#haseki ayşe sultan

[damaseclipsadas]

Haseki Ayşe Sultan, consorte de Murad IV

[laleru]

✱ Ayşe Sultan (Leyla Feray) — Magnificent Century: Kosem Ep.45

[1533-secrets-from-history]

Mistakes in the Magnificent Century part III

(title, ranks and traditions)

Some facts might be the same or very similar to the ones in previous parts,but they will be discussed from different angle.

1. Valide Sultan title

As I have spoken in the previous chapters, pre 1520 mothers of sultans were not sultans at all, they were titles as hatuns, though treated with utmost respect. In 1520 as Suleiman the Magnificent ascended the throne, he bestowed the title of Sultan to her mother Ayşe Hafsa, thus making her the first person in the ottoman history to become sultan from slavery. However, for Ayşe Hafsa being Sultan was not the same as the Valide Sultan that we know today. She was sultan yes, and she was the mother, so "Valide" was the proper address,from her children, as it was for every mother in the Ottoman empire, she was registered as "the mother of Sultan Suleiman", therefore in some sense, we can say she was not "Valide Sultan".

The first person,who actually made the "Valide sultan" a thing and officially registered herself was Nurbanu. So, the first Valide sultan with its full meaning was not Hafsa,but Nurbanu, who was registered as Valide Afife Nurbanu Sultan.

2. Haseki Sultan and Hürrem's marriage.

There were more than just several miscon- ceptions about the subject in the show.

First and foremost it was created specifically for Hürrem,so neither Hafsa nor Mahidevran have ever had the title. It also brought another mistake about Hafsa,that I will explain below,but now I will just make clearer how, when and why the status was created.

It was almost definitely created in mid-1534 after the death of Ayşe Hafsa Sultan and was probably legalised by their marriage, which by some sources is mentioned to be in 1533. If this is right, then it would mean, Suleiman married Hürrem before he gave her the status of Haseki and the marriage only freed her,but the most common and for me the most logical version is that after the death of Hafsa Sultan, Suleiman married her and gave her the title.

The death of Hafsa Sultan is a crucial part in the story, nor because she had some kind of objection towards Hürrem or her promotion,but the legal status of Hürrem reached its peak of necessity after her death. As we know, Ayşe Hafsa was a trusted ally and Confidant of uprising Sultan, even during his time as shehzade, so during the campaigns, his mother was the supervisor of the capital and his family, so the sultan could go to war without worrying about what he was leaving behind. However, after Hafsa's death things changed, Süleiman lost beloved mother and most trustworthy person around him, he needed to act immediately,as the campaign was near. He needed someone,whom he could entrust Harem, Family and the capital. His children were little, Sisters(whom by the way he trusted very much) were all married and Hürrem did not have a proper rank. It is said that he also discussed the candidate of high ranking harem servants, one and most promoted one of whom, in my opinion, would have been Gulfem, but he finally found the best possible solution that would affect his empire for centuries. He married Hürrem, gave her the rank of Haseki Sultan and left her in charge of the Harem, Family and the empire.

Hürrem became the first Haseki sultan in history.

Misusage of the title did not and here and there, not only the status and function,but even relevance of achievement was changed here. In the very first episode, Nigar kalfa made it clear that giving birth to a son, was enough to achieve it however, originally only the chosen ones could become Hasekis until its relevance faded during Murad's reign and completely lost exclusivity during Ibrahim's.

Essentially, the original function of haseki sultan was filling the absence of Valide, therefore only Hürrem and Nurbanu can be considered as the "original Haseki Sultans". Later many women were given the status, however the show made it wrong. Mahidevran,Mahfiruz and Halime never held it, however Şevikar, referred as Şevikar hatun in the show, was actually Haseki Şevikar sultan, the fifth Haseki of Ibrahim, three of whom, Ayşe, Mahinerv and Saçbağli, were left out, which is kind of understandable, because they had no importance in plot, unlike Turhan, never became Valide,unlike Saliha Dilaşub and Muazzez and had no influence on Ibrahim,Unlike Şevikar and Humaşah.

Their social standing is also misportrayed in the show, where Haseki ranks below and bows to imperial princesses, while in real life it was the other way around.

3. Daughters of Ottoman Princesses

In the show, we met three daughters of the ottoman princesses: Esmahan,Huriçihan and Humaşah. They are referred to as Sultans,but in real life the daughters of imperial princesses were not called so,instead they had the title Hanimsultan and ranked even below the imperial consorts. The only exception to that was Humaşah, the daughter of Mihrimah Sultan, who received the title and prestige of the Sultan.

