer : 26.11.1605

Kökeni hakkında : Kesin olarak Kafkasyalıdır. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

( Servezad Kalfa tarafından Saraya getirilmişdir.) (Servezad Kalfa Mahidevran Sultanın öz yeğenidir.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

İlk tahmine göre : Çerkesdir. Kabardey soyundan, Sogonew ailesine mensubdur.

İkinci tahmine göre : Bosnada doğmuşdur. Boşnaktır. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vuslat Canpolat, Safiye Ergün, Ekrem Koçubey gini isimlerin Handan Sultan'ın akrabası olması onun Şogenow ailesinden bir Çerkes kızı olduğunu doğrulamaktadır. Handan Sultan, Cerrah Mehmed Paşa'nın akrabasıymış. Cerrah Mahmed Paşa, 3 Mehmed'in sünnetini yapan cerrahdır. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eşi : 3 Mehmed

Evlilik tarihi : 1579

Çocukları : Şehzade Selim                     Şehzade Süleyman                      1 Ahmed                       İsmihan Sultan                       Fatma Sultan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Handan Sultan tarihde merhametli ve iyi kalpli biri olarak geçse de Şehzade Mahmud'un idamında parmağı olduğuyla ilgili tahminler vardır. Çünki Şehzade Mahmud idam edildikten sonra Handan Sultanın küçük oğlu Şehzade Ahmed Veliaht ilan edildi. Handan Sultan'ın bu duruma tesiri olup, olmadığıyla bir belge yoktur. Sultan 1 Ahmed tahta 13 yaşında çıktığı için devleti tek başına idare edemeyeceği için Handan Sultan Saltanat Naibesi oldu ve ölene kadar devleti tek başına yönetti. Handan Sultan ölene kadar kardeş katline izin vermedi. Bu veraset sisteminde ekber ve erşad yasasının gelmesini sağlamıştır. Venedik elçisi Giacomo Surian 1603 yılında yazdığı raporda  3 Mehmedin Hasekilerinden bahis etmiştir : "Sultanın ilk karısı ( yani Handan Sultan) ve son karısı afet bir güzelliğe sahiplermiş."

Tarihte "Benli Haseki" namıyla mehşur Kadın Handan Sultandır.

Sultan 1 Ahmed annesinin ölmünden sonra daha sert bir tabiata bürünmüştür. Muhteşem Yüzyıl Kösem filimnde gösterilenlerin aksine Handan Sultan zayıf bir karakter değildi. Handan Sultan ağır bir hastalıktan ölmüştür,( Ancak belkide bir suikaste kurban gitmişte ola bilir. Sonuçta düşmanlar vardı.). Filimde gösterilen kendini zehirlediği sahne yalan ve yanlıştır.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Real name : ?

Date and place of birth: 1567

Date of death and place : 26.11.1605

About Origin: He is definitely Caucasian.

(Bred to the Palace by Servezad Kalfa.) (Servezad Kalfa is Mahidevran Sultan's nephew.)

According to the first guess: Circassian. Of Kabardian ancestry, he belongs to the Sogonew family.

According to the second guess: He was born in Bosnia. She is Bosnian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vuslat Canpolat, Safiye Ergun, The fact that Ekrem Koçubey's names are relatives of Handan Sultan confirms that she is a Circassian girl from the Shogenow family. Handan Sultan was a relative of Cerrah Mehmed Pasha. Cerrah Mahmed Pasha is the surgeon who performed the circumcision of 3 Mehmed.

Husband : 3 Mehmed

Marriage date : 1579

Children: Şehzade Selim

Sehzade Suleiman

1 Ahmed

Ismihan Sultan

Fatma Sultan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Although Handan Sultan is a merciful and good-hearted person in history, there are speculations that he had a hand in the execution of Şehzade Mahmud. Because after Şehzade Mahmud was executed, the younger son of Handan Sultan, Şehzade Ahmed, was declared Crown Prince. There is no document as to whether Handan Sultan had any influence on this situation. Since Sultan Ahmed I ascended to the throne at the age of 13, he could not rule the state alone, so Handan Sultan became the Regent of Sultanate and ruled the state alone until his death. Handan Sultan did not allow fratricide until his death. In this inheritance system, the law of akbar and ershad came. Venetian ambassador Giacomo Surian mentioned 3 Mehmed's Haseki in his report in 1603:

"The Sultan's first wife (i.e. Handan Sultan) and his last wife had a stunning beauty."

