Who is Anastasia Lisovskaya? She was the only woman in the harem, which had the official title - haseki. She was a sultana. Being treacherous woman, she dealt with all her competitors in the Turkish seraglio. Now she shared absolute power with her husband, the Turkish ruler Suleiman. By the way, it was she who was able to make the harsh spouse forget about her harem forever. In Europe, she is known as Roksolana ... Photos of Anastasia Lisovskaya (more precisely, portraits), as well as a biography are presented to your attention below.

"Holy war

In the first half of the sixteenth century, the Turks and Tatars incessantly made devastating raids on the cities and villages that were located in southeastern Europe. By and large, they waged their "holy war" for a faith that justified any atrocities. Hundreds of Christians became its victims. They were enslaved by the invaders.

In 1512, this wave of violence and attacks reached the territory of today's Western Ukraine. At that time, it was under the rule of a strong state. It's about about the Commonwealth. Many scientists believe that this raid was attended by a large number of combat detachments numbering twenty-five thousand people. The troops managed to pass from the lower reaches of the Dnieper River to the Carpathian mountains.

Aggression brought terrible misfortunes and unthinkable ruin. In the end, songs and tales about captivity and a merciless enemy still live in folklore. Strings of slaves stretched across Ukrainian territory. They were taken to Kafa, in the Crimea. This city is on this moment called Theodosius. It was here that one of the largest slave markets was located. After that, the slaves were loaded onto sea vessels and transported across the Black Sea to Istanbul. The priest's daughter Anastasia Lisovskaya from the city of Rohatyn also made such a route. This city is now located in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Girl from Rohatyn

Information about the origin of Lisovskaya is rather scattered and contradictory. By and large, there is very little information about the early biography of Anastasia Gavrilovna Lisovskaya. Most historians mention her Russian roots.

So, the Lithuanian ambassador to the Crimean Khanate named Mikhalon Litvin wrote in the middle of the sixteenth century that Lisovskaya, who was already the wife of the Sultan at that time, was once captured from the “Russian lands”.

Polish scientists claim that the real name of the girl from Rohatyn was not Anastasia, but Alexandra.

In the literature of Ukraine 19th century Lisovskaya was called exclusively Anastasia.

In Europe, she is known as Roksolana. In any case, the Hamburg ambassador to the Ottoman Empire wrote his literary work called Turkish Notes. And on the pages of this creation, he called Lisovskaya Roksolana. He also confirmed that she was born on the territory of today's Western Ukraine. And the envoy called it that because in those days in the Commonwealth this land was called Roksolania.

Summing up the above, it can be argued that the biography of Anastasia Gavrilovna Lisovskaya (Roksolana, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska) began around 1505. Place of birth - the city of Rogatin. Her father was a clergyman. Accordingly, all her childhood years, a priori, she was engaged in reading church books, and was also fond of secular literature.

captivity

When Anastasia Lisovskaya (biography confirms this) was fifteen, she became a victim of one of the Tatar raids. He was captured. She had to go through the usual path of all slaves and slaves. First she was brought to the territory Crimean peninsula. Assessing her merits, the Tatars decided to send her to Istanbul. They were determined to sell it profitably.

As a result, Nastya Lisovskaya (Roksolana) was presented to Sultan Suleiman's heir. He held an important government post in Manisa and, of course, had his own harem. He was then twenty-six. When the events described were taking place, there were already celebrations in honor of his coronation.

When Anastasia Lisovskaya, whose photo (or rather, portrait) you have the opportunity to see in the article, got into the harem, she got her new name - Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska.

In Istanbul, the slave had to make a lot of effort, using her charm and cunning, to win the favor of Suleiman.

In the harem

According to diplomats, Roksolana was not a beauty at all. But she was still young. In addition, she had a graceful and elegant figure. In any case, this is what one of the Venetian ambassadors, who was then in the empire, wrote.

Anastasia Lisovskaya (Hyurrem) began to eagerly absorb everything that she was taught in the seraglio. Judging by the sources, she was able to quickly master languages ​​such as Turkish, Persian and Arabic. In addition, she perfectly learned to dance and surprised the concubines by quoting the works of famous contemporaries. She also converted to Islam with ease.

To become interesting for the Sultan, she began to dedicate poems to him and even undertook to write her own books. At the time, this was unheard of. And many felt fear instead of respect. She was considered a witch.

Be that as it may, in a short time the new concubine attracted the attention of Suleiman. All nights he began to spend only with her.

Note that the monarch was considered stern, silent and closed person. Like Lisovskaya, he was fond of literature and tried to write. At the same time, he actively participated in Turkish military campaigns. He was indifferent to the fairer sex, since he was married. His chosen one is the daughter of a Circassian prince. Her name was Mahidevran. They had an heir - son Mustafa. Despite this, the Sultan did not love his wife at all. Therefore, in Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, he found his only and beloved woman.

Of course, Mahidevran began to be jealous of Suleiman for the Slavic slave. One day she not only insulted her severely, but also tore her dress, face and hair. And when they once again called her to the Sultan's bedchamber, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska said that in this state she had no right to go to her beloved ruler. However, the Sultan summoned Anastasia and listened to her words. After that, he ordered to call Makhidevran. She reminded that she was the main woman of the ruler and that all other slaves should obey only her. At the same time, she added that, apparently, she had beaten this insidious woman a little.

In the end, Suleiman was angry. And after a short time, he made Lisovskaya his favorite concubine.

Favorite concubine

Suleiman preferred smart, educated, sensual and strong-willed women. And Lisovskaya became for him the embodiment of everything that the Sultan himself loved in women. She appreciated art and understood it, she understood politics very well. She was a great dancer and a polyglot. Perhaps this explains that Lisovskaya actually managed to charm the young monarch. He was really in love.

Becoming a beloved concubine, she began to understand people at court even better. She studied them. Considering that intrigue was constantly woven in the seraglio, she knew how to behave correctly and how to act. In a word, the future Sultana of the Ottoman Empire was always on her guard.

Moreover, in 1521, sixteen-year-old Lisovskaya learned that two of the three sons of the Sultan had died. Six-year-old Mustafa was the only heir to the Sultan's throne. But the continuation of the genus a priori was under great threat for due to the high mortality in those days.

As a result, some time later, Roksolana gave birth to a son to the Sultan. Thus, the birth of an heir gave her the necessary support in the seraglio.

Lisovskaya named her child Selim - in honor of Suleiman's father. The predecessor, by the way, was called "Terrible" because of his tough character. But still, Mustafa remained officially the heir to the throne.

Anastasia Lisovskaya, whose biography many years later is interesting to her contemporaries, was well aware that until her offspring became the real heir to the throne, her unenviable position would be a priori under serious threat. Therefore, the girl from Rohatyn began to carefully prepare for the implementation of her insidious plan. Note that it began to operate only fifteen years later.