4. Harem Kalfa

In the show, they are just giving people the rank left and right. Nigar was already a high ranking, trusted servant of harem,but it turned out that she had only been there for 6 years. Fidan hatun was banished for attacking Sultan,but after a while she returned and became Kalfa, in Kösem melek hatun received rank out of the blue etc.

In real life, however, becoming kalfa was a long process. As we know,there were hundreds or even thousands of girls in the harem,but only a handful of them would become favourites,but what would happen to others? After ten years of being a harem resident some of them would have been transferred from harem and soon married off, some could by freedom, while others, usually the smartest and most responsible ones,would go to a special school that lasted two years, they would revive extensive training, both intellectual and physical, after that they could return in harem as teachers and overseers and if they were good enough they could promote.

There was actually quite a complicated hierarchy of harem servants,not only there were Kalfa's who had duty to supervise certain works like food or laundry(later even coffee),but there were administrative ranks, that they could achieve:

Mistress chief treasurer(Baş Hazinedar usta): she was head of the harem treasury.

Treasurers(Hazinedars): there were other hazinedars as well, who worked in harem treasury. Baş hazinedar usta was their direct superior.

Imperial Kalfa(Hünkar Kalfası): Personal kalfa of the padişah.

Lady stewardess(Kahya kadin/Kethüda Hatun): she ranked below imperial consorts,but her role raised during sultanate of women, when Gülfem and Çanfeda held the office, they were right hand women of Chief Harem managers(Hürrem and Nurbanu) therefore second in command of the Harem.

Senior Kalfa(Büyük Kalfa): Head of Kalfas, she was responsible for literally everything that was happening in the harem, sultans and şehzades treated her with respect and called "my kalfa" or "your grace"

Lady secretary: secretary of administrative organs of harem.

Junior kalfa( Küçük Kalfa): Senior kalfa was their direct superior. They had ranks within( second- ranking, third ranking, novice etc.) They were sometimes teachers and daily overseers.

Çanfeda for example entered the harem with Nurbanu, so in late 1530's or early 1540's. Nurbanu became favourite and went to Manisa, while Çanfeda remained in the old palace, in 1566 she was already a high ranking kalfa in the old palace, when Nurbanu called her. That would mean she was sent to train as kalfa in late 1540's or yearly 1550's, therefore she would have a decade or two to raise in ranks.

5. Princely harem.

In the magnificent century, prince usually gets his harem, whole in Topkapi palace, which is the lie through and through. They went even further and made up with the rule that the prince can not have a child with their concubine until they get their province to rule. Why would they be allowed to have concubines,but not having a child, when contraception is still unreliable.

Actually, their case was far more easier, princes would revive their sanjaks while still very young, their mothers, governesses and close servants would carefully choose their harem and leave the palace with their mother and full sisters. That also brought another mistake in the show. In the flashbacks, we can see Ayşe Hafsa and Hatice visiting Suleiman in Manisa, however Ayşe Hafsa along with Fatma and beyhan left for Manisa with Suleiman in 1512, while Hatice,being 4 years older than Suleiman, got married the same year.

6. Regency

They introduced Kösem's regency as something unheard of,while completely neglecting Handan and Halime.

Handan was the first woman ever to rule as regents in her son's stead. She appointed viziers, discussed political matters and built a trusted circle for her son.

Halime was not officially registered regent but due to the insanity of her son, paşas asked her to rule the state after the rebellion she herself organized.

Kösem's and Turhan's regency is well known, so I will not speak about it.

7. Kösem's wedding

Not exactly the mistake as it is not proven, but as the event is highly unlike, I'll just put it there.

In 1609 it is said that Ahmed had four children with two women,but neither of them were married to him. In the two latters, one form 1612 and other from 1616, the 1612 letter straight out mentions her as sultan's concubine, who he loves the most and in 1616 she is mentioned as juts Haseki,but nothing is said about the marriage( I am not adamant about him not marrying her,I am just saying that it's unlikely, however I admitt she might indeed was concubine in 1612 and after the death of Mahfiruz, Ahmed married her and raised her stipend),however early in Kösem's regency vencians questioned ottoman practice, that mother of sultan was honoured and even given the regency,despite not being married to his father. As we know in Venice and generaly in Europe, source of power for woman was her marriage and not just motherhood. That is a time, when it was "unrevealed" that ahemd married her before he died,(if that latter is to be believed than Kösem and Ahmed did not marry in 1613), now it was actually thought that it was false information used by Kösem to strengthen her position in the eye of Venice as they needed friendly relation with them. That is not widely accepted,but it can be strengthened by the fact that Vencians still did not believe it, so perhaps they knew for sure that it was lie?

