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73-569: (Redirected from New Mosque ) Yeni Mosque (from Turkish: Yeni Cami ) or New Mosque can refer to: New Mosque, Istanbul , Turkey New Mosque, Bitola , North Macedonia New Mosque, Malatya , Turkey Djamaa el Djedid ('New Mosque') in Algiers, Algeria Yeni Mosque, Komotini , Greece Yeni Mosque, Larissa , Greece Yeni Mosque, Mytilene , Greece Yeni Mosque, Thessaloniki , Greece Yeni Jami, Nicosia , Cyprus Topics referred to by

146-493: A child attained the status of an umm walad , and a favorite concubine was given great luxury and honorary titles such as in the case of Marjan, who gave birth to al-Hakam II , the heir of Abd al-Rahman III ; he called her al-sayyida al-kubra (great lady). Several concubines were known to have had great influence through their masters or their sons, notably Subh during the Caliphate of Cordoba, and Isabel de Solís during

219-522: A harem, where the ruler's wives and concubines lived with female attendants, and eunuchs. Encyclopædia Iranica uses the term harem to describe the practices of the ancient Near East. There has been a modern trend to refer to the women's quarters of the Pharaoh's palace in Ancient Egypt as a harem. The popular assumption that Pharaonic Egypt had a harem is however an anachronism ; while

292-612: A harem. When Greek culture started to replace the Roman in the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century, it came to be seen as modest, especially for upper-class women, to keep to a special women's quarters ( gynaikonitis ), and until the 12th century, men and women are known to have participated in gender-segregated banquets at the Imperial Court; however Imperial women still appeared in public and did not live in seclusion, and

365-606: A matter of debate and it appears that their status varied depending on circumstances and that the highest female rank was not necessarily borne by the chief wife, but could be held by a daughter or a sister. The Sasanian harem was supervised by eunuchs, and also had female singers and musicians. However, while the Sasanian kings had harems, women in the Sassanid Empire in general did not live in seclusion; elaborate harems were detested and appear to have been exceptions to

438-661: A model for all Muslim women. The growing seclusion of women was illustrated by the power struggle between the Caliph Al-Hadi and his mother Al-Khayzuran , who refused to live in seclusion but instead challenged the power of the Caliph by giving her own audiences to male supplicants and officials and thus mixing with men. Her son considered this improper, and he publicly addressed the issue of his mother's public life by assembling his generals and asked them: Conquests had brought enormous wealth and large numbers of slaves to

511-401: A variety of styles. The dome is 17.5 metres (57 feet) in diameter and has a height of 36 metres (118 feet). Like many other Ottoman imperial mosques, on the 4 corners where the dome meets the pillars holding it up, are calligraphic plates with the names of the first four khalifahs , Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman , and Ali . The interior space is extended with semi-domes along the east–west axis of

584-556: Is available, it indicates that the harem was much more likely to be monogamous. For example, in late Ottoman Istanbul, only 2.29 percent of married men were polygynous, with the average number of wives being 2.08. In some regions, like Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, prevalence of women in agricultural work leads to wider practice of polygamy but makes seclusion impractical. In contrast, in Eurasian and North African rural communities that rely on male-dominated plough farming, seclusion

657-417: Is decorated with blue, green and white İznik tiles , which are considered somewhat inferior in quality to tiles in earlier imperial mosques. The mihrab is decorated with gilded stalactites and the minbar had a conical canopy with slender marble columns. A library was built by Ahmed III in 1724-25 to the right of the porch in front of the tomb. The structure, which has stone-brick alternate meshed walls,

730-421: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages New Mosque, Istanbul The construction of the mosque began in 1597. It was ordered by Safiye Sultan , who was the wife of Sultan Murad III and later Valide Sultan (Queen Mother) of Sultan Mehmed III . She ordered the mosque in her capacity as Valide Sultan , two years after Mehmed III 's ascension to

