century following the deaths of Suleyman and Hurrem, concubines who were not favorites of the sultan would become forgotten women of the harem. The only ones remembered are those that were brought into the public eye by the question of succession. Their status was inferior to the preferred concubines. They were also not identified among the family elite of the harem. The court ladies had contact with the outside world through the services of intermediaries such as the Kira. However, the harem was intentionally very cloistered and hidden away from the public eye, so contact with the outside world was very limited. The harem was kept inaccessible to both the Ottomans and foreign visitors to preserve the privacy and sanctity of the consorts, future sultans, and harem at large. The Legacy of Hurrem Sultan Hurrem Sultan, also called Roxelana, was a female concubine who completely transformed the harem system and left a lasting impact on the Ottoman Empire. Roxelana is believed to have been kidnapped from Ruthenia or “Old Russia” located in modern-day Ukraine and renamed Hurrem “the cheerful one” upon her arrival in Istanbul. As a concubine, Roxelana somehow caught the attention of Sultan Suleiman I and he continued to call for her to return to his bed. Roxelana bore her first son, Mehmed, in 1521, after the sultan’s first two sons passed away, and the two soon had more children. That Roxelana was allowed to give birth to more than one son was a stark violation of the old royal harem principle of “one concubine mother — one son,” and it signaled to the outside world that a powerful woman was emerging in Suleiman’s court. Sometime around 1533-1534, Suleiman declared Roxelana a free woman and married her, violating yet another 300-year-old custom of the Ottoman harem in which sultans were not to marry their concubines and marking the first time a former harem slave was elevated to the powerful role of spouse. No other children were born to Suleiman from another concubine during his entire reign. Suleiman wrote love poetry for her and letters while he was away at war. He even had grand monuments built for her to exhibit his love. She became known as Haseki, “the favorite,” but some accused her of seducing Suleiman with sorcery. Many in the Ottoman public did not appreciate Suleiman’s total devotion to one woman and the ensuing radical changes in