Wedding

Lisovskaya managed to achieve the impossible. The concubine officially became the wife of the Sultan. The ruler even introduced a special title for her - haseki. It was indeed a unique situation. Although in the Ottoman state there were no laws that would prohibit marrying slaves. But the Turkish court has always been opposed to this.

Be that as it may, the magnificent wedding of Roksolana and Suleiman took place in 1530. On this occasion, a number of festive events were held in the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Musicians played in the streets. Tightrope walkers and magicians took part in the performances. Especially for the celebrations, wild animals, giraffes, were brought. All government buildings and residential buildings were decorated. Competitions were organized with the participation of Muslim and Christian knights. And at night, all city blocks were illuminated. The townspeople were overjoyed.

Sultan's wife

Lisovskaya, being a decisive, strong-willed and adventurous girl, quickly managed to learn how to manipulate not only her husband and his relatives, but also the courtiers and high dignitaries of the Ottoman Empire.

The crowned couple could talk continuously about art, love, politics. Repeatedly they communicated with each other in verses.

Roksolana, how wise woman, knew perfectly well when she should remain silent, when she should laugh or, conversely, feel sad. It is probably not surprising that when she came to power, the dull and boring seraglio began to turn into a center of education and beauty. It was now recognized by the monarchs of other countries.

Sometimes she was even seen with an open face. And despite this, she was highly respected by iconic religious figures. She was considered an exemplary devout Muslim woman.

The guard also began to idolize their smiling sultana. The fact is that the warriors saw her exclusively with a beautiful smile on her face. Well, Lisovskaya herself paid the same. She managed to build barracks for them, which looked like real palaces. In addition, he increased the salaries of the Janissaries and endowed them with many privileges.

... After some time, the Sultan went to another war. This time he went to pacify the recalcitrant peoples of Persia. For the sake of military needs, the state treasury was practically devastated.

True, this fact did not at all embarrass the economic wife of the Sultan. She began to act in her own way, ruling the entire state. In Istanbul ports and the European quarter, she decided to open a number of wine shops. As a result, real money entered the treasury. However, she considered that the opening of drinking shops is a profitable business, but this will not save the situation. As a result, Roksolana began to engage in another project. By her order, the bay began to deepen. She also ordered that the piers in Gatala urgently begin to be reconstructed. As a result, after some time, large-tonnage ships with goods from all over the world began to approach the bay. In a word, the trade rows of Istanbul began to grow like mushrooms after the rain, and the treasury, thereby, replenished.

Lisovskaya had enough financial resources to build hospitals, nursing homes, minarets, and new mosques. And when Suleiman returned to Istanbul, he did not recognize his palace either. While the sultan was at war, Lisovskaya rebuilt his mansions with money that was obtained by an enterprising wife.

Lisovskaya constantly patronized creative people. He carried on a lively correspondence with the kings of Poland, Persia, and Venice. Repeatedly she received foreign ambassadors. In a word, she was truly the most educated woman of that era. But also insidious.

Haseki victims

In 1536, a vizier named Ibrahim was accused of sympathizing with France and working in the interests of this state. By order of Suleiman, the sovereign figure of the empire was strangled. In fact, Ibrahim became the first victim of Lisovskaya.

Since the place of the vizier was immediately taken by another nobleman. His name was Rustem Pasha. The wife of the Sultan felt a disposition towards him. He was considered a favorite in the court. He was thirty nine.

Roksolana decided to marry her seventeen-year-old daughter to him. At the same time, Rustem was godfather Mustafa - the son of the Sultan, heir, offspring from the first wife of Suleiman.

Despite everything, after a while this nobleman was also beheaded. As it turned out, Lisovskaya used her daughter. She was forced to constantly tell her about what her son-in-law said. As a result, Rustem was exposed in the betrayal of Suleiman.

But before that, he served his purpose. Actually, for the sake of this, Lisovskaya undertook her insidious plan. The Sultan's wife and the vizier were able to convince him that the heir, Mustafa, began to negotiate closely with the Serbs. According to Lisovskaya, he was plotting against his own father. Roksolana knew perfectly well where and how best to strike. In general, the "conspiracy" seemed more than plausible. Especially in Eastern countries bloody palace coups were commonplace back then.

The heir and many of his blood relatives were strangled. And Mustafa's mother, Suleiman's first wife, went mad with grief. After a short time, she died.

Relations between Anastasia Lisovskaya and the mother of the Sultan could not be called friendly. The mother-in-law, who had influence over her son, said everything she thought about the conspiracy and Suleiman's new wife. After these words, she lived only four weeks. They say she was poisoned...

Thus, Nastya Lisovskaya (Roksolana) managed to do the almost impossible. She was proclaimed not only as the first wife of the great Sultan, but also as the mother of the heir to the throne, Selim. True, after that the victims did not stop at all.

Alas, Nastya Lisovskaya (the biography of the woman is presented to your attention in the article) was not destined to see her dream come true. She died before her beloved offspring Selim ascended the throne.

demise

Anastasia Lisovskaya (Roksolana), whose photo (portraits) are posted in the article, died far from being young, she was already 53 years old. In 1558 she was returning from a trip to Edirne. In mid-April, she fell ill. Doctors diagnosed her with a cold. But they couldn't help her. The disease killed her in a matter of hours. They buried her with all due honors.

A year later, her body was transferred to a domed 8-sided mausoleum. In fact, it is one of the largest architectural monuments of the empire. Under the dome, the unfortunate husband of Roksolana carved alabaster rosettes. Each of them he decorated with an emerald. After all, the deceased loved this stone most of all.

After the death of his wife, the Sultan last days I didn't even think about other women. Lisovskaya remained his only lover. After all, he once disbanded his harem for her sake.

Suleiman died in 1566. His tomb was also decorated with emeralds. True, his favorite stone was still a ruby.

Both tombs are nearby. Note that in the 1000-year history of the Ottoman state, only one woman, Roksolana, was awarded such an honor.

procreation

Married to Suleiman, Anastasia Lisovskaya (Roksolana) had 6 children - 5 sons and a daughter, Miriam. They say that the Sultan adored his daughter and sincerely loved. He was always ready to fulfill her favorite whims. In honor of Miriam, a happy father built a magnificent mosque.

The daughter managed to get an excellent education. She lived, of course, in the most luxurious conditions. In 1539, she became the wife of the vizier Rustem Pasha, as mentioned above.

All the sons of the Sultan and Lisovskaya died in the process of fighting for the throne. Only Selim, the beloved son of Roksolana, remained. He became the 11th sultan of the Ottoman Empire and ruled the state for eight years. He never took part in military campaigns, unlike his father. Although the conquests of the Ottomans during the reign of Selim still continued. He preferred to spend his time in the harem. The palace guards literally hated him and called him a "drunkard" behind his back. In general, the reign of the beloved son of Lisovskaya did not benefit the empire at all. By and large, it was with Selim that the decline of this great state began ...

