Suleiman the Magnificent
This replica from the 16th century exhibited in your room is of
one of the 87 talismanic shirts from the Collection of Sultan’s Clothing at
Topkapi Palace and it is considered to have belonged to Sultan Suleiman
according to the prayers, motives and meanings of the talisman on the shirt
and therefore was adorned with one of his
poems…
With this Talisman, may the
victory be yours in every war you
fight…
Known as Suleiman the
Magnificent in the west and Suleiman the Lawgiver in the east because of his
fair leadership, he was a successful soldier, mighty sultan and one of a kind
statesman…
He was also a man of romance and a poet himself
who valued arts and artists. Their legendary love with his last wife Hurrem
Sultan gained a place in history.
Hurrem Sultan was an
infamously beautiful woman originally from Ruhtenia, then a part of Poland.
She drew all the attention of the Sultan with her beauty, intelligence and
femininity and gained a special place for herself in the harem and then she
became Sultan Suleiman’s legal wife. Yet she was not just a wife to the
Sultan, she was a woman who was madly in love with Sultan Suleiman and would
do everything for her love.
Hurrem Sultan who wished her
one and only love Sultan Suleiman whose life was spent in campaigns would
always come back to her safe and sound and victorious therefore she requested
a talismanic shirt from the Head Augur.
After long and
toilsome rituals, Sultan Suleiman’s shirt was finished by tens of unknown
skilful hands and Hurrem’s prayer was that; Sultan Suleiman would come home
victorious, safe and sound from every battle he fights. It was obvious that
the shirt was related to the star system considering its motives largely
based on stars and other symbols of sky. On the other hand, infinity idea in
Islam was put forward through the infinite geometrical patterns that dominate
the ornament. Now it was time to send this exclusive shirt of the 16th
century to its owner. Sultan Suleiman would wear this shirt and the prayers
would keep him safe…
My Sultan, My
Emperor;
"After I put my head to
the ground and kiss the soil under your feet blessed with your touch, the sun
of my nation and the cause of my happiness, if you ask about me, your servant
who has caught on fire from the zeal of missing you, whose heart is ripped
apart, whose chest is ruined, whose eyes are filled with water, who cannot
say if it is day or night, who was thrown in the sea of yearning, who is
desperate, mad with your love, worse than Ferhat and Mejnun*; I am a
nightingale whose cries would not die since I was separated from you, being
away from you put me in a state I wouldn’t wish even on my worst
enemy.
My nation, my sultan, since I have not heard a word
from you after one and a half months, God knows I have not had a moment of
peace, I have cried day and night, forgotten my life; whole world became
small in my tearful eyes, I was helplessly looking at the doors when Mighty
Lord of the universe, my Glorious God who gives his mercy upon everyone, who
blesses everyone brought me the word of your victory. And only he knows I was
dead, my sultan, my emperor, I came back to life again after hearing from
you…"
You can find one of the poems of Sultan
Suleiman the Lawgiver for his precious love Hurrem on this shirt presented in
your room…
*Aslı & Ferhat
and Leyla & Mejnun are two legendary couples in Turkish history such
like Romeo and Juliet.
