Valide Sultan: biography and legend

2025 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-24 17:46

Of course, everyone, if not watched, then at least heard about the Turkish series "The Magnificent Century". In common parlance, it is called "Roksolana", but there are countless heroes in it. And not only about the fate of the famous Ukrainian woman, who became Hürrem Sultan, the series tells, but also about many other women who had a huge influence at the Ottoman court. One of them is the Valide Sultan. The biography of this political rival Roksolana and her husband's mother makes us understand that the talk that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was the first powerful woman in Turkey contains at least inaccurate information. And in the series, this is also noticeable, although he is accused of historical dishonesty.

Valide Ayse Sultan Hafsa

The biography of this famous woman is initially shrouded in mystery. For example, in the series, viewers are immediately given information that she was the daughter of the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray. In fact, historiansknow that of the two wives of Sultan Selim I, one came from Taurida. But whether it was Aisha Khatun or Hafsa (the real name of the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent) is not known to historians for certain. Be that as it may, she married Selim the Terrible, who became famous for his conquests. How did she achieve the title of valid sultan? The biography of this woman can give us the information we need.

Shattered hopes

Until her husband succeeded to the throne, Ayse Hafsa constantly lived in fear that her children would be killed. She gave birth to four sons and the same number of daughters, and, naturally, she was very worried about them. But when Selim defeated her brother Ahmed, she was delighted that now she was waiting for a luxurious life in Istanbul. But it was not there. Sultan Selim Yavuz saw the meaning of his life in conquest, and he spent almost his entire life away from his wife. This greatly complicated the existence of the future Valide Sultan. Her biography, written by Turkish historians, contains information that she wrote touching love letters to Selim the Terrible, but the heart of the iron warrior remained deaf to them. Moreover, Yavuz was jealous of the power of his own son, who was raised by Aishe Hafsa.

How Selim's wife became a valid Sultan

The biography of the future ruler tells that almost all of her male children, except for one, died. Suleiman was to become the heir, with whom Aishe Hafsa left for Manisa, where he was preparing to become a ruler. There she guarded her son frompossible attempts on his father's life. And when her husband died in 1520, she finally triumphantly arrived in Istanbul and began to rule the harem. Ayse Hafsa was the first woman in the history of Turkey to receive the title of Valide, which means "ruler's mother". In fact, she not only ruled the harem, but also took an active part in the affairs of the state. Before her, no woman in the Ottoman Empire had such power. It was with Aisha Hafsa that the period of rule of the weaker sex began, which lasted one hundred and thirty years. This famous woman died in 1533, she was buried next to her husband. This is a brief history of the first Valide Sultan (biography). The actress who played the great ruler is Nehabat Chehre. She was very successful in the image of this imperious, not shunning cruelty and intrigue, a woman who was able to break the stereotype of an uncomplaining Muslim woman.