Hürrem Kadınefendi

Hürrem Kadınefendi (6 December 1692 – 25 June 1760) was the fourth wife of Sultan Ahmed III (Dördüncü Kadınefendi) and mother of five of his sons. She has become one of the most beloved sultan of the Ottoman Empire due to its gentleness and charity nature.

Early life

Hürrem Kadınefendi was born Diana Ekaterina Nazimova daughter of Aleksandr Nazimov and Maria Yefimova on 6 December 1692 in Moscow into Eastern Orthodoxy faith. Her family was one of the richest at the time thus having noble origin. She received a good education and had a nurse to take care of her as an infant. In 1701 the girl was nine years old when her hometown was attacked by Turks and Tartars who burned and looted the city. Among other locals Diana was also kidnapped and sent as a slave to the mother of sultan. In late 1701 Diana was already in the harem of Sultan Ahmed III.

Later life

After entering the harem, Diana converted to Islam and was named Hürrem due to her joyful and innocent nature. After being educated by Muslim standards and thoroughly Turkish being much appreciated by Emetullah Rabia Gülnûş Sultan was given to her son who soon fall for the young girl. According to contemporary historians, Hürrem had auburn hair, red cheeks, blue eyes, and fleshy lips, and was considered a ravishing beautiful young girl with a nice character also described as obedient, cheerful, and gentle without any interest in politics of the state and reserved. She gave birth to five sons of Sultan: Şehzade Isa (23 February 1706 – 25 May 1706), Şehzade Selim (6 September 1707 – 4 May 1708), Şehzade Mehmed (17 October 1712 – 15 July 1713), Şehzade Abdullah (18 December 1719 – 19 December 1719) and Şehzade Orkhan (born and died 1722). The Ottoman poet Şeyh Gâlib said that the fourth wife of the sultan whose name was Hürrem bore him twelve children, ten sons and two daughters but none of them survived to adulthood. However Ottoman sources and harem's documents only mentions five sons. Hürrem was loved by all servants and well respected. According to Venetians reports, she was a pious Muslim who has amassed a considerable fortune and spent the it on building mosques, public baths, fountains, and madrasas throughout the empire. After the death of her sons she was sent to Eski Saray (Old Palace) along with her servants and lived there for ten years and then she was freed from slavery. Hürrem moved to its native Russia where she bought a mansion in Moscow and encouraged the spread of Islam and also helped the local Muslim population. She died on 25 June 1760 in Moscow at the age of 68. Her body was brought to Istanbul and buried at Haseki Sultan Complex which was built by a predecessor of her, Roxelana later known as Hürrem Sultan wife of Suleiman the Magnificent.