The Ottoman Imperial Harem () 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 1534 to 1715).
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, including the valide sultan.
The Kizlar Agha (, also known as the "Chief Black Eunuch" because of the Nilotic origin of most aghas) was the head of the eunuchs and responsible for guarding the imperial harem.
Etymology The word harem is derived from the Arabic or , which connotes the sacred and forbidden. The term further emphasizes that only women household members, and some related male family members, were entitled to enter these areas. The word has also been traced back to meaning "sanctuary," reflecting the communal and honored aspect of the .
Background The institution of the Ottoman Imperial Harem was built upon the example of preceding Muslim empires, such as the royal harem of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Burji harem of the Mamluk Sultanate. The Ottoman Imperial Harem developed from the harem of the Turkish Islamic dynasties of Anatolia, notably the Seljuk harem, which is believed to have been the role model for the later Ottoman Imperial Harem.The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East. (2012). Storbritannien: Bloomsbury Publishing.
The harem of the Ottoman dynasty gradually expanded until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when the Ottoman dynasty, which had previously been nomadic, became fully permanently settled. From the 15th century, the sultans of the Ottoman dynasty also stopped marrying princesses of foreign dynasties and chose to use slave-concubines for procreation. It was after the Ottomans settled in Constantinople that the Ottoman Imperial Harem developed into its final form.
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 away 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 with "ritual and retinue appropriate to her status," was the valide sultan. The institution was introduced into Turkish society with adoption of Islam, under the influence of the Arab caliphate, which the Ottomans emulated. To ensure the obedience of the women, many were bought and kept in slavery. However, not all members of the harem were slaves. The main wives, especially those taken into marriage to consolidate personal and dynastic alliances, were free women. This was the exception, not the rule.
The imperial harem also served as a parallel institution to the sultan's household of male servants. The women were provided with an education roughly equal to that provided to male pages. At the end of their respective educations, the men and women would be married off to one another and "graduated" from the palace to occupy administrative posts in the empire's provinces. There was a distinct hierarchical structure within the harem, founded on family-based relationships among the women. This family was not limited to blood connections but included the whole royal household, consisting mainly of slaves. Following the evolution of the imperial harem, from the sixteenth century onward, shows that while the organizational structure of the harem was never static and the numbers and roles of servants within the palace was constantly fluid, there was a strong sense of institutional continuity and unchangingly rigid hierarchies within the harem. The valide sultan, the sultan's mother, held power over the harem and this power sometimes extended over aspects of society. She was the custodian of imperial power, and worked to consolidate both her son's rule and continuation of the dynasty. She resided at the top of the female hierarchy. Next in line were the sultan's daughters, who were also called sultans. These princesses were admired and could rival their father for popularity and recognition. They were also useful for the political alliances their marriages secured for the empire. These women were known throughout the empire and had important reputations to uphold. Consequently, only a small fraction of the women in the harem actually engaged in sexual relations with the sultan, as most were destined to marry members of the Ottoman political elite, or else to continue service to the valide sultan. Within the harem, the valide sultan and the sultan's favorite concubine or concubines were effectively able to create factional support for themselves and their sons, creating a bridge between the palace and the outside world. Harem politics revolved around the establishment of matrilineal legacies and finding ways to garner alliances and support from the greater Ottoman world outside of the harem walls.
Quarters The imperial harem occupied a large section 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
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 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.
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 to 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 inhabited a large dormitory. 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 run by the sultan's favorite wife, and finally a spacious area focused on the sultan's family run by the Queen Mother. The rank of individuals residing in the harem was reflected in its architecture. Quarters were continuously remodeled according to new requirements and changing fashions. This resulted in harem space being a collection of ever more fragmented units.
Dolmabahçe Palace The construction of the Dolmabahçe Palace took from 1842 until 1856. It was used by the sultans, their families, and the harem for entertainment and relaxation purposes. The imperial harem chambers were at the back of the palace, and they functioned in much the same way as those within the Topkapı Palace until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1922.
Yıldız Palatial Complex
The history of the Yıldız Palace begins in 1795 when Selim III built a pavilion there for his mother, marking a moment when valide sultans began managing and inhabiting their own hilltop estates. The complex later became 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 a 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 chambers at Yıldız Palace and open them to tourism. As part of this project, scholars and others began to research the harem architecture, ornate decor, furnishings, and everyday lives of its inhabitants. Much of this work has yet to be published.
Roles and positions Role of the