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Roxelana (c. 1500–1506 – April 18, 1558) was a slave who became a concubine who then became the beloved wife of Suleyman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire.
Known in Ottoman Turkey as Hürrem or Karima, she was actually born Alexandra Anastasia Lisovska as a Ukrainian in Poland. In the 1520s, Roxelana was captured by Crimean Tatars during one of their frequent raids into this region and taken as a slave, probably first to the Crimean city of Kaffa, a major centre of the slave trade, then to Constantinople, and was selected for Süleyman's harem.<br/><br/>

Roxelana quickly became the sultan’s favourite, enchanted as he was with her beauty and sensuality. Their romance inspired artists, poets and writers for many years after.
Her Imperial Majesty The Empress consort Hürrem Sultan of the Ottoman Empire or Karima, known to Europeans informally as simply Roxelana (c. 1500–1506 – April 18, 1558) was the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire.
Roxelana (c. 1500–1506 – April 18, 1558) was a slave who became a concubine who then became the beloved wife of Suleyman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. Known in Ottoman Turkey as Hürrem or Karima, she was actually born Alexandra Anastasia Lisovska as a Ukrainian in Poland. In the 1520s, Roxelana was captured by Crimean Tatars during one of their frequent raids into this region and taken as a slave, probably first to the Crimean city of Kaffa, a major centre of the slave trade, then to Constantinople, and was selected for Süleyman's harem.<br/><br/>

Roxelana quickly became the sultan’s favourite, enchanted as he was with her beauty and sensuality. Their romance inspired artists, poets and writers for many years after.
The daughter of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (CPA0001204, CPA0002354, CPA0014625) and Hürrem Sultana Roxelana (CPA0000828 , CPA0000836, CPA0000842), Mihrimah Sulta was married to the Governor of Diyarbakır, Rüstem Pasha, in 1539.<br/><br/>She had two children, Ayşe Hümaşah and Osman with Rüstem Pasha, who served as grand vizier in 1544-1553 and 1555-1561. A rather influential figure at the Harem during the reigns of her father Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and her brother Sultan Selim II, Mihrimah Sultan commissioned Mimar Sinan to build mosque complexes in her name both in Üsküdar (the Iskele or Mihrimah Mosque) and Edirnekapı (the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque).<br/><br/>The attire and headdress repeated in other examples of the portrait reflect the Turkish fashion of the period. During the 16th century, in which the Ottoman style became visible in Europe, both Mihrimah Sultan and her mother Hürrem Sultan represented the idealized Ottoman female figure.