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125-697: This manuscript is kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul , Turkey . It is traditionally attributed to Uthman ibn Affan (d. 656). However, a recent study by Professor Rami Hussein Halaseh indicates that attributing H.S. 32 to "ʿUthmān or claiming its production during the first/ seventh century is historically inaccurate." Similar illuminations can be found in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem,

250-493: 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

375-651: A fire its name was transferred to the palace. In Turkish the current name of the palace, Topkapı , means 'Cannon Gate'. The palace complex is located on the Seraglio Point ( Sarayburnu , سرای بورونی ), a promontory overlooking the Golden Horn , where the Bosphorus Strait meets the Sea of Marmara . The terrain is hilly and the palace itself is located at one of the highest points close to

500-522: 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

625-612: 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

750-606: 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

875-661: 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

1000-526: A much later stage. Also cf. E. İhsanoǧlu: "An examination of the Topkapı Muṣḥaf shows that it was written with a developed kufic script. The shape of the letters does not confirm to the writing style of the early Muṣḥafs attributed to Caliph ʿUthmān, which were written on vellum in his period and therefore known as the Muṣḥafs of Caliph ʿUthmān. ... Apparently this Method of Abū al-Aswad al-Duʾalī [invented after

1125-409: A pipe-room. On the outside and inside of the complex, many pious foundation inscriptions about the various duties and upkeep of the quarters can be found. In contrast to the rest of the palace, the quarters are constructed of red and green painted wood. The palace kitchens ( Saray Mutfakları ) were built when the palace was first constructed in the 15th century and expanded during the reign of Suleyman

1250-655: A veiled window overlooking the Council Hall below. From this window, his Noble Excellency sometimes watched the events of the divan, checking the truth of affairs." The Tower of Justice ( Adalet Kulesi ) is located between the Imperial Council and the Harem. The Tower of Justice is several stories high and the tallest structure in the palace, making it clearly visible from the Bosphorus as a landmark. The tower

1375-411: Is around 1527, when they were established to clear the roads ahead of the army during a campaign. The dormitory was founded in the 15th century. It was enlarged by the chief architect Davud Ağa in 1587, during the reign of Sultan Murad III . The dormitories are constructed around a main courtyard in the traditional layout of an Ottoman house, with baths and a mosque, as well as recreational rooms such as

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1500-438: 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

1625-582: 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,

1750-414: 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

1875-529: Is made up of around 2,500 garments, including the precious kaftans of the Sultans. It also houses a collection of 360 ceramic objects. The dormitory was constructed under Sultan Murad IV in 1635. The building was restored by Sultan Ahmed III in the early 18th century. The dormitory is vaulted and is supported by 14 columns. Adjacent to the dormitory, located northeast, is the Conqueror's Pavilion, which houses

2000-465: 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

2125-468: Is the largest of all the courtyards of the palace. The steep slopes leading towards the sea had already been terraced under Byzantine rule. Some of the historical structures of the First Courtyard no longer exist. The structures that remain are the former Imperial Mint ( Darphane-i Âmire , constructed in 1727), the church of Hagia Irene and various fountains. The Byzantine church of Hagia Irene

2250-439: 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

2375-549: Is through the three doors in the portico of the Second Courtyard: the Imperial commissariat (lower kitchen) door, imperial kitchen door and the confectionery kitchen door. The palace kitchens consist of 10 domed buildings: Imperial kitchen, ( palace school ), Harem (women's quarters), Birûn (outer service section of the palace), kitchens, beverages kitchen, confectionery kitchen, creamery , storerooms and rooms for

2500-537: 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

2625-780: 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

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2750-521: The Historic Areas of Istanbul , a group of sites in Istanbul that UNESCO recognised as a World Heritage Site in 1985. The name of the palace was Saray-i Cedid-i Amire ( Ottoman Turkish : سرای جديد عامره , 'Imperial New Palace') until the 18th century. The palace received its current name during Mahmud I 's reign; when Topkapusu Sâhil Sarâyı , the seaside palace, was destroyed in

2875-704: The Seraglio , is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey . From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire , and was the main residence of its sultans . Construction, ordered by the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror , began in 1459, six years after the conquest of Constantinople . Topkapı

