Mahidevran Sultan

Her full name is Mahidevran Gülbahar, which means "the one whose beauty never fades". She is the first companion of Sultan Süleyman and the mother of the heir to the throne, Sehzade Mustafa.

Main character throughout history, Mahidevran was originally the favorite of the Sultan, and very quickly finds herself supplanted by Hürrem Sultan. Indeed, she was the mother of the eldest son of the reigning Sultan and the most potential heir to the throne. Thus, she occupied an influencial position in the harem of Suleiman: according to the Ottoman traditions, she was Bas Kadin (main consort) of Suleiman. As Bas Kadin, she was second in the Harem ranking after the Valide Sultan. However, she was quickly replaced by Hürrem Sultan, Suleiman having ceased to pay attention to Mahidevran and devoted his full affection to Hürrem as early as 1526. While Hürrem became Suleiman's new favorite and later his rightful wife, Mahidevran retained for a long time her rank of first wife, before gradually falling into disgrace.

From then on, she will only devote herself to one single task: protecting her only son so that one day he can ascend the throne of his father. Very close to the Valide Sultan at the beginning, then to Hatice Sultan, Mahidevran is the only one of the two wives of the Sultan to keep friendly and almost family relations with the members of the dynasty, and who has never had to face them to make a position within the harem.

Altough being a character of great importance, Mahidevran represents above all the progressive withering of a figure of the harem and the slow descent into hell of a woman of power.