Like a scene right out
of the Arabian Nights, being a part of an
Ottoman Haram was to live a life suspended in a
secret paradise full of sensual delights. Derived from the Arabic
word, "haram" meaning secret or forbidden, the
harem was subject to a powerful patriarchy that
bottled the essence of woman, captured it in all its
glory and used it solely for its own amusement. Today, we're going to give you
a glimpse of life in an Ottoman sultans Haram. But before we get started,
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with the sultans, with the sultans of swing. During the eighth
and ninth centuries, Turkish nomads were
driven from their homes and eventually converted to
Islam after the Mongols arrived on the scene. By 1299 CE, the Ottoman Empire-- which has nothing to do with
footstool-- was established. The Ottomans brought a lot
of changes to the region, including taxation,
social shifts, and of course, a great deal
of religious indoctrination. Between 1299 and
1923, the empire also brought with it
a cultural phenomenon known as the
imperial Haram, which held all the wives, servants,
female relatives, and sultan concubines in the court. As the Ottomans expanded
their territory, sultans came and went. Social institutions evolved
from the Byzantine Empire, and Islam became
the law of the land. The entrance to a
harem was typically hidden away in the center
of an elaborate court. The women who occupied it
were rarely allowed to leave, which isn't great, but at
least their surroundings were quite opulent. The harem was an ethereal world
of green and blue tiled rooms, outlined in gold and lined
with plush furniture. From there, the outside
world seemed a distant notion and was only glimpsed through
the occasional view of the sea. The women of the harem
were monitored by eunuchs, and no one was allowed to see
the women unless they were first inspected by
officials to ensure no funny business was going on. The women who lived
in the harem, if they were smart and lucky
enough, could also achieve great authority,
respect, and wealth within the imperial court. The physical surroundings of
the harem were beyond stunning. The center was a great
pavilion with a giant courtyard where the women could bathe in
a pool or gaze upon a garden. It was a peaceful, quiet place,
designed for contemplation. The courtyard also served as
a gathering spot for the women to read together,
pray together, or just escape the gilded interiors
of their confinement. The imperial Haram typically
housed dozens of women, including the sultan's
wives, mothers, daughters, female relatives,
and servant girls. Interestingly, the sons of the
sultan also lived in the harem until they were about 12
years old, at which point they were considered men. The harem was considered
a private place upon which no man outside
of the sultan's inner circle could lay his eyes. As a result, the harem
had to be guarded by someone who was
domineering yet somehow not sexualized as male. The solution was to use eunuchs. These castrated
men were considered to be something physically
and symbolically in-between the male and female worlds. They were seen as a hybrid
gender, fit to fully partake in both realms. As a result, the eunuchs
could become quite powerful in the court. You are the King's hand
and the King is a fool. Your friend, I know, but a fool. Eunuchs were typically slaves
who had been captured in war or purchased in places
like Ethiopia or Sudan. There were two kinds of men
in this role, black and white. And their appearance
in general roles were considerably different. The black eunuchs, or
Sandali, had their genitals completely removed
during the process and were the most preferred
for Haram service as a result. The White eunuchs were
allowed to keep at least some of their beans and franks. Is it the frank or the beans? I don't know. It looks like-- I think
it's a little bit of both. And thus awarded
fewer Haram duties as there was always
a risk they might use what little they had left. The eunuchs would serve
under a chief eunuch known as the Master of the Girls. The black eunuchs were charged
with guarding the women, and often rose in rank occupying
many positions in the palace like confidant, vizier,
or even general. Meanwhile, the white eunuchs
often handled state matters for the sultan. Though their status was
limited, the women of the harem were by no means
weak, in so much as the men deemed acceptable,
women within the harem were able to exert considerable
influence over the Ottoman Empire. In fact, during the
16th and 17th centuries, they exerted so much
influence, the era is now known as the
Sultanate of Women. This situation came
about because many of the sultans of the time
were minors who were adhering to their mother's dominion. Nonetheless, it was an unusual
development, especially given the slave origins
of many haram women. It's not that the men weren't
concerned with the government, they were just usually too
busy planning their next battle to keep a tight rein over
the political landscape. Eventually, a struggle
broke out between two of the most powerful female
regents, Kosem Sultan and Turhan Sultan. It ended in 1687. And with it, so did this
famous period of female rule. The word "odalisque,"
