Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Sehzade Mustafa (Suleiman's first born son by Gulbahar Sultan) was the legitimate heir to the Ottoman throne. Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana), a woman who had been taken captive from the Ukraine and was taken to the harem of the sultan and became his favorite and married her. Roxelena was the first official wife of a sultan in 200 years. She wanted her first son to be the next sultan. Roxelena persuaded the Sultan that Mustafa planned to overthrow him to become Sultan. Believing her stories, Suleiman summoned his son and watched several mute slaves wrestle him to the ground and strangle him with a bowstring. Thus, creating room for Roxelena's son (Selim II) to be heir to the throne. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.