Mysterious and controversial biography: Roksolana

Talk about the life of this outstanding woman is not easy. After all, a lot of contradictory facts contain her biography. Roksolana was born in a small town Rogatin, which is in Western Ukraine. Since at that time (approximately 1506 year) the territory of the modern Ivano-Frankivsk region was captured by the Poles, Roksolana is often called the Polka. According to the official data, she was Ukrainian by nationality.

About her real name, too, are heated discussions. In the sources of the 16th century there is no reliable information about it. But later a tradition appeared to call her Anastasia. Historians who tend to consider her polka, call this famous woman Alexandra. According to the most popular version of Anastasia was the daughter of the priest Gavril Lisovsky.

Around 1520, the girl was captured by Tatars. Further it was forwarded to the Crimea, to the city of Kafu (present-day Theodosia), and from there it got to Istanbul. In the Turkish capital, she was spotted by the vizier Ibrahim Pasha, who gave it to Suleiman I. From that moment her magnificent biography begins. Roksolana became the love of the whole life of the Sultan.

Having got into the palace as a usual concubine, the girl could very quickly charm the ruler. There are reports that Suleiman even devoted poems to her. In the harem for a good sense of humor and rolling laugh Roksolana received the nickname Hurrem, which means "Merry".

After the wedding of Hurrem and the Turkish sultan, it can be said with certainty that her biography has developed in a completely different way. Roksolana now became an influential person in the Ottoman Empire, because she was considered the main wife of Suleiman. Prior to this, the sultans had never tied themselves by marriage. To marry, the Ukrainian had to convert to Islam.

In addition to its external attractiveness, Roksolana was very wise and educated. She was well versed in art and politics, often personally received foreign rulers. When the couple were separated, they corresponded with beautiful verses in Arabic and Persian.

There are a lot of dark spots in her biography. Roksolana, according to one version, was able to tune her husband against his son from the third wife of Mustafa. Anyway, but there is reliable information that, on the orders of the sultan, Mustafa was strangled.

The couple had five children - 4 sons and a daughter. True, only Selim survived Suleiman the Magnificent from his sons. All the others died in the process of bloody struggle for the throne.

It is said that even the mother of the Sultan was shocked by the cruel methods by which she won the power of Roksolana. The biography of this amazing woman testifies that she was feared beyond the palace. Hundreds of people disliked her quickly perished in the hands of the executioners.

Fortunately, not only cunning and cold calculation glorified Hurrem-Sultan. She managed to do a lot for the prosperity of Istanbul: she built several mosques, opened a school, organized a home for the mentally retarded, and also opened a free kitchen for the poor, established contacts with many European countries.

Around 1561, at the age of 55, her biography is broken. Roksolana was buried with all the honors, the sultan survived his beloved for only eight years. Their tombs are still standing next to the mosque of Suleiman. After the death of the Sultan, the son of Roksolana Selim took the throne. Unfortunately, the time of his reign began to decline, and the people called him Selim the Drunk.

Of course, we have no right to judge the actions that Roksolana committed. Biography, the life and death story of Suleiman's beloved wife is the story of a woman who lived in a difficult time. Hurrem had to fight every minute for the right to be a worthy companion of the great ruler and for the life of his children. She only accepted the rules of the game, which operated in the palace of the Sultan.