8. The death of Halime sultan and Mustafa.

In the show Halime, like many others, is victim of making Kösem seem more powerful, while Mustafa was killed by Murad. In real life, Mustafa died of natural causes, probably because of epilepsy in 1539, he was buried in Hagia Sophia and the coffin was placed in a mosque built for him. Halime is buried next to him and no permission of reburial was asked or granted, therefore Halime was not killed by Kösem, she went to the old palace and lived a long life.

9. 1517-1540

I'll be honest, I don't remember much of those episodes, they were boring and monotonous for me, but what I remember is one part from Kösem's iconic " The state you are talking about is mine" speech. She mentioned that she took over the reins of the state from Ahmed 15 years before the event, well that is a huge lie. Though the show runners tried to make Kösem all powerful, the invincible mastermind behind every single breath people drew in the empire,but she was actually quite powerless from time to time and the period between 1617 and 1623 is one of such. She was still young and inexperienced that time and main powerhouses in the empire were Halime and Osman's faction and she was not the leading force during any of the rebellions, she was allie of Halime, who, according to many historians, had major influence that time and the great impact on Kösem. Some even go as far as claiming that she persuaded Osman to kill Mehmed, so Kösem would take her side.

In short, Kösem did not have reins of sultanate for 15 years,but only about 10.

As I said, I don't remember much about the episodes, but from what I remember, Kösem had something to do with Murad's death. I'll be short on this: that's a lie.

10. Coup of 1648

The show made Kösem something of a filicidal tyrant. However, In real life her tyrannical tendencies appeared only after the death of Ibrahim, which he had nothing to do with. The ones behind the incident were Turhan and her faction. Kösem indeed took part in the Ibrahim's dethronement for the good of everyone,but mainly because she had seen the mad sultan dethroned,but lived. Mustafa had a similar situation,he was dethroned and locked in kafe, while his mother was sent to the old palace, which Kösem was absolutely willing to do. However, Turhan made her move and had Ibrahim executed to get rid of opposition for good, or perhaps because of the old resentment. Things did not go exactly as she had planned though, Kösem became regent and visibly started to avenge Ibrahim's death, it became clear that she was not going to hand over any power to Turhan and after she started to oppose even went as far as attempted dethronement of Mehmed(however she was not going to kill him.)

Therefore the child killing monster the show made her become is straight out a lie. One of her sons died of natural causes and the other was killed by outer forces, that she tried to avenge.

[womenoftheottomanempire]

Ayşe was born around 1613, she was greek. With permission of Kösem Sultan, Murad IV rewarded her with Haseki Sultan title. In 1633, Murad raises her salary to 2000 aspers a day. The number and identity of her childern has not been confirmed. Angelo Alessandri, a secretary of venetian ambassador wrote about her that she was of Greek origin. According to him, although she was beautiful, she was not as beautiful in spirit as her mother- in law Kösem. Apparently, Ayse was a woman who wasted her money more for greed then generosity. Murad was known for loving Ayşe. He treated her like a queen and she behaved like a queen.Ayşe accompanied Murad IV to Baghdad Campaign. Which was unusal since the incident with Bayezid I amd Olivera Lazarevic when they were captured by Timur. According to austrian historian Joseph von Hammer- Purgstall, Ayşe witnessed the entire campaign.Murad IV passed away in February 1640. We know that Kaya Esmehan's mother came into conflict with Kösem Sultan because Kösem wanted to marry the little girl Kaya to Melek Ahmed Pasha, who was about the same age as Kösem, and she succeeded in doing so. Ayse's salary was cut to just 100 aspers per day. This could just be a coincidence or a hint that Ayse was Kaya's mother. Ayşe passed away in 1679/1680.

[shivrcys]

Hümaşah - disambiguation

There are 3 Magnificent Century and Magnificent Century: Kösem characters named Hümaşah and there is 1 bonus historical figure who was left out of the series but would have been named Hümaşah.

Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan was the daughter of Mihrimah Sultan and Rüstem Paşa. She was the granddaughter of Sultan Süleyman and Hürrem Sultan.

Hümaşah Sultan was the daughter of Safiye Sultan and Sultan Murad III and the sister of Sultan Mehmet III. She was also the grand daughter of Sultan Selim II and Nurbanu Sultan and the great-granddaughter of Sultan Süleyman and Hürrem Sultan.

Telli Haseki Hümaşah Sultan was the wife of Sultan İbrahim and the mother of Şehzade Orhan. She was Kösem Sultan’s daughter-in-law.

The historical Şehzade Mehmet (the son of Süleyman and Hürrem) had a daughter named Hümaşah Sultan. When he died in the show, his favourite Cihan Hatun was pregnant with a child. We never see her again or the child. But it’s reasonable to assume that their child would have been Hümaşah Sultan.

