Etymology
The word ''harem'' is derived from the Arabic or , which give connotations of the sacred and forbidden.This term further emphasizes that only women household members, and some related male family members were able to enter these areas. The word has also been traced back to meaning ‘sanctuary,’ reflecting the communal and honored aspect of the .The harem as a social and political institution
As the sultan became increasingly sedentary in the palace, his family members, previously dispersed between provincial capitals, were eventually relieved of their public duties and gathered in the imperial capital. The official move of members of the Ottoman dynasty to the harem at Topkapi Palace in the sixteenth century gradually transformed the imperial harem into a well-organized, hierarchical, and institutionalized social and political structure, with rigid protocols and training. At the end of the sixteenth century, except for the sultan himself, no member of the royal family, male or female, left the capital. Both children and mothers were permanent occupants of the inner world of the palace. The harem was the ultimate symbol of the sultan's power. His ownership of women, mostly slaves, was a sign of wealth, power, and sexual prowess. The emphasis on seclusion of the harem and dynastic life from the public gaze also communicated his power, as only those closest to him had the privilege to interact with him privately. The only person in the ''harem'' who had access to public only with "ritual and retinue appropriate to her status," was the ''valide sultan.'' The institution was introduced in the Turkish society with adoption of Islam, under the influence of the ArabHarem quarters
The Imperial Harem occupied one of the large sections of the private apartments of the sultan at the Topkapi Palace which encompassed more than 400 rooms. The harem had been moved to Topkapi in the early 1530s. After 1853, an equally lavish harem quarter was occupied at the new imperial palace at Dolmabahçe.The structure of the imperial palace was meant to communicate “both the identity of the sovereign’s residence as the central arena of the empire and the difficulty of obtaining access to the sovereign within that arena.”Topkapı Palace
The Architectural Layout of Topkapi Palace
The strategic location and architectural design of the harem quarters within Topkapi Palace reflected a vital shift in the Harem’s newfound influence and power within the palace. In previous palaces, the harem quarters were always located in the far back of the palace, hidden away from much of the palace population. In the layout of the Topkapi Palace, the Harem was located in the right wing just behind the imperial council building; for the first time in Ottoman history, the imperial harem was central and visible in Ottoman political life. The centralization of the harem’s living quarters in Topkapi Palace reflected a changing in power dynamics between the men of the palace and the women of the harem. The Topkapı Palace served as the royal residence of the Ottoman sultan for four centuries. There is a wealth of sources about this structure making it one of the most fully documented buildings in the Islamic world. The architectural structure of the harem changed over time due consecutive sultans' renovations. During the time of Murad III (1574-1595) each of his 40 wives had separate quarters within the Topkapı harem. Young slave girls, on the other hand, inhabited a large dormitory. At this time, women's sexual relations with the sultan determined their living quarters. Once a slave girl had sex with the sultan she received her own chamber, attendants, kitchen maids, a eunuch, and pay. All of these were increased if she became pregnant. If she bore a child she might be moved into an even larger apartment. Sultan Murad III alone tripled the size of the Imperial Harem from 1574 to 1595. By the mid 18th century an Imperial hall, also known as the "privy chamber," took on Europeanizing decorations and inscriptions dating from the renovations made by Osman III. This was a spacious, domed hall that overlooked the garden and was the place where official ceremonies and festivities took place. The Queen Mother's quarters during this time consisted of a suite with a bedroom, throne room, bath, rooms for her servants, a bakery, commissary, and kitchens which were all grouped around the largest court of the harem, known as the Queen Mother's Court. Over the course of the sultans' residences at Topkapı Palace the harem was first a residence for slave girls, then became an area of the palace run by the sultan's favorite wife, then finally a spacious area focused on the sultan's family and run by the Queen Mother. The rank of individuals residing in the harem is reflected in its architecture and the quarters were continuously remodeled according to new requirements and changing fashions. This resulted in the space being a collection of ever more fragmented spaces.Dolmabahçe Palace
In 1842, the Dolmabahçe Palace started to be built. It was created for entertainment and "relaxation" purposes for the Sultans and their families. In 1856, the palace became available to the Sultans, their families, and the harem. The imperial harem chambers were placed at the back of Dolmabahçe Palace, and functioned much the same as within Topkapi up until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1922.Yıldız Palatial Complex