803-438: Is economically possible but polygyny is undesirable. This indicates that the fundamental characteristic of the harem is seclusion of women rather than polygyny. The idea of the harem or seclusion of women did not originate with Muhammad or Islam . The practice of secluding women was common to many Ancient Near East communities, especially where polygamy was permitted. In pre-Islamic Assyria and Persia, most royal courts had

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876-582: Is known about the alleged harems of the Parthians . Parthian royal men reportedly had several wives and kept them fairly secluded from all men except for relatives and eunuchs. According to Roman sources, Parthian kings had harems full of female slaves and hetairas secluded from contact with men, and royal women were not allowed to participate in the royal banquets. Also aristocratic Parthian men appear to have had harems, as Roman sources report of rich men travelling with hundreds of guarded concubines. However,

949-414: Is known that they appeared in public and traveled with their husbands, participated in hunting and in feasts; at least the chief wife of a royal or aristocratic man did not live in seclusion, as it is clearly stated that wives customarily accompanied their husbands to dinner banquets, although they left the banquet when the "women entertainers" of the harem came in and the men began "merrymaking". Little

1022-510: Is passed by the low arched door, is connected to the main room. The transition from the main space to the small space in the east direction was provided. II in the oval form at the top in the middle of the facade. Mahmud's monogram, at the bottom, is the inscription of the Poet Vasif, in two rows, with a ten-line stone line. There are seventeen tombs in this tomb. One of Hasan Bedreddin Bey

1095-465: Is said to have fathered a total of 525 sons and 342 daughters by 1703 and achieved a 700th son in 1721. Many of his concubines are only fragmentarily documented. As concubines, they were slave captives, sometimes acquired via the Barbary slave trade from Europe. One of them, an Irishwoman by the name Mrs. Shaw, was brought to his harem after having been enslaved. She was forced to convert to Islam when

1168-470: Is square-shaped and covered with a flattened dome with an octagonal rim, which is provided with pendants. There are unique pen works left in the pendants and dome of the library. It is located at the corner of the courtyard wall to the south of the mosque; It was built in 1816 according to the inscription on it. The structure, which is handled with cut stone material, is covered with a wide eave flat onion dome and has three sections. The entrance hall, which

1241-439: Is therefore apocryphal, and has been used because of incorrect assumptions that Ancient Egypt was similar to later Islamic harem culture. The kings of Ancient Assyria are known to have had a harem regulated by royal edicts, in which the women lived in seclusion guarded by slave eunuchs. A number of regulations were designed to prevent disputes among the women from developing into political intrigues. The women were guarded by

1314-537: The Emirate of Granada . However, concubines were always slaves subjected the will of their master. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III is known to have executed two concubines for reciting what he saw as inappropriate verses, and tortured another concubine with a burning candle in her face while she was held by two eunuchs after she refused sexual intercourse. The concubines of Abu Marwan al-Tubni (d. 1065) were reportedly so badly treated that they conspired to murder him; women of

1387-780: The Hadith literature. But by the time of the Abbasid Caliphate , women were ideally kept in seclusion. The practice of gender segregation in Islam was influenced by an interplay of religion, customs and politics. The harem system first became fully institutionalized in the Islamic world under the Abbasid caliphate . Seclusion of women was established in various communities of the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, and Persia before

1460-512: The Indian subcontinent as zenana ( Urdu : زنانہ ). Although the institution has experienced a sharp decline in the modern era due to a rise in education and economic opportunities for women, as well as the influence of Western culture , the seclusion of women is still practiced in some parts of the world, such as rural Afghanistan and conservative states of the Persian Gulf . In

1533-548: The Ottoman throne in 1595, hence the original formal name "Valide Sultan Mosque". The original architect was Davut Ağa , an apprentice to the great Mimar Sinan . However, Davut Ağa died in 1599 and was replaced by Dalgıç Ahmed Çavuş. The construction took more than half a century and was completed by another Valide Sultan , Turhan Sultan , mother of Sultan Mehmed IV . The project was hampered by political disconnect, and its location and monetary implications created dissent in

