ABSTRACT
The misgovernment in Greville's play, however, has largely been brought about through the machinations and greed for power exhibited by Rossa, more commonly known as Roxolana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent. It is Roxolana herself who is of interest here and the chapter explores the Carolean construction of this strong-willed Sultana. Standing as she does at the intersection of state and court politics in Boyle's Mustapha and Settle's Ibrahim the Illustious Bassa, Roxolana offers an opportunity to explore contemporary concerns about the court of Charles II. In literary discourse, sexual politics and political power are intrinsically linked in constructions of the monarch, where unrestrained sexual desire brings about confusion toor even the collapse of masculine authority. Women's sexual power is at once both magnetic and alarming, just as it is multiple and absolute. Roxolana, Goughe claimed, was able to corrupt Suleiman's mind with effeminate allurementes, and Flatteringes.