The famous woman known as "Benli Haseki" in history is Handan Sultan.

After the death of his mother, Sultan Ahmed I assumed a harsher nature. Handan Sultan was not a weak character, contrary to what was shown in the movie Magnificent Century Kösem. Handan Sultan died from a serious illness (but maybe he was assassinated. After all, there were enemies.). The scene in the movie where he poisons himself is false and wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The picture is representative. Resim temsilidir

[1533-secrets-from-history]

Controversial origin of Halime Sultan

For many years the life of Halime Sultan had been a mystery. Not only her place of birth,but even her period in harem and tenure as Valide was unknown. Many thought the mother of Mahmud was killed along with him, some said she survived, but was banished. Even her Muslim name was unknown and was mentioned as fulane sultan for quite a long time, until it was found that she was called Halime sultan.

Like almost everything about her life her origin was mostly a mystery, However today it is accepted that she was from Caucasia, particularly from Abkhazia. However, that doesn't make everyone clear about her ethnicity. Confusion mainly comes because the term "Abkhazian" might include several people: Native Abkhazians, who settled here in ancient times, there were two major tribes in Abkhazia ubykh-abkhazs(genetically closer to Circassians) and Georgian-abkhazs(almost genetically identical to western Georgians). However, the number of people in each tribe varied from time to time, however generally Georgian-abkhazians were more loosely-settled, mainly because during the rise of civilization during iron age,pre-classical and classical antiquity, when Abkhazia was part of first Kingdom of Colchis and then kingdom of Egrisi(lazica), both were kartvelian kingdoms, created after unification of native Kartvelian tribes that lived there, two kingdom covered teritories from todays Abkhazia to some parts of eastern Anatolia. Therefore, Georgian-abkhazs promoted that time. In 697, the kingdom of Egrisi devided, into the de-facto kingdom of Abkhazia from 697-780's and the official kingdom of Abkhazia from early 780's to 1008 that included not only modern Abkhazia,but whole teritories of modern eastern Georgia and parts of Turkey and Russia . The official language of the pre 780's kingdom was Georgian, was ruled by Georgian-abkhaz Nobel families and was almost entirely settled by Georgians. After the 780s it was even more dominated by Georgians and that was time, when on the territories of the modern days republic of Abkhazia along with Georgian-abkhazs and ubykh-abkhazs western Georgians actively started to settle. From 1008 to 1490's it became part of the united kingdom of Georgia. After the 1490s it was invaded by Mongolians and divided into western and eastern parts. That is a period when Circassians slowly started to enter Abkhazian territories. Now back to the topic, up until late sixteenth century Abkhazia was Georgian dominated land, in 1570's same time as ottomans, many Circassian tribes started infiltrating Abkhazia and unlike peaceful natives, started to invade homes of weakened Georgians and as a result during the climax of invasion in 1580-90's mass slave trade burst out and thousands of Georgian-abkhaz and mingrelian girls found themselves in ottoman slave market.

Halime sultan was born around 1568-70, therefore in 1580-90's she could have been anywhere from 10-12 to 20-22 years old, considering Mehmed III received his sanjak in 1583, Halime was likely gifted to him that or next year, at very least she was already favourite in 1586, so she was bought quite before that time. So perhaps she was freshly brought little Georgian in the Ottoman slave market? Everything in this theory fits, her age, statistics, fact that slave markets were flooded by Georgians suggest that when we say that Halime was Abkhaz, it means Georgian-abkhaz, not Ubykh-abkhaz and definitely not non-native Circassians.

[avisunstuff]

І знову середа! | Wednesday already!

СЛОБОЖАНЩИНА | SLOBOZHANSCHINA

Кінець ХІХ – початок ХХ ст. | The end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th

Стрій молодого:

весільна сорочка, яку вишивала наречена. Згори одягалась безрукавка. Штани мали були з черкесинової або шведської тканини. На плечі накидалась чумарка (полегшена святкова свита), яку прикрашали металевими ґудзиками та вишивкою різноколірним шовком. На голову вдягали бриль з квіткою, яку пришивала сестра молодої.

Fiancé clothing:

wedding shirt, which was embroidered by the bride. A tank top was worn on top. Pants were made of Circassian or Swedish fabric. A chumarka (light festive retinue) was draped over the shoulders, which was decorated with metal buttons and embroidery with multi-colored silk. Bride's sister sew the flower and put it on the fiancés visor.