Origin

Information about the origin of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska is quite contradictory. There are no documentary sources and even any reliable written evidence that speaks about the life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska before entering the harem. At the same time, its origin is known from legends and literary works, mainly of Western origin. Early literary sources do not contain information about her childhood, limiting themselves to mentioning her Russian origin.

The first details about the life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska before entering the harem appear in literature in the 19th century. According to the Polish literary tradition, her real name was Alexandra and she was the daughter of the priest Gavrila Lisovsky from Rohatyn (now in the Ivano-Frankivsk region). In Ukrainian literature of the 19th century, she is called Anastasia. According to Mikhail Orlovsky, set out in the historical story "Roksolana or Anastasia Lisovskaya" (1882), she was not from Rohatyn, but from Chemerovets (now in the Khmelnytsky region). At that time, both cities were on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland.

Sultan's wife

Roksolana and the Sultan. Anton Hakel, 1780

At the very a short time Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska attracted the attention of the Sultan. Another concubine of Suleiman - Mahidevran, the mother of Prince Mustafa, a slave of Albanian or Circassian origin, became jealous of the Sultan for Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska. The quarrel that arose between Mahidevran and Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska in his report for 1533 was described by the Venetian ambassador Bernardo Navagero: “... A Circassian offended Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and tore her face, hair and dress. After some time, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was invited to the Sultan's bedchamber. However, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska said that she could not go to the master in this form. However, the Sultan summoned Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and listened to her. Then he called Mahidevran, asking if Hürrem had told him the truth. Mahidevran said that she main woman Sultan and that other concubines should obey her, and that she still beat the insidious Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska a little. The Sultan was angry with Mahidevran and made Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska his favorite concubine. .

In 1521, two of Suleiman's three sons died. The only heir was the six-year-old Mustafa, which, in conditions of high mortality, posed a threat to the dynasty. In this regard, the ability of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska to give birth to an heir gave her the necessary support in the court. The conflict of the new favorite with Mahidevran was restrained by the authority of Suleiman's mother Hafsa Khatun. In 1521 Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gave birth to a boy named Mehmed. The following year, the girl Mihrimah was born - the only daughter of Suleiman who survived infancy, after which Abdallah was born, who lived only three years, Selim was born in 1524, and Bayezid was born the next. The last, Jihangir, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gave birth in 1531.

In 1534, the Valide Sultan Hafsa Khatun died. Even before that, in 1533, together with his son Mustafa, who had come of age, an old rival of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska - Mahidevran went to Manisa. In March 1536, the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, who had previously relied on the support of Hafsa, was arrested and his property confiscated. The death of the Valide and the removal of the Grand Vizier opened the way for Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska to strengthen his own power.

After the death of Hafsa, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was able to achieve what no one had ever achieved before her. She officially became the wife of Suleiman. Although there were no laws forbidding the marriage of sultans to slave girls, the whole tradition of the Ottoman court opposed it. At the same time, in the Ottoman Empire, even the terms "law" and "tradition" themselves were denoted by one word - eve. The wedding ceremony that took place was, apparently, very magnificent, although it is not mentioned in any way in Ottoman sources. The wedding probably took place in June 1534, although the exact date of this event is unknown. Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska's unique position was reflected by her title - haseki, introduced by Suleiman especially for her.

Sultan Suleiman, who spent most of his time on campaigns, received information about the situation in the palace exclusively from Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska. Letters have been preserved that reflect big love and the Sultan's longing for Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, who was his chief political adviser. Meanwhile, Leslie Pierce notes that in the early stages of Suleiman's activity, he relied more on correspondence with his mother, since Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska did not know the language well enough. Hürrem's early letters are written in polished clerical language, suggesting that they were written by a court clerk.

The influence exerted by Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska on Suleiman is illustrated by an episode described by the Venetian ambassador Pietro Bragadin. One of the sanjak-beys presented the Sultan and his mother with one beautiful Russian slave girl each. When the girls arrived at the palace, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, who was caught by the ambassador, was very unhappy. Valide, who gave her slave to her son, was forced to apologize to Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and take the concubine back. The sultan ordered the second slave to be sent as a wife to another sanjak-bey, since the presence of even one concubine in the palace made the haseki unhappy.

The most educated woman of her time, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Haseki Sultan received foreign ambassadors, answered letters from foreign rulers, influential nobles and artists. On her initiative, several mosques, a bathhouse and a madrasah were built in Istanbul.

Children

Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska gave birth to the Sultan 6 children:

Role in history

Professor of history, author of the work on the sultan's harem, Leslie Pierce, notes that before Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, the favorites of the sultans played two roles - the role of the favorite itself and the role of the mother of the heir to the throne, and that these roles never combined. Having given birth to a son, the woman ceased to be a favorite, going with the child to a remote province, where the heir was to be brought up until the time he took the place of his father. Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was the first woman who managed to play both roles at the same time, which caused great irritation of the conservative-minded court. When her sons came of age, she did not follow them, but remained in the capital, only occasionally visiting them. This can largely explain the negative image that has formed around Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska. In addition, she violated another principle of the Ottoman court, which was that one favorite of the Sultan should have no more than one son. Unable to explain how Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was able to achieve such a high position, contemporaries attributed to her that she simply bewitched Suleiman. This image of an insidious and power-hungry woman was transferred to Western historiography, although it underwent some transformation.

Role in culture

Unlike all her predecessors, as well as the mothers of shehzade, who had the right to build buildings only within the province in which they lived with their sons, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska received the right to build religious and charitable buildings in Istanbul and other large cities Ottoman Empire. She created charitable foundation your name ( Külliye Hasseki Hurrem). With donations from this fund, the Aksaray district or women's bazaar was built in Istanbul, later also named after Haseki ( Avret Pazari), whose buildings included a mosque, a madrasah, an imaret, an elementary school, hospitals and a fountain. It was the first complex built in Istanbul by the architect Sinan in his new position as chief architect of the ruling house, as well as the third largest building in the capital, after the complexes of Mehmet II ( Fatih) and Suleymaniye ( Suleymanie). Other charitable projects of Roksolana include complexes in Adrianople and Ankara, which became the basis of the project in Jerusalem (later named after Haseki Sultan), hospices and canteens for pilgrims and the homeless, a canteen in Mecca (under Haseki Hurrem’s imaret), a public canteen in Istanbul ( in Avret Pazari), as well as two large public baths in Istanbul (in the Jewish and Aya Sofya quarters).

