#hurrem hatun

[laleru]

❀ Hürrem Hatun (Meryem Üzerli) — Magnificent Century Ep.3

[garnetbutterflysblog]

“We can’t deal with Hürrem with kindness”- when have you tried kindness, Hafsa? Has there ever been an interaction where you didn’t insult, threaten or hit Hürrem? Has there ever been one moment where you treated her fairly? The answer is ‘no’ unless your definition of kindness is reluctantly agreeing to allow Hürrem to keep her son after she begged you on her knees not to take her child away from her despite the fact another concubine has done similar and far worse acts without it ever crossing your mind to take her son away.

Hürrem’s actions are inexcusable but of all people, you have no room to judge them after you taught her this was ok by protecting Mahidevran when she did similar and worse.

Nigar, Gulnihal, Ayse and the entire harem with the exception of Mahidevran and Gulsah, can rightfully be angry and even hate Hürrem for this but Hafsa is a hypocrite.

Why I do I feel the need to put a note saying I’m not defending Hürrem’s actions, only pointing out the self-delusion present in Hafsa? What Hürrem did was cruel and wrong. Her own conscience is already telling her that by taking the form of her mother and it may take some time, but eventually she’ll listen to it and realize how cruel that was. And she’ll repent.

“Monsters are not born, they’re made” doesn’t excuse evil acts, it only reminds us to peer deeper and be empathetic when we can. We can’t judge someone fairly if we don’t have sympathy. And that is something Hafsa seems to be incapable of.

[elizabeth-halime]

[heiressofsytherin]

[hurrems]

Hürrem Sultan & Afife Hatun

MUHTEŞEM YÜZYIL EPISODE 72 (2011-2014) requested by @hurremhasckis

[awkward-sultana]

"I miss her very much."

[spoonfullofwit]

The HOTD AND MAGNIFICENT CENTURY CHARACTER COMPARISONS ARE NOT PASSING THE VIBE CHECK (in my opinion)

(Mostly talking about the shows. Not delving too much into books because I have not read the books yet. It’s on my TBR. And I know certain details that happen in the books because of videos that talk about A song of ice and fire universe. And I am not delving too deep into the Ottoman Empire history)

Okay....Wow.

Like....wow. Where do I even begin?

Point 1: A quick one to get it out of the way. Viserys I and Suleiman being similar is the best one in regards to that they are so oblivious when it comes to their family and it goes straight over their heads.

They don't understand why their families can't get along even though it so fucking obvious why, and they had the power to put a stop to the infighting if they did the obvious thing. For Suleiman put a stop to the fratricide law to prevent his sons from being forced into killing each and stop their mothers from plotting against each other to save them. And for Viserys not getting married a second time or abdicated the throne while he was alive and give it to Rhaenyra.

They love their wives to death and when Hurrem and Aemma died Suleiman and Viserys souls died with them. They have complicated relationships with their children; they have obvious favorites that caused conflict within the family. Suleiman with Mehmed and Mihrimah. Viserys with Rhaenyra.

I get this comparison. I accept.

But give my man Suleiman more credit because he was a better leader, commanded respect, and always stood on business on every aspect. While Viserys was a little flaky and kind of wishy-washy especially with politics and governance; despite being a decent enough guy he was not a good ruler. While Suleiman is considered the greatest rulers of all time both in the show and in real life because he was decisive, smart, and ambitious.

In a fight/war Suleiman would have fucking obliterated Viserys (without the use of dragons of course). But if not pitted against each other I think they would have been good enough friends. (though I think they would have secretly thought each other was a little weird).

Point 2: The main ones that burned my biscuits.

Hurrem is more like Rhaenyra and I am willing to die on this hill.

People have the uptmost gall and audacity to say that Hurrem is Alicent Highttower coded.....DID WE WATCH THE SAME SHOWS?

Hurrem is so Targaryen coded. At the very least Martell or a little bit Baratheon coded.

Like people are getting caught up on the ONE aspect of Hurrem's character which is that she is a bad stepmom ( i love her but it is the truth) like Alicent since they are both trying to kill their step children to make way for their own biological children...but Hurrem is more than that. And reducing her to just that is a disservice to the core of her character.

Yes Rhaenyra and Mustafa were robbed of their thrones but they are so different with their values and morals. And their gender plays a huge part in that also.

