#Hafsa Sultan

[awkward-sultana]

Mother's lap is the cradle where the heavy head rests… — Agnitha Devadas

[perioddramasource]

Favourite costumes in Magnificent Century (season 1)

[dyingroses]

Magnificent Century + text posts and tweets

[magnificentlyreused]

This white and golden kaftan was first worn by Hürrem Sultan in the tenth episode of the first season of Magnificent Century. It appeared again on a young Hafsa Sultan in a flashback during the thirty-fourth episode of the second season. The kaftan was also worn by Mihrimah Sultan in the twelth episode of the third season. The fourth season used the item twice, first on Rümeysa Hatun in the first episode and then on Nazenin Hatun in the seventh episode.

The kaftan also appears in Magnificent Century: Kösem, where it was worn by Hanife Hatun in the eighth episode of the second season.

[hurremsultanimm]

[humasahsultanimsworld]

Same Costumes: Ayşe Hafsa Sultan and Mahidevran Sultan

@awkward-sultana 💓

[sehzadeselimsblog]

El palacio de la sultana Hatice e Ibrahim Pasha

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

rewatching episode 1 and seeing all the characters meet / appear on screen together for the first time really hits different when you know how drastically they're all going to be changed by the end of everything

[parallellines]

The most powerful Ottoman Sultans + their Valides 

[1533-secrets-from-history]

Sultanate of women

People usually give Hürrem all the credits of starting the Period,but let's not forget the contribution of other women in this.

Ayşe Hafsa Sultan [the Base]- The first slave to become sultan. Without her support, perhaps there would have been no Hürrem Sultan.

Haseki Hürrem Sultan [ The Architect] - All the help aside, she truly is a one, who changed the fate of her and of all the women,who came after.

Valide Afife Nurbanu Sultan [The Pillar]- people often say that Hürrem is the one who traced the path, I say she is the one,who found it, while Nurbanu traced. She is the first registered Valide Sultan after all, she bestowed the power upon the title, something every other woman used. I would say, if we take Hürrem out Sultanate of women would still start in 1574,but if we take out Nurbanu, it would end with Hürrem. She prolonged Sultanate of women, she was the pillar of the era,that Hürrem started.

[womenoftheottomanempire]

6 consorts known for their beauty Pt1

[awkward-sultana]

"The Valide Sultan’s seat of authority was often placed near the window or in a prominent corner of her chamber, where light illuminated her figure, further emphasizing her elevated status as the mother of the Sultan and the head of the imperial household." - Ottoman Women in Public Space, Madeline C. Zilfi

[garnetbutterflysblog]

Madonna-Whore Complex: Mahidevran & Hürrem

While I’m sure anyone who reads this post has some idea of what the Madonna-Whore complex is, I am going to give a definition regarding it just to be thorough. Essentially, the Madonna-Whore complex is the idea that people will attempt to categorize women into two categories: the sacred (Madonna) and the profane (the Whore). The Madonna is admired and respected by all yet is not sexually desired while the Whore is deemed vulgar and unworthy of respect but is sexually desirable. 

I do believe Magnificent Century did attempt to subvert this but failed to do enough to successfully undermine the complex in their audience. The show’s main attempt to subvert the Madonna-Whore complex by establishing Hürrem as an underdog. To give credit where it’s due, I will list their attempts to do so. 

Out of the two women, the audience meets Hürrem (then known as Aleksandra) first and is given her backstory immediately to make her more sympathetic. 

Mahidevran’s background is mostly left unexplored with the only exception being that it is established she has been Süleyman’s favorite for some time despite attempts from others to take her place.

It is quickly established that Süleyman has little to no romantic/sexual interest in Mahidevran. (I believe this point may have backfired some as part of the Madonna is her undesirability as a sexual figure)

Hürrem's status as the underdog is further established when Hafsa is led to interfere and send Mahidevran to the sultan’s chambers in Hürrem’s place once Daye Hatun relays Hürrem and Maria’s conversation out-of-context.

Hürrem is unfairly imprisoned for disrespecting Mahidevran after being goaded into a fight (where, in a fit of irony, Mahidevran refuses to respect that Süleyman has re-named Aleksandra Hürrem). Hürrem is denied food and water during her imprisonment which is implied to last at least long enough to cause dehydration (24 to 48 hours is my guess) and which would’ve lasted longer if Süleyman hadn’t intervened.

After being severely beaten by Mahidevran, Hürrem is denied appropriate medical care by the harem staff in order to protect Mahidevran until Süleyman intervenes. 

An attempt is made to marry off Hürrem behind Süleyman’s back in the interest of protecting Mahidevran and Hafsa’s anger towards Süleyman’s intervention on Hürrem's behalf. 

Hürrem almost loses her life and that of her unborn child’s when she is poisoned by Mahidevran and then is subject to psychological manipulation by Hafsa to protect Mahidevran. 