[gulnarsultan]

》 3. Mehmed'in Diğer Hasekileri 《

》 Güher Haseki 《

3. Mehmed'in dördüncü karısı olan Güher Haseki, Arnavut asıllıdır. 1577 yılında dünyaya gelmiştir. Sultan Mehmed ile evlilik yahut birliktelik tarihi belli değildir. Giacomo Surian 1603 tarihli raporunda kendisinin ( Güher Haseki'nin) Avlonya Beyi'nin yetiştirmesi olduğunu ve Safiye Sultan'ın yanında tahsil ve tarbiye gördüğünü yazmıştır. Zaten Safiye Sultan eğer Arnavutsa Güher Haseki'yi bu yüzden oğluyla başgöz etmiş ola bilir. Yine aynı rapora göre Abıleyal Haseki vefat ettikten sonra onun çocuklarını Güher Haseki himayesi altına altına büyütmüş. Güher Haseki aynı zamanda Rukiye Sultan'ın annesidir. Ayrıca kimliği belirsiz bir kız (Sultan) annesidir. Vefatı 1613'ten sonradır. Tam tarih ve defin yeri bilinmiyor.

》 Saliha Haseki 《

3. Mehmed'in beşinci karısı olan Haseki, 1577'de doğmuştur. Şehzade Osman'ın ve adı belirlenemeyen bir kızın ( Sultan'ın) annesidir. Vefatı 1613'ten sonradır.

》 Ayşe Haseki 《

III. Mehmed'in son karısı olan bu haseki, 1578'de doğmuştur. İsmi bilinmeyen bir kızın (Sultan'ın) annesidir diye not düşülmüş. Giacomo Surian'ın 1603 tarihli raporunda kendisinden farklı bahsediliyor. Direkt aktarıyorum:

" Sultan'ın (III. Mehmed) 10'dan fazla kızı var, bunların annelerinin çok güzel oldukları söyleniyor.Özellikle birinci ve sonuncu karısı afet bir güzelliğe sahiplermiş. Hatta söylenenlere göre Sultan'ın annesiyle son karısı arasında kavga çıktığında Sultan bu karısını savunmuş. Sultan'ın sevgili son karısından iki kızı ve bir de oğlu var. Daha önce dünyaya getirdiği oğulları bebekken ölmüş. Bu kadın da hediye olarak saraya girmiş. Aslen Akkermanlıdır ve erkek kardeşi de muhafız alayında hizmet ediyor."

Rapora göre Ayşe Haseki bir cariyeydi, saraya hediye edildi ve Sultan Mehmed'in en sevdiği karısı oldu. Safiye Sultan'a karşı bile diretebildi. Kendisi 1613'ten sonra vefat etmiştir, defin yeri bilinmiyor.

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

3. Mehmed's Other Hasekis

》 Guher Haseki 《

Güher Haseki, the fourth wife of Mehmed III, is of Albanian origin.  He was born in 1577.  The date of marriage or union with Sultan Mehmed is unknown.  In his report of 1603, Giacomo Surian wrote that he (Güher Haseki) was the upbringing of the Lord of Vlonya and that he was educated and educated next to Safiye Sultan.  In any case, if Safiye Sultan is Albanian, it might be because of this reason that she had met Güher Haseki with her son.  Again, according to the same report, after Abileyal Haseki passed away, he raised his children under the auspices of Güher Haseki. Güher Haseki is also the mother of Rukiye Sultan. In additionshe is the mother of an unidentified girl (Sultan). He died after 1613.  The exact date and place of burial are unknown.

》 Saliha Haseki 《

Haseki, the fifth wife of Mehmed III, was born in 1577.  She is the mother of prince Osman and an unidentified girl (Sultan). He died after 1613.

》 Ayşe Haseki 《

III. Mehmed This haseki, the last wife of Mehmed, was born in 1578. It was noted that she was the mother of an unknown girl (Sultan). In Giacomo Surian's report of 1603 He is spoken of differently. I quote directly:

" The Sultan (Mehmed III) has more than 10 daughters, It is said that their mothers were very beautiful. Especially the first and last wife had a stunning beauty. According to rumors, even with the Sultan's mother when a fight broke out between his last wife, the Sultan defended this wife.  Sultan has two daughters and a son from his beloved last wife.  Their son, whom she had previously given birth to, died in infancy. This woman went to the palace as a gift. entered.  He is originally from Akkerman and his brother also serves in the guard regiment."

According to the report, Ayşe Haseki was a concubine, gifted to the palace and became Sultan Mehmed's favorite wife.  She was able to resist even against Safiye Sultan.  He died after 1613, burial place unknown.

Fotoğraf temsilidir. / Photo is representative.

[minetteskvareninova]

How would you rank the (main) non-blood Sultanas?

