Thanks to the Turkish TV series "Magnificent Century"wide audience became aware of the details of the personal life of one of the most formidable and great rulers of the Ottoman Empire - Sultan Suleiman. The peripeteies of the life of this extraordinary personality, especially the machinations and intrigues that occurred in his harem, are of great interest to modern viewers. The fate of one of the concubines of the great sultan - Gyulfem - will be discussed in this article.
Gyufem Hatun (1497-1562) is a real historicalpersonality, a woman who lived in the 16th century in the harem of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman. She was the second concubine of the ruler and bore him a son - Shehzadeh Murad. Information about its origin is very contradictory. According to one version, she has Sicilian or Polish roots, and her real name is Rosalina (Rosalina). In Ottoman sources, her father is called Abdurrahana or Abdullah, which according to the customs of those times could mean a Christian converted to Islam. According to other sources, Gyulfem was the daughter of the Albanian bey and had the name Aysha. There is also a version about the Turkish origin of this woman. It is only known for certain that in 1562 she was suddenly killed on the orders of Suleiman, but then rehabilitated and buried with honor.
The death of Gulfem Hatun causes numerousquestions so far. It is known that she became the beloved concubine of the Sultan after the death of the famous Hürrem. Only Gyulfem Suleiman trusted his worries and doubts in the declining years, he liked to talk with her about the days gone by, to remember the past youth. The fact that the second concubine of the Sultan enjoyed his exceptional confidence and often spent time with him is evidenced by historical sources. Venetians wrote that they often saw Suleiman in the garden with a woman whose face was closed, but the guard informed them that she was Gyufem Hatun. Why did they execute this extraordinary and probably very influential woman at court?
Gyulfem was very devout, differentfriendly and accommodating nature, for which all were very fond of her in the harem. She was actively engaged in charity, at the end of her life she decided to build in Uskudar a luxurious mosque with adjoining establishments (madrasah, hamam, etc.). This required a lot of money. Gyufem Hatun was a secured woman - in addition to the funds that were allocated to each concubine in the harem for personal needs, she constantly received expensive gifts from Suleiman. Therefore, the construction of the mosque was moving very quickly. However, soon the erection of this grandiose structure had to be stopped - the money was over. It's hard to say why Gyulfam did not tell the sultan about her project. Perhaps she wanted to surprise him. Anyway, but the concubine began to look for a source of income secretly from Suleiman. And soon he found it.
Gyufem Hatun (photo actress, who played her inthe series "The Magnificent Age," you can see in this article) was a woman of clever, resolute and, one might say, desperate. How else to characterize her act? In order to receive money for the further construction of the mosque, she decided to sell her "way out" to the Sultan. Girls who wanted to go on a date to the ruler out of turn, in the harem was enough. One of them, the concubine of Kinat, offered Gyulfam money in exchange for the opportunity to meet with the sultan face to face. When Suleiman again invited his beloved concubine to his quarters, she was ill and sent another slave instead. Apparently, this turn of events did not suit the sultan at all, so when Gyufem Khatun did not come again, he became enraged and forced Kinat to tell the whole truth. The slave woman decided to blacken Gyulfam and said that she simply preferred a large sum of money to Suleiman's society. The outrage of the padishah was boundless.
An example of rapid and speedy massacre of those who disagreedThe sudden death of Gyufem Hatun serves us as courtiers. Why did they execute her without trial and investigation, without understanding the situation, without giving the unhappy woman even express herself in her defense? Historical sources testify that under the Sultan in service there were "mute" hangmen-dilesies, ready at the behest of the master at any moment to destroy everyone who dared to provoke his indignation. For each execution they received a special reward, the amount of which was fixed in a special expenditure book. Therefore, the massacre of women who dared to make the subject of bargaining attention and love of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, was instantaneous. That Suleiman then repented of what he had done was known from the same settlement book. Faithful to the order, the dilsies not only received no reward for the work done, but they were also deported from the palace.
Drowning in insane luxury, saturated with greatevents and sophisticated intrigues appears before us the reign of Sultan Suleiman according to the version of the series "The Magnificent Age." Gyufem Hatun is just one of many who conquered the heart of a suspicious and inconstant padishah, and then suddenly died at his command. However, it is known that Suleiman greatly regretted his hasty decision. Soon he became aware of what his beloved concubine had spent the money received. The Sultan ordered the mosque to be completed immediately, which was carried out unquestioningly. Gyufem Hatun was buried in the city of Uskudar, in a mosque that became her name. According to the legend, the grave of the righteous man shone with his own light for several nights after the burial. The official order of the Sultan to finish the mosque in memory of Gyulfam was preserved in the archives of the Ottoman Empire.
According to other sources, Gyulf Khatun wasbeloved concubine of Suleiman even before the advent of Hurrem in the harem. She even gave birth to the Sultan's heir, Shahzadeh Murad, who died in 1521 from smallpox. The Padishah never forgot Gyulf and always sent her generous gifts, than offended the jealous Hurrem. It was this red-headed beast who persuaded the trusting concubine to exchange the queue with another slave to receive money for the construction of the mosque. We know about the further development of events. Hurrem got rid of the rival: Gyufem was strangled with a silk lace on the orders of the Sultan. The cruel and bloody "splendid" age was soon to be punished. Gyufem Hatun remained from the memory of contemporaries a victim of insidious intrigues at the court of the terrible Suleiman.
