Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire

by Leslie Peirce

Overview

The "fascinating...lively" story of the Russian slave girl Roxelana, who rose from concubine to become the only queen of the Ottoman empire (New York Times).

In Empress of the East, historian Leslie Peirce tells the remarkable story of a Christian slave girl, Roxelana, who was abducted by slave traders from her Ruthenian homeland and brought to the harem of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in Istanbul. Suleyman became besotted with her and foreswore all other concubines. Then, in an unprecedented step, he freed her and married her. The bold and canny Roxelana soon became a shrewd diplomat and philanthropist, who helped Suleyman keep pace with a changing world in which women, from Isabella of Hungary to Catherine de Medici, increasingly held the reins of power.

Until now Roxelana has been seen as a seductress who brought ruin to the empire, but in Empress of the East, Peirce reveals the true history of an elusive figure who transformed the Ottoman harem into an institution of imperial rule.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465032518
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	09/19/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	299,385
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Leslie Peirce is Silver Professor of History, Middle Eastern, and Islamic Studies at New York University. The award-winning author of two previous books, Peirce lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Map viii

Beginnings

1 The Russian Concubine 3

2 Abduction 14

3 In the Old Palace 27

4 The Politics of Motherhood 51

5 Lovers and Parents 69

Challenges

6 Roxelana's Rival 82

7 Coming of Age 100

8 A Queen for the New Palace 121

9 The Two Favorites 145

10 Building a Reputation 170

Politics

11 Family Matters 196

12 Home and Abroad 214

13 Recovery 235

14 Showdown 257

15 Last Years 280

Epilogue 304

Acknowledgments 318

Who's Who and What's What 321

List of Illustrations and Credits 325

Notes 327

Bibliography 339

Index 346

Editorial Reviews

Glass ceilings in the 16th-century Ottoman Empire were made of cut stone, secured by iron locks, ringed with imposing walls and guarded by armies of eunuchs…[Peirce] tells the fascinating story of one remarkable harem slave, who broke through that rocky ceiling, claiming unprecedented authority for a woman and forever changing the nature of Ottoman government…This lively book resurrects Roxelana by digging into letters, account books and diplomatic dispatches to illuminate a life meant to be hidden from view. It is a difficult task. Ottoman culture prized the invisibility of its women, forcing Peirce to judiciously conjecture or creatively imagine much of Roxelana's life. This requires more creativity than professional historians usually allow themselves, but Peirce, an expert on the Ottoman Empire, is careful to wall off her speculations with fair warnings.

The New York Times Book Review - Thomas F. Madden

07/31/2017
Peirce (Morality Tales), professor of history at NYU, successfully portrays the Ottoman Empire’s most famous concubine as a woman who parlayed her enslaved status into becoming Suleyman the Magnificent’s queen and a significant philanthropist—all while being unable to appear in public. Using her surviving correspondence and contemporary 16th-century accounts, Peirce fleshes out the queen’s life in a court that seldom recorded women’s activities. As a young slave, the Ruthenian girl, nicknamed Roxelana (her given name, birth date, and exact birthplace remain unknown), tellingly received the Persian name Hürrem, meaning joyful. She later laid the foundation of diplomatic correspondence between powerful women of the East and West. Westerners of that era obsessed over the brief sexual careers of harem members, but Ottoman tradition gave high-ranking members the special role of overseeing the transformation of their singleton princes into potential heirs. Roxelana’s unique position as the probable emotional intimate of the sultan and the mother of multiple princes allowed her to create a strong family unit that, for those same reasons, came into conflict with Ottoman tradition. Peirce’s knowledge of Turkish culture shines through objective, well-reasoned explanations of Eastern law and customs. Fascinating from beginning to end, Peirce’s telling of Roxelana’s story illuminates her remarkable life and the evolution of a long-lived empire that straddled two continents. Illus. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A New York Times Books Review Editors' Choice pick


"The fascinating story of one remarkable harem slave, who broke through [the] rocky ceiling, claiming unprecedented authority for women and forever changing the nature of the Ottoman government...This lively book resurrects Roxelana."—The New York Times Book Review

"Engaging...Peirce persuasively recasts Roxelana as a pragmatist adept at navigating both palace politics and international relations, and as a pioneer who established a more powerful role for Ottoman women."—The New Yorker

