15 Unveiled Facts About Harems

1. False Accreditation

Although popular culture has come to heavily associate harems as a Muslim practice, the concept did not originate in Islam. The Byzantine Empire, Ancient Greece, Persia, and the upper classes of Iraq all practiced the collection and seclusion of woman into separate spaces well before the advent of Islam.

Head of Heart & Home
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the chief consort of the Ottoman sultan was given the title of “Haseki Sultan.” She came only second to the sultan’s mother and ruled the harem if the mother was deceased or otherwise indisposed. This woman was also almost always a slave of European origin.

The Slappin’ Sultana
In 1868, Empress Eugenie of France made a scandalous first impression upon the Imperial Ottoman Harem. Sultan Abdulaziz made the etiquette faux-pas of bringing a foreign woman to his mother’s presence without permission. Depending on who you ask, the Valide Sultan responded to this insult by slapping the Empress across the face.

False Accreditation
Although popular culture has come to heavily associate harems as a Muslim practice, the concept did not originate in Islam. The Byzantine Empire, Ancient Greece, Persia, and the upper classes of Iraq all practiced the collection and seclusion of woman into separate spaces well before the advent of Islam.

One Son Rule
Before the 16th century, tradition held that concubines of the Imperial Harem should give birth to only one son each (if she had daughters, her sexual relations with the sultan could continue until she had a boy). This protocol ensured that each potential sultan had the full attention of one maternal advisor—and that no one concubine ever held too much power over the others.

Mommy, Can You Spare an Asper?
In terms of cashflow, the queen mother—as acting leader of the harem—was wealthier than her own son. For example, the Valide Safiye Sultan received 3,000 aspers a day as her living stipend while her son, Sultan Mehmed III, lived on just 1,000.

Boys Allowed
Contrary to western myth, the harems of Asia were not usually all-female pleasure caves that operated at the whims of a master. We’d hope not: consider how the Ottoman Imperial Harem (arguably the most documented harem in history) was home to the reigning sultan’s mother, his female family members (sisters, aunts, etc.) and his pre-adolescent sons! For the most part, the harem was simply a sacred section of a Muslim household where women and children resided.

Before There Were Instagram Stories
Much contemporary Western belief about Muslim women’s lives comes from the letters of Lady Mary Wontly Montagu. As the wife of the English ambassador to Turkey, she was invited to Muslim women’s spaces, which were forbidden to male travel writers. To some degree, Montagu’s letters took the western male tourist gaze to task. Her interactions with women provided a slightly more accurate account of harem dress, habits, and beauty rituals.

Winner by a Hair?
Power struggles within the harem could get violent and dangerous. Arguably the most violent harem rivalry was between famous queen grandmother/regent of the child-Sultan Mehmed IV, Kösem Sultan, and Mehmed’s mother, Turhan Hatice Sultan. This struggle over who should rule the roost (and have custody of Mehmed) culminated with Turhan having Kösem strangled (by her own long hair, according to legend).

$tanding Guard
Eunuchs weren’t simply harem guards—they were bridges between the male and female world, acting as envoys and proxies in important political transactions. As the only men who could penetrate both the public and private spheres, eunuchs would network to become rich and powerful in their own right. The Chief Black Eunuch of the Imperial Harem, for example, was considered second only Grand Vizier (the head of the government) in terms of public power.

Make My Harem a Double
Before the 16th century, the Ottoman Imperial Harem was organized between two separate residences. First, there was the huge “Old Palace” in Beyazit Square, Istanbul which housed most of the female servants, the royal family, and pregnant concubines. Only concubines who were currently sexually active with the sultan would be housed in apartments near his own (a carriage ride away) at the Topkapi Palace. These households did not fully assimilate until the reign of Murad III in the late 1500s.

Maybe a Little Excessive?
The largest harem in the world belonged to King Tamba of Benaras. The 6th century BCE king’s harem was about the size of a city and housed approximately 16,000 inmates.

A Municipality of Maids
Kublai Khan himself had a large harem. He married four women and kept as many as 7,000 concubines.

A Bank and File Army
All members of the harem received a daily stipend, and it’s from this accounting that historians have been able to sketch an idea of where women and eunuchs ranked amongst each other. For example, the sultan’s mother received 2,000 to 3,000 aspers a day, his chief consorts received 1,000, and public officials received just a few hundred a day.

Hidden Places
The word “harem” is derived from the Arabic harim or haram, which connotes the secluded or forbidden.

15 Unveiled Facts About Harems

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