Reality, Allegory, Space, and Time

"This project examines the fate and legend of a sixteenth-century
Ukrainian woman known in the West as "Roxolana" and in Turkey
as "Hurrem Sultan". Sold into the Ottoman sultan's harem as a
slave and concubine, she quickly reached the pinnacle of power in
the Ottoman Empire -- the beloved wife and close advisor of Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent. Roxolana's dramatic life and
tremendous impact on Suleiman have excited the imagination
of historians and fiction writers for centuries; she has
become a legend and the site of various cultural fantasies.
This project traces the origins of the Roxolana legend
and examines various representations of her figure in
history and literature, focusing on the disparities
among three varieties of cultural responses: Ottoman,
Western European, and Eastern European."

Galina Yermolenko "Roxolana: From Slave to Legend"

For oil painting representation of Roxolana, see:
http://gfx.dagbladet.no/magasinet/2004/02/25/roxklar.jpg

For drawn image of Mausoleum of Kanuni Sultan Suleyman
and Roxalana, see:
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~tsa/Treasures/Grvr/100.html