Mahiedevran Sultan. Biography: palace intrigues of a magnificent century

Mahidevran Sultan, whose biography is widely known to our contemporaries thanks to the series "The Magnificent Age" - who was she really? Surely, many of the fans of popular cinema wondered about the real prototype of the Sultan's concubine - the character presented on the screen. Let's try to figure this out.

Mahiedevran Sultan. Biography: harem and palace intrigues

The future wife of Suleiman came from the Circassian princely family Kanukovs. In her own family she was the sister of the elder prince in the family of Maashuka Kanukova. Her other name was Gulbakhar, which in translation from Circassian meant "spring rose".

Presumably, she was born in 1481. As a teenager, she became the concubine of Suleiman the Magnificent, who was still only preparing to occupy the state throne (Suleiman became the sultan only after the death of his father Selim in 1520). Their common firstborn was born in 1515. Moreover, despite the fact that Gulhabar was only the third wife, her son became the first-born male for Suleiman, and consequently, the main contender for the throne in the future. However, Mahidevran Sultan, whose biography is also known due to palace intrigues, very soon found a dangerous rival in the harem.

This rival became very famous in Europe, and even more so in the Slavic world, Roksolana. In the palace of the Ottoman dynasty, it was called the Khurrem Sultan. She very quickly won the love and trust of Suleiman I. And in 1521 she gave birth to him the son of Mehmet, then Selim. Roksolana was a very ambitious woman, and very soon she was seized by the idea of putting her own son on the throne. Running forward, we say that she succeeded: Mehmet died in 1543, but Selim nevertheless became the next Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, the rivalry between the two women was growing stronger. Jealousy and enmity repeatedly led to gossip, mutual insults and even fights. However, Roxolana, who won the heart of the Sultan, still managed to win this fight. The result of the strife for Mahidevran was that she was exiled with her son Mustafa to live in the province of Manisa, where the latter became a Sultan governor. A few years later Mustafa was executed in 1553, accused of plotting against his father.

Mahiedevran Sultan. Biography: the cause of death and the last years of life

The rest of life was very vague for the former wife of the Sultan. She conducted it in the provinces: first in Manisa, later in Bursa. In 1566, the son of Roksolana-Khurrem Selim II took the throne. He appoints the content of Mahiedevan as the widow of the Sultan. She dies of old age in 1581, at the age of 83, having survived her husband, her eternal rival, her own son, and even Selim II, the son of her opponent. As mentioned above, Mahindevran Sultan, whose biography has long been well known among the Eastern peoples, was glorified today thanks to the popular TV series.

Mahiedevran Sultan. Actress: Biography

Her image in the series "Magnificent Century" was brilliantly played by the German actress of Turkish origin Asie Nur Fettahoglu. She is now 32 years old. The actress grew up in a family of migrants in the city of Duisburg and gained popularity thanks to the filming in the series.