Hurrem, also known as Roxelana, lived a classic rags-to-riches story. She was taken into slavery and bought as a concubine for the imperial court. From there, she gained the attention of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient and became his favorite concubine. Roxelana (born c. 1505, Rohatyn, Poland [now in Ukraine]—died April 1558, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]) was a Slavic woman who was forced into concubinage and later became the wife of the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Around 1533, the Ottoman sultan broke custom to marry his favorite concubine Hürrem Sultan — and she soon became the most powerful woman in the empire. She was known by many names: Hürrem Sultan, Roxelana, Haseki Sultan. Hürrem Sultan appeared in Topkapi Palace as a slave, but in a very short time she became one the most influential women of the Ottoman Empire. The name Hürrem was given her by the Sultan Suleiman I, and means “the cheerful one”- but in the eyes of many of her rivals she was the most dangerous ...