1st page of the vakfiyyah on the Takhtiyat-Haseki Khyurrem Sultan Complex (Hyurrem Mosque, Madrasah and Imaret in Jerusalem)

Arch of the dome in the hammam (Istanbul, near the Hagia Sophia)

In works of art

Literature

  • poem "The glorious embassy of the Most Serene Prince Krzysztof Zbarazhsky from Sigismund III to the powerful Sultan Mustafa" (Samuel Twardowski, 1633)
  • story "Roksolana or Anastasia Lisovskaya" (Sergey Plachinda and Mikhail Orlovsky, 1882)
  • historical drama in five acts "Roksolyan" (Gnat Yakimovich, 1864-1869)
  • the historical work of the Ukrainian orientalist Agafaegel Krymsky "History of Turkey and its literature", in which more than 20 pages are devoted to Roksolana, 1924
  • the story "Roksoliana" (Osip Nazaruk, 1930)
  • short story "Roksolana. Historical Narrative of the 16th Century" (Anton Lototsky, 1937)
  • novel "Roxelane" (Johannes Tralov, 1942)
  • novel "Mikael Hakim: kymmenen kirjaa Mikael Carvajalin eli Mikael El-Hakimin elämästä vuosina 1527 - 38 hänen tunnustettuaan ainoan Jumalan ja antauduttuaan Korkean Portin palvelukseen" (Mika Waltari, 1949)
  • novel "Steppe Flower" (Nikolai Lazorsky, 1965)
  • study "The Imperial Career of Anastasia Lisovskaya" (Irina Knysh, 1966)
  • story "The Burning Bush" (Yuri Kolisnichenko, 1968)
  • poem "Roksoliana. Maiden from Rogatin (Lyubov Zabashta, 1971)
  • novel "Roksolana" (Pavel Zagrebelny, 1980)
  • novel "La magnifica dell'harem" (Isor de Saint-Pierre, 2003)

Movie

  • television series "Roksolana: Beloved Wife of the Khalifa" (Ukraine, 1996-2003) - adaptation of the story by Osip Nazaruk, in the role of Roksolana - Olga Sumskaya
  • television series "Hyurrem Sultan" (Turkey, 2003), in the role of Roksolana-Hyurrem - Gulben Ergen
  • documentary film "Roksolana: a bloody path to the throne" from the cycle "In Search of Truth" (Ukraine, 2008)
  • television series "The Magnificent Century" (Turkey, 2011-2013), in the role of Roksolana-Hyurrem - Meryem Uzerli

Theatre

  • play "Les Trois Sultanes ou Soliman Second" (Charles Simon Favard, 1761)
  • performance "Roksolana" of the Ternopil Regional Music and Drama Theater named after. T. G. Shevchenko (Ukraine) - staging of the novel by Pavel Zagrebelny, in the role of Roksolana - Lucy Davidko
  • performance "Roksolana" of the Dnepropetrovsk Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after T. G. Shevchenko (Ukraine, 1988), in the role of Roksolana - Alexander Kopytin

Music

About two dozen musical works have been written or dedicated to Roksolana, among them:

  • "Symphony 63" (Joseph Haydn, 1779-1781)
  • opera "Roksoliana" (Denis Sichinsky, 1908-1909)
  • ballet Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan (music by Nevit Kodalli, choreography by Oytun Turfanda, 1976)
  • song "Roksolana", (lyrics by Stepan Galyabarda, music by Oleg Slobodenko, performed by Alla Kudlay, 1990)
  • opera "Suleiman and Roksolana or Love in the Harem" to the libretto by B. N. Chip (Alexander Kostin, 1995).
  • rock opera "I am Roksolana" (words by Stepan Galyabarda and music by Arnold Svyatogorov, 2000)
  • ballet "Roksolana" (Dmitry Akimov, 2009)

Notes

Literature

  • Peirce L.P. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. - New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. - 374 p.
  • Roxolana in European Literature, History and Culture / ed. by Galina I. Yermolenko. - New York: Ashgate Publishing, 2010. - 318 p.
  • Yermolenko G. Roxolana: The Greatest Empresse of the East // The Muslim World. - 95. - 2. - 2005. - P. 231-248.

Opinions about the origin of Roksolana Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan among historians differ. The only thing is that practically no one doubts its Slavic origin. It is believed that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was born in western Ukraine, in the family of an Orthodox priest. After 15 years, the young Slav was taken captive by the Crimean Tatars and sold at the slave market.

Biography

The life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan at home for historians remains largely a mystery. However, the main milestones of her biography as Suleiman's concubine and his wife are, of course, still known to researchers:

1502 (according to other sources 1505) - the date of birth of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska;

1517 (or 1522) - capture by the Crimean Tatars;

1520 - sehzade Suleiman becomes sultan;

1521 - the birth of the first son Hürrem Mehmed;

1522 - birth of Mihrimah, only daughter Roksolany;

1523 - birth of Abdullah, the second son of Hürrem (died at the age of 3);

1524 - birth of sehzade Selim.

1525 - birth of shehzade Bayezid;

1534 - wedding of Suleiman the Magnificent and Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan;

1536 - the execution of the worst enemy of Roksolana Ibranim Pasha;

The biography of the great haseka, the wife of Sultan Suleiman, nicknamed the Legislator in his homeland, and in Europe the Magnificent, was, of course, full of other important events. However, for obvious reasons, it is not possible to find out about them. Almost no exact historical information about Roksolan has been preserved.

Anastasia Lisovskaya: truth and fiction

It is believed that in the homeland of Hürrem Sultan, whose history has been worrying the minds of the inhabitants of both Europe and Asia for many centuries, her name was Anastasia Lisovskaya. Perhaps that is how it was. However, historians are still inclined to think that Anastasia or Alexandra Lisovskaya is a fictitious name. The fact is that this was the name of the heroine of the popular novel about the Ukrainian Roxalana from the city of Rogatin, published in Europe in the century before last. Accurate historical information about the name of the legendary haseki has not been preserved. Apparently, the name Anastasia Lisovskaya was nevertheless invented by the author of the novel himself. The researchers only managed to find out that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan was born, most likely in 1502. Captured her Crimean Tatars, according to legend, at the age of 14-17 years.

The Slavic slave did not give her name to either the Tatars or the owners who bought her from them. In the harem subsequently, no one managed to find out practically anything about her past. Therefore, the new slave Suleiman received the name Roksolana. The fact is that this is how the Turks traditionally called the Sarmatians - the ancestors of the modern Slavs.

How Roksolana got into the Sultan's harem

How exactly Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan got into the palace of Suleiman is also not known for certain. It is only known that his friend and vizier Ibrahim Pasha chose a Slavic slave for the Sultan. Most historians believe that Roksolana was bought by him on the slave market with his own money as a gift for the Lord. From that time on, the rich life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan began in the palace. If she had been acquired directly in the harem of Suleiman and at his personal expense, he would hardly have been able to marry her. According to Muslim laws, marriage at that time was only allowed with a donated odalisque.