Though the history of the Yıldız Palace begins in 1795 when Selim III built a pavilion there for his mother (Selim III), marking a moment when the Valide Sultans began managing and inhabiting their own hilltop estates, the complex is widely known as having been the residence of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II beginning in 1880. The palatial complex is demarcated by the Çırağan Palace on the waterfront and extending up to a valley between Besiktas and Ortaköy. After assassination attempts, Abdülhamid II moved his immediate family to the Yıldız Palace to live in an already standing two-story mansion known as the Şale Kiosk. This became the new harem quarters following its location at the Dolmabahçe Palace. Given that this new site did not have enough space to support the number of women in the imperial harem, it was downsized with wives, unmarried sisters, and servants being moved elsewhere. In 2014 a project began to restore and refurbish the harem of the Yıldız Palace in order to open the space up for tourism. Following this project scholars and others began to research and learn more about the harem architecture, ornate decor, furnishings, and everyday lives of its inhabitants. Much of this work has yet to be published.Roles and Positions of the harem
Role of the
The mother of a new sultan came to the harem with pomp and circumstance and assumed the title of valide sultan or sultana mother upon her son's ascension. She would become a prominent leader, whose power extended over the harem as well as the members of the dynasty. The who influenced the political life of theRole of the court ladies
For the perpetuation and service of the Ottoman dynasty, slave girls were either captured in war, given as gifts to the Sultan and the dynastic family on special occasions, recruited within the empire, or procured from neighbouring countries to become imperialRoyal concubines of non- status
In the century following the deaths of Suleyman and Hurrem, concubines who were not favorites of the sultan would become forgotten women of the harem. The only ones remembered are those that were brought into the public eye by the question of succession. Their status was inferior to the preferred concubines. They were also not identified among the family elite of the harem. The court ladies had contact with the outside world through the services of intermediaries such as the ''The Legacy of Hurrem Sultan
Hurrem Sultan, also called Roxelana, was a female concubine who completely transformed the harem system and left a lasting impact on the Ottoman Empire. Roxelana is believed to have been kidnapped from Ruthenia or “Old Russia” located in modern-day Ukraine and renamed Hurrem “the cheerful one” upon her arrival in Istanbul. As a concubine, Roxelana somehow caught the attention of Sultan Suleiman I and he continued to call for her to return to his bed. Roxelana bore her first son, Mehmed, in 1521, after the sultan’s first two sons passed away, and the two soon had more children. That Roxelana was allowed to give birth to more than one son was a stark violation of the old royal harem principle of “one concubine mother — one son,” and it signaled to the outside world that a powerful woman was emerging in Suleiman’s court. Sometime around 1533-1534, Suleiman declared Roxelana a free woman and married her, violating yet another 300-year-old custom of the Ottoman harem in which sultans were not to marry their concubines and marking the first time a former harem slave was elevated to the powerful role of spouse. No other children were born to Suleiman from another concubine during his entire reign. Suleiman wrote love poetry for her and letters while he was away at war. He even had grand monuments built for her to exhibit his love. She became known as Haseki, “the favorite,” but some accused her of seducing Suleiman with sorcery. Many in the Ottoman public did not appreciate Suleiman’s total devotion to one woman and the ensuing radical changes in the harem hierarchy, but Roxolana’s great perseverance, intelligence, and willpower gave her an edge over other women in the harem. Roxelana became Suleiman’s most loyal informant when he was away and after his mother’s death. Roxelana has become known as “one of the most legendary women of early modern history.” She dedicated grand foundations to the needy and showed special compassion towards slaves. She also ensured that the talented women of the harem left the palace service to marry a deserving partner. She transformed the royal harem at Topkapi Palace into a political institution, meaning royal women lived and worked at the center of the government. Roxelana completely changed the way in which women were treated within the harem and was largely responsible for modernizing the Ottoman Empire.Role of the eunuchs
AtWestern perceptions of the harem
The Ottoman Imperial Harem, like other aspects of Ottoman and Middle Eastern culture, was depicted by European artists, French artists, writers, and travelers. As Leslie Peirce writes, Europe found that all the power that the Ottoman Empire had was established in the Harem. Through their depictions of the Harem, members of European imperial powers imposed their constructions of social organization onto other cultures, assuming their social hierarchies as “part of the natural or divine order,” that all other societies must work towards achieving. In particular, European notions of race, sexuality, and gender heavily influenced their perception and depictions of life and politics in the Ottoman empire. The West’s assumed social organization was that of “public/commonwealth/male and private/domestic/female.” Conversely, in Ottoman society, politics and imperial activity occurred in private. Seclusion was not as actively gendered in a strict binary, because the privacy of both male and female members of the imperial family symbolized their power over the rest of society. Western depictions of the imperial harem also worked to gender the meaning of the title ''sultan.'' Western tradition made this term synonymous with the male ruler of the empire, while the Ottomans themselves utilized this term to denote the power of prominent male and female members of the imperial household. Orientalist paintings reflected Europe's eroticized view of Islam with luxury, leisure, and lust being common motifs. Similarly, writers focused on slavery and sexuality, and frequently compared Ottoman practices with those of the West. French artists such asSee also
*References
Citations
Other sources
* İlhan Akşit. ''The Mystery of the Ottoman Harem''. Akşit Kültür Turizm Yayınları.Further reading
* *External links