Page 22 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

of maintenance, supplies, the mint, the arsenal, the kitchens, Hürrem and Mihrimah, the wife and daughter of Süleyman,
and the stables as well as tutors, physicians, standard-bearers, were among the most energetic patrons.
gatekeepers, gardeners, guards, architects, and artisans em- Royal marriages had been performed during the early years
ployed by the palace. of the empire in order to form alliances with the neighboring
The second courtyard, open only to those who had official states, but this practice was abandoned by the fifteenth cen-
business in the palace, contained chambers for the Divan-i tury. Süleyman was one of the very few sultans to officially
Hümayun, the grand vezir, and his staff. It also included the take a wife, marrying Hürrem shortly after his accession. Hür-
imperial kitchens, which provided meals for the residents, rem, thought to have been of Ukranian or other Slavic de-
and the imperial stables, where the sultan's horses and riding scent, may have met Süleyman when he was in Kefe and at-
equipment were kept. tracted his attention with her amiable outlook and
The third courtyard was the inner sanctum of the palace intelligence. Süleyman adored his wife and remained loyal to
and housed the staff of the Enderun School, whose primary her throughout his life. Before meeting her, Suleyman's ha-
responsibility was to train the novices chosen from the dev- seki had been Gülbahar, who had given birth to Mustafa in
§irme boys. The novices were subjected to a rigid education 1515. 8 After their marriage Hürrem produced five sons and a
and advanced according to their capabilities and competence. daughter: Mehmed (1521-1543), the sultan's favorite and
Upon graduating they were assigned as pages to various im- chosen heir apparent; Abdullah (1522-1526), who died at
perial chambers, the highest of which were the Hazine the age of four; Mihrimah (1522-1578), his only daughter,
(Treasury), Kiler (Pantry), Seferli Oda (Campaign Room), and who married in 1539 the grand vezir Rüstem Pa§a; Selim
Has Oda (Royal Room). In time they were promoted to join (1527-1574), who succeeded him in 1566, being the only
the ranks of Enderun officers. Some of them were later sent living son at the time; Bayezid (1525-1561), accused of in-
to head departments in the Birun, others were given commis- citing a civil war and executed with his sons after fleeing to
sions in the provinces or in the military forces. Included in the Safavid court; and Cihangir (1531-1553), a crippled and
the third courtyard were the Arz Odasi (Reception Room), sensitive child. Süleyman was very supportive of his children;
where dignitaries and foreign envoys were received; the Ha- he assigned sancaks to his sons, gave them military com-
zine, where the sultan's private collection of rare and pre- mands during campaigns, and appointed them as regents
cious objects was kept; the Has Oda, which functioned as the while he was engaged in battles along the frontiers.
Throne Room; 7 and facilities for the Enderun staff. The history of Suleyman's reign was tightly woven with in-
The Harem (literally meaning "sacred place") was the pri- ternational politics, and the sultan became an important pro-
vate domain of the sultan, where members of his family re- tagonist in European affairs shortly after his accession.
sided. Originally women and children were housed in the Charles V, the Habsburg king of Spain, and Francis I, the Va-
Old Palace situated in the center of the city and not allowed
into the Topkapi Palace. They began to reside in the Topkapi
Palace after the 1550s and the Harem grew to include over
360 chambers with suites for the valide sultan (queen
mother), hasekis (favorites), §ehzades (princes), eunuchs, tu-
tors, and a large number of attendants and servants.
Although the Harem was not a formal part of Ottoman ad-
ministration, it was organized in a fashion similar to the En-
derun School. At the top was the valide sultan, whose son
was the reigning sultan; she was by far the most powerful
woman and frequently advised the sultan on household as
well as national and international affairs. Below her were the
hasekis, who had produced male offspring. Most of the
women in the Harem were of slave origin who had been cap-
tured, purchased, or given as gifts; they were trained either in
the Istanbul palace or in the provincial courts and presented
to the sultan. In some ways their lives resembled those of the
dev§irme children; they received an excellent education and
could advance in rank. Many were married off to governors
and commanders; they could divorce their husbands, return
to the palace, or be married to other officials, if they so de-
sired. Some enterprising individuals established their own Fig. 4. Portrait of Emperor Charles V by Titian (detail), dated 1548 (Munich,
charitable institutions and sponsored architectural complexes. Alte Pinakothek, 632)

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