"Peirce chronicles the remarkable life and times of Roxelana, the Eastern European slave girl who reshaped her own destiny after being kidnapped and inducted into the harem of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent...Wielding her power during a juncture in history distinguished by many strong female leaders, her exceptional accomplishments are especially noteworthy considering her humble origins and all that she overcame."
—Booklist

"Fascinating from beginning to end, Peirce's telling of Roxelana's story illuminates her remarkable life and the evolution of the long-lived empire that straddled two continents."
—Publishers Weekly

"Empress of the East seems to offer a glimpse of proto-feminist life in a land otherwise known as an oppressive one for women...Fascinating."—Bookforum

"Leslie Peirce, one of the world's foremost historians of the Ottoman empire, has created a brilliant, absorbing, and profoundly insightful account of one of the most enigmatically interesting figures of the sixteenth century: Roxelana, the captive slave who ultimately reigned alongside Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Peirce is rightly celebrated for her expertise on the fascinating subject of the Ottoman harem, and there is no one better qualified to help us understand how Roxelana emerged from the sultan's harem to become one of the most powerful political figures of her times. This is a book that should be read by anyone interested in understanding the deep history of Turkey, the Ottoman empire, and the Muslim Middle East."
—Larry Wolff, author of The Singing Turk

"A riveting story of power, patronage and harem politics in sixteenth century Istanbul. Roxelana, the slave who became a sultana, deserves to figure at least as prominently in the annals of women's history as her famous European contemporaries."
—Sarah Gristwood, author of Game of Queens

"Leslie Peirce is uniquely qualified to tell the story of one of the greatest royal love affairs in world history. In her earlier, ground-breaking book, Peirce demystified the Ottoman harem. In Empress of the East, she demonstrates the same careful attention to primary sources, refusing to romanticise what we cannot know. Reality is far more compelling. This page-turning narrative of an Ottoman sultan's passion draws us deeply into the household of a couple that broke all the rules. Peirce sets Süleyman and Roxelana's intimate lives within the context of the times, to show how the personal was inescapably political. Roxelana has at last found the biographer she deserves."
—Caroline Finkel, author of Osman's Dream

"A brilliant book that restores one of the most fascinating women in Islamic history to prominence. Leslie Pierce, the foremost authority on the Ottoman imperial harem, has done her subject justice in this exquisitely crafted biography."
—Eugene Rogan, author of The Fall of the Ottomans

"It takes solid scholarship to turn the potentially Orientalist tale of a young slave who became the wife of the most powerful sovereign of the sixteenth century into an accurate and well-documented historical narrative. It takes talent to give this narrative the lively twist that makes it such a good read. It takes Leslie Peirce's years of experience with the study of the daily life of Ottoman women, high and low, to bring to the foreground the life and destiny of a woman, however powerful and exceptional, in a world of men. Roxelana/Hürrem's story is a novel and rather unique way to discover or revisit one of the most fascinating episodes of Ottoman history."
—Edhem Eldem, Bogazici University, Istanbul

"From harem girl to Ottoman queen-Roxelana is one of the most fascinating women of the sixteenth-century. Leslie Peirce brings Roxelana to life as wife, mother, and sultana, and gives us a vivid picture of her Muslim world. A gripping and well-told tale!"
—Natalie Zemon Davis, author of Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim Between Worlds

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2017
Peirce (history & Middle Eastern & Islamic studies, New York Univ.; Morality Tales) offers a fascinating journey into the palace of Ottoman leader Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566), who ruled for over three decades. This book tells the story of how power passes from one generation to the next, and how women played a large part in governing, diplomacy, and philanthropy during this era. Slaves from lands conquered by the Ottomans were brought to the palace, including Roxelana, a young Christian woman from Russia who was trained for the royal harem. The training involved an education in Islam and the arts, with the ultimate goal of bearing a child for the ruling Ottoman sultan or their princes. Roxelana became so dear to Suleiman that, contrary to custom, he freed and married her. After having several sons, Roxelana became involved in a level of diplomacy that was unusual for the time, acting in foreign affairs on Suleiman's behalf. This book is rich with sources from Ottoman, Islamic, and Venetian writers and poets, creating an intimate history. Peirce tells this family history in a moving and understated way. VERDICT For all readers interested in the Ottoman Empire. The power and influence of women and their impact in the diplomatic world is carefully sketched here.—Amy Lewontin, Northeastern Univ. Lib., Boston

Library Journal