3000-572: 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

3125-634: The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and other Umayyad monuments. The size of this manuscript is 41 cm × 46 cm (16 in × 18 in). According to Halaseh, H.S. 32 currently contains about 97.78% of the text of the Qur'ān. With only two pages (23 verses) lacking, this manuscript is the closest to the complete text of the Quran. Mehmed Ali Pasha , Governor of Egypt, sent this manuscript to

3250-498: The Valide sultan was able to follow deliberations of the council without being noticed from a window with a golden grill. The window could be reached from the imperial quarters in the adjacent Tower of Justice ( Adalet Kulesi ). The window is mentioned for the first time in 1527 by the scholar Celalzade Mustafa Çelebi : "His Majesty [...] had built a high throne and a lofty loggia above the outer Council Hall where viziers sat, inventing

3375-697: 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 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

3500-531: The 18th century. The Imperial Council ( Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn ) building is the chamber where the Imperial Council —consisting of the Grand Vizier ( Vazīr-e Azam ) and other council ministers ( Dîvân Heyeti )—held meetings. The domed chamber of the building is called Kubbealtı , which means "under the dome". The council building situated in the northwestern corner of the courtyard next to

3625-648: 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

3750-460: 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

3875-555: The Byzantine Empire, the very ideal of gender segregation created economic opportunities for women as midwives, doctors, bath attendants and artisans since it 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,

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4000-517: The Byzantine acropolis. This basic layout governed the pattern of future renovations and extensions. The layout and appearance of Topkapı Palace was unique amongst not only European travellers, but also Islamic or oriental palaces. European travellers described it as "irregular, asymmetric, non-axial, and [of] un-monumental proportions". Ottomans called it "The Palace of Felicity". A strict, ceremonial, codified daily life ensured imperial seclusion from

4125-414: 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

4250-561: 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

4375-529: The Gate of Felicity. The Imperial Council building was first built during the reign of Mehmed II. The present building dates from the period of Süleyman the Magnificent; the chief architect was Alseddin. It had to be restored after the Harem fire of 1665. According to the entrance inscription it was also restored during the periods of Selim III and Mahmud II ; on its façade are verse inscriptions that mention

4500-424: The Gate of Felicity. This square building is an Ottoman kiosk, surrounded by a colonnade of 22 columns supporting the large roof with hanging eaves . The building dates from the 15th century. The ceiling of the chamber was painted in ultramarine blue and studded with golden stars. The walls were lined with blue, white and turquoise tiles. The chamber was further decorated with precious carpets and pillows. The chamber

4625-612: The Gate of Salutation from the First Courtyard. In April 2021, archaeologists uncovered a Roman period gallery consisting of three sections during the underground researches carried out in Topkapı Palace. The gallery located near the Imperial Gate was revealed during the excavation of the First Courtyard. Through the middle gate is the Second Courtyard ( II. Avlu ), or Divan Square ( Divan Meydanı ). The courtyard

4750-519: The Imperial Treasury. Harem Harem ( Arabic : حَرِيمٌ , romanized :  ḥarīm , lit.   'a sacred inviolable place; female members of 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

4875-478: The Magnificent. They were modeled on the kitchens of Edirne Palace . After the fire of 1574, which damaged the kitchens, they were remodeled by the court architect Mimar Sinan . The rebuilt kitchens form two rows of 20 wide chimneys; these chimneys were added by Mimar Sinan. The kitchens are located on an internal street stretching between the Second Courtyard and the Marmara Sea. The entrance to this section

5000-631: 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,

5125-645: The Muṣḥafs attributed to Caliph ʿUthmān; however considering the differences in their script, the centuries when they were copied and their different dimensions, they must have been copied from the Muṣḥafs attributed to Caliph ʿUthmān. For this reason, each of them was called the (Muṣḥaf ʿUthmān)" (Altıkulaç, al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharif, page 80). This Islam-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Topkapi Palace The Topkapı Palace ( Turkish : Topkapı Sarayı ; Ottoman Turkish : طوپقپو سرايى , romanized :  ṭopḳapu sarāyı , lit.   'Cannon Gate Palace'), or

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5250-628: The Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful", dating from 1723. This inscription was added during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III. The tile panels on either side of the door were placed during later repair work. There is a small fountain by the entrance from the time of Suleiman I. The Persian inscriptions calls the sultan "the fountainhead of generosity, justice and the sea of beneficence." Gifts presented by ambassadors were placed in front of

