Roxelana and Miguel de Cervantes The Great Sultana Three lessons Cornelis De Jodes amended map late 16 th century Lessons Design The lessons contain the outline of three classes ID: 812950
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Slide1
Influential women in the Ottoman Empire: The Life and Portrayal of Roxelana, and Miguel de Cervantes’ The Great SultanaThree lessons
Cornelis
De
Jode’s
amended map, late 16
th
century
Slide2Lessons DesignThe lessons contain the outline of three classes (75 minutes) for an upper level course on Comparative Literature or a Humanities seminar on early modern
Mediterranean literatures and cultures. The lessons are part of the Ottoman Empire Section of the course
Renegades, Captives, and Female Agency in the Early Modern Mediterranean World
. The course is divided into three sections: women in the Habsburg, the Venetian, and the Ottoman empires. Each section will look into the socio-political context of each empire and their interconnection with each other in the early modern Mediterranean Basin. They will also study examples of women in history and
literature as exiles, captives, slaves, travellers, entrepreneurs, and how they were able to successfully navigate the complexities of their new homeland.
Slide3Previous Content to the lessonsAn overview of the Mediterranean from late Antiquity to the early modern period.The socio-political context of Venetian and Habsburg Empires, and topics such as:
lingua franca,
converts and renegades, corsairs, pirates and bandits, exile and displacement of communities, Jews, conversos
(Jewish converts), Muslims and moriscos (Muslim converts) throughout the Mediterranean, and some of the knight orders (Knights of Malta and Knights of Santo Stefano), among others.
Students were introduced in the previous class to the rise of the Ottoman Empire by reading Molly Green’s book chapter “Resurgent Islam: 1500-1700.” The Mediterranean in History
.
Slide4Lessons ObjectivesStudents will understand the historical context of the Sultan’s palace and the harem in the early modern period.Students will learn the different sexual, reproductive and maternal roles of the women of the imperial palace in comparison to those of the aristocratic women in Western Europe.
Students will examine what kind of female agency we see
in the stories of captives who became Sultanas both in historical documents and literature.
Students will practice critical reading and interpretation of historical and literary sources. Key words: Women’s History, Mediterranean, Early Modern Literature,
Mediterranean Literature.Site tags: Teaching, Identities, Lesson Plan, Interactions, Casualties, Primary Texts and Visuals, Resources, Transformation, Themes, and Topics.
Slide5First Class: The Harem
Baudier’s Histoire
générale du Sérail et …
(c. 1612)
Slide6OutlineReading selection from: Peirce, Leslie P. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Discuss the term harem
as a gendered locus, where the women of the dynastic family resided, and a place of respect, honor, obeisance.The architectural structure of the imperial palace; the Old Palace as the site of the
harem. The hierarchy and politics of the harem
: the mother queen (mother of the reigning sultan), Lady Stewart (mistress of palace operations and monitor of etiquette), and eunuchs (residents guardians and intermediaries with the outside world). Other harem
residents and their roles: mothers of princes, concubines, other female members of the Sultan, slaves, among others.
Slide7The politics of inter-dynastic marriage during the 14th and the first half of the 15th century. The shift from the practice of inter-dynastic marriage
to concubine for dynastic succession after the marriage of
Murad II to the daughter of George Brankovich of Serbia in 1435. Most of the
Sultan’s concubines were Christian captives or slaves converted to Islam.The sexual and reproductive roles
of the males of the dynasty and their concubines. The policy of allowing each concubine to produce only one son. After the birth, the concubine would embark on their role as mother of a prince, guardian, educator, protector, and counselor of her son. The differences between primogeniture in royal houses, such as the Habsburg, and the custom of open succession and the practice of fratricide as a way of a prince to secure his place as the next Sultan.
Slide8Historical Map of Constantinople, Istanbul, Byzantium, 16
th
Century
Slide9Topkapi Palace, 1559
Slide10Map of the Palace’s Courtyards
Slide11The Harem in the European Imagination
Boucher’s
The Pasha in his Harem ( c.1735)
Richter’s
In the Harem
(before 1913)
Slide12John Fredrick Lewis’ The Reception (1873)
Slide13Second Class: The Life of RoXelana, Hurrem, And the Imperial Harem
Johann Theodore de
Bry’s
portrait (1596)
Slide14OutlineReading selection from Peirce, Leslie. Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Basic Books, 2017. Possible origins of Roxelana
: Even though there are many theories of Roxelana’s
origins, contemporary consensus believe that she came from the region of Ruthenia (today a region in the Ukraine), which was under the rule of the Polish king at the time.Roxelana is the name that circulated in Europe. The Ottoman name given to the slave maiden was
Hurrem, which means in Persian “joyful” or “laughing.”Mehemed II, the Conqueror, took as vassals the khan of the
Giray Tartars, who were already established in the Crimean Peninsula. The Crimean Tartar slave raids in the region, and marketing of captives were staples of the khanate’s economy. Most of the slaves and captives were taken to Istanbul, one of the most largest markets
for slaves
in the 16
th
century.