Mustafa did not have to prove himself to anyone or was questioned of his capability of ruling because he is a man. If history played out in his favor, there would not have been huge shift in history. It would have been more of the same because like I said he is a man. Mustafa is not much of an underdog because he has all of the privileges that Rhaenerya does not have access to.

She is constantly having to prove herself and her worth because she is a woman. She is constantly doubted and her honor is always called into question because she does exactly what every man does.

Rhaenyra is willing to do things (blood and cheese) that honestly I don't think Mustafa would have done. And if they met they would have not liked each other.

Because Rhaenyra probably would have reminded him too much of Hurrem.

Hurrem and Rhaenyra are rebels that dance to the beat of their own drum. They are the ones that broke the mold of what is acceptable for women. They were the first to achieve a level that was thought impossible for a woman.

Rhaenyra is the first woman to be named rightful heir to the Iron Throne and first sole ruling Queen (even though sadly it was for a short time). As a character Rhaenyra was balling the fuck out (as she should!). She was arrogant, was not afraid to put someone in their place, larger than life, and she wanted power. She fought in a literal war! Under the right circumstances she would have been a great ruler. She did what thought was best for her and lived life on her terms. Which is something even real women can barely do.

Hurrem was the first slave to become a legal wife of a Sultan and helped create an entirely new title, Haseki Sultan, which is the chief consort of the emperor. Which is the second most power position for a woman underneath Valide sultan (Mother of the Sultan). Haseki Sultan had immense power and influence of the empire! That is a huge step! She began an entire era called the Sultante of Women! She trailblazed for other women to rise up and gain power. All because she stuck her neck out, stood her ground and refused to be walked all over. Hurrem was all or nothing and did not asked but demanded respect. She dared to reached for more despite the heavy risk. She's fiery, charismatic, brave, intelligent, vicious, altruistic, headstrong, complicated, and plays by her own rules not anyone else's. She fought tooth and nail for she wanted.

Sounds very Targaryen to me. Show version Hurrem even have prophetic dreams and has fire and dragon motifs for christ sake!

Rhaenyra and Hurrem were both betrayed, abandoned, and had to move mountains to get what they want while losing a great deal in the process. They don't follow rules that don't serve them and are unabashedly upfront. These two would have been great friends! Hurrem, Rhaenyra, Laena Velaryon and Daemon would have been the best group on fucking earth. They would probably taken over the world in style.

Alicent would not have liked Hurrem. Maybe would not be so hostile toward Hurrem, but still would not like Hurrem's rule-breaking ways and her confidence.

As the saying goes good girls barely make history.

Point 3: The "good girls" in question

Mahidveran is the one who's soooooo damn Alicent Hightower coded. Like they are pretty much the same except Mahidveran is more outwardly viscous.

This is team "I blindly follow rules that don't serve me then get mad when said rules don't serve me." They allow others to control their lives and understandably they became resentful for it, and rest in their victimhood mentality.

They hide behind other people because they cannot stand on their own two feet. They are so self-righteous and refuse to take accountability for the wrong they have done.

I will give Mahidveran props for standing up for herself and her son to Suleiman from time to time. While Alicent waited until the last possible moment to stand up to her father (which resulted in absolutely noting). And I will give Mahidhveran major points for being a more involved parent and did not raise a rapist, drunk, and pedo.

While Hurrem and Rhaenyra went against the staus quo, Mahidveran and Alicent IS the status quo. If there was no Hurrem, Mahidveran would have been just another Vahide Sultan we would not have known or cared about. Or if Mustafa died before becoming a Sultan she would have been just another concubine pushed to the side because she did not break the mold. Which is understandable because it is dangerous for a woman to act out if she does not have protection or leverage. I understand that not everyone has it in them go against the grain and that's okay. Same for Alicent, if Rhaenyra never existed and Alicent married Viserys and carried on having sons she probably would not made much of a impact because again she complies with the restrictive patriarchal view of femininity and cannot fathom living another way because the risk of societal backlash is too great and scary. And again not everyone is strong enough to not give a fuck what societal expectations.

However, my problem with women/female characters like this is that they do absolutely nothing for the progress of other women and do everything for the progress of men. Even for men who don't deserve it (cough Alicent). They help continue the cycle of men dominating over everyone and maintaining a status quo that keeps women disempowered and treated as property and pawns.

