Regarding the show, Muhtezem Yuzyl or Magnificent Century, I read many negative comments about Hurrem.
Certainly first of all the show is filled with fictionalized emotionalism. Soap opera. Well acted but this is the truth.
Moreover, in the context of this show, Hurrem was thrown in the dungeon, they tried to marry her off - cute guy, but still. Mahidevran beat her up and got Gulshah to poison her. They took a dagger to her and even stabbed her best friend. They killed her horse. Below the belt.
They deliberately burnt her face. They cast a spell on her that was in the end a black smoke incense in her room that was drugging her and causing hallucinations and weird behavior. They set bandits on her and tried to kill her.
In the end they kidnap her. And send all these women to attract the attention of Suleiman and drive her crazy with jealousy. SMH.
And you wonder why she schemed, plotted and lashed back in revenge? Pleez.
This is all in the context of a fictional Drama. Viewers have to realize a lot of these characters are made up and a lot of the events as well.
All in all however love wins.
This is the fairytale story of Alexandra (Roxelana) Hurrem Sultan. She was a captured slave from Ruthenia? They're not even sure, but this was an area from Poland that is now part of Ukraine. They're not even sure of her name - some believe it was Anastasia. Unclear.
A captured slave, she ended up in the harem of Sultan Suleiman Khan. She went from slave to concubine to favorite to legal wife of a Sultan. Haseki Hurrem Sultan.
Amazing story and achievement.
She would lend her name to Haseki Hurrem Sultan foundation. She was responsible for the building of mosques, schools, hospitals, soup kitchens, a hammam (Turkish Bath) and more.
These public works and acts of charity helped women and children and poor people in general. Their reach went from unprecedented public works in Istanbul and even to Jerusalem.
In her lifetime, people who didn't understand her, called her a witch, a sorcerer. That she charmed a Sultan into loving her and marrying her. People called her cruel and manipulative.
But the documents that have survived including letters to Suleyman indicate her deep affection for him.
I too am a history buff. I have a degree with a history major and am a stickler for details.
Everything I have read suggest that Suleiman was devoted to her, and was faithful. Something that broke the traditions of the harem.
Was she cruel as some historians suggest? To me that's debatable because it was forbidden to speak or relate what went on in a Islamic harem.
Any historical account too is only as reliable as the inherent bias of the storyteller. And men tended to speak badly of her. They didn't trust her, likely didn't understand how a smart, intelligent woman from a foreign land could achieve so much.
On anything like that, where is the proof? Without it, it's simply conjecture.
The deeds, her achievements with her charities and public works speaks volumes to me. She helped poor people particularly women and children. It's a good bet she never forgot where she came from.
She became the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire. That legacy speaks for itself.
And with the Sultan who loved her.
