Hurrem Sultan, also known as Roxelana, was the chief consort and wife of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She became the most powerful and influential woman in Ottoman history as well as a prominent and controversial figure during the era known as the Sultanate of Women.
Born in Ruthenia to a Ruthenian Orthodox priest, Hurrem was captured by Crimean Tatars during a slave raid and eventually taken to Istanbul, the Ottoman capital. She entered the Imperial Harem, rose through the ranks and became the favourite of Sultan Suleiman. Breaking Ottoman tradition, he married Hurrem, making her his legal wife; sultans had previously married only foreign free noble ladies. She was the first imperial consort to receive the title Haseki Sultan. Hurrem remained in the sultan's court for the rest of her life, having six children with him, including the future sultan, Selim II. She was the grandmother of Murad III.
Hurrem eventually achieved power, influencing the politics of the Ottoman Empire. Through her husband, she played an active role in affairs of the state.