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Imperial Harem
The Imperial Harem ( ota, حرم همايون, ) of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan's harem – composed of the wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives and the sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded portion (seraglio) of the Ottoman imperial household. This institution played an important social function within the Ottoman court, and wielded considerable political authority in Ottoman affairs, especially during the long period known as the Sultanate of Women (approximately 1533 to 1656). Multiple historians claim that the sultan was frequently lobbied by harem members of different ethnic or religious backgrounds to influence the geography of the Ottoman wars of conquest. The utmost authority in the Imperial Harem, the valide sultan, ruled over the other women in the household; the consorts of the sultan were normally of slave origin, and thus were also his mother, the valide sultan. The Kizlar Agha (, also known as the "Chief Blac ...
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Odalisque (Boston Public Library)
An odalisque (, tr, odalık) was a chambermaid or a female attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman sultan. In western usage, the term came to mean the harem concubine, and refers to the eroticized artistic genre in which a woman is represented mostly or completely nude in a reclining position, often in the setting of a harem. Etymology The word "odalisque" is French in form and originates from the Turkish ''odalık'', meaning "chambermaid", from ''oda'', "chamber" or "room". It can also be transliterated ''odahlic'', ''odalisk'', and ''odaliq''. Joan DelPlato has described the term's shift in meaning from Turkish to English and French: The English and French term odalisque (rarely odalique) derives from the Turkish 'oda', meaning "chamber"; thus an odalisque originally meant a chamber girl or attendant. In western usage, the term has come to refer specifically to the harem concubine. By the eighteenth century the t ...
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Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace ( tr, Dolmabahçe Sarayı, ) located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coast of the Bosporus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and from 1909 to 1922 ( Yıldız Palace was used in the interim period). History Dolmabahçe Palace was ordered by the Empire's 31st Sultan, Abdülmecid I, and built between the years 1843 and 1856. Previously, the Sultan and his family had lived at the Topkapı Palace, but as the medieval Topkapı was lacking in contemporary style, luxury, and comfort, as compared to the palaces of the European monarchs, Abdülmecid decided to build a new modern palace near the site of the former Beşiktaş Sahil Palace, which was demolished. Hacı Said Ağa was responsible for the construction works, while the project was realized by architects Garabet Balyan, his son Nigoğayos Balyan and Evanis Kalfa (members of the Armenian Balyan family of Ottoman court ar ...
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Eunuch (court Official)
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium BCE. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, for espionage or clandestine operations, castrato singers, concubines, or sexual partners, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or harem servants. Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated to make them less threatening servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could, in theory, give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" an ...
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Kadın (title)
Kadın ( ota, قادین) was the title given to the imperial consort of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire towards the beginning of the seventeenth century. The title came into official usage at the end of the century, and remained in usage until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ranks and titles A was a titled consort, and recognised as such by the Sultan. The sultans usually had four s, although they might have more over a lifetime, because from time to time, one would die or be retired to the Old Palace, or were divorced. They were ranked as (senior , senior consort), (second , second consort), (third , third consort), (fourth , fourth consort), and so on, in order of their elevation to that position. The s usually held the prefix titles of ('illustrious', 'highness'), ('the virtuous'), ('honest', 'virtuous'), ('prosperous', 'felicitous'), and ('gracious'), and the suffix titles of ('her ladyship'), and ('highness'). Status and promotion The s were chosen from ...
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Ikbal (title)
Ikbal ( ota, اقبال) was the title given to the imperial consort of the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who came below the rank of ''kadın''. Etymology The word  () is an Arabic word, which means good fortune, or lucky. Historians have translated it either 'fortunate one' or 'favorite'. Ranks and titles An was a titled consort, and recognised as such by the sultan. The number of s varied. They were ranked as ('senior , senior favourite, senior fortunate one'), ('second , second favourite, second fortunate one'), ('third , third favourite, third fortunate one'), ('fourth , fourth favourite, fourth fortunate one'), and so on, according to the order in which they had caught the sultan's eye, and elevated to that position. The s usually held the prefix titles of ('honest, virtuous'), and ('the virtuous'), and the suffix titles of , , and . Status Eighteenth century The rank first appeared toward the end of the seventeenth century, during the reign of Sultan Mustafa II ...
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Odalisque
An odalisque (, tr, odalık) was a chambermaid or a female attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman sultan. In western usage, the term came to mean the harem concubine, and refers to the eroticized artistic genre in which a woman is represented mostly or completely nude in a reclining position, often in the setting of a harem. Etymology The word "odalisque" is French in form and originates from the Turkish ''odalık'', meaning "chambermaid", from ''oda'', "chamber" or "room". It can also be transliterated ''odahlic'', ''odalisk'', and ''odaliq''. Joan DelPlato has described the term's shift in meaning from Turkish to English and French: The English and French term odalisque (rarely odalique) derives from the Turkish 'oda', meaning "chamber"; thus an odalisque originally meant a chamber girl or attendant. In western usage, the term has come to refer specifically to the harem concubine. By the eighteenth century the t ...
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Cariye
Cariye (, " Jariya") was a title and term used for category of enslaved women concubines in the Islamic world of the Middle East.Junius P. Rodriguez: Slavery in the Modern World: A History of Political, Social, and Economic' They are particularly known in history from the era of the Ottoman Empire, where they legally existed until the mid-19th century. History General meaning The general meaning of the term was a woman enslaved during warfare. This remained the formal definition of the term in the Islamic world. The rights of the enslaved woman was regulated within Islamic law. The enslavement of women was permitted only during warfare of a war deemed "just"; that is, a war against non-Muslims. Only a non-Muslim woman could be enslaved during warfare, as Islam banned Muslims from enslaving other Muslims.Madeline Zilfi: Women and Slavery in the Late Ottoman Empire: The Design of Difference' In Islamic law, the enslavement of a woman was the only case in which concubinage was ...
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Court Ladies
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. Although she may either have received a retainer or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a secretary, courtier, or companion to her mistress than a servant. In other parts of the world, the lady-in-waiting, often referred to as ''palace woman'', was in practice a servant or a slave rather than a high-ranking woman, but still had about the same tasks, functioning as companion and secretary to her mistress. In courts where polygamy was practised, a court lady was formally available to the monarch for sexual services, and she could become his wife, consort, courtesan, or concubine. ''Lady-in-waiting'' or ''court lady'' is often a generic term for women whose re ...
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Crimean Slave Trade
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a population of 2.4 million. The peninsula is almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Sivash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. Crimea (called the Tauric Peninsula until the early modern period) has historically been at the boundary between the classical world and the steppe. Greeks colonized its southern fringe and were absorbed by the ...
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Favourites Courtyard Topkapi March 2008
In the context of the World Wide Web, a bookmark is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that is stored for later retrieval in any of various storage formats. All modern web browsers include bookmark features. Bookmarks are called favorites or Internet shortcuts in Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, and by virtue of that browser's large market share, these terms have been synonymous with ''bookmark'' since the First Browser War. Bookmarks are normally accessed through a menu in the user's web browser, and folders are commonly used for organization. In addition to bookmarking methods within most browsers, many external applications offer bookmark management. Bookmarks have been incorporated in browsers since the ViolaWWW browser in 1992, and Mosaic browser in 1993. Bookmark lists were called ''Hotlists'' in Mosaic and in previous versions of Opera; this term has faded from common use. Cello, another early browser, also had bookmarking features. With the advent of social bo ...
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