The sultan was witnessing the increasing tension between the male heirs and their mothers, which concerned and feared him. Therefore, due to the tensions, Suleiman did not leave Istanbul for long periods, as he believed his throne would be in jeopardy, and surely, he would be deposed.
Suleiman had many concubines, and of the many, two of the females were the most important, since they provided the ruler with male heirs to his throne.
The first woman to bear a male child was Mahidevran Gulbahar, who gave birth to Prince Mustafa, the eldest child of Suleiman. Mahidevran was of Albanian origin; she came from a wealthy family, and joined the sultan’s harem. The birth of Mustafa was particularly important, because he was the first child of Suleiman.
The second female who bore male heirs for Sultan Suleiman was Hurrem Haseki. This young beautiful woman was a captured slave girl from the southeast section of Poland, where the country bordered Ukraine. The following were the sons of Hurrem, they were: Mehmet, Beyazit, Selim, and Cihangir.
Hurrem and Suleiman were madly in love with one another. The tormented heart of Suleiman was very much evidenced by everyone, after the death of Hurrem. Furthermore, after her death, he lived an isolated life at the Topkapi Palace; the home of the sultanate family, in Istanbul.
Could the torment he was living through, during the latter years of his life be due to another reason?
It sure looked like some of the decisions made by Suleiman tormented him greatly, one of them being the order given to have his eldest son executed.
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