Palace life and children

The title of haseki, or beloved wife, was introduced by Suleiman specifically for Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska. The influence on the Sultan Roksolana had a really huge one. The love of the greatest ruler of that time for his haseki is evidenced even by the fact that after marrying her, he dispersed his entire harem. Roksolana has never really had any rivals, as in the series. However, with all this, the family of Suleiman the Magnificent did not like the suddenly elevated slave, most likely, as in the TV movie. The mother of the Sultan, according to historical data, greatly honored Muslim traditions. And the marriage of a son with a slave for her could really be a real blow.

Life Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan in the palace, as in the series "Magnificent Age", was full of dangers. In fact, several assassination attempts were made on her. It is believed that it was her intrigues that led to the execution of Ibrahim Pasha and Mustafa, the son of Suleiman's first wife, Mahidevran Sultan. According to legend, initially Roksolana sought to make her beloved son Bayezid the heir. However, the Sultan's army supported more of her other son, Selim, who, after the death of Suleiman, ascended the throne.

As contemporaries testify, the haseki Roksolana was an attractive, but also a very smart woman. The life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan was not only in raising children and in palace intrigues. Roksolana read many books, was interested in politics and economics. She certainly had managerial talent. For example, in the absence of Suleiman, she managed to patch up a huge hole in the Sultan's treasury in a rather cunning way, traditional, rather, for Slavic rulers. Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska simply ordered the opening of wine shops in the European quarter of Istanbul.

Due to the strong influence exerted on the Sultan, contemporaries considered Roksolana a witch. Perhaps the suspicions of witchcraft were not in vain. There are even historical information(albeit not entirely reliable) that Roksolana, already being Suleiman's favorite concubine, ordered various witch artifacts in Ukraine.

The cause of death of Hürrem Sultan is also still a mystery to historians. It is officially believed that the great Haseki died from a common cold. Although there is evidence that she could be poisoned. Also, some historians believe that the Haseki ended her life due to an illness that doctors of that time called simply fatal. Today, this disease is known as cancer. It was this version that was presented in the series "The Magnificent Century".

As you know, all births, deaths, and even more so when it concerned the ruling dynasty, were subject to clear accounting and control both in harem books and in other documents. Everything was described - starting with how much flour it took to make a dessert for shehzade and ending with the main expenses for their maintenance. Moreover, all the descendants of the ruling dynasty necessarily lived at the court, in case it was he who had to inherit the throne, because one should not forget about the high infant mortality that took place in those days. Also, since the Ottoman dynasty and its possible heirs were in the area of ​​close attention not only Muslim East, but also of Christian Europe, then the European kings were informed by their ambassadors about the birth of a child from one or another shah, on the occasion of which it was supposed to send a congratulation and a gift. These letters have been preserved in the archives, thanks to which it is possible to restore the number of heirs from the same Suleiman. Therefore, each descendant, and even more so shehzade, was known, the name of each was preserved in history.
So, Suleiman had 8 sons shehzade, which is recorded in the family tree of the Ottoman family:

1) Mahmud (1512 - October 29, 1521 in Istanbul) Proclaimed the heir of Vali Ahad on September 22, 1520. Son of Fülane.

2) Mustafa (1515 - November 6, 1553 at Eregli in Karaman Iran) Proclaimed heir of Vali Ahad on October 29, 1521. Viceroy of Karaman province 1529-1533, Manisa 1533-1541, and Amasya 1541-1553. Son of Mahidevran.

4) Mehmet (1521 - November 6, 1543 in Manisa) Proclaimed the heir of Vali Ahad on October 29, 1521. Viceroy of Kutahya 1541-1543. Son of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska.

6) Selim II (1524-1574) the eleventh sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Son of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska.

7) Bayezid (1525 - July 23, 1562) in Iran, the city of Qazvin. Proclaimed the 3rd successor of Vali Ahad on November 6, 1553. Governor of Karaman 1546, governor of the provinces of Kutahya and Amasya 1558-1559. Son of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska.

8) Dzhihangir (1531 - November 27, 1553 in Aleppo (in Arabic Aleppo) Syria) Governor in Aleppo 1553. Son of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska.

It is also worth remembering that it was Suleiman, and not Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, who executed his two sons, namely Mustafa and Bayazid. Mustafa was executed along with his son (the remaining of the two, since one of them died a year before the death of Mustafa himself), and five of his little sons were killed along with Bayezid, but this happened already in 1562, 4 years after the death of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska .

If we talk about the chronology and causes of death of all the descendants of Kanuni, then it looked like this:

Şehzade Mahmud died of smallpox on 11/29/1521,
Şehzade Murad died of smallpox before his brother on 11/10/1521.
Şehzade Mustafa ruler of the province of Manisa since 1533. and the heir to the throne was executed along with his children on the orders of his father on suspicion of conspiring against his father in alliance with the Serbs.
Şehzade Bayezid "Şahi" was executed along with his five sons by order of his father for mutiny against him

Accordingly, what kind of mythical forty descendants from Sultan Suleiman, who were killed by Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, are we talking about remains a mystery not only for skeptics, but also for history itself. Or rather, a tale. One of the 1001 tales of the Ottoman Empire.

The second legend. “About the marriage of twelve-year-old Mihrimah Sultan and fifty-year-old Rustem Pasha”

The legend says: “As soon as the daughter was twelve years old, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska offered Mihrimah as a wife to Rustem Pasha, who took the place of Ibrahim, who at that time was already fifty. The difference between the bride and groom of almost forty years did not bother Roksolana.

Historical facts: Rustem Pasha is also Rustem Pasha Mekri (Ottoman رستم پاشا, Croatian Rustem-paša Opuković; 1500 - 1561) - Grand Vizier of Sultan Suleiman I, a Croatian by nationality.
Rustem Pasha married one of the daughters of Sultan Suleiman I - Princess Mihrimah Sultan
In 1539, at the age of seventeen, Mihrimah Sultan (March 21, 1522-1578) married the Beylerbey of the province of Diyarbakir - Rustem Pasha. At that time, Rustem was 39 years old.
To whom simple arithmetic operations for adding and subtracting dates seem unconvincing, we can only advise you to use a calculator to instill more confidence.

The third legend. "About castration and silver tubes"

The legend says: “Instead of a cute and cheerful laughing enchantress, our eyes appear to be a ferocious, cunning and ruthless survival machine. With the execution of the heir and his friend, a wave of repressions, unprecedented in Istanbul, began. For an extra word about the bloody affairs of the palace, one could easily pay with his head. They chopped off their heads, not even bothering to bury the body ...
An effective and frightening method of Roksolana was castration, performed in the most cruel way. Everything suspected of sedition was cut to the root. And after the "operation" the unfortunate were not supposed to bandage the wound - it was believed that the "bad blood" should come out. Those who still survived could experience the mercy of the sultana: she gave the unfortunate silver tubes that were inserted into the opening of the bladder.
Fear settled in the capital, people began to be afraid of their own shadow, not feeling safe even near the hearth. The name of the sultana was pronounced with trepidation, which was mixed with reverence.

