#about a young apprentice who falls in love with mihrimah sultan

[nellygwyn]

So, my mom and I've been watching Magnificent Century, but have been a little put off by it being, well, a soap opera. I've been eyeing the "Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire" book you recced at some point in the past, but are there any others you'd recommend about the Sultanate of Women period, or about Hurrem in particular? I'd be much obliged. (Firstborn naming rights negotiable.) I know this isn't your focus, but you seem to have a decent grip on it and I trust you.

Yeah, I mean, I love MC and MC: Kosem but they are definitely soap operas and can take some getting used to!!!

“Imperial Harem” is so brilliant, Leslie Peirce just knows her stuff so well. I also love “Osman’s Dream” by Caroline Finkel. I haven’t read the whole thing, since it stretches from 1300 to 1923 and focuses on the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire as a whole but stuff on the 16th and 17th centuries is SO interesting. “Harem: The World Behind the Veil” was interesting too! I liked how it re-evaluated how we (Westerners) tend to view the harems of the near East and the women who occupied them.

As for anything specifically on Hurrem, that’s hard because I’ve never been able to find anything specifically on her that was in English. This seems to be an issue with all the women of this period (everything about Kosem, for example, is strictly in Turkish). There are so many books about Hurrem in Turkish (there’s one about her and Mihrimah Sultan which looks so good). I know that Leslie Peirce wrote a book about her, called something like “Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire.” You may be able to take a bio on Suleiman the Magnificent, say the one by Andre Clot, and try and hone in on his relationship with Hurrem which, by all accounts, was significant to his life. Also, John Julius Norwich just released a book about Suleiman, Henry VIII, Charles V and Francois I called “Four Princes.” I got it for Christmas and it’s in my To Read pile right now, but I skimmed through and there was quite a bit of comparison between Hurrem and Anne Boleyn which like…..I need??

Lastly, I think you should check out “This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World.” It is not strictly on the Sultanate of Women but I read it last year and it was so beautiful. It doesn’t just focus on Elizabethan England’s relationship with the Ottoman Empire but considering Elizabeth was BFFs with Murad III’s haseki, Safiye Sultan, it has quite a fair bit about that. There’s been quite a bit of stuff released on Elizabeth’s trade and treaties with Murad and Safiye, actually. I know there was a book called “The Sultan and the Queen” that came out recently but I know very little about it.

I hope that was somewhat helpful ❤ I’m more familiar with the Sultanate of Women than your average person but it’s still something I’m fairly new to, so I’m sure I’ve missed a few major works!