I am not saying Hurrem and Rhaeynera are perfect feminists or perfect women or even perfect people. I am not saying everything they did was for the betterment of women because let's be real it was probably not. But women who take hold of their agency and personhood, shows other women that there are alternative ways to live and you do not have stand for a society or system that mistreatments you. Being selfish is the most radical thing a woman can do, because selfish "wild" women shows the gaping cracks of patriarchy, if more women choose to be themselves and live on their own terms then the system would eventually fall completely apart.

Alicent and Mahidveran would have been great superficial friends. They hang and out exchange niceties. Mahidveran would tell Alicent everything she want to hear because that's the kind of friend Mahidveran is (look at Hattice, Shah and Fatma.) And I totally see Mahidveran trying to worm her way into a marriage alliance between Helaena and Mustafa...Which I wouldn't be mad at cus my sweet baby Helaena deserved someone who wouldn't hurt her and keep her safe.

Thank you for reading my Ted Talk. Sorry if its long and got way to philsophical I might make more posts on this because it is very interesting and obviously I have thoughts on this. I love these shows so much.

[perioddramasource]

Favourite costumes in Magnificent Century (season 1)

[dyingroses]

(MC’s) Haseki Hürrem Sultan + text posts and stuff

[1533-secrets-from-history]

Mistakes in Magnificent Century part I

In part I I would like to speak about mistakes they made while writing characters. Their ages, titles, origins etc.

Let's start with Ayse Hafsa Sultan:

Several things about her were done wrong. First of all, She was not Crimean princess. There are two possibilities that although contradicts one another counters her royal origin. 1. There was another concubine named Ayse,who was daughter of Crimean khan, while she was called Ayse Hafsa for that reason 2.( I agree with that possibility more ) there was no concubine from Crimean family Sultan Bayazid would never let Selim, who was not his favourite, to gain such allie, nor would khan of Crimea risk to marry her daughter to non-favoired prince. Besides, Selim did not have much of a support from Crimea during his Rebellion.

As we more or less agreed that Ayse Hafsa was not Crimean, now we have to agree on where she was from. Legendary mother of the Magnificent sultan was actually converted slave of Caucasian origin, therefore she was either Circassian or Georgian.

Third thing about her is her title. Screenwriters both demoted and promoted her in this case. She was not "Valide Sultan" as we know today, first holder of that title would be Nurbanu 40 years after her death. She was Sultan and respected mother Padisah yes,but those two honours never joined for her. She was simply " Mother of Sultan Suleiman",who had title of Sultan instead of Hatun. While Nurbanu was full fledged "Valide Sultan" and was addressed so. Despite not being Valide Sultan, she was the first slave in Ottoman history, who was elevated to Status of Sultan that was never underlined in the show.

Other mistakes about her are how they represented her pre-1520 life, which I will discuss in Part 3 about "Titles, ranks and traditions" and her relationship with daughters- in law, that will be discussed in part 2, that will be specifically about relationships.

2. Ages of Suleiman's sister.

In the show Suleiman Seems to be older, followed by Sah or beyhan, Fatma being somewhat middle and Hatice as baby of the Family, while actually going backwards. One thing I want to make clear is that all the full sisters of sultan were older than them(before 1522 of course), half sister could have been either younger or older. So Fatma, Beyhan and Hatice despite being portrayed as younger sisters were definitely older. A more accurate sequence would be:

Hatice- c. 1490

Fatma: 1491-92

Beyhan: most likely 1493

Suleiman: 1494

Hafsa: 1495

Sah-huban: 1500

Suleiman also had at least three brothers orhan, salih, who seemed to be older than Suleiman, a sister who likely died during childhood and Shehzade sultan or Hanim sultan, who was either another sister or perhaps she never existed and all the little sources about her is actually about hatice.

3. Origin of Sah Huban Sultan.

She was not the daughter of Hafsa and older sister of Hatice, she was actually the youngest of shown siblings,born as the only child of an unknown concubine registered as " The mother of Sah Huban Sultan".

4. Origin of Hurrem

In the show she was portrayed to be Crimean and was addressed as " Russian slave" numerous times. However, she was actually from Ruthenia, it was then part of the Polish crown, now it's part of Ukraine, so definitely not Russian.

5. Forgotten Children

Apart from the six children that were shown in the show, Suleiman had four other children. Three sons and a daughter.