Historical facts: The history of mass repressions organized by Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan has not been preserved in any way, either in historical records or in the description of contemporaries. But on the other hand, it should be noted that historical information has been preserved that a number of contemporaries (in particular, Sehname-i Al-i Osman (1593) and Sehname-i Humayun (1596), Taliki-zade el-Fenari presented a very flattering portrait of Hürrem, as woman revered "for her many charitable donations, for her patronage of students and respect for pundits, connoisseurs of religion, as well as for the acquisition of rare and beautiful things by her. "If we talk about the historical facts that took place in the life of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, then she went down in history not as a repressive politician, but as a person involved in charity work, she became known for So, with donations from Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska (Külliye Hasseki Hurrem) in Istanbul, the Aksaray district, the so-called Avret Pazari (or women's bazaar, later named after Haseki), was built, containing a mosque, a madrasah, an imaret, an elementary school, hospitals and a fountain. was the first complex built in Istanbul by the architect Sinan in his new position as chief architect of the ruling family, and the fact that it was the third largest building in the capital, after the complexes of Mehmet II (Fatih) and Süleymaniye (Süleymanie), testifies to the high status of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska .She has also built complexes in Adrianople and Ankara.Other charitable projects include the construction of the core project in Jerusalem (later named after Haseki Sultan), hospices and a canteen for pilgrims and the homeless; a canteen in Mecca (under the Haseki Hürrem imaret), a public canteen in Istanbul (at Avret Pazari), and two large public baths in Istanbul (in the Jewish and Aya Sôfya quarters, respectively). With the filing of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan, slave markets were closed and a number of social projects were implemented.

Legend four. "About the origin of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska."

The legend says: “Deceived by the consonance of names - proper and common noun, some historians see Russian in Roksolana, others, mostly French, based on Favard's comedy "Three Sultans", claim that Roksolana was a Frenchwoman. Both are completely unfair: Roksolana, a natural Turkish woman, was bought for a harem as a girl at a slave market for servants to odalists, under whom she held the position of a simple slave.
There is also a legend that the pirates of the Ottoman Empire in the suburbs of Siena attacked the castle belonging to the noble and wealthy family of Marsigli. The castle was plundered and burned to the ground, and the daughter of the owner of the castle, a beautiful girl with red-gold hair and green eyes, was brought to the Sultan's palace. The Marsigli Family Tree lists: Mother Hannah Marsigli. Hannah Marsigli - Margarita Marsigli (La Rosa), nicknamed so for the fiery red hair color. From her marriage to Sultan Suleiman, she had sons - Selim, Ibrahim, Mehmed.

Historical Facts: European observers and historians referred to Sultana as "Roksolana", "Roksa", or "Ross", as it was assumed that she was of Russian origin. Mikhail Litvin (Mikhalon Lituan), the Lithuanian ambassador to the Crimea in the middle of the sixteenth century, wrote in his chronicle of 1550 "... the beloved wife of the Turkish emperor, the mother of his eldest son and heir, was once abducted from our lands." Navaguerro wrote of her as "[Donna]... di Rossa" and Trevisano called her "Sultana di Russia". Samuel Tvardovsky, a member of the Polish embassy to the Court of the Ottoman Empire in 1621-1622, also indicated in his notes that the Turks told him that Roksolana was the daughter of an Orthodox priest from Rohatyn, a small town in Podolia near Lvov. The belief that Roksolana was of Russian rather than Ukrainian origin likely arose from a possible misinterpretation of the words "Roksolana" and "Rossa". AT early XVI centuries in Europe, the word "Roksolania" was used to refer to the province of Ruthenia in Western Ukraine, which was known at various times under the names of Krasnaya Rus, Galicia or Podolia (that is, located in Eastern Podolia, which was under Polish control at that time), in turn, modern Russia at that time it was called the Moscow State, Moscow Rus' or Muscovy. In ancient times, the word Roxolani denoted nomadic Sarmatian tribes and settlements on the Dniester River (now in the Odessa region in Ukraine).

Fifth legend. "About the Witch at Court"

The legend says: “Hyurrem Sultan was an unremarkable outwardly and very quarrelsome woman by nature. She became famous for her cruelty and cunning for centuries. And, naturally, the only way in which she kept the Sultan for more than forty years by her side was the use of conspiracies and love spells. It’s not for nothing that she was called a witch among the common people. ”

Historical Facts: Venice reports state that Roksolana was not so much beautiful as sweet, graceful, and elegant. But at the same time, her radiant smile and playful temperament made her irresistibly charming, for which she was named "Hürrem" ("giving joy" or "laughing"). Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was known for her singing and musical abilities, the ability to make elegant embroidery, she knew five European languages, as well as Farsi and was an extremely erudite person. But the most important thing was that Roksolana was a woman of great intelligence and willpower, which gave her advantage over other women in the harem. Like everyone else, European observers testify that the Sultan was completely smitten with his new concubine. He was in love with his Haseki for many years living together. From here gossips they accused her of witchcraft (and if in medieval Europe and in the East the existence of such a legend at that time can be understood and explained, in our time belief in such conjectures is explained with difficulty).

And logically, you can go to the next, directly related legend

Legend six. "About the infidelity of Sultan Suleiman."

The legend says: “Despite the fact that the Sultan was attached to the intriguing Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, nothing human was alien to him. So, as you know, a harem was kept at the Sultan's court, which could not help but interest Suleiman. It is also known that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska ordered to find in the harem and throughout the country the other sons of Suleiman, who were born by wives and concubines. As it turned out, the Sultan had about forty sons, which confirms the fact that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was not the only love of his life.