5375-611: The Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II as a gift in the 19th century (CE). The paleographic assessment indicates that the Topkapi manuscript comes closest to those writings that date back to the 8th century. (cf. the examples in Déroche: Abbasid, page 36). Halaseh also shows that based on the paleography of the manuscript, folios 2r–6v and 11 seems to have been created by another hand and added to the manuscript at

5500-442: The Roman and Byzantine periods that have been found on the palace site during recent excavations, including sarcophagi , are on display in the Second Courtyard in front of the imperial kitchens. Located underneath the Second Courtyard is a cistern that dates to Byzantine times. During Ottoman times this courtyard would have been full of peacocks and gazelles . It was used as a gathering place for courtiers. The Sultan, seated on

5625-605: 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

5750-597: 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

5875-604: 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

6000-605: 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

6125-576: The Sultan's family lived in the harem , and leading state officials, including the Grand Vizier , held meetings in the Imperial Council building. After the 17th century, Topkapı gradually lost its importance. The sultans of that period preferred to spend more time in their new palaces along the Bosphorus . In 1856 Sultan Abdulmejid I decided to move the court to the newly built Dolmabahçe Palace . Topkapı retained some of its functions, including

6250-532: The Third Courtyard was established by Mehmed II. While Mehmed II would not sleep in the harem, successive sultans after him became more secluded and moved to the more intimate Fourth Courtyard and the harem section. The Hünername miniature from 1584 shows the Third Courtyard and the surrounding outer gardens. The Audience Chamber, also known as the Chamber of Petitions ( Arz Odası ), is right behind

6375-525: The Topkapı Palace was converted into a museum, its collection of arms and armor was put on exhibition in this building. During excavations in 1937 in front of this building, remains of a religious Byzantine building dating from the 5th century were found. Since it could not be identified with any of the churches known to have been built on the palace site, it is now known as "the Basilica of the Topkapı Palace" or simply Palace Basilica . Also located outside

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6500-809: 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

6625-534: 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

6750-425: The buildings exceed two stories. Seen from above, the palace grounds are divided into four main courtyards and the harem. The first courtyard was the most accessible, while the fourth courtyard and the harem were the most inaccessible. Access to these courtyards was restricted by high walls and controlled with gates. Apart from the four to five main courtyards, various other small to mid-sized courtyards exist throughout

6875-443: The complex. Estimates of the total size of the complex varies from around 592,600 m (146.4 acres) to 700,000 m (173 acres). To the west and south the complex is bordered by the large imperial flower park, known today as Gülhane Park . Various related buildings such as small summer palaces ( kasır , قصر ), pavilions, kiosks ( köşk , كوشك ) and other structures for royal pleasures and functions formerly existed at

7000-448: The construction style and arrangements of various halls and buildings. The architects had to ensure that even within the palace, the sultan and his family could enjoy a maximum of privacy and discretion, making use of grilled windows and building secret passageways. Later sultans made various modifications to the palace, though Mehmed II's basic layout was mostly preserved. The palace was significantly expanded between 1520 and 1560, during

7125-422: The contemporary historian Critobulus of Imbros the sultan "took care to summon the very best workmen from everywhere – masons and stonecutters and carpenters ... For he was constructing great edifices which were to be worth seeing and should in every respect vie with the greatest and best of the past." Accounts differ as to when construction of the inner core of the palace started and was finished. Critobulus gives

7250-465: The cooks. They were the largest kitchens in the Ottoman Empire. Food was prepared for about 4,000 people and the kitchen staff consisted of more than 800 people. The kitchens included dormitories, baths and a mosque for the employees, most of which disappeared over time. Apart from exhibiting kitchen utensils, today the buildings contain a silver gifts collection, as well as a large collection of porcelain. The Ottomans had access to Chinese porcelains from

7375-421: The council. There are three domed chambers: the first chamber where the Imperial Council held its deliberations is called the Kubbealtı , the second was occupied by the secretarial staff of the Imperial Council, and the third—called Defterhāne —is where the head clerks kept records of the council meetings. The main chamber Kubbealtı is, however, decorated with Ottoman Kütahya tiles . The Sultan or