P.S.

| Щось ця ілюстрація цікавіше вийшла. Ну нічого, з дівчиною потім виправлю.

| This illustration turned out to be more interesting. Well, I'll fix the one with the girl later.

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780 - 1867) Petite Baigneuse, 1828 Musée du Louvre - Slavery gave rise to the figure of the Odalisque, that is the beautiful, white slave girl, a figure of quintessential beauty. In the late 18th century Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, the father of physical anthropology, the father of scientific anthropology, an 18th century German scholar, assigned the name Caucasian to the people living in western Europe, to the River Ob in Russia to northern Africa, and to India. He called the people in Europe, over to India, well into Russia and North Africa, Caucasians because they were the most beautiful in the world. Blumenbach enjoyed a scholarly reputation that gave his designation enormous heft and it got picked up very quickly. Immanuel Kant stated that the Caucasians, the Georgians, the Circassians, sell their children, particularly their girls to the Turks, the Arabs, and the Persians, for reasons of eugenics, that is, to beautify the race. The idea of ​​the beauty of Caucasians is linked with the idea of ​​the slavery of Caucasians. Before the Atlantic slave trade to the western hemisphere shaped our ideas about what slave trades are all about, there was slave trade from this part of the world, that goes back to before the reaches of time. Herodotus writing in the fifth century BC, writing about the enumeration of taxes and tributes paid to the Persian kingdom, collected from the lands it had controlled and the lands even far away in the distance. He said that the voluntary contribution was taken from the Colchians, that is the Georgians, and the neighboring tribes between them and the Caucasus, and it consisted of and still consists of (that is in the 5th century BC) every fourth year 100 boys and 100 girls. This was before Herodotus could even see the beginnings of it. Herodotus also mentioned the tribute from the southern most part of the edges of the Persian world and that was for the people called Ethiopians, what they owed was gold and ivory, people were not mentioned. So, the Black Sea Slave trade was the slave trade in the western world until the 15th century when the Ottomans captured Constantinople and cut the Black Sea off from western Europe. At that point, 15th century, the Atlantic slave trade becomes the western slave trade. Daniel Edward Clarke, our Cambridge gift, also located Circassian beauty, in the enslaved. “The Cicassians frequently sell their children to strangers, particularly to Persians and Turkish Seraglios.” He speaks of one particular Circassian female who was 14, who was conscious of her great beauty, who feared her parents would sell her according to the custom of the country. The beautiful young slave girl became a figure, and she had a name; Odalisque. She combines the powerful notions of beauty, sex, and slavery. Ingres, Jerome, Powers and Matisse specialized in Odalisque paintings. The figure of the Odalisque faded from memory as the Black Sea slave trade ended in the late 19th century, and the Atlantic slave trade overshadowed that from the Black Sea. Today, the word slavery invariably leads to people of African descent. Americans seldom associate the word Odalisque with with slavery in the Americas. Today many American painters use Odalisque figures, Michalene Thomas for instance who has done a series of what she calls American Odalisque. But the phrase and the figure of the Odalisque has lost its association with slavery. And now in American art history and in contemporary American art, Odalisque simply refers to a beautiful woman, usually unclothed. If you want to learn more, listen to professor Nell Painter of Princeton University in the YT reading “Why White People are Called Caucasian.”

[nyenne-safina]

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ⌢ ݁ GOOD LOOKS RUNS IN THEIR BLOOD ─ family

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ⌢ ݁ FATHER ─ Amare Tessema

ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ REAL NAME. Amare Tessema ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ RUSSIAN NAME.  Anzhel Kuznetsov ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ DATE OF BIRTH. December 31st, ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ NATIONALITY. Ethiopian, Eritrean; Georgian; Turkish; Italian; Russian ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ BIRTHPLACE. Milan, Italy ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ ETHNICITY. Tigrinyan, Tigrayan ﹕Ciscaucasian ﹕ Circassian ﹕Chechen ﹕Georgian ꒰ Ciscaucasian ꒱ ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ HEIGHT. 6’6 ❪ 198 cm ❫ ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ EYE COLOR. Light Hazel Blue Green | Blue Green, and a Very Light Caramel Brown ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ HAIR COLOR. Light Brown, with hints of light blonde ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ RESIDENCY. Sarbet, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ OCCUPATION. Supermodel, Beauty Pageant King and Actor ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ SPOUSE. Cai Lijuan ❪ since. 2008-present ❫  ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ CHILDREN. Safina Niyne Tessema | Ci Xiulan