Shehzade Mahmud and Shehzade Murad were born before Hurrem arrived and had different mothers. Mahmud was the eldest born in 1512, Murad was younger than Mustafa born in 1519. Raziye was born between 1513 and 1518, but most likely she was born in 1513-14 as she seems to be the second child and old enough to be considered Mahidevran's(which is by the way false). All three of them died in 1521 as the result of the plague.

The fourth child Shehzade Abdullah was born as the fourth child of Hurrem and Suleiman, born in 1525 and died in 1528. His date of birth is kind of troubling, some historians argue if he was born in 1525,some even say he was Mihrimah's twin, but considering no birth of twins registered, definite ages of other kinds and his appearance in Hurrem's letters Abdullah seems to be born in 1525.

6. Nurbanu's Triplets

Mistakes about the birth of Selim I daughters are more or less clear, let's speak about Selim II as well.

In the show, triplets- Sah, Esmahan and Gevherhan were introduced as younger twin sisters of shehzade Murad. In reality, all three were older but certainly not twins, Sah was not even Nurbanu's daughter, she shared the birth year with Gevherhan though, both were born in c.1544, then was Esmahan in 1545, Murad in 1546, at this point Nurbanu stopped giving birth to any more kids, last of Selim II's kids was Fatma born in 1559.

7. Origin and death of Gulfem hatun

In "Magnificent century" Gulfem is portrayed as Suleiman's first concubine, who bore a son,but lost everything after he died. In reality, Gulfem was one of the highest ranking harem managers, whom Suleiman trusted Hurrem to, she was overseeing her education and well-being, bonding with future Haseki Sultan in the process. Gulfem actually became the closest friend and Confidant of Hurrem, about which I will speak about in part II.

Her death was also portrayed inaccurately. She was not killed for the attempted murder of Suleiman, The closest rumor to it is him executing Gulfem for rejecting him,but she actually died of old age. Suleiman had no reason to execute Gulfem,there is a version were Gulfem exchanges her Night to other concubine to for money to build complex,but there are so many flaws in this theory:

1. There was no such thing in harem as "my turn and your turn"

2. It was strictly against the traditions to call harem servant, especially one from the highest ranks, and considering when it happened in kate nineteen-early twentieth century at caused some probmens,which means tradition was never broken before

3. Gulfem had right to send concubine to Suleiman and even reject one already chosen.

4. Suleiman had no known concubine that time

5. Gulfem was not building anything as all of her projects was already finished.

6. Even if she was building something, it would cost so much mere concubine would never have enough money to help it. Gulfem's daily stipend was 150 akches, which is almost four times as much as Mahidevran's and almost as much as imperial princesses', while titles concubines were receiving 1-6 depending on their status.

7. Even if she needed something she would ask it to either Suleiman, Mihrimah or Sah huban as we know it had happened before and they thought her as family member.

8. Even if we just jump these 7 reasons and somehow accept that Suleiman realy called her that night , he would never kill her for that, she broke no rule, she needed money for project, he would understand this.

9. Gulfem was childhood friend of Suleiman, she was already a high ranking woman when mahidevran came,so she was certainly older than her,who was likely born in 1498-99, she was even older than Suleiman most likely. She was a childhood friend of one of Suleiman's sisters so her date of birth could vary from 1490 to 1493. That would make her between 69 and 72 in 1562. Dieing at such age is nothing strange even today, live past 60 was actually achievement in her era. There is no need to look for intrigue where there is none. Several theory existed,but show chose most dramatic one,that happened to be least likely.

8. Safiye's arrival

I have nothing against the portrayal of her origin, but about how she got in Murad's harem. Accord- ing to MC she was Mihrimah's gift. However,in real life she was raised and educated at Humaşah sultan's court,who later gifted Sifiye(then called Meleki) to her cousin.

9. History of Kösem

In Magnificent Century Kosem young Anastasia was kidnapped as a gift of Safiye to Ahmed per his accession. Actually, Kösem, then called Mahpeyker, was a servant of Handan Sultan and met Ahmed in his mother's personal Gardens. Ahmed developed a "Childhood crush" towards her and Handan,aware of what it could cause, had Kösem beaten up and exiled. When Ahmed ascended her recalled her and brought back.

