Leslie Peirce - Empress of the East - How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire

elegies for Mustafa, 278–279

Poland, 14, 40, 79, 296,

capture of Roxelana, 16

diplomatic correspondence with, 251–255

Poland-Lithuania, 24–25, 26, 223, 251

See also Bona Sforza; Isabella; Sigismund I; Sigismund; Augustus

power, political and personal

architecture reflecting, 128

Central Asia as source of, 17–18

circumcision celebration as display of, 103–104

domestic politics during Suleyman’s absences, 77–78

hierarchy of the New Palace, 29–30

hierarchy of the Old Palace, 27–29

innovation under Suleyman, 67–68

intimate friendship among males, 168

Mustafa’s awareness of his own, 95–96

of Ibrahim, the grand vizier, 155–156, 160–161

overriding family bonds, 37–38

perception of Ottoman power after the war with Iran, 287–288

royal philanthropy and, 185–187

within the harem, 5–6

See also governance; Roxelana, personal and political power

pretenders, 288, 305, 307

primogeniture, 6–7, 313–314

princes

death of, 85–87

education and management of, 84–85

management training, 220–221

political careers, 214–215

provincial duties, 217

royal architectural philanthropy, 185–186

See also specific individuals

princesses

foreign, 14, 20, 43, 103, 115, 198–200

function and status of, 37–38

Ibrahim’s marriage, 157

marriage of, 157, 185, 205

political role of, 36

stipends and status, 241–243

See also Beyhan; Mihrumah (daughter); Shah Sultan

Privy Chamber terrace, New Palace, 134

procurator of the Sultana, 125

provincial authorities, 77–78

Pseudo Mustafa, 288, 305, 307

raids, abduction of slaves and, 16–17, 21–22

religion. See Christianity; Islam; Judaism

rivalries

among the royal princes, 91–92, 165–166, 281–282, 297

Mahidevran and Roxelana, 90–91, 94–99, 148–149, 165–166, 274–275

Rustem and Ibrahim, 249–250

Rohatyn, Ukraine, 15, 21, 26

Roman empire, 10–11, 14, 48, 66, 73, 103, 159–160, 216, 292

Roxelana, background and origins of

arrival at the Old Palace, 34

as gift to Suleyman, 34, 69–71

capture in Poland, 16, 24–25

Christian background, 4–5

conversion to Islam, 26, 33, 43–44, 291–292

debate over, 4–5, 8–9, 14–16, 25–26

difficulties in, 5–8

Roxelana’s personality and character, 9, 53–54

Roxelana’s philanthropy stemming from slavery, 193

slave trade, 14–15, 21–22

Roxelana, children of

Abdullah, 58, 72, 111, 235

celebrating the circumcision of the princes, 102–106

changing Roxelana’s status at court, 54–57

death of, 72, 305–306

education of, 11, 78, 82–83, 204

marriage of Mihrumah, 205–208

nuclear family, 6, 72

report of, 96–97

Roxelana’s custodial responsibilities, 78

Roxelana’s later pregnancies, 58–59

Roxelana’s presentation to Suleyman, 51–53

Suleyman securing Selim II’s political future, 308–309

See also Bayezid (son); Cihangir (son); Mehmed (son); Mihrumah (daughter); Selim (son)

Roxelana, correspondence

domestic arrangements, 209–210

gifts and messages from well-wishers, 75

historical value of, 8–9

maintaining contact during military campaigns, 141–144, 282–285

pleas for Rustem Pasha’s reinstatement, 284–285

rising standards of living, 262

Roxelana’s improving literacy, 209

Roxelana’s life in the harem, 75–76

Roxelana’s yearning for Suleyman, 73–75

Suleyman and, 283(fig.)

Suleyman’s declining health, 246–248, 259–260

Roxelana, daily life of

declining health and death, 12, 281–282, 299–300, 302–304, 315

domestic responsibilities in the Old Palace, 210–211, 241–242

during Suleyman’s military absences, 75–77

income and daily stipend, 55–57, 77–78, 242

Mahidevran as role model, 57

raising children in Suleyman’s absence, 10–11

residence and domestic responsibilities in the New Palace, 114–115, 121–125, 127–128, 136, 241–242

Roxelana’s quarters in the New Palace, 122–123

Roxelana’s rise in status threatening Mahidevran, 94–95

televising Roxelana’s life, 26

travels through Anatolia, 225–227, 231

Roxelana, early relationship with Suleyman

conceiving her second child, 58–59

Roxelana’s first summons, 52–53

Suleyman’s choice of a concubine, 44–46

Suleyman’s partners after Roxelana, 70–71

Roxelana, marriage to Suleyman

as source of historical debate, 199–200

controversy surrounding, 184–185

domestic conflict, 248

giving women a voice in governance, 122–123

Hafsa’s death, 116–117

honeymoon, 71–72

increasing Roxelana’s status and power, 27–28, 79–80, 100–101, 118–120, 189, 197–198

instigation of, 118–120

intimacy replacing sexual relations, 244–245

precedents for succession, 12–13

private nature of, 115–116

public announcement of, 145–147

Roxelana’s imperial seclusion following, 123–125

Roxelana’s lack of a coronation, 171

Roxelana’s new life in the New Palace, 114–115, 125–126, 128–129

Roxelana’s rise as Suleyman’s favorite, 59–60

securing Selim II’s political future, 308–309

speculation on Suleyman’s affection for Roxelana, 245–246

Roxelana, personal and political power of

Bayezid’s downfall, 307–309

children changing Roxelana’s status at court, 55–57

diplomatic relations with Britain, 251–252

Roxelana’s counsel during Suleyman’s campaigns, 284–285

Roxelana’s exposure to Istanbul, 46–50

Roxelana’s marriage expanding her power, 27–28, 79–80, 100–101, 118–120, 197–198

Roxelana’s part in Ibrahim’s execution, 150–152

Roxelana’s part in Mustafa’s execution, 272–275

Roxelana’s plea for Rustem’s reinstatement, 294–297

Roxelana’s aggrandizement of the royal harem as a political force, 3–4, 12

training in social behavior, 33–34

Roxelana, personal and political relationships

Ibrahim, 32

Ibrahim’s part in Mustafa’s rivalry with Roxelana’s sons, 165–166

Janissaries’ antipathy, 148–149

Mahidevran, 90–91, 94–99, 148–149, 165–166, 274–275

Mustafa, 82–83, 148–149, 275–276

Roxelana, philanthropy of

charitable actions, 9, 289–294

charitable work with slaves, 193

educational benefits of Roxelana’s foundation, 173

endeavors in Palestine, 288–294

historical debate over Roxelana’s mosque, 186

imperial affairs, 127

interest in the training of slaves, 173, 211–212

mosque design, 164–165, 186

political and personal status, 188–189

Roxelana’s concerns with the Janissaries, 240–241

Rumi, Jalal ad-Din, 215, 227–229

Rustem (Mihrumah’s husband), 206–207, 223, 249–251, 258, 268–272, 284, 294–297, 301–302

Ruthenia, 4, 10, 14–16, 21, 22, 25, 26, 31, 83, 96, 134, 147–148, 199, 224, 252, 291, 304

saadet (good fortune), 133

sacred places, 264–265

Safavid state, Iran, 65

peace treaty, 295–296

Selim I’s concerns over the threat of, 65

shi`i Islam, 228

territorial losses, 149–150

the princes’ circumcision, 107

See also Alqas Mirza; Diplomacy; Ismail, Shah; military campaigns; Tahmasp Shah

Safiye (Murad III’s favor), 295–296

Şemseddin Sami, 151