While Hürrem is heavily pregnant, Hürrem’s attendant (Gülnihal) is taken away from her side by Ibrahim. Hafsa’s reaction to this is one of approval despite the danger this ended up posing to her unborn grandchild.

After the birth of Mehmet, Hafsa throws undeniably classist insults against Hürrem, further establishing the latter as the underdog.  

After Hürrem slaps Gülnihal for sleeping with the sultan, Hafsa threatens to remove Mehmet from his mother despite having advocated for Mahidevran to remain with Mustafa on two separate occasions. One of those occasions endangered the lives of two dynasty members- the unborn Mehmet and the Sultan himself. 

Hürrem is denied her title as the mother of şehzade after the birth of her son. She is referred to as Hürrem Hatun, the title of a favorite, even after Mihrimah and her second şehzade, Selim are born. 

Hafsa acts on incredibly circumstantial evidence against Hürrem after Ayse Hatun is murdered. Hafsa omits that this evidence is circumstantial when speaking with Süleyman. This results in Hürrem being unfairly separated from her son, Mehmet and exiled to the Old Palace. 

During Hürrem’s time in exile, it is made clear that Mahidevran’s troubles are far from over as she worries over Gülfem being summoned by the Sultan. 

In return for being exonerated, Hürrem is forced to apologize to Mahidevran, who has attempted to kill her twice. 

It is mentioned once or twice that Gülfem was Süleyman’s first favorite and gave him a son. It is further implied that Mahidevran took her place. 

Yet apparently establishing Hürrem as the underdog and establishing that Süleyman no longer had any interest in Mahidevran was not enough to subvert the Madonna-Whore complex as many in the audience viewed Hürrem as a “homewrecker” and “the other woman” in this scenario. I propose this is because the show is making a clear attempt to cast the characters as complex and thus the audience is given reason to sympathize with Mahidevran as well. She suffers a miscarriage and admits she hasn’t been struggling to conceive these last several years (casting her as the wronged woman whose fault (infertility) is beyond her control in this scenario). So what could the show have done differently in order to preserve sympathy for Mahidevran while also ensuring that most audience members would not apply the Madonna-whore complex to the situation the show presents? {the one is bold requires less re-structuring of the show and thus might be the easiest way to do so}

The show could have utilized the one son per concubine rule as would be found historically. Mahidevran would have the sympathy of the viewers for being in love with Süleyman but the fact the system requires this would exonerate Hürrem (hopefully) of wrong-doing.

An impartial Hafsa or at least, a Hafsa who overlooks her personal dislike for Hürrem for protocol and tradition, ensuring she is treated as the mother of a prince. With Hafsa insisting both Mahidevran and Hürrem be respected as their positions demand, there would be one less person whose actions can be interpreted as applying the Madonna-whore complex to Mahidevran and Hürrem in-universe. 

Mahidevran not having the Haseki Sultan title might show a more equal playing field (and give Hürrem back her historical achievement).

Allow Hafsa to be angry at Mahidevran after the poisoning incident (but still advocating for her to remain for Mustafa’s benefit). Hafsa’s and Ibrahim's attempts to brush this under the rug implies that the Madonna-Whore complex is somewhat justified. (IT ISN'T) 

Emphasizing Gülfem and Mahidevran’s history. Let the audience see the cycle and that the blame for both Mahidevran and Gülfem's pain falls on Süleyman. I believe this could happen in various ways.

Hürrem is often told that she will suffer what Mahidevran did (Parallel 1, 2, 3) by Mahidevran and other people. How difficult would it be for Gülfem to confront Mahidevran in a similar manner? I don’t think it would be out of character for Gülfem to remark that everything beautiful has its end and Mahidevran needs to accept that (Parallel 4). 

Hatice’s moment where she defends Hürrem to Mahidevran could also be utilized to this effect. Hatice could point out that she never treated Mahidevran unfairly despite the fact Mahidevran was Gülfem's Hürrem.

Or allow Gülfem to be Hürrem’s friend as historically accurate. She can still comfort Mahidevran when Hürrem is tactless or goes too far, but at least have Gülfem be openly accepting of Hürrem as this is part of the cycle to her.

The parallels are linked to their creator, the lovely @awkward-sultana. I would love feedback on this so I'm tagging @shivrcys, @starbabe569, @mc-critical and @redxluna for their opinions on if the show successfully subverted the trope enough to their liking and to see if they have their own suggestions.

[dyingroses]

Magnificent Century + text posts and tweets

[magnificentlyreused]

This silver necklace with red stones was first worn by Hafsa Sultan in the nineteenth epiosde of the second season of Magnificent Century. It is next seen on Hürrem Sultan in the third episode of the third season. The necklace is worn twice in fourth season, first by Fatma Sultan in the third episode and then by Mihrimah Sultan in the thirty-first episode.

The necklace makes another appearance on Halime Sultan in the twenty-sixth episode of the first season of Magnificent Century: Kösem. Finally, the necklace is worn by Kösem Sultan in the fifth episode of the second season.

[hurremsultanimm]