Historical facts: When the ambassadors, Navaguerro and Trevisano wrote their reports to Venice in 1553 and 1554, indicating that "she is very beloved by her master" ("tanto amata da sua maestà"), Roksolana was already about fifty and she was next to Suleiman long time. After her death in April 1558, Suleiman remained inconsolable for a long time. She was the greatest love of his life, his soul mate and lawful wife. This great love of Suleiman for Roksolana was confirmed by a number of decisions and actions on the part of the Sultan for his Haseka. For her sake, the Sultan violated a number of very important traditions of the imperial harem. In 1533 or 1534 (the exact date is unknown), Suleiman married Hürrem in an official marriage ceremony, thus violating a century and a half custom of the Ottoman house, according to which sultans were not allowed to marry their concubines. Never before had a former slave been elevated to the rank of the legitimate wife of the Sultan. In addition, the marriage of Haseka Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and the Sultan became almost monogamous, which was simply unheard of in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Trevisano wrote in 1554 that once meeting Roxolana, Suleiman "not only wants to have her as a lawful wife, always keep her close to him and see her as a ruler in a harem, but he also does not want to know any other women: he did what was not done by any of his predecessors, because the Turks are accustomed to accept several women in order to have as many children as possible and satisfy their carnal pleasures. For the sake of love for this woman, Suleiman violated a number of traditions and prohibitions. In particular, it was after his marriage to Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska that Sultan dissolved the harem, leaving only attendants at court. The marriage of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and Suleiman was monogamous, which surprised contemporaries a lot. Also, the real love between the Sultan and his Haseki is confirmed by love letters sent by them to each other and preserved to this day. Thus, one of the many farewell dedications of Kanuni to his wife after her death can be considered one of the indicative messages:

“The heavens are covered with black clouds, for there is no rest for me, no air, no thought and no hope. My love, the trembling feeling of this, strong, so compresses my heart, destroys my flesh. To live, what to believe in, my love... how to meet a new day. I am killed, my mind is killed, my heart has ceased to believe, there is no more your warmth in it, there is no more your hands, your light on my body. I am defeated, I am erased from this world, erased by spiritual sadness for you, my love. Strength, there is no more that strength that you betrayed me, there is only faith, the faith of your feelings, not in the flesh, but in my heart, I cry, cry for you my love, there is no ocean greater than the ocean of my tears for you, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska ..."

Seventh legend. "About the conspiracy against Shehzade Mustafa and the whole Universe"

The legend says: “But the day came when Roxalana “opened her eyes” to the Sultan on the allegedly treacherous behavior of Mustafa and his friend. She said that the prince had developed close relations with the Serbs and was plotting against his father. The intriguer knew well where and how to strike - the mythical "conspiracy" was quite plausible: in the East during the time of the sultans, bloody palace coups were the most common thing. In addition, Roksolana cited, as an irrefutable argument, the true words of Rustem Pasha, Mustafa and other “conspirators” that her daughter allegedly heard ... A painful silence hung in the palace. What will the Sultan decide? Roxalana's melodious voice, similar to the chime of a crystal bell, murmured carefully: "Think, O Lord of my heart, about your state, about its tranquility and prosperity, and not about vain feelings ..." Mustafa, whom Roxalana knew from the age of 4, having become adult, had to die at the request of his stepmother.
The Prophet forbade shedding the blood of the padishahs and their heirs, therefore, by order of Suleiman, but by the will of Roxalana, Mustafa, his brothers and children, the grandsons of the Sultan, were strangled with a silk cord.

Historical facts: In 1553, the eldest son of Suleiman, Prince Mustafa, was executed, at that time he was already under forty years old. The first sultan to execute his adult son was Murad I, who ruled at the end of the 14th century, who ensured that the recalcitrant Savji was put to death. The reason for Mustafa's execution was that he planned to usurp the throne, but, as in the case of the execution of the Sultan's favorite, Ibrahim Pasha, the blame was placed on Hurrem Sultan, who was a foreigner who was near the Sultan. In the history of the Ottoman Empire, there was already a case when a son tried to help his father leave the throne - this was done by Suleiman's father, Selim I, with Suleiman's grandfather, Bayezid II. After the death of Prince Mehmed a few years earlier, the regular army really considered it necessary to remove Suleiman from business and isolate him in the residence of Di-dimothikhon, located south of Edirne, in direct analogy with how it happened with Bayezid II. Moreover, the letters of shehzadeh have been preserved, on which the personal seal of shehzade Mustafa, addressed to the Safavid Shah, was clearly visible, which Sultan Suleiman later learned about (this seal is also preserved and Mustafa's signature is inscribed on it: Sultan Mustafa see photo). The last straw for Suleiman was the visit of the Austrian ambassador, who, instead of visiting the Sultan, first of all went to Mustafa. After the visit, the ambassador informed everyone that Shehzade Mustafa would be a wonderful Padishah. After Suleiman found out about this, he immediately summoned Mustafa to him and ordered him to be strangled. Shehzade Mustafa was strangled by order of his father in 1553 during a Persian military campaign.

Legend eight. "About the Origin of Valide"

The legend says: “Valide Sultan was the daughter of the captain of an English ship that was wrecked in the Adriatic Sea. Then this unfortunate ship was captured by Turkish pirates. The part of the manuscript that has been preserved ends with the message that the girl was sent to the Sultan's harem. This is an Englishwoman who ruled Turkey for 10 years and only later, not finding a common language with her son's wife, the notorious Roksolana, returned to England.

Historical facts: Aishe Sultan Hafsa or Hafsa Sultan (from Ottoman Turkish: عایشه حفصه سلطان) was born around 1479. - 1534) and became the first Valide Sultan (Queen Mother) in the Ottoman Empire, being the wife of Selim I and the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Although the year of birth of Ayşe Sultan is known, historians still cannot determine the date of birth definitively. She was the daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray.
She lived in Manisa with her son from 1513 to 1520, in the province, which was the traditional residence of the Ottoman shehzade, future rulers, who studied there the basics of government.
Aishe Hafsa Sultan died in March 1534 and was buried next to her husband in the mausoleum.

Legend nine. "About soldering Shekhzade Selim"

The legend says: “Selim acquired the nickname “Drunkard” due to excessive consumption of wine. Initially, this love for alcohol was due to the fact that at one time Selim's mother herself, Roksolana, periodically gave him wine, the rack of the son was much more manageable.

Historical facts: Sultan Selim was nicknamed the Drunkard, he was so cheerful and did not shy away from human weaknesses - wine and a harem. Well, the prophet Muhammad himself admitted: "More than anything on earth, I loved women and fragrances, but I always found complete pleasure only in prayer." Do not forget that alcohol was in honor at the Ottoman court, and the life of some sultans turned out to be shorter precisely because of the passion for alcohol. Selim II, being drunk, fell in the bath and then died from the consequences of the fall. Mahmud II died of delirium tremens. Murad II, who defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Varna, died of apoplexy caused by drinking. Mahmud II loved French wines and left behind a huge collection of them. Murad IV from morning till night frolicked with his courtiers, eunuchs and jesters, and sometimes forced the main muftis and judges to drink with him. Falling into binges, he committed such cruel acts that those around him seriously thought that he had lost his mind. For example, he liked to shoot arrows at people who sailed on boats past the Topkapı Palace or run at night in underwear through the streets of Istanbul, killing anyone who got in their way. It was Murad IV who issued a seditious decree from the point of view of Islam, according to which alcohol was allowed to be sold even to Muslims. In many ways, Sultan Selim's addiction to alcohol was influenced by a person close to him, in whose hands were the main threads of control, namely the vizier Sokolu.
But it should be noted that Selim was not the first and not the last sultan who worshiped alcohol, and this did not prevent him from participating in a number of military campaigns, as well as in the political life of the Ottoman Empire. So from Suleiman he inherited 14.892.000 km2, and after him this territory was already 15.162.000 km2. Selim, reigned prosperously and left his son a state that not only did not decrease territorially, but even increased; this, in many respects, he owed to the mind and energy of the vizier Mehmed Sokollu. Sokollu completed the conquest of Arabia, which was previously only weakly dependent on the Porte.