Hmm... Again, I would have to exclude the wives of Murad and Ibrahim; I know next to nothing about Ibrahim's harem, and as for Haseki Ayşe and Farya... Haseki Ayşe is a strong candidate for the bottom of the rankings, since she possesses the deadly combination of malice and stupidity, while Farya is somewhere in the middle. Also, with Kösem, I don't take her s2 version into account, although so far she seems pretty high, maybe even at the top. I also don't remember Defne, so people who wanted to see her here are out of luck.

Hürrem/Mahidevran - This one is kinda unfair, since they had much more time and character development than any other sultana, with the exception of Kösem (who wasted a lot of that time with NO character development, see below). I also don't think it's fair to put one ahead of the other; Hürrem is our beloved iconic drama queen, while Mahi had better character development. So yeah. The best sultanas, the most sultanas.

Halime - She did become much less interesting in the back half of the show, and also was stupid enough to trust Safiye with the life of her son that one time. With that said, I can't just ignore how strongly I rooted for her at the beginning.

Handan - She almost tied with Halime, but ultimately lost, because she lacks her charisma. With that said, she's still pretty cool as a mum, grandma and local firecracker who should really think things trough more. Also, she has very good taste in men, and almost killed Kösem that one time.

Gülbahar - I just have a soft spot for her, is all. A prime party with Satan material. My third favourite child murderer. Also, her relationship with Sinan is canon! Other sultanas could have strong subtext (Şah) or tragic yearning (Handan), but Gülbahar is a girl who can Get It. Even if Sinan himself is one of the least charizmatic villains this show has ever seen.

Safiye - An icon in her own right, as you all know. She could be higher, but ultimately I just like everyone above her more.

Nurbanu - I am not a fan personally, but I can see how she could be someone's favourite evil conniving bitch. Plus her and Selim are such an iconic couple!

Mihrunissa - She's fine, I guess. Kinda boring, if you ask me.

Mahfiruze - Annoying af, but at least had the good sense to die early, unlike...

Kösem - Going from Anastasia!Kösem to Beren!Kösem was the downgrade of the century. I am going to be extremely vindictive towards her just for that. Is the sweetest, bestest, smartest girl ever, but can't even realize that during a popular uprising, sultan might just die. Fuck her.

Ayşe Hafsa - I could say a lot of things about her, and most of them would include slurs against old women. You can see where her daughters got the very worst parts of their personality. Just... Fuck her especially.

[hasekiayse]

AYŞE, the 36 year-old HASEKI SULTAN has arrived from THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. The UNWAVERING resembles TUBA BÜYÜKÜSTÜN and is both +STRONG WILLED and –CALCULATED. They are a member of the HOUSE OF OSMAN and remind the poets of THE CRESCENT OF A NEW MOON, A LIONESS LYING IN WAIT, A FIGURE DANCING BEHIND FLOWING FABRICS. In the annals of history, they will be remembered in the year of 1319 as a PLAYER. One day they may rise to greatness, though greater men and women have surely failed.  (jess — she/her  — 27  — gmt)    

birth  name:  milica  (MILL-ITS-UH),  meaning  kind,  dear  or  sweet. date  of  birth:  14th  of  august, 1283  (zodiac  sign:  leo). place  of  birth:  glubočica,  the  kingdom  of  serbia. faith  at  birth:  serbian  orthodox  christian.

current  name:  ayşe  (EYE-SHU),  meaning  well  living  one. current  home:  the  harem  of  the  ottoman  imperial  palace,  edirne. current  title:  haseki  (HA-SE-KI)  sultan,  meaning  chief  consort. current  faith:  islam.

at the age of sixteen, ayşe’s home in serbia experienced a great deal of civil conflict and it was during the chaos that the young woman was taken from her home and later sold on to a land entirely unknown to her. ayşe cannot (or wishes to not) recall of how long she and the others were transported or awaiting their fates for, to her it felt like a life time, but it was her fate that truly did change once she found herself at the doors of the ottoman imperial harem.

ever the survivor, ayşe sought to play by the harem’s rules in a bid to one day free herself and return home but soon found that the way of life in which she now found herself suited her quite well. in time she spoke the ottoman tongue almost as well as her own, she found peace in her old god but with a new name and eventually found her place when she had been called upon to comfort the grieving sultan. 

now, a mother and the closest thing that the empire has to a queen, ayşe recognises the role that she must play and the price that it puts on her head and yet she continues to do it all seemingly flawlessly. though her son and the sultan are her main priority, ayşe seeks to run the harem with a firm hand in order to maintain its graces and safety for the women inside, seeking to find the woman who might one day continue her work when young quasim takes his place on the throne.

during the gathering of the greats...