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1606-924: The Spice Bazaar (also known as the Egyptian Bazaar ), a well-known Istanbul tourist attraction. The mausoleum ( türbe ) holds the graves of the Valide Sultan Turhan Hatice , her son Mehmed IV as well as five later sultans ( Mustafa II , Ahmed II , Mahmud I , Osman III and Murad V ) and various members of the court. Ongoing restoration and maintenance works are implemented by the Turkish General Directorate of Foundations. (See also: Ottoman architectural decoration ) Harem Harem ( Arabic : حَرِيمٌ , romanized :  ḥarīm , lit.   'a sacred inviolable place; female members of

1679-572: The Trans-Saharan slave trade . It was not unheard of for a ruler to marry one of his concubines. Many slaves were also provided to the harem from Africa via the Trans-Saharan slave trade. This was particularly true about the enslaved maidservants, as well as the eunuchs. The Alaouite harem is most known during the reign of Moulay Ismail , Alaouite sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727. Moulay Ismail had over 500 enslaved concubines. He

1752-587: The "New Mosque" ( Yeni Cami ) among the public. The exterior of the mosque itself boasts 66 domes and semi domes in a pyramidal arrangement, as well as two minarets . The main dome measures 36 metres (118 feet) in height, and is supported by four flanking semi-domes. The dome plan of the New Mosque is based on the earlier Şehzade Mosque designed by Mimar Sinan , and on Sedefkar Mehmed Agha 's Sultan Ahmed Mosque . As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul,

1825-648: The 7th-century BC, and Media transformed into the Achaemenid Empire ). According to Greek sources, the nobility of the Medes kept no less than five wives, who were watched over by eunuchs. Greek historians have reported of harems of the Achaemenid Empire . Herodotus reported that each Persian royal or aristocratic man had several wives and concubines who came to the husband on a well-regulated, turn by turn basis. and had sole control over their children until they were five years old. The Old Persian word for

1898-460: The Alaouite dynasty often conducted political marriages, cementing strategic alliances with internal tribal and aristocratic men by marrying female members of their family. Aside from their legal wives, they also, similar to other Muslim rulers, followed the custom of having concubines. The enslaved concubines of the Alaouite dynasty famously often came from the Barbary slave trade , as well as from

1971-414: The Caliph, the harem women consisted of his slave concubines. The slaves of the Caliph were often European saqaliba slaves trafficked from Northern or Eastern Europe. While male saqaliba could be given work in a number offices such as: in the kitchen, falconry, mint, textile workshops, the administration or the royal guard (in the case of harem guards, they were castrated), but female saqaliba were placed in

2044-561: The Christian states of Northern Spain, and given a new name when they entered the royal harem. The Royal harem of the Alaouite dynasty of Morocco has historically not been the subject of much research. Known from the 17th-century onward, the royal harem is known to have followed the common model of a royal Muslim harem, including wives, enslaved concubines, female slave-servants and enslaved eunuchs as guards and officials. The rulers of

2117-631: The Muslim elite. The majority of the slaves were women and children, many of whom had been dependents or harem-members of the defeated Sassanian upper classes. In the wake of the conquests an elite man could potentially own a thousand slaves, and ordinary soldiers could have ten people serving them. Nabia Abbott , preeminent historian of elite women of the Abbasid Caliphate, describes the lives of harem women as follows. The choicest women were imprisoned behind heavy curtains and locked doors,

2190-474: The Persians, but Greek society also influenced the development of patriarchal tradition. The ideal of seclusion was not fully realized as social reality. This was in part because working-class women often held jobs that required interaction with men. In the Byzantine Empire, the very ideal of gender segregation created economic opportunities for women as midwives, doctors, bath attendants and artisans since it