Legend ten. "About thirty trips to Ukraine"

The legend says: “Hyurrem, of course, had influence on the Sultan, but not enough to save fellow countrymen from suffering. During his reign, Suleiman undertook more than 30 trips to Ukraine.

Historical facts: Restoring the chronology of the conquests of Sultan Suleiman
1521 - a campaign in Hungary, the siege of Belgrade.
1522 - siege of the fortress of Rhodes
1526 - a campaign in Hungary, the siege of the Petervaradin fortress.
1526 - battle near the city of Mohacs.
1526 - the suppression of the uprising in Cilicia
1529 - capture of Buda
1529 Storming of Vienna
1532-1533 - fourth trip to Hungary
1533 - the capture of Tabriz.
1534 - Seizure of Baghdad.
1538 - the ruin of Moldova.
1538 - capture of Aden, naval expedition to the shores of India.
1537-1539 - The Turkish fleet under the command of Hayreddin Barbarossa ruined and imposed tribute on more than 20 islands in the Adriatic Sea that belonged to the Venetians. Capture of cities and villages in Dalmatia.
1540-1547 - fighting in Hungary.
1541 - the capture of Buda.
1541 - capture of Algiers
1543 - the capture of the fortress by Esztergom. A Janissary garrison was stationed in Buda, and the Turkish administration began to function throughout Hungary, occupied by the Turks.
1548 - passage through the lands of South Azerbaijan and the capture of Tabriz.
1548 - the siege of the fortress of Van and the capture of the basin of Lake Van in southern Armenia. The Turks also invaded Eastern Armenia and Southern Georgia. In Iran, the Turkish units reached Kashan and Qom, captured Isfahan.
1552 - the capture of Temeswar
1552 - Turkish squadron headed from Suez to the shores of Oman.
1552 - In 1552, the Turks took the city of Te-meshvar and the fortress of Veszprem
1553 - capture of Eger.
1547-1554 - the capture of Muscat (a large Portuguese fortress).
1551 - 1562 another Austro-Turkish war took place
1554 - naval battles with Portugal.
In 1560, the Sultan's fleet won another great naval victory. Off the coast of North Africa, near the island of Djerba, the Turkish armada entered the battle with the combined squadrons of Malta, Venice, Genoa and Florence
1566-1568 - Austro-Turkish war for the possession of the Principality of Transylvania
1566 - the capture of Szigetvar.

During his long, almost half-century reign (1520-1566), Suleiman the Magnificent never sent his conquerors to Ukraine.
It was at that time that the construction of notches, castles, fortresses of the Zaporizhzhya Sich arose, organizational and political activity Prince Dmitry Vishnevetsky. In Suleiman's letters to the Polish King Artykul August II, there are not only threats to punish "Demetrash" (Prince Vyshnevetsky), but also a demand for a quiet life for the inhabitants of Ukraine. At the same time, in many ways, it was Roksolana who contributed to the establishment of friendly relations with Poland, which at that time controlled the lands of Western Ukraine, the native lands of the Sultana. The signing of the Polish-Ottoman truce in 1525 and 1528, as well as the "perpetual peace" treaties of 1533 and 1553 are often attributed to her influence. So Piotr Opalinsky, the Polish ambassador to Suleiman's court in 1533, confirmed that "Roksolana begged the Sultan to forbid the Crimean Khan to disturb the Polish lands." As a result, close diplomatic and friendly contacts established by Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan with King Sigismund II, which is confirmed by the surviving correspondence, allowed not only to prevent new raids on the territory of Ukraine, but also contributed to interrupting the flow of the slave trade from those lands

The story of Roksolana is known throughout Europe. And even more so this historical figure popular in the Slavic world. Moreover, the story of Roksolana is increasingly attracting attention in connection with the sensational series "The Magnificent Century". Increasingly, fans of the series are wondering what was the real biography of Haseki Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan.

From Anastasia to Hurrem

It is traditionally believed that Roksolana was born in a small town in modern western Ukraine, in the family of a priest. The first years of her life, the girl's name was Anastasia (or Alexandra) Lisovskaya. However, in early age she was stolen during one of their raids and subsequently resold several times in the slave markets. From this moment begins the story of Roksolana the slave.

Acquaintance with Prince Suleiman

However, fate was extremely favorable to a very young girl at that time. Somewhere in 1517, she ended up as a concubine in the palace of Manisa, where at the same time the son of the Sultan and the future heir to the empire, Shehzade Suleiman, lived. Very soon, the young prince's concubine becomes his favorite. This is how the story of Roksolana, who later became the greatest woman of the East, was born. It is interesting that here the future monarch met another slave of European origin, who was also to become one of the most important

persons of the Ottoman port. We are talking about the brilliant vizier of Suleiman - Ibrahim Pasha.

The history of the reign of Roksolana

In 1520, Sultan Selim I dies, and his son Suleiman takes the throne. Roksolana was already his favorite by that time, and in 1521 she gave birth to his son Mehmet. Three years later they have another son, who will be named Selim. However, in accordance with the traditions of the Muslim East, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was not only wife Sultan. Moreover, her favoritism caused jealousy and hatred from other wives. A particularly fierce rivalry unfolded between Roksolana and the Circassian Makhidevran. This competition found a way out in gossip and mutual insults, and sometimes it came to fights. The heat was added by the fact that it was the son of Mahidevran - Mustafa - who was the firstborn of the Sultan and the successor to the throne. This could not suit the ambitious and treacherous Slav. After several years of desperate intrigues, Roksolana came out


the winner of this fight. Mustafa was sent with his mother from the royal palace to Manisa. For Mahidevran, this actually meant exile. A few years later, rumors began to circulate throughout the empire that Mustafa was preparing a coup against his father. Shehzadeh was accused of conspiracy and executed in 1553. This finally cleared the path to power for one of Hurrem's sons. Her eldest son Mehmet never became the Sultan, since he died in 1543. However, Selim was destined to become the next sultan.

The Last Years of the Sultana

Roksolana, whose life history knew both difficult and brilliant episodes, actually managed the palace and state affairs for almost thirty years. Her husband, Suleiman the Magnificent, spent almost his entire life on military campaigns, relying heavily on his beloved wife during internal affairs. Roksolana died of natural causes in 1559.