above all ayşe seeks to leave a lasting impression upon the great and noble stage in moscow, hoping to strengthen the reach of the ottoman empire through ALLIES and to show the world that the empire is as progressive and successful as ever. 

after many years spent in the same company day in and day out ayşe seeks new COMPANIONS, perhaps to even unite with those she has corresponded with previously, and to advance her inner circle.

though her son is currently only young, ayşe knows that one day he will grow and need to have the right woman by his side in order to strengthen his claim upon the sultan’s throne. whilst in moscow the haseki is open to talks of a FUTURE MATCH FOR HER SON if the offer meets her wishes.

the thing ayşe is most prepared for during her time in moscow is CONFLICT, given the current political climate she expects to come across and to gain an ENEMY or two and she is quite ready to take them on.

[amethystrparchive]

Congratulations, Jess! You have been summoned to Moscow as AYŞE SULTAN. To accept your invitation, please refresh our guidelines, checklist, and send in your muse(s)’ blogs within (24) hours.

AYŞE, the 36 year-old HASEKI SULTAN has arrived from THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. The UNWAVERING resembles TUBA BÜYÜKÜSTÜN and is both +STRONG WILLED and –CALCULATED. They are a member of the HOUSE OF OSMAN and remind the poets of THE CRESCENT OF A NEW MOON, A LIONESS LYING IN WAIT, A FIGURE DANCING BEHIND FLOWING FABRICS. In the annals of history, they will be remembered in the year of 1319 as a PLAYER. One day they may rise to greatness, though greater men and women have surely failed.  (jess — she/her  — 27  — gmt)  

[fauzhee10069]

Ayşe Haseki sultan 4. Murad love

Based  (≖ ‿ ≖) | ᎢℋᎪɳᏦ ᎩӫᏌ ✿♪♫

[reallifesultanas]

Family of Murad IV. Its terrible to see how many of his sons just died as infant. Evliya said that all his sons were born with poor health, so I guess it was some kind of genetical disorder, because otherwise we cannot explain the death of this much young baby. Seems like his daughters were not involved as they mostly reached adulthood or at elast died as kids (which was unfortunatelly normal back then). Handan Sultan, Sultan Ahmed I and Murad IV themselves also had poor health and died young, probably Murad inherited it from Handan and Ahmed and for some reason in his case it went through and reached his sons also? I dont know but it is interesting... We know that there are genetical disorders which effect only boys. 

[elodiesultanim]

𝓗𝓪𝓼𝓮𝓴𝓲 𝓐𝔂ş𝓮 𝓢𝓾𝓵𝓽𝓪𝓷 + costumes

[awkward-sultana]

Any unpopular opinions?

Ayse haseki sultan was a shitty person and I don’t think she deserves the pedestal she’s put on.

[1533-secrets-from-history]

Mistakes in Magnificent century part II

Relationships

1. Suleiman and Hurrem

In the show, they talked about their love a lot, but what they failed about was showing it. It seemed like Hurrem was hopelessly in love with a man of a giant ego, who would bed and even fall for every second woman. Well, that's a huge lie, Suleiman was strictly monogamous to Hurrem, only two concubines were recorded to be sent to him they were gifted by the provincial governor,but they were set to marry by government officials after hurrem threw a tantrum. No more concubines were ever sent to him and Suleiman remained loyal to her ever since. Above that, the abusive relationship depicted in the show is pure drama, Suleiman never banished Hürrem, never asked her to kill herself to test loyalty etc. Their relationship was sensual and mutually convenient as we can see in their letters. However, my personal opinion is that Hurrem's love is a little bit exaggerated in the show, She was ready to kill herself and her children if Suleiman had died. However, I have never had the impression that Hurrem actually loved Suleiman that much, she definitely loved him,but even if the feeling was so big that it exceeded her own life, the love of her children was without a doubt greater, so in my opinion, if Suleiman truly fell ill in near death state, Hürrem's first instinct would have been to secure well being of her children.

2.Ayşe Hafsa Sultan and her in-laws.

In MC, Hafsa clearly prefers Mahidevran over Hürrem,however in real life she understood her own and concubines position did not take sides in their hidden rivalry, as the manager of harem customs demanded that she would treat them according to their ranks, however can be deduced that Hafsa could not help,but have warm feelings towards Hürrem. We don't know the reasons, perhaps she liked her personality, enjoyed her company, respected her as the mother of 6 grandchildren or just loved her because she and her son loved each other so much. But one thing is clear, she was tolerating Hürrem more than any mother in law ever would, especially in her position. Their "special" relationship can be indicated by events of 1526. The provincial governor sent two concubines, one for Hafsa and one for Suleiman, Hafsa did an absolutely natural thing to prepare concubine for Suleiman and even gift her own one to him, that caused Hürrem to throw a tantrum and Hafsa, seeing Hürrem in that state, felt sorry for what she had done, sent concubines back and set them to marry other governors. That particular event gives us two assumptions: 1. Hafsa loved Hürrem enough to feel sorry for doing nothing wrong,just fulfilling her duties. 2. Hurrem's jealousy was not something new for them and she had likely done that before.