2263-605: The Roman reports about Parthian harems seem to mirror the traditional Greek reports about the Achaemenid harems, and they similarly are biased, and cannot be verified by archeological evidence. The information about the Sasanian harem reveals a picture that closely mirrors the alleged Achaemenid customs. In the Sassanian Empire, Roman reports say that it was common for men to have multiple wives. The hierarchy of

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2336-597: The Royal Palace does not necessarily mean that they were secluded from contact with men, and despite the (possibly biased) Greek reports, there is no archeological evidence supporting the existence of a harem, or the seclusion of women from contact with men, at the Achaemenid court. Royal and aristocratic Achaemenid women were given an education in subjects that did not appear compatible with seclusion, such as horsemanship and archery. It does not appear that royal and aristocratic women lived in seclusion from men since it

2409-604: The Sassanian harem is not clear. The Sassanian kings had one chief consort, who was the mother of the heir to the throne, as well as having several wives of lower rank, and concubines, all of whom accompanied him on travels, and even on campaigns. Five titles are attested to for royal women: “royal princess” ( duxšy , duxt ); “Lady” ( bānūg ); “Queen” ( bānbišn ); “Queen of the Empire” ( [Ērān]šahr bānbišn ) and "Queen of Queens" ( bānbišnān bānbišn ). The rank of these titles has been

2482-605: The Sultan wished to have intercourse with her, but was manumitted and married off to a Spanish convert when the Sultan grew tired of her. The Spanish convert being very poor, witnesses described her as being reduced to beggary. Other slave concubines would become favorites and thus allowed some influence, such as an Englishwoman called Lalla Balqis . Another favorite was a Spanish captive renamed Al-Darah, mother to Moulay Ismail's once favorite sons Moulay Mohammed al-Alim; and Moulay Sharif, whom he, himself educated. Around 1702, Al-Darah

2555-809: The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates was reproduced by the Islamic realms developing from them, such as in the Emirates and Caliphates in Muslim Spain, Al-Andalus , which attracted a lot of attention in Europe during the Middle Ages until the Emirate of Granada was conquered in 1492. The most famous of the Andalusian harems was perhaps the harem of the Caliph of Cordoba . Except for the female relatives of

2628-531: The West, the harem, often depicted as a hidden world of sexual subjugation where numerous women lounged in suggestive poses, has influenced many paintings, stage productions, films and literary works. Some earlier European Renaissance paintings dating to the 16th century portray the women of the Ottoman harem as individuals of status and political significance. In many periods of Islamic history, individual women in

2701-586: The advent of Islam, and some scholars believe that Muslims adopted the custom from the Byzantine Empire and Persia, retrospectively interpreting the Quran to justify it. Although the term harem does not denote women's quarters in the Quran , a number of Quranic verses discussing modesty and seclusion were held up by Quranic commentators as religious rationale for the separation of women from men, including

2774-401: The building, with smaller domes above each corner of the nave and even smaller domes above the corners of the galleries. The northeast corner of the gallery has a gilded screen, behind which members of the imperial court could attend services. This Royal Loge is connected by a long elevated passageway to a Royal Pavilion in the northeast corner of the mosque complex. The interior of the mosque

2847-460: The court. Eminönü was the city's foremost commercial centre, and home to a predominantly Jewish population. In situating the mosque there, Safiye Sultan hoped to extend the sphere of Islamic influence within the city, capitalising on the growing discontent of both local and foreign merchants who were concerned by the increasing influence of their Jewish counterparts, which gave the Sultan an easy justification for confiscating their property. However,

2920-463: The elites, but the practice remained characteristic of upper and middle classes, for whom the financial ability to allow one's wife to remain at home was a mark of high status. In some regions, such as the Arabian peninsula, seclusion of women was practiced by poorer families at the cost of great hardship, but it was generally economically unrealistic for the lower classes. Where historical evidence

2993-795: The emperor of the Maurya Empire in India, kept a harem of around 500 women, all of whom were under strict rules of seclusion and etiquette. In contrast to the earlier era of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Rashidun Caliphate , women in Umayyad and Abbasid society were absent from all arenas of the community's central affairs. It was very common for early Muslim women to play an active role in community life and even to lead men into battle and start rebellions, as demonstrated in

