Gulfem Hatun is one of the four most famous concubines of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
She was born in 1497, but nothing is known of her parentage. The Turkish historian Necdet Sakaoglu writes that in one of the documents of Suleiman I on the provision of water to the village of Karahisar, the name Gulfem appears and, perhaps, her family was from this village. Other sources suggest that she was of Polish or Sicilian origin.
In 1513, she gave birth to Suleiman's son Murad, when he, while still a shehzade, was the governor of Manisa. By that time, Suleiman already had one son, Mahmud, who was born to him by the first concubine Fulane.
Later in 1515, the third concubine of Suleiman Mahidevran gives birth to his third son, Mustafa.
How these three women got along in the harem of Manisa among themselves - the mothers of the three heirs of history is unknown.
It is only known that Mahidevran received a salary of 4 akçe per day, and Fülane and Gulfem received 6 akçe per day.
Suleiman became sultan in 1520 and moved to Istanbul with his family.
In the historical series Magnificent Age, we were shown that the Sultan's harem from the very beginning of his reign was located in Topkapı Palace. But, in reality, everything was different. The Sultan's harem lived in the Old Palace, which was located at a distance of 2 km from the Topkapi Palace. Between the palaces there was a constant movement of servants, eunuchs and concubines. Sultan Suleiman often stayed overnight in the Old Palace or the concubines were brought to the Topkapi Palace for the night.
Based on the surviving images and written descriptions of the Old Palace, we can say with confidence that it was a rather large area of almost square shape, surrounded on all sides by a high stone wall. On this territory, in addition to the main building of the harem palace, there were a number of mansions and villas, administrative buildings, as well as a hunting garden with wild animals. Weddings of the Sultan's relatives and circumcision ceremonies for young shekhzade were held here.
Immediately after ascending the throne, Suleiman has a fourth concubine Hürrem, who was destined to take the place of the main woman in the heart of Suleiman the Magnificent.
A year later, son Gulfem Murad dies of smallpox along with his older brother Mahmud.
Gulfem, having lost her only son, lost the opportunity to become the mother of the future Sultan.
Between Mahidevran and Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska begins a tough fight for the heart of the Sultan and the future of their sons.
Based on archival documents, Gulfem chose the side of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and helped her in every possible way.
Gulfem often wrote to the Sultan during military campaigns.
Judging by the informal style of her letters, she enjoyed a certain degree of intimacy with Sultan Suleiman. In one of the letters, she writes: “I immediately drank the sent cologne, you should have seen what condition I was in. You've made a complete fool out of me!" This is how she described to the Sultan the awkward situation after she mistook a foreign cologne sent by the Sultan for a drink.
In another letter, she writes to the Sultan that Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska has spent everything that Suleiman gave her before leaving for Hungary, with the exception of 500 gold coins.
In 1541, a severe fire broke out in the Old Palace, as a result of which most of the chambers became uninhabitable.
Gulfem, along with other concubines and servants, moved to the Topkapı Palace. Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska later disbanded the entire harem, but Gulfem remained with the Sultan.
Most likely, there was no rivalry between the women, they were able to reconcile and get along on the same territory.
Preserved 4 letters Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska to the Sultan, in which she mentions Gulfem; at the same time, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska writes about Gulfem as an equal to himself.
Gulfem's letter to shehzade Bayazid, the son of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska and the Sultan, has also been preserved.
After the death of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, Sultan Suleiman was inconsolable for some time, but recovered and again began to invite Gulfem to his chambers. I think there was no longer a passionate relationship there, since both were already over 60. But the long evenings that they spent together in sincere conversations entered into history.
In 1562, Gulfem was engaged in the construction of a charitable complex in Uskudar from a school, a hospital and a mosque and was in dire need of funds. For some reason, she did not ask the Sultan for money, but began to take bribes from the concubines for pimping them with the padishah. The Sultan found out everything and fell into a rage. And since he was NOT distinguished by pity even for his own sons, Gulfem's fate ended tragically. By order of the Sultan, she was executed - she was strangled with a silk cord.