Of course, if you didn’t watch, then at least hear about the Turkish TV series “The Magnificent Century”. In common parlance, it is called "Roksolana," but there are no heroes in it. And not only about the fate of the famous Ukrainian, who became Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, the series tells the story, 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 influential woman in Turkey contains at least inaccurate information. And in the series, this is also noticeable, although he is reproached for historical dishonesty.
Valide Aisha Sultan Hafsa
The biography of this famous woman was originally 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, historians know that one of the two wives of Sultan Selim the First came from Tauris. But whether it was Aisha-Khatun or Hafsa (the real name of the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent) is unknown 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 Valide Sultan? The biography of this woman can give us the necessary information.
Broken hopes
Until her husband reached the throne, Aisha Hafsa constantly lived in fear that her children would be killed. She gave birth to four sons and as many daughters and, naturally, was very worried about them. But when Selim defeated his brother Ahmed, she was glad 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 conquests, and he spent almost his entire life away from his wife. This greatly complicated the existence of the future valid-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 his own son, who was raised by Aisha Hafsa.
How the wife of Selim became a valid sultan
The biography of the future ruler tells that almost all of her male children, except one, have died. Suleiman was to become the heir, with whom Aisha Hafsa left for Manisa, where he was preparing to become a ruler. There she guarded her son from possible attempts by his father on his life. And when in 1520 her husband died, she finally triumphantly arrived in Istanbul and began to rule the harem. Aishe Hafsa was the first woman in Turkish history to receive the title Valide - which means "mother of the ruler." In fact, she not only ruled the harem, but also very actively participated in state affairs. Before her, not a single woman in the Ottoman Empire had such power. It was with Aisha Hafsa that the period of the fairer sex began, lasting one hundred and thirty years. This famous woman died in 1533, she was buried next to her husband. This is the 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 abhorring cruelty and intrigue, a woman who was able to break the stereotype of a meek Muslim woman.