Slide15Map of the Black Sea
Slide16Late Sixteenth Century Map of the Black Sea
In
Martinus Broniovius’
Tartarie Descriptio (Cologne, 1595)
Slide17Suleiman I, the Magnificent, comes to power in 1520 after the death of Selim I (1512-20). Critics believe that either Suleiman I had met Roxelana
just before he began his reign or during the first year of his sultanate. Few accounts survive of
Roxelana’s physical appearance, and they tend to vary. The Venetian Ambassador,
Pietro Bragadin, describes her as “young but not beautiful, although graceful and petite” (Peirce, Empress
of the East 32).Nevertheless, Roxelana
or
Hurrem’s
rapid ascent in the
harem
attest her intelligence and astuteness. In the span of 15 years, she went from concubine, to mother of a prince by 1521, then “
Haseki
” or the favorite of the Sultan, to becoming a free woman and marrying the Sultan. Thus, she earned the title of “
Haseki
Sultan
” or Sultana.
Slide18The marriage between Suleiman I and Hurrem or Roxelana was an extraordinary and unprecedented event. Roxelana
was the first concubine ever to marry a sultan. She also bore six children and changed the whole socio-political and spatial landscape of the Sultan’s palace.
Some of the ways in which Suleiman I and Roxelana’s relationship broke with the sultanate traditions were: a break in the custom of one male son per concubine,
the movement of Rolexana with her children to the New Palace
after her wedding, a palace previously designated only for the Sultan and men of the court, and the fact that she did not move with her oldest son to his first post in the empire as counselor, but rather would travel to see her sons and mostly stayed behind in Istanbul.
The transformation of the imperial
harem
from a female dynastic residence into an important and influential institution of power.
The Sultana’s cultural and charitable projects, and her legacy.
Slide19Portraits of Suleiman I and Hurrem or Roxelana
Attributed to
Tiziano
Vecelli, c. 1530
Tiziano
Vecelli’s
La Sultana
Rossa
, c. 1550
Slide20TV Series The Magnificent Century
Turkish TV series based of the life of
Suleiman I, the Magnificent, and
Hurrem
(2011-14)
Slide21Third Class: Miguel de Cervantes’ The Great Sultana
Slide22Readings: Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. The Bagnios of Algiers and The Great Sultana: Two Plays of Captivity. Ed. Barbara Fuchs and Aaron J. Ilika
. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010. Cervantes Saavedra
, Miguel de. La gran sultana, doña Catalina de Oviedo
. Ed. Luis Gómez Canseco. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 2010.
Slide23OutlineLife of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616):1547:
born in Alcalá de Henares,
Spain1568: studied humanism with Juan López
de Hoyos, who became rector of the "Estudio de la
Villa.”1569: left for Italy, and 1570 enlisted as a soldier
1571
:
serving under Don Juan of
Austria aboard the
Marquesa
,
fought in the sea battle against the Turks
at the Battle of
Lepanto, during which he lost the use of his left hand
1572-75: was stationed in Naples as a soldier
1575: while
returning home to Spain, he and his brother Rodrigo were captured by
Barbary
pirates and sold into slavery in
Algiers to the renegade Dali
Mami
, later
Hasan
Pasha
Slide241580: with his family’s help and the intervention of the Trinitarian friars, he was able to buy his release
1585: wrote his first book, the pastoral romance
La galatea1590s : traveled throughout Spain
as a commissary of provisions for the Spanish Armada 1605 : publication of the first part of Don Quixote de la Mancha
1614: published second part of Don Quixote de la Mancha1616: died
in Madrid, Spain
Slide25Major works1580’s: composed a series of play, but only Numantia and El trato
en Argel (
The Traffic of Algiers) survived.1585: La Galatea
(a pastoral romance)1605: first part of Don Quijote1613:
Novelas ejemplares (Exemplary Stories
)
1614:
Viage
del
Parnaso
(
Voyage to Parnassus
)
second part of
Don
Quijote
1615:
Ocho
comedias
, y
ocho
entremeses
nuevos
(
Eight Plays and Eight New Interludes
)
1617 (posthumously):
Persiles
y
Segismunda
,
historia
setentrional
(
The
Labours
of
Persiles
and
Sigismunda
: A Northern Story
)
Slide26Question Guide for the discussion of the PlayWhile Cervantes did not have direct contact with Istanbul, what kind of portrayal does he give of the Ottoman capital? What are the backgrounds of most of the characters, and why do they find themselves in Istanbul?How do all of the inhabitants communicate with each other? At the beginning of the play, Roberto and
Salec are talking about language and communication. How is language described and used?
How does Cervantes depict the Spanish community in Istanbul? Are the politics and prejudices of Spain against different ethnic communities present in the play?
