It will be about the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent, who is known in Turkey as Suleiman Qanuni (Legislator). This ruler was an extremely contradictory nature. He wrote more than two thousand poems in which he sang "love in the rose gardens", and ordered the murder of his first son, who was considered the heir to the throne. He successfully ruled the empire, making it the most powerful in the world, while simultaneously destroying its economy in countless wars. As the caliph and having established his power in Mecca and Medina, he “presented himself as the shadow of Allah on Earth”, while for many years he was in a love relationship with the Slavic concubine Roksolana, showing his contemporaries an amazing example of monogamous love.
Life in the palace
Sultan Suleiman has bathed in luxury since childhood. He dressed the most chic of all, adored jewelry and precious stones. Usually the padishah's hands were decorated with several luxurious rings with huge rubies and emeralds. He made most of them himself: Suleiman loved jewelry from an early age. In addition, the future sultan was well versed in music, was engaged in calligraphy, ceramics, shoe making, knew Arabic and Farsi.
His large family and hundreds of his concubines lived in Topkapi Palace, which is located on a hill in the heart of Istanbul and washed by the waters of the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. Securely encircled by a high fortified wall with towers, this palace was the official residence of the Ottoman sultans for many centuries.
It was almost a separate city on the territory of Istanbul. Its total area exceeds 700 thousand square meters, and its length is five kilometers, which is twice the area of the Vatican and only half the area of Monaco. By the way, in the 1920s, this beautiful complex of buildings was turned into a museum by the order of the first President of the Republic of Turkey Kemal Ataturk and opened its gates to numerous tourists.
Titian Vecellio "Turkish Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent". Picture: artist Titian Vecellio.
Anton Khikel "Roksolana and Suleiman the Magnificent". Picture: artist Anton Khikel.
Promotional video:
Turkish miniature depicting Suleiman the Magnificent with an army on a campaign against Nakhichevan (summer 1554). Picture: artist Fethullah Çelebi Arifi.
The Sultan lived in luxury from childhood.
And during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, almost 50 thousand people lived and worked in Topkapi. There was everything necessary for the life of the padishah: a harem, a swimming pool, a hospital, two mosques, four huge kitchens, eight hammams - Turkish baths, and also a pavilion where circumcision was performed, a dressing room and even its own zoo. All the doors were decorated with gilded inscriptions in Arabic script, the walls were decorated with mosaics from Iznik tiles, the ceilings were covered with beautiful paintings. There are no two similar rooms in the entire palace.
Topkapi has four courtyards, which are separated by a monumental gate. In one part of the palace, the Sultan held meetings with his officials - the functions of the modern parliament were performed there. The harem where Suleiman's concubines lived was guarded most carefully from prying eyes.
The sultan's harem had about 400 rooms, 46 toilets, several baths, 6 pantries for food supplies, a laundry, a swimming pool and a hospital. Each room had a fireplace. Life in a harem was subject to strict internal regulations. So, after the morning prayer, the girls went to the hammam, after breakfast, lessons on etiquette, sewing, religion, and music began.
The main entrance to Topkapi Palace.
One of the summer pavilions on the territory of the palace.
Library of Ahmed III in Topkapi territory.
The sultan could choose any of the concubines, so each was trained in singing and dancing, reading and writing, and knew how to play musical instruments. To charm Suleiman, his concubines used various skills and abilities. They looked after their hair with great care, exquisitely weaving long thick strands with sparkling threads of jewelry.
There are many fountains in the halls and courtyards of the harem. There is a legend that in order to please the Sultan, the voice of the concubine who came to him on a love date had to sound quieter than the murmuring streams. If the concubine managed to get pregnant from the Sultan, she passed into the status of a favorite and received many privileges. For example, she was given a separate bedroom, servants, and improved food.
In addition to the concubines, the sultan's children also lived in the harem, including the heir, as well as the most revered woman of the Ottoman Empire, the Valide Sultan, the mother of the head of state named Hafza. She owned several dozen rooms. She led the harem and actively intervened in state affairs, enjoyed great respect and influence not only in the palace, but also outside it. She received income from the Sultan's lands in different parts of the empire, she had summer and winter estates, representatives of the Ottoman nobility and foreign states gave her luxurious gifts. Hafza was considered the second person in the empire after her son.
“Valide's chambers - rooms with high ceilings overlooking the Bosphorus, wonderful ceilings with fresco paintings of incomparable freshness and grace”, - a description of one of the rooms of the Sultan's mother is given. In the mornings, the Valide Sultan received her son, who told her about all state affairs.
Look like a sultan
Suleiman attached great importance to his appearance. Since the reign of this sultan, the clothes of the Ottoman monarchs were in charge of those who guarded the personal chambers of the padishah. Caring for caftans made of expensive fabrics demanded special care; on certain days they were taken out to ventilate.
Thanks to the monarch's love for expensive clothes, weaving was actively developing in the Ottoman Empire. In special palace workshops, fabric artists made curtains and upholstery for furniture, outfits for the inhabitants of the palace. Silk fabrics were controlled by the state, with attention paid to both the number of threads in the fabric and the choice of dyes. Bright colors, intricate patterns, dazzling brocade, delicate velvet, flowing silk - all this was embroidered with gold and silver threads, adorned with precious stones.
Each room has a special luxury.
The walls are decorated with tiles and mosaics.
There are no two identical rooms in the palace.
The painted ceilings amaze with particular beauty.
Circumcision Pavilion in Topkapi.
One of the rooms where the children of Suleiman lived.
Suleiman's rings, the weapon he wore, and his throne were inlaid with diamonds, rubies, pearls, emeralds. The Sultan was surrounded by crests, sabers, swords and shields, hookahs and bowls of gold, striking with their grace and rich decor. The cradle was also made of gold, in which the newborn children of the Sultan slept.
Controversial monarch
Sultan Suleiman went down in history as a great commander and legislator. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire achieved unprecedented glory and power, causing fear and awe throughout the world. A brave warrior and skillful politician, Suleiman expanded the boundaries of his empire, for which the Europeans called him Magnificent. Comprehensively educated, keen on art and fluent in several languages, he paid a lot of attention to the development of education and culture, patronized scientists, writers, artists and architects, and was quite tolerant of other religions.
At the same time, the padishah was a contradictory, extraordinary and unpredictable person. Neither family ties nor past merits could save the people whom the monarch suspected of infidelity. He showed particular cruelty to traitors. He fought against bribery and severely punished officials for abuses. Ruthless to his enemies, he mourned the young king of Hungary, who died in battle with his own troops. He was beside himself with grief when his young son died, but years later, on his own orders, his other son was killed. Sultan Suleiman was a great ruler, under him the empire reached its heyday, and after his death the Ottoman Empire gradually began to slide towards its decline.
Konstantin Dvoretsky
