Shah Sultan: biography of the sister of the ruler

The ninth ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Selim the First Yavuz, still known as Grozny, had four sons (one of them later and took the throne) and several daughters. Suleiman the Magnificent or the Just (Kanuni, the Lawyer) became famous for his aggressive campaigns and passionate love for his wife of Ukrainian descent Khaseki Hürrem. One of the sisters of this famous ruler was Shah Sultan, whose biography interests the public more and more. After all, the Turkish historical series, narrating about the events of that era and enjoying immense popularity among the residents of Eastern Europe, tells almost all members of the family of the Osmanians who took part in politics, as well as in palace and harem intrigues. Sisters of the Sultan played an important role in this. And our heroine, apparently, very much in it has succeeded.

So, what do we know about Shah Sultan? The biography of this woman is known to us mainly from the chronicles of the Ottoman Empire. She was born in 1509. Her mother was the famous Aisha Hafsa, who herself belonged to the genus of the padishahs and was a neo-aristocratic woman. Since her mother almost always lived in the city of Manisa until her husband died, the princess herself was born there. She spent her childhood in this province, and at the age of 14 she had already become the wife of one of the Sultan's harem pupils, close to the palace, known to us as Lutfi Pasha. Shah Sultan, whose biography was not very well studied during this period, lived in a marriage in the province. She had two daughters. Various sources call their names: Esmehan Baharnaz and Nezlikhan Sultan. Her husband came to Istanbul and became a member of the Divan in 1539. At the same time, Shah Sultan herself was able to move to the capital, which she very much desired. She in every possible way helped her husband to make a career at court. Historians report that the princess tried to influence her brother and in this competition with his wife, Roksolana-Hurrem. These attempts to interfere in politics and interesting her biography.

Shah Sultan, like her mother, as well as many women of that time, did not intend to reconcile herself to the role of an exemplary wife and a teacher of children. Women wanted to determine the fate of empires, although not always they succeeded. An ambitious princess, inspired by the example of a mother who was actually the co-ruler of Suleiman Qanooni for a long time, Shah Sultan expected the spouse to help in the implementation of her plans. Thanks to her in the same year 1539, Lutfi Pasha became the Great Vizier of the state, as his predecessor Ayaz, the protege of Haseki Hurrem, died as a result of the plague epidemic. However, the rule of Lutfi Pasha did not last long, only two years. On the one hand, he is known for his adultery, and on the other hand - a showy puritanism. One of the Turkish historians, Murat Barbakchi, reports that Lutfi Pasha decided to fight prostitution in Istanbul and very cruelly, "to others it was not vain," punished one priestess of love, ordering her to burn her genitals. Outraged Shah Sultan began to reproach her husband. He completely forgot that she was from the Osman clan and slapped her face.

Biography Shah Huban Sultan allows us to see what happened between the spouses next. The enraged princess ordered her personal guard to beat her husband, and then went to complain about it to her brother. Suleiman immediately removed from office a lot of people who thought about himself, his wife divorced him, and he was exiled to the far province of Dimetoku. Lutfi Pasha only saved his life because Shah Sultan did not want her daughters to grow up without a father (at least nominally). The princess, however, remained free, engaged in charity, as was the custom in those days of the rich Turkish aristocrats. For example, in Istanbul you can still see the mosque, which bears her name and the construction of which she financed. Its architect was the most talented Sinan, the author of the Blue Mosque. She died in 1572, surviving her mother for 28 years.

According to legend, the princess asked to bury herself along with the valida, but this tomb could not be found for a long time. But in April of this year in Turkey, with a thorough examination of the mausoleum of Aisha Hafsa, the grave of Shah Sultan was discovered. The biography, the cause of death and the details of the life of the princess, of course, not all can be carefully restored by historical sources. However, we can say that this woman is one of the brightest personalities of the truly "Magnificent Age", when people tried to become masters of their own destiny themselves.