After studying and discussing the politics and structure of the Sultan’s palace and the harem, how are these portrayed in the play? What kind of locus is the palace in the play?While Suleiman I broke the sultanate’s custom by freeing and marrying
Hurrem or Roxelana, how is the Grand Turk or Sultan depicted? What type of dynasty is Cervantes proposing by presenting an interreligious marriage? Is Cervantes’ proposal novel in Iberian literature?
Slide27Possible Written AssignmentStudents will turn in a 2-3 page composition. A summary-like text should be avoided. Instead, the following possibilities can be developed: comparison and analogies with other texts already read in class,
such as a comparison with the captive
and renegade women seen in Venice, considerations about internal contradictions in
The Great Sultana, comparative approaches relating the texts with the representation of women captives or the figure of the Sultana in other paintings, text and/or TV series.
Slide28BibliographyBoll, Jessica. “Violating the Harem: Manipulation of Spatial Meaning in Cervantes’ La Gran Sultana.” International Journal of the Humanities
9:5 (2012) : 137-147.Cervantes Saavedra
, Miguel de. La gran sultana,
doña Catalina de Oviedo. Ed. Luis Gómez Canseco. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 2010.
---. The Bagnios of Algiers and The Great Sultana: Two Plays of Captivity. Ed. Barbara Fuchs and Aaron J. Ilika
. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010.
Dursteler
, Eric.
Renegade Women: Gender, Identity, and Boundaries in the Early Modern Mediterranean
. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2011.
Green, Molly. “
Resurgent Islam: 1500-1700.”
The Mediterranean in History
. Ed. David
Abulafia
. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003. 219-45
.
Hershenzon
, Daniel. “Toward a Connected
H
istory of Bondage in the Mediterranean: Recent Trends in the field.”
History Compass Journal
15:8 (August 2017): 1-13.
Kizilov
,
Mikail
B. “The Black Sea and the Slave Trades: The Role of Crimean Maritime Towns in the Trade in Slaves and Captives in the Fifteenth to Eighteenth Centuries.”
International Journal of Maritime History
17:1 (June 2005): 211-35
.
Mariscal
, George. “
La gran sultana
and the Issue of Cervantes’s Modernity.”
Revista
de
Estudios
Hispánicos
28 (1994): 185-211
.
Peirce,
Leslie.
Empress
of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire
. New York: Basic Books, 2017.
---
.
The
Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire,
New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Slide29SourcesCornelis De Jode amendedmap, from Brummett, Palmira Johnson.
Mapping the ottomans: Sovereignty, Territory, and Identity in the Early Modern Mediterranean. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 232-33.
Baudier’s Histoire générale du
Sérail et … (early 17th century)
http://utpictura18.univ-montp3.fr GenerateurNotice.phpnumnotice=B2240&tab=B2240-B2241-B2242-B2247-B2248-B2249-B2250-B2243-B2244-B2245-B2246-Historical Map of Constantinople, Istanbul, Byzantium (16th
century)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/400051865/historical-map-of-constantinople
Topkapi
Palace (1559)
http://eng.travelogues.gr/collection.php?view=263
Map of the Palace’s Courtyards
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkapı_Palace#/media/File:Topkapi_Palace_overview_EN.svg
Boucher’s
The Pasha in his Harem
( c.1735)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edouard_Frederic_Wilhelm_Richter_-_Im_Harem.jpg
Richter’s
In the Harem
(before 1913)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harem
John Fredrick Lewis’
The Reception
(1873)
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-reception-john-frederick-
lewis.html
Slide30SourcesJohann Theodore de Bry’s portrait (1596) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sultan_Roxelana.jpgMap of the Black Sea
http://listverse.com/2018/06/06/10-little-known-facts-from-the-crimean-slave-trade/Martinus
Broniovius’ Tartarie
Descriptio (Cologne, 1595) from Kizilov, Mikail B. “The Black Sea and the Slave Trades: The Role of Crimean Maritime Towns in the Trade in Slaves and Captives in the Fifteenth to Eighteenth Centuries.”
International Journal of Maritime History 17:1 (June 2005): 212.Tiziano
Vecelli’s
portrait of Suleiman (1530)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suleiman_the_Magnificent#/media/File:EmperorSuleiman.jpg
Tiziano
Vecelli’s
La Sultana
Rossa
(
1550)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurrem_Sultan#/media/File:Tizian_123.jpg
Images from
The Magnificent Century :
http://handeertan.tumblr.com/post/49828481279/l-would-like-to-talk-about-hurrem-sultan-and-her
http://www.playbuzz.com/jessicagomez10/what-magnificent-century-character-are-you
Slide31Acknowledgements This project was completed with funding from NEH and the sponsorship of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library during the 2018 NEH Summer Institute "Thresholds of Change: Modernity and Transformation in the Mediterranean, 1400-1700," June 18-July 15, 2018, Collegeville, MN. This project was assisted by Dr. Daniel K. Gullo
, and Dr. Palmira Johnson Brummett.