ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book outlines the critical study of the Roxolana figure in European history, culture, and imagination from the mid-sixteenth century to the present. Contributions to this collection examine cultural responses to Roxolana in both Western and Eastern Europe namely, Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany, Turkey, Poland, and Ukraine. The collection attempts to account for Roxolana's unwavering appeal across the continent by probing into European attitudes and ideological biases in relation to the Ottoman other and the Female Other. Because most of what was written about Roxolana in Europe is based on several famous moments of her career at the Ottoman court, and because the essays and translations refer to these famous stories in various ways, it is important for the reader to get acquainted with Roxolana's life.
