SULTANA HASEKI HIURREM: HER STATUS IN TOPCAPY PALACE AND ROLE IN THE POLICY OF THE OTTOMAN PORTE

Abstract

The purpose of the study: the study concerns Roxolana’s life and activities in the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, and particularly the fact of her Ukrainian ethnical origin, her status in the Sultan’s Palace and her participation in the international policy of the High Porte. Besides, there have been characterised the family relations which were between Suleiman Kanuni and Roxolana. Grounds putting in practice by Roxolana her political and charity activities have been identified. There have been identified probable dates of the birth of both figures, as well as studied depiction of their artistic images in works of arts. The Methodology of the study is based on the principles of providing the historism, scientific objectivity, a specific historical systematicity, and also on the interdisciplinarity principle and the principle of identification of the authenticity and informational value of the data and facts having been found. While making this study there were applied general historical methods of making a historiographical, terminological, typological and textologic analyses, and also the comparativistics method. The academic novelty of the study is reception of the Historiosophy of Ukraine’s History in the context of intercivilisational relations. The point of interest is also the given facts, which make it possible to say, that Roxolana enjoyed a high position in the palace of Topcapy in the times of the Ottoman Empire, which enabled her to be engaged in some political activities. Besides, Sultana Haseki Hiurrem together with her daughter Sultana Mihrimah was engaged in charity activities in different spheres. For instance, owing to their efforts a mosque was erected to commemorate the famous Sufi scholar and philosopher Mevlana Djelaleddin Mehammed Rumi. It should be noted, that one of the most significant charity actions of Roxolana in the context of civilisational measurements we can consider her practical repair of the so called “The Dome of the Cliff” (Turk. “Kubbet-üs Sahra”), that is in Jerusalem. ‘The Dome of the Cliff” is supposed to be a sacred thing in three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The most important charity action of Mihrimah was provision of a road from Mecca to the peak of the Arafat Mountain, so as to enable water supplying. While studying the artistic aspect of the formulated problem, and namely – portrait images of Sultana Haseki Hiurrem, a special interest is risen by the copy of the picture by the Italian artist Paolo Veronese “A Wedding-Party in the Galilean Kana”, which is supposed to be on eof the best works of the said artist, who depicted Roxolana-Haseki Hiurren by the side of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman Kanuni. Interpretation of the said artispic masterpiece and some other arguments give a better grounds for a high assessment of such importqant historic Turkish personalities, as Sultan Kanuni and his Ukrainian wife Sultana Roxolana, who are of much significance in studying the hisotry of mutual relations between Ukraine and Turkey in the context of civilisational measurements.   

While studying the above said topic, there has been underlined the importance of the data found in Turkish written sources, the information available in historiography and also that of portrayal presentations by famous artists, so as to support strengthening needs for a profound and objective studying of the said problem, particularly in relation of the development of the Ukrainian-Crimean Tatar-Turkish cultural relations.

The Conclusions. On a base of the outcomes of this study we can state, that Roxolana was a Ruthenian (that is a Ukrainian) by her origin; she was born in 1502 or in 1504 in Ukraine and died on 15 April 1558 after travelling with her husband to Adrianople; Roxolana was buried non the territory of Suleimaniye Mosque, the latter having been built due to a project by Architect Mimar Sinan. Roxolana and Kanuni’s daughter Mihrimah was born in 1522, she died on 25 January 1578.

Authors of numerous studies state, that the family relations between Roxolana and Suleiman Kanuni, which were based on mutual love, guaranteed Roxolana a high position in the Sultan’s Palace and a certain influence on the policy of the Ottoman Turkey. This study demonstrates, that Roxolana became a Sultana during the respective rising of the High Porte. In this context Roxolana supported her husband stimulating him to increase the list of his new victories in remote military marches.   

The formulated problem and theme requires its further studying with taking in account the data, available in Turkish written sources and in historiography. Besides, studying the theme on a base of the data from works of art increases the grounds for characterisation of the said figures, particularly so as to study the history of cultural relations between Ukraine and Türkiye.

Кeywords: history, Roxolana, Каnuni, Тоpcapy, source, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland,  culture, portrait