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3066-424: The eunuchs who also prevented their disputes from developing into political plots; they were banned from giving gifts to their servants (as such gifts could be used as bribes) and were not allowed any visitors who had not been examined and approved by officials. When the king traveled, his harem traveled with him, strictly supervised so as not to break regulations even under transport. In the 7th century BC, Assyria

3139-562: The fact that he kept the women in seclusion, denying them the benefit of marriage and progeny; this was counted as the fourth of the eight crimes for which he was later tried and executed. Khosrow himself claimed that he sent his favorite wife Shirin every year with an offer of the possibility of leaving his harem with a dowry for marriage, but that their luxurious lifestyle always prompted the women and girls to refuse his offer. South Asian traditions of female seclusion, called purdah , may have been influenced by Islamic customs. Ashoka ,

3212-478: The family') refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic servants , and other unmarried female relatives. In the past, during the era of slavery in the Muslim world , harems also housed enslaved concubines . In former times, some harems were guarded by eunuchs who were allowed inside. The structure of

3285-490: The harem and the extent of monogamy or polygyny have varied depending on the family's personalities, socio-economic status, and local customs. Similar institutions have been common in other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations, especially among royal and upper-class families, and the term is sometimes used in other contexts. In traditional Persian residential architecture , the women's quarters were known as andaruni ( Persian : اندرونی; meaning inside), and in

3358-702: The harem exercised various degrees of political influence, such as the Sultanate of Women in the Ottoman Empire . The word has been recorded in the English language since the early 17th century. It comes from the Arabic: ḥarīm , which can mean "a sacred inviolable place", "harem" or "female members of the family". In English the term harem can mean also "the wives (or concubines) of a polygamous man." The triliteral Ḥ-R-M appears in other terms related to

3431-447: The harem is not attested, but it can be reconstructed as xšapā.stāna (lit. night station or place where one spends the night). The royal household was controlled by the chief wife and queen, who as a rule was the daughter of a Persian prince and mother of the heir to the throne, and who was subject only to the king. She had her own living quarters, revenue, estates and staff, which included eunuchs and concubines. The second rank under

3504-479: The harem were also known to have been subjected to rape when rivaling factions conquered different palaces. The rulers of the Nasrid dynasty of the Emirate of Granada (1232–1492) customarily married their cousins, but also kept slave concubines in accordance with Islamic custom . The identity of these concubines is unknown, but they were originally Christian women ( rūmiyyas ) bought or captured in expeditions in

3577-451: The harem. The harem could contain thousands of slave concubines; the harem of Abd al-Rahman I consisted of 6,300 women. The saqaliba concubines were appreciated for their light skin. The concubines ( jawaris ) were educated in accomplishments to make them attractive and useful for their master, and many became known and respected for their knowledge in a variety of subjects from music to medicine. A jawaris concubine who gave birth to

3650-546: The idealized gender segregation was never fully enforced. There is no evidence among early Iranians of harem practices, that is, taking large numbers of wives or concubines and keeping them in seclusion. However, Iranian dynasties are said to have adopted harem practices after their conquests in the Middle East, where such practices were used in some cultures such as Assyria (the Median Empire conquered Assyria in

3723-407: The king and his guests as musicians, dancers and singers. The harem of Darius III reportedly consisted of his mother, his queen-wife, her children, over 300 concubines and nearly 500 household servants. However, it is a matter of debate if the Achaemenid court had a full harem culture, as women do not appear to have been fully secluded in the harem. The fact that women lived in separate quarters at

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3796-408: The mosque itself is preceded by a monumental courtyard ( avlu ) on its west side. The courtyard of the New Mosque is 39 metres (128 feet) on a side, bordered on its inner side by a colonnaded peristyle covered by 24 small domes. An elegant şadırvan ( ablution fountain ) stands in the center, but is only ornamental. The actual ritual purifications are performed with water taps on the south wall of

