Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire by Leslie Peirce: A Book Review
Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire Author: Leslie Peirce Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Basic Books Release Date: September 19, 2017 Pages: 354 Source: This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The extraordinary story of the Russian slave girl Roxelana, who rose from concubine to become the only queen of the Ottoman empire. In Empress of the East , historian Leslie Peirce tells the remarkable story of a Christian slave girl, Roxelana, who was abducted by slave traders from her Ruthenian homeland and brought to the harem of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in Istanbul. Suleyman became besotted with her and foreswore all other concubines. Then, in an unprecedented step, he freed her and married her. The bold and canny Roxelana soon became a shrewd diplomat and philanthropist, who helped Suleyman keep pace with a changing world in which women, from Isabe...