3.Hurrem and Mahidevran

First thing I would like to underline is that Mahidevran was never the only woman in Suleiman's life nor was she Haseki Sultan, so at first she would feel no threat from young Hürrem, However, things have changed after 1521, all other children of Suleiman died, Mahidevran became the mother of oldest prince and Hürrem was called to Suleiman again, that could have been humiliating for Mahidevran, because traditions were broken for a woman of inferior rank and now she was clear threat as not juts mother of other prince,but favourite of padişah. All those could cause tense between two women,but never in the history of them Living under the same room have Mahidevran beaten her, kalfas and aghas of harem would not let this occur and even if it did, punishment would have been recorded, so the story told by Venetian ambassador Andrea Navagero is either straight up dramatic lie or juts an exaggeration of tiny conflict that could have occured between two women. Otherwise, they were quite polite to one another and never showed hostility,when they met each other.

4. Relationship between sisters-in-law.

Most of Suleiman's sisters were portrayed against Hürrem for dramatic purposes,which to some extent was interesting but eventually grew boring.

It seems that out of all sisters Hatice was closest to Mahidevran, Şah was closest to Hürrem, beyhan had a very neutral attitude and probably respected both as their ranks demanded, while Fatma had no known interaction with Mahi- devran,but her relationship with Hürrem was stained.

As I have already said, Hatice had a close relationship with Mahidevran and regularly exchanged letters. In one of her letters mahidevran asks Hatice's well being and sends gratitude for the sincere kindness, friendship and compassion she and her husband showed to Mustafa and herself. Which means Hatice could have been either low key supportive to Mustafa or she was just a kind aunt to him. However, no tension between her and Hürrem was recorded, some even say she was great friends with her,but there is no proof for it. Either way, the fact that Hatice's and Hürrem's relationship was rather calm, we can assume that the support Mahidevran thanked her for was not her taking sides,but just expressing compassion towards the eldest nephew.

Second sisters Fatma, had no recorded interaction with Mahidevran,However she indeed had hostility towards Hürrem and Mihrimah, caused by their involvement in execution of her husband Kara Ahmed Paşa( who according to rumors became grand Vizier by Fatma's influence, but while possible, it's not proven). She was finally banished for her intrigues.

Beyhan did not have much of a relationship with either of them, she married quite early so did not spend much time in Manisa, where she could meet Mahidevran and due to the execution of her husband early in Süleiman's reign, she spent most of her life in voluntary exile.

Şah was really close to Hürrem,it is not known if the reason for the good bond was their mutual interest in charity and architecture or they shared some other political views. What is her close relationship with Hürrem, Süleyman and Mihrimah.

5. Gülfem and Hürrem

Before I go to specifically Hürrem and Gulfem, I would like to make a short summary of what the relationship between Gulfem and Suleiman was.

Gülfem was not Süleiman's concubine,but a high ranking harem manager,either promoted cariye or childhood friend of one of Süleiman's sisters. Indication of their close, platonic relationship is the fact that Suleiman entrusted Hürrem to her and she did not have a problem with it, which she would have if Gülfem was indeed a previous concubine. The relationship between her and Padişah was so close that she wrote openly and unofficially in her letters to him.

As for Hürrem, she was supervisor and mentor turned into closest friend Hürrem or perhaps any other Sultan had. In early days in harem, Gülfem was a double agent,who not only instructed Hürrem,but was also responsible for telling Suleiman about Hürrem's doing, in one such letters, Gülfem says that Hürrem had spent all the money,but when she sent agha to learn what the problem was Hürrem rejected him, latter she herself asked her about the problem and she surrendered, perhaps she had some fear and respect towards her. In later years, Gülfem constantly complains how tired she is to be a double agent and asks Suleiman to release her from such an obligation, which could indicate that Gulfem got closer to Hürrem . After that Gulfem indeed stopped telling Suleiman about her doings, so Hürrem either did nothing wrong anymore or Gulfem persuaded Suleiman to release her. The friendship of two women grew so much that Hürrem even mentioned in her greetings along with herself and her children.

6. Hatice and Ibrahim.

Long story short, they were never married, however it was theorised they were,when the Magnificent century was shot. Hatice was married twice first to Kapudan Iskender Pasha, then Çoban Mehmed paşa. İbrahim was married to a noblewoman for political purposes as an answer to raised aggression of people and high ranking officials after his assignation as grand Vizier.