3869-471: The mosque. The façade of the mosque under the porch is decorated with İznik tiles . Stone blocks supplied from the island of Rhodes were used in the construction of the mosque. The interior of the mosque is square shaped and measures 41 metres (135 feet) on each side. The central area is defined by four large piers which are the main support for the dome. On the sides and rear of the central area are colonnades of slender marble columns connected by arches in

3942-406: The nearby Spice Bazaar , which forms a part of the külliye of the New Mosque. Thus, in the last months of 1660, the construction of the mosque was resumed, while the construction of the adjacent bazaar began. The mosque was finally completed in 1663, and inaugurated in 1665. It was renamed the "New Valide Sultan Mosque" ( Yeni Valide Sultan Camii ). In time, this name was informally shortened as

4015-586: The notion of interdiction such as haram (forbidden), mahram (unmarriageable relative), ihram (a pilgrim's state of ritual consecration during the Hajj ) and al-Ḥaram al-Šarīf ("the noble sanctuary", which can refer to the Temple Mount or the sanctuary of Mecca ). In the Ottoman Turkish language , the harem, i.e., the part of the house reserved for women was called haremlik , while

4088-518: The practice of seclusion as a social ideal and one of the major factors that shaped the lives of women in the Mediterranean Middle East. For example, contemporaneous sources from the Byzantine Empire describe the social norms that governed women's lives. Women were not supposed to be seen in public. They were guarded by eunuchs and could only leave the home "veiled and suitably chaperoned." Some of these customs were borrowed from

4161-444: The queen consisted of the legal secondary wives, with the title bānūka ("Lady"). The third rank consisted of unmarried princesses as well as married princesses who lived with their own family, with the title duxçī (daughter). The fourth group of women in the harem were the royal slave concubines who were bought in slave markets, received as a gifts as tribute, or taken as prisoners of war. The concubines were trained to entertain

4234-411: The restoration of recent years, traces of Sufi blessings were uncovered in the tomb. As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the New Mosque was designed as a külliye , or complex with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs. The original complex consisted of the mosque itself, a hospital, primary school, and pagalpan palace. The large L-shaped market survives today as

4307-469: The rule, which is illustrated by the fact that big harems – when they occurred – were abhorred by the public. According to Sasanian legend, of all the Persian kings, Khosrow II was the most extravagant in his hedonism. He searched his realm to find the most beautiful girls, and it was rumored that about 3,000 of them were kept in his harem. This practice was widely condemned by the public, who abhorred

4380-466: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Yeni Mosque . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yeni_Mosque&oldid=1254534368 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Turkish-language text Short description

4453-430: The so-called hijab verse (33:53). In modern usage hijab colloquially refers to the religious attire worn by Muslim women, but in this verse, it meant "veil" or "curtain" that physically separates female from male space. Although classical commentators agreed that the verse spoke about a curtain separating the living quarters of Muhammad's wives from visitors to his house, they usually viewed this practice as providing

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4526-555: The son of Sultan Abdülaziz's daughter Esma Sultan . There is also another tomb called the Cedîd Havâtîn Tomb, which was added in the 16th century. There are twenty one tombs in this tomb. In the tomb it includes the graves of Abdulmejid I ’s daughters and Abdulaziz daughters. Murad V and his consorts are buried in this tomb. The daughters and sons of Abdul Hamid II who died before the exile of imperial family, and his mother Tirimüjgan Kadın , are buried in this tomb . In

4599-453: The space open for men was known as selamlık . The practice of female seclusion is not exclusive to Islam, but the English word harem usually denotes the domestic space reserved for women in Muslim households. Some scholars have used the term to refer to polygynous royal households throughout history. Leila Ahmed describes the ideal of seclusion as "a man's right to keep his women concealed—invisible to other men." Ahmed identifies

