Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, also known as Roksolana, is the wife of the great Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent. She went down in history as an outstanding public figure, as well as the mother of Sultan Selim II.
Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska
There are many different versions regarding the biography of Khyurrem Sultan. Such a variety of them, on the one hand, is due to the fact that the main events of her life took place quite a long time ago - in the 16th century. However, perhaps no less important role in this was played by the significant public interest in the bright and unusual fate of this woman.
It is believed that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was born in Western Ukraine, in the region that today belongs to the Ivano-Frankivsk region. At birth, she received the surname of her father - Gavrila Lisovsky, but information about her real name in different sources looks different: some historians claim that she was named Anastasia, others - Alexandra.
The region where Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was born and where she spent her childhood was not calm: once he was invaded by the Crimean Tatars, who took many captives, among whom was Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska. After she was resold several times from one slave trader to another, she ended up in the palace of Sultan Suleiman, where she became one of his many concubines. The sultan himself was then 26 years old.
The beautiful girl quickly attracted the special attention of the Sultan, and after she gave birth to his first child, Mehmed, her influence on him increased many times over. Subsequently, Suleiman and Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska had five more children. After the mother of the Sultan died, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska used her influence on him and became his official wife.
The importance of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska in the history and culture of the Ottoman Empire is associated primarily with the fact that she became one of the first women to publicly engage in social activities. So, she founded a charitable foundation, which she named after herself, built a large number of charitable and religious structures, not only in Turkey, but also in other states - in Israel, Saudi Arabia and others. In Europe, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was known under the name Roksolana: this name was associated with the name of her native land, which at that time was often called Roksolania.
Death Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska
There are no less versions about the death of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska than about its origin. At the same time, however, one of the few issues on which historians agree on is the year of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska's death: she died in 1558, when she was 52 years old. At the same time, even with regard to the specific date of her death, there are discrepancies: for example, various sources indicate. that it happened on 15 or 18 April. Her husband, Sultan Suleiman, was very grieving over the death of his wife, and a year after her death, in 1559, he completed the construction of a grand tomb called Türbe. He himself died eight years after her, in 1566, and was buried next to his wife.
Some researchers argue that in the last years of her life Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was often ill, and the cause of her death was precisely a prolonged cold, which turned into pneumonia and finally depleted her body. Others are sure that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska died as a result of poisoning with poison, which was added to her by one of the many envious people at the Sultan's court.