7. İbrahim and Mustafa

In the tv show, Ibrahim's relationship with Mustafa is something like father and son's. However, in real life their relationship was far less heart warming. Mustafa was jealous of Ibrahim's closeness to Suleiman and once he expresses it openly, when Suleiman gifted İbrahim a luxurious saddle, who has to give it to Mustafa. Although, there are records of their units against common enemies, there is no indication of love between those two.

8. Handan and Safiye

Remember how the show depicted long lasting hatred between those two, that was always ending in Safiye dominating Handan even when she was Valide(particularly, in this scene)

In real life however, they tolerated one another and even created an alliance against Halime. Safiye definitely thought Handan to be easygoing. That's why she chose to support her son, thus remaining in power even after his accession, at least so she thought, however that "easygoing one" showed her true colours and banished that hell of a mother-in-law for good.

9. Kösem and "her children".

The exact number of Kösem's children is disputable, what we know for sure is that she was the mother of Murad, Ibrahim,Ayşe, Fatma and Kasım. The sources naming her children vary in numbers from 6 to 11. Other than those named, Hanzade sultan was almost certainly her daughter, historians also side to her, when it comes to identifying the mother of Şehzade Mehmed,who despite mixed opinions was almost certainly hers. However, sources list the birth of Mehmed, Gevherhan, Fatma, Ayşe and Hanzade to be between 1605-1608 and no birth of twins is recorded, so either one of them was born on different year and Kösem gave birth five times in a row or some of the children listed here were not hers. Gevherhan,in one of the letters, is named as full sister of Ahmed's eldest son, so in that case she was daughter of Mahfiruz. However, as there were no concubines listed as "mother of XX sultan or XY prince", so those children were either Kösem's or Mahfiruze's.

Osman, Bayazid and Burnaz Atike were not her children and despite her attempts to get close to Osman, Ahmed made it impossible, so the whole adopting young prince is just a dramatic exaggeration. Burnaz Atike was very close to Turhan Hatice, who was raised in her court and she likely supported her in rebelion.

10. Nurbanu and her in-laws.

In a TV show, the relationship between Nurbanu and her dear in-laws is more than a little bit intense.

However, in real life her relationship with Hürrem was more than just peaceful, based on the fact that Hürrem named the girl herself(Afife Nurbanu that means "victorious Queen of light") and she could have been Mehmed's concubine first and after his death and Selim's appointment as governor of Manisa she was gifted to him, we can assume that Hürrem chose Nurbanu as pillar of her princes and heir of her legacy. Considering, Nurbanu received letters from capital and was at least sometimes informed about the major events , she never fell from her favour.

In the show, Nurbanu has a very conflicting relationship with Mihrimah, however, there is not single recorded instance of Mihrimah having any conflict with Nurbanu, she even helped her sister in law to negotiate with France. Two women effectively shared the position of de facto Valide and Selim's advisors between 1566 to 1574. While Mihrimah was leading the old palace harem and fulfilling duties of regular Valide sultan, Nurbanu was arranging Topkapi affairs and party of supporters, something that was established during Hurrem's tenure.

Everyone was acknowledging Mihrimah's influence and ambassadors were trying to win her favour, while Nurbanu was working on peace treaty between Venice and Ottoman empire, she also started constructing Atik Valide mosque,while she was still Haseki and was at times reffered as "Atik Valide","Valide of shehzade" or "Future Valide", so her power was also established, not only that Nurbanu outranked Mihrimah and was closer to political affairs.

Rivalry between two women could be some misunderstanding. It was Mihrimah's daughter Ayse humashah, who might have had some dislike towards Nurbanu. She was one who raised Safiye and gifted it to Murad, so Nurbanu's disapproval of her, could threaten her future power. Or it could have been nothing personal,but Humashah's bond with Safiye, if they were friends, she would support her even against Valide sultan. However, if there was some conflict between those two is unknown. If there was any kind of conflict between two women Mihrimah would oppose or at least discourage such demonstration of power.

Nurbanu's relationship with her daughter-in-law is discussed here:

Bonus fact:

Those three musketeers of Manisa, were not actually three musketeers of Manisa.

Gazanfer was present there,but he was loyal to Selim and later served as chief Eunuch of Safiye Sultan, so his connection to Nurbanu was nothing significant.

Çanfeda on the other hand, was a close friend and second in command of Nurbanu,but not in Manisa, Çanfeda remained in the old palace during Selim's tenure as governor, she was summoned to be first harem stewardess of Topkapi palace, so their renowned friendship started during their youth, when they were newly enslaved.

[eviestvincent]

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