which was used to refer to many
women in the harem is derived from the Turkish
word for chambermaid. However, that doesn't really
capture what women in the harem did. Otherwise known as
"ikbals," these women were the sultan's mistresses. Yet they were more than
just mere bed warmers, odalisques usually
possessed a level of talent, whether it be in music,
dancing, or singing. The women below the odalisque
were called "gedik," and generally they didn't
sleep with the sultan. Mostly, these women
just seductively served him baklava
in the evening. Hey, it's good to be sultan. Finally, below the gedik
were basic servants. They basically did the
same thing as the gedik but didn't have to
sport any cleavage. The harem was seen as a small
world inside a larger one. And in that small world, the
Valide Sultan reigned supreme. Considered the
sultan's legal mother, she was not only his
most important relative, she was also politically
and socially influential in many ways. The Valide Sultan
selected the concubines for her son, which is a
weird thing to think about. She was also the main person
the women of the harem rallied around when they
needed something, wanted to make alliances, or needed to
press their personal agendas. She was a queen bee. And she could decide the fate
of any regular harem woman by either promoting
her or casting her out. Having the Valide
Sultan on your side was incredibly important
since a secure place in the imperial
Haram could guarantee a woman protection, food,
comforts, and even status. And if a concubine
bore the sultan a son, she could feasibly take a major
role in the court someday. The Valide Sultan
could control how much certain wives and their
children saw the sultan. And how their sons would
be introduced to court. But of course, the Valide Sultan
was only as good as her son. And his death would mean the
end of her matriarchal reign. Not all the women of the
sultan's Haram were slaves. Within it were many of his
wives who were technically free, as they had been accepted in
marriage of their own will. This disparity probably
created some tension with the concubines,
but they didn't really have any choice in the matter. The women of the harem simply
had to accept one another and find a way to get along. Despite westernized
fantasy, not all Haram women were expected to
sleep with the sultan. They all received a light
education equivalent to that of a male
page, and were often bred to be married
off to members of the court outside
nobility or political elite. They soon became absorbed
into the larger system, evolving into imperial court
ladies who would likely move on to a brighter future. Being in the harem was
more complex than just being one of the
sultan's bed mates, who was available at
any hour of the day. Despite his power,
there were rules in place to dictate the
station of different women, at least there was
supposed to be. In reality, the sultan
generally got what he wanted. And anyone who caught
his interest soon found themselves on
his silken sheets. So while some of the women
were officially slaves and some were not,
they were all still equally subject to his desire. Well, like I said,
it's good to be sultan. Being in the harem required
being more than just a pretty face. There was some learning
required for the gig as well. The women were taught
the art of refinement and how to carry themselves
with confidence and allure. In essence, the harem
was a parochial school for girls where they received
the appropriate education on how to fit in at court
and find their place in the order of things. That being said, the harem
women of the Ottoman Empire were reputed to be among
the most lovely in history. Purchased in slave markets
from Turkey, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and
various parts of Europe, these young women learned
to play instruments, recite poetry, dance, and
master the art of eroticism. When older, they were
offered edification in literature, geography,
history, and calligraphy. In the later years of
the Ottoman Empire, many of the imperial harem
women could even speak and write in French and were allowed to
read foreign fashion magazines. If there's one thing that can
be absolutely said of the harem, it is that it created an
incredible sense of mystery for Westerners. No one really knew
what went on in harems. And the inner workings
of such a matriarchal, sexualized, and
oddly intimate realm was positively
titillating to any man who took stock of the situation. It was even fascinating
to many Western women, who simply couldn't
imagine such an existence. European paintings of the
18th and 19th centuries increasingly
depicted odalisques. The topic even captured the
minds of Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu, who looked
to ancient Ottoman practices as a way to criticize the
conservatism of French life. He felt that when compared
to the Ottomans, or at least the Ottomans as
imagined by Europeans, everything else seemed
extraneous and tiresome. It's hard to argue with him. So what do you think? How would you fit into
the Ottoman Empire? Let us know in the
comments below. And while you're at it, check
out some of these other videos from our Weird History.
Fun fact: No Ottoman sultan ever performed the Hajj in Mecca.