4672-488: The strings and keys of which were entrusted into the hands of that pitiable creature – the eunuch . As the size of the harem grew, men indulged to satiety. Satiety within the individual harem meant boredom for the one man and neglect for the many women. Under these conditions ... satisfaction by perverse and unnatural means crept into society, particularly in its upper classes. The marketing of human beings, particularly women, as objects for sexual use meant that elite men owned

4745-451: The vast majority of women they interacted with, and related to them as would masters to slaves. Being a slave meant relative lack of autonomy, and belonging to a harem caused a wife and her children to have little insurance of stability and continued support due to the volatile politics of harem life. Elite men expressed in literature the horror they felt for the humiliation and degradation of their daughters and female relatives. For example,

4818-515: The vast monetary outlay drew sharp criticism. In particular, the Janissaries resented the growing political power of the Valide sultan , and believed the mosque to be an unnecessary expenditure. Safiye was forced to abandon the project upon Mehmed III 's death in 1603. The new Sultan, Ahmed I , had no interest in pursuing the project after Safiye was relegated to the harem and the construction

4891-603: The verses addressed to Hasan ibn al-Firat on the death of his daughter read: Courtesans and princesses produced prestigious and important poetry. Enough survives to give us access to women's historical experiences, and reveals some vivacious and powerful figures such as: the Sufi mystic Raabi'a al-Adwiyya (714–801 CE), the princess and poet 'Ulayya bint al-Mahdi (777–825 CE), the singing-girls Shāriyah ( c.  815 –70 CE), Fadl Ashsha'ira (d. 871 CE) and Arib al-Ma'muniyya (797–890 CE). The harem system that developed in

4964-456: The women and children of the pharaoh, including his mother, wives, and children, had their own living quarters with its own administration in the Palace of the Pharaoh, the royal women did not live isolated from contact with men or in seclusion from the rest of the court in the way associated with the term "harem". The custom of referring to the women's quarters of the pharaoh's palace as a "harem"

5037-461: Was abandoned. After 1603, the partially constructed structure gradually fell into ruins; and was severely damaged during the Great Fire of 1660 which destroyed many neighbourhoods in the city. Later that year, the imperial architect Mustafa Ağa suggested that Turhan Sultan , mother of Sultan Mehmed IV , should complete the project as a work of piety. Turhan also ordered the construction of

5110-468: Was conquered by the Median Empire , which appears to have adopted the harem custom. Reportedly, the Median nobility each had five wives, and employed eunuchs (though these eunuchs may have been non-castrated officials). Female seclusion and a special part of the house reserved for women were common among the elites of ancient Greece, where it was known as the gynaeceum . However, while gender segregation

5183-439: Was considered inappropriate for men to attend to women's needs. At times women lent and invested money, and engaged in other commercial activities. Historical records shows that the women of 14th-century Mamluk Cairo freely visited public events alongside men, despite objections of religious scholars. Female seclusion has historically signaled social and economic prestige. Eventually, the norms of female seclusion spread beyond

5256-540: Was strangled by Moulay Ismail; Lalla Aisha Mubaraka, a later favorite, convinced him that Al-Darah had betrayed him; she wanted to secure the succession of her own son. According to the writings of the French diplomat Dominique Busnot , Moulay Ismail had at least 500 concubines and even more children. A total of 868 children (525 sons and 343 daughters) is recorded in 1703, with his seven-hundredth son being born shortly after his death in 1727, by which time he had well over

5329-753: Was the official ideal in Classical Athens, it is debated how much of this ideal was actually enforced, and it is known that even upper-class women appeared in public and were able to come in contact with men, at least on religious occasions. These traditional Greek ideals were revived as an ideal for women in the Byzantine Empire (in which Greek culture eventually became dominant), though the rigid idealistic norms of seclusion expressed in Byzantine literature did not necessarily reflect actual practice. The Byzantine Emperors were Greek Orthodox and did not have several wives, or official concubines, secluded in

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