15 April 1558 - the death of Roxelana, Hürrem Sultan
On April 15, 1558 the French ambassador to Istanbul Jean de la Vigne reported that the Hasseki had died early that morning. Suleyman's grief was such that "he had aged greatly in just one day". Hürrem has been "the mistress of the life of this Emperor, by whom she was extremely loved."
De la Vigne went on: "before she died, [Suleyman] promised her and swore by the soul of his father Selim that he would never approach another woman".
She had been his "joyful one", the woman for whom Suleyman destroyed centuries of traditions. Hürrem had broken the "one concubine-one son" rule, giving birth to six children; she became the first slave to be legally married to the Sultan and for her Suleyman created the title of Hasseki - "Imperial Consort".
Hürrem is generally demonized as a ruthless schemer, a malicious, wicked, and evil woman who fully controlled Suleiman's mind. While her influence over him was unparalleled, the actual historical woman is far more complex.
Roxelana was the first woman of the Sultan to engage in politics, she took care to mantain peaceful relations with Poland, she built mosques, fountains, public kitchens and a public bath which still functions today and started what will become known as "The Sultanate of Women".
In his poetry, Suleyman reffers to Hürrem as "My Sultana, my Empress, my Earth of Anatolia, the only one who does not distress me in this world". She adresses him as her "beloved man, my joy, my life". Her success and Suleyman's love and faithfulness to her were as such that she was seen as a witch who enchanted him. Hurrem was in fact a woman of small, delicate stature, young, but not beautiful, witty, alluring and cheerful.
In her last days, the Venetian ambassador wrote, she refused to be parted from Suleyman. "The Sultan loved her to distraction and his heart has broken with her death."