10. Another forgotten child.

In the show, Şehzade Mehmed died without any kids, while in reality, he had a posthumous daughter born in 1543 named Humaşah. Who grew up to be one of the most powerful women in the Ottoman empire. She was one of two favourite grandchildren of Suleiman and Hurrem and due to the death of her father, she was raised in the household of her grandmother, so she would have been deeply involved in their later life. However, her existence was completely cut out, while the role and importance of Ayse Humaşah, daughter of Mihrimah Sultan was reduced into nothingness.

[redxluna]

“But can we trust Navagero’s story? It matters because Venice’s ambassadorial reports were read and valued in European capitals. They functioned as an index of intelligence as well as local public opinion that contributed, for better or worse, to Roxelana’s reputation. Tension between the two royal consorts was not unexpected, although the story of the brawl had perhaps been embroidered over time. Whether Mahidevran had an irascible personality or was prone to violence is hard to say; all other references to her in Venetian reports are exemplary. But the tale is not preposterous, and her self-defense to the sultan—the assault on her rank as senior concubine—is wholly plausible.”– Peirce, Leslie. Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire 

[palaceoftears]

Did Hurrem just take Suleyman's new concubine for herself??

[garnetbutterflysblog]

I have to admit I’m very impressed by Hürrem in this episode. When she found out about Gülnihal’s halvet, she imitated the actions done to her and did something terrible to her friend. Then she discovered the consequences of that. She isn’t Mahidevran and doesn’t have that established reputable reputation as well as the protection Mahi does. So Hürrem faced more consequences despite the similarities of their actions. I am not hating on Mahidevran by saying this*. Hürrem has learned she doesn’t have the power to take that kind of action and she seems to have regained a moral compass but the latter could just be my hope. So instead of hurting Sadika, she finds a way to remove her new rival from the situation- sending her away to serve Hatice. It’s smart and bloodless. It also reminds me of historical Hürrem in a way. I don’t know if there were any favorites or rivals she had married off, but in her book The Imperial Harem, Leslie Pierce writes that once Suleiman and Hürrem became monogamous and certainly after they were married, the girls brought to the harem were usually married off to statesmen. Basically sent away from the harem to serve the Ottoman Empire in a different way just as Hürrem is doing to Sadika in the show.

* Fostering such good relationships with Hafsa and Ibrahim (the two people whom-up to this point-have the most influence on Suleiman) was a good strategy and it helped her. She attempted to kill a dynasty member (Mehmet) and could’ve killed the sultan himself. Yet, her relationship with Hafsa and Ibrahim shielded her from punishment and almost all consequences. The only consequences she truly faces are gaining a rightfully paranoid Hürrem as an enemy and entirely losing Suleiman’s love for her. To be fair, she doesn’t quite understand the latter is a consequence or it’s finality as Suleiman is being coerced into having Thursday nights with her and has used her to punish Hürrem (when he left for the Rhodes campaign).

[elizabeth-halime]

[zeldaxxi]

there's something in the way Afife protects and stands up for Firuze even AFTER she befriends Hurrem.

like when Hurrem throws Firuze in the dungeons, Afife struts her ways to her chambers and asks for an explanation, even saying "She is the favorite of His Majesty, i won't allow anyone to treat her like this". when Hurrem refuses, Afife then goes straight to Suleyman. and remember, this is all after she saves Hurrem! at this point in this story she likes her!! Afife will go against an all powerful sultana, even one she likes, to protect a "mere concubine".

and why does this make me so emo?? because young Hurrem was thrown in the dungeons as well, and NO ONE batted an eye. she rotted in there for like a day and it took Suleyman's summoning to get her tf out. even then, they still tried to cover it up!!! i don't think any of that would have happened had Afife been there from the very beginning. she would have stood up for Hurrem against Valide\Mahidevran the same way she stood up for Firuze against Hurrem. and i think Hurrem knows this as well and it absolutely kills her. it really adds a deeper level to the "when i arrived at this palace nobody protected me" speech and explains perfectly why she said it to Afife.

@shivrcys (tagging you cause you're just as invested in Hurrem and Afife's relationship)

[magnificentlyreused]

This kaftan was first worn by Hürrem Sultan in the twenty-second episode of the third season of Magnificent Century. Like many other of Hürrem's costumes, this one was also worn by Fatma Sultan in the fifth episode of the fourth season.

Magnificent Century: Kösem used the kaftan in the fifth episode of the first season on Mahfiruze Hatun.