The Süleymaniye - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 202

Iznik tiles, twice as many in this small room as in all the vastness of
the mosque itself. However, the grand efect has been marred, for
the türbe is dark and overcrowded with cenotaphs; besides that of
Süleyman there are also those of his daughter, the Princess Mihrimah,
and two later sultans, Süleyman II and Ahmet II. But there is no
mistaking the majesty of the magnificent sultan's own cenotaph in
the centre of the türbe, surmounted by the huge white turban which
he wore in life.
We might pause here for a moment to reflect on the history of
this great monarch, under whom the Ottoman Empire reached the
pinnacle of its greatness. Süleyman became sultan in 1520, when
he was 25 years old, and ruled until his death in 1566, the longest
and most illustrious reign in the history of the Empire. As Evliya
Çelebi writes of Süleyman: “During the forty-six years of his reign he
subdued the world and made eighteen monarchs his tributaries. He
established order and justice in his dominions, marched victoriously
through the seven quarters of the globe, embellished all the countries
which were vanquished with his arms, and was successful in all
undertakings.”
To the east of Süleyman's türbe is that of Haseki Hürrem, smaller
and simpler but decorated with Iznik tiles even finer than his. In
this türbe the cylindrical base of the dome, slightly recessed from
the octagonal cornice of the building itself, is decorated with a long
inscription forming a sort of sculptured frieze. This and the türbe
of the princes at the mosque of Selim I are the only ones where this
form and these decorations are used. For some reason this türbe is
not included in the Tezkere, the list of Sinan's works, but it is almost
certainly his creation. The türbe is dated 1558, the year of Haseki
Hürrem's death. Here, too, we might pause to review the life of the
lady who is buried here, one of the most powerful and sinister women
in the history of the Ottoman Empire. She is better known to the
West as Roxelana, literally the Russian, because of her supposed
origin. Süleyman fell in love with Roxelana during the early years
of his reign and soon made her his legal wife, putting aside all of the
other women in his harem. The Italian Bassano, a page in the Saray
at the time, wrote of Süleyman: “He bears her such love and keeps