Hurrem Sultan (Roksolana) was born in Ukraine in Crimea in 1502. At the age of 15, she was captured by Crimean Tatars during a slave raid and eventually taken to Istanbul, the Ottoman capital. There she joined the imperial harem, rose through the ranks, and eventually became the favorite of Sultan Suleiman. Contrary to Ottoman tradition, the sultan married Roksolana, making her his lawful wife; this was unusual as sultans used to marry only noble ladies. Roksolana is known as the first woman in Ottoman history to be involved in state affairs. Her intelligence made herSuleiman's main advisor in state affairs, and she is said to have influenced foreign and international politics. She often accompanied him as a political advisor. Along with many other revolutionary people at the time, she ushered in an era in the Ottoman Empire called the rule of women. In addition to her political concerns, Roksolana engaged in various public works and charitable projects, from Makkah to Jerusalem. Her first foundations included a mosque, two Koranic schools, a fountain and awomen's hospital near the women's slave market in Istanbul. She also founded, for example, the Haseki Sultan Imaret in Jerusalem in1552, a public soup kitchen to feed the poor, which is said to have fed at least 500 people twice a day. Besides that, she also setup a charity fund that helped establish a new district in Istanbul for the poorer population–Aksaray.
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