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ⌢ ݁ MOTHER ─ Cai Lijuan

ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ REAL NAME. Cai Lijuan ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ DATE OF BIRTH. November 30th, ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ NATIONALITY. Taiwanese; Chinese ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ BIRTHPLACE. Bejing, China ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ ETHNICITY. Taiwanese ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ HEIGHT. 5’7 ❪ 170 cm ❫ ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ EYE COLOR. Chartreuse Green | Hazel Brown, Blue-Green ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ HAIR COLOR. Light Brown ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ RESIDENCY. Sarbet, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ OCCUPATION. Businesswoman ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ SPOUSE. Amare Tessema ❪ since. 2008 ━ present. ❫  ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ CHILDREN. Safina Niyne Tessema | Ci Xiulan

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ ⌢ ݁ MONEY IS THE ANTHEM ─ their backstory

ϑϱ⭒ ݁ Safina Niyne Tessema, better known as Safina, was born on December 31, 2009, to a Tigrinyan, Tigrayan, half Ciscaucasian, Circassian, Chechen, and Georgian ꒰ Ciscaucasian ꒱ father and a Taiwanese mother.

Her father, Amare Tessema, is a well-known supermodel, actor, and beauty pageant king, winning over five of the largest male pageant titles: Mister World, Mister Supranational, Mister International, Mister Global, and Mister Manhunt International, being the first and only to ever do so. Her mother, Cai Lijuan, is an extremely wealthy Businesswoman and heir to her family’s multi-billion business.

Her Father was originally born into an extremely wealthy family; her father’s father is linked to a royal Tigrinyan and Tigrayan lineage and comes from a powerful oil-rich dynasty known all around the Arab world and the Horn of Africa. Her grandfather was even a model and a very popular actor in both Africa, Europe and the Near East for his exotic and good looks and having green eyes as an African.

Her grandfather, being wealthy, was a polygamist, having two wives, with each woman giving birth to two children. The older wife gave birth to two girls, and her grandmother gave birth to two sons, with the youngest and golden child being her father.

Her grandmother ꒰ her father’s mother ꒱, being the younger trophy wife and favorite wife due to her beauty and youthfulness, comes from multiple royal Ciscaucasian families with Ciscaucasian roots, like the Ciscaucasian Egyptian clan, the Abaza clan.

Her mother is extremely wealthy Businesswoman and heir to her family’s multi-billion business, which is a pharmaceutical and medical company making millions and billions of dollars producing and making some of the world’s most used and well-known medicines. Her mother just like her father is also known for her otherworldly beauty, being one of the most beautiful and eligible bachelorettes in all of Asia and Europe before marrying her father.

Her parents met at a company party and immediately hit it off and started a quiet little affair between them both. But when her father finally proposed and revealed his relationship to his family, Safina’s grandfather at first was not willing to bless the marriage due to the fact that his golden child’s new wife was not only Asian, but also years older than her younger beau fiancé. He wanted his golden son to marry an Arab, Middle Eastern, Northern African, or another Ethiopian or Eritrean, like his older brother and older half-sisters.

But after some begging and pleading, he reluctantly gave the new couple his blessings. The stunning couple got married in 2008 in a big, beautiful fairy tale-like wedding and brought their beautiful little angel into world, Safina, in 2009, a year later.

BOUNS ݁⌢ ݁ FACTS

OO1 ݁ ۪ ⋅ Safina albinisms is inherited as her grandmother and mother ꒰ her mother was type 4 similar to type 2 ꒱have the same type and condition as her, but instead of having light blue-green eye her grandmother has violet and her mother a light mix of green, hazel and brown. That’s one of the main reasons why her parents are so light skinned, and the family as a whole is just really light skinned.

OO2 ݁ ۪ ⋅ Both her parents are known for being attractive beyond words, the whole family is known for being attractive beyond words. With the family having have to be blessed by Allah with how good their genes are, especially with the beautiful beauty marks that each members have unique to them.

ৎ ݁ ۪ ⋅ Ꮚ Penelope notes 💌 plan on adding more but just wanted to post it for now, toddles