7500-452: The damaged parts of the palace. Mimar Sinan restored and expanded not only the damaged areas, but also the Harem, baths, the Privy Chamber and various shoreline pavilions. By the end of the 16th century, the palace had acquired its present appearance. The palace is an extensive complex rather than a single monolithic structure, with an assortment of low buildings constructed around courtyards, interconnected with galleries and passages. Few of

7625-433: The dates 1459–1465; other sources suggest construction was completed in the late 1460s. Mehmed II established the basic layout of the palace. His private quarters would be located at the highest point of the promontory. Various buildings and pavilions surrounded the innermost core and winded down the promontory towards the shores of the Bosphorus . The entire complex was surrounded by high walls, some of which date back to

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7750-427: The death of Caliph ʿUthmān] was carefully followed in placing the vowel marks of the Topkapı Palace copy. Single dots were placed in red ink above, beside or below the letters." (Altıkulaç, al-Muṣḥāf al-Sharif (Preface), page 9). "According to the evaluation of Munadjdjid, neither this Muṣḥaf nor the Muṣḥafs located in Tashkent, al-Mashhad al-Ḥusayn in Cairo and in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Works in Istanbul were

7875-427: The depiction of the fight of a dragon, symbol of power, with simurg , a mythical bird. On the throne there is a cover made of several pieces of brocade on which emerald and ruby plaques and pearls are sown. Embossed inscriptions at the main visitors' door, dating from 1856, contain laudatory words for Sultan Abdülmecid I. The main door is surmounted by an embossed besmele , the common Muslim benediction, meaning "In

8000-505: 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

8125-424: 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

8250-562: 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 ,

8375-418: 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 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

8500-410: The gate on his Bayram throne on religious, festive days and accession, when the subjects and officials perform their homage standing. The funerals of the Sultan were also conducted in front of the gate. On either side of this colonnaded passage, under control of the Chief Eunuch of the Sultan's Harem (called the Bâbüssaâde Ağası ) and the staff under him, were the quarters of the eunuchs as well as

8625-446: The gold-plated Bayram throne , used to hold audiences in the second courtyard. Some foreign dignitaries, including the French ambassador Philippe du Fresne-Canaye , have written accounts about these audiences. The imperial stables ( Istabl-ı Âmire ), located around five to six meters below ground level, were constructed under Mehmed II and renovated under Suleyman. A vast collection of harness "treasures" ( Raht Hazinesi ) are kept in

8750-399: The hall are in the rococo style, with gilded grills to admit natural light. While the pillars are an earlier Ottoman style, the wall paintings and decorations are from the later rococo period. Inside, the Imperial Council building consists of three adjoining main rooms. The 15th century Divanhane , built with a wooden portico at the corner of the Divan Court , was later used as the mosque of

8875-447: 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

9000-479: 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

9125-451: 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

9250-546: 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

9375-620: The imperial treasury, library and mint. After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, a government decree dated April 3, 1924 transformed Topkapı into a museum. Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism now administers the Topkapı Palace Museum. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public as of 2020, including the Ottoman Imperial Harem and

9500-558: 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 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

9625-407: 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

9750-737: The large window in the middle of the main facade between the two doors. The Pişkeş Gate to the left ( Pişkeş Kapısı , Pişkeş meaning gift brought to a superior) is surmounted by an inscription from the reign of Mahmud II, which dates from 1810. Behind the Audience Chamber on the eastern side is the Dormitory of the Expeditionary Force ( Seferli Koğuşu ), which houses the Imperial Wardrobe Collection ( Padişhah Elbiseleri Koleksiyonu ). This collection

9875-654: The late Song Dynasty (960-1279) and the Yuan Dynasty (1280–1368), through the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). The pieces include celadons as well as blue and white porcelain. The Japanese collection is mainly Imari porcelain , dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The collection also includes around 5,000 European pieces. Researchers believe that Ottoman tastes changed over time to favor various types of European porcelain by

10000-604: The lower classes. Where historical evidence 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

10125-487: The mid-fifteenth century onward. Although official Chinese sources have documented that some Ottoman envoys paid tributary visits to China and received gifts, including porcelain wares, from the Chinese emperor as rewards, no sources on the