Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman the Magnificent was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was the son of Hafsa and Selim I, husband of Hurrem Sultana and father of Mustafa, Mehmed, Mihrimah, Bayezid, Cihangir and unnamed children.

Suleiman succeeded his father, Selim I, as sultan on 30 September 1520. Breaking Ottoman tradition, Suleiman married Hürrem Sultan, a woman from his harem, an Orthodox Christian of Ruthenian origin who converted to Islam, and who became famous in the West by the name Roxelana, due to her red hair. Their son, Selim II, succeeded Suleiman following his death in 1566 after 46 years of rule. Suleiman's other potential heirs, Mehmed and Mustafa, had died; Mehmed passed away in 1543 from smallpox, and Mustafa was strangled to death in 1553 at the Sultan's order. His other son, Bayezid was executed in 1561 on Suleiman's orders, along with Bayezid's four sons, after a rebellion. As a young man, he befriended Pargalı Ibrahim, a Greek slave who later became one of his most trusted advisers and even Grand Vizier (but was later executed on Suleiman's orders).

Wives and concubines

Suleiman had two known consorts, though in total there were 17 women in his harem when he was a Şehzade. The mothers of Mahmud, Murad and Raziye are unknown.

* Mahidevran Hatun, a Circassian or Albanian concubine.
* Hürrem Sultan (also known as Roxelana or Alexandra) (m. 1533 or 1534), Suleiman's concubine and later legal wife and first Haseki Sultan, possibly a daughter of a Ruthenian Orthodox priest.

#### Love Interests

Gulfem

Mahidevran Sultana

Maria

Hurrem Sultana

Princess Isabella Fortuna

### Relationship with Hurrem Sultan

16th-century oil painting of Hurrem Sultan

Suleiman was infatuated with Hurrem Sultan, a harem girl from Ruthenia, then part of Poland. Western diplomats, taking notice of the palace gossip about her, called her "Russelazie" or "Roxelana", referring to her Ruthenian origins. The daughter of an Orthodox priest, she was captured by Tatars from Crimea, sold as a slave in Constantinople, and eventually rose through the ranks of the Harem to become Suleiman's favorite. Hurrem, a former concubine, became the legal wife of the Sultan, much to the astonishment of the observers in the palace and the city. He also allowed Hurrem Sultan to remain with him at court for the rest of her life, breaking another tradition—that when imperial heirs came of age, they would be sent along with the imperial concubine who bore them to govern remote provinces of the Empire, never to return unless their progeny succeeded to the throne

### Relationship with Grand Vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha

Suleiman awaits the arrival of his Grand Vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha at Buda, 1529.

Before his downfall, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha was an inseparable friend of Suleiman. In fact, he is referred to in his chroniclers as 'the favourite' (Maḳbūl) along with 'the executed' (Maḳtūl). Historians state that Suleiman is remembered for 'his passion for two of his slaves: for his beloved Ibrahim when the sultan was a hot-blooded youth, and for his beloved Hurrem when he was mature.'

Ibrahim was originally a Christian from Parga (in Epirus), who was captured in a raid during the 1499–1503 Ottoman–Venetian War, and was given as a slave to Suleiman most likely in 1514. Ibrahim converted to Islam and Suleiman made him the royal falconer, then promoted him to first officer of the Royal Bedchamber. It was reported that they slept together in the same bed. The sultan also built Ibrahim a lavish palace on the ancient Hippodrome, Istanbul's main forum outside the Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace. Despite his following marriage and his new sumptuous residence, Ibrahim sometimes spent the night with Suleiman I at Topkapı Palace. In turn, the sultan occasionally slept at Ibrahim's lodgings. Ibrahim Pasha rose to Grand Vizier in 1523 and commander-in-chief of all the armies. Suleiman also conferred upon Ibrahim Pasha the honor of beylerbey of Rumelia(first-ranking military governor-general), granting Ibrahim authority over all Ottoman territories in Europe, as well as command of troops residing within them in times of war. At the time, Ibrahim was only about thirty years old and lacked any actual military expertise; it is said that 'tongues wagged' at this unprecedented promotion straight from palace service to the two highest offices of the empire.

During his thirteen years as Grand Vizier, his rapid rise to power and vast accumulation of wealth had made Ibrahim many enemies at the Sultan's court. Suleiman's suspicion of Ibrahim was worsened by a quarrel between the latter and the finance secretary (defterdar) İskender Çelebi. The dispute ended in the disgrace of Çelebi on charges of intrigue, with Ibrahim convincing Suleiman to sentence the defterdar to death. Ibrahim also supported Şehzade Mustafa as the successor of Suleiman. This caused disputes between him and Hürrem Sultan, who wanted her sons to succeed to the throne. Ibrahim eventually fell from grace with the Sultan and his wife. Suleiman consulted his Qadi, who suggested that Ibrahim be put to death. The Sultan recruited assassins and ordered them to strangle Ibrahim in his sleep.