The names of this extraordinary, ruthless and power -hungry woman are as multiple as were her talents and her ability for intrigue and conspiracy.
From Alexandra to Hurrem Sultana
Aleksandra Losowska was born around 1510 in the drab Ukrainian village of Rohatyn. Her father was a poor, orthodox priest and it so happened, that when the Turks under their dashing and powerful young Sultan, Suleiman I, later known as Suleiman the Lawgiver and Suleiman the Magnificent, invaded and conquered Ukrainia, young Aleksandra was captured and brought as a slave to the slave market of Istanbul.
It's unknown who discovered her there, but someone must have been attracted by her beauty and acquired her for the Sultan's harem.
It must be understood, that the harems of the Ottoman Empire were vast, populated by 300 and more women, children, concubines, slave girls and eunuchs. It was ruled by a strict hierarchy and by no means a place were women languished in boredom, devouring sweets all day long and waiting for a call from the sultan to "keep him company." Much time was taken up by education, music, dance and entertaining skills and every girl, even the lowest servant slave, had a chance to better her position and advance through the ranks.
Aleksandra entered at the lowest level of servant girl, but she seized her opportunities without hesitation. She soon became popular due to her intelligence, pleasant nature and story telling skills. It seems, that she was a real life Sheherazade. Commonly referred to as Roxelana, because of her Russian origin, she was soon nicknamed Khurrem - The Laughing One.
Her beauty certainly helped matters along and she managed the privilege to be presented to the Sultan, whom she quickly entrapped in her charms. The smitten ruler, who at the time had as his main concubine a woman named Gulfem with whom he had a son, Mustafa, who was the heir apparent to the throne, had hopelessly fallen for Hurrem.
Rise to Power
Step by step Hurrem built up her rise to power. First she had to get rid of Gulfem and Mustafa. She succeeded in persuading Suleiman, that both were conspiring against him. As a result, the Sultan banished them to a far away province in 1534. Murder, instigated by Hurrem, had not yet been committed, but was later to follow.
Next in line to be elimiated was Grand Vizier Ibrahim. A former slave himself and trusted confident of the sultan, Ibrahim was opposed to Hurrem's influence, an attitude which sealed his fate. Again, Hurrem succeeded in convincing Suleiman that Ibrahim really was a traitor and the Grand Vizier was assessinated in 1536.
Despite her viles and ruthlessness, Hurrem was an able adviser to Suleiman and took a vivid interest in domestic and foreign politics. He discussed everything with her and she used to follow the council in a place hidden behind the sultan's throne. She was also heavily involved in the architectural monuments and buildings of the period.
Shortly after Gulfem had been banished, Hurrem had children with Suleiman, a daughter and two sons, but their position as followers to Suleiman's throne was still uncertain. That's when Hurrem succeeded in the masterstroke of her carreer: she persuaded Suleiman to marry her, an unprecedented occurrance in the Ottoman Empire which caused much uproar inside the empire and abroad.
But Mustafa was still alive and a threat to her own sons, despite her elevated position. He had been building up support in the province and, following Hurrems insinuations that Mustafa was a threat to Suleiman's own life and throne, he was executed in 1553.
Hurrem died in 1558, eight years before her husband who, after her death did not marry again or take another concubine. His love poems to "the throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight," bear witness to this ruler's deep love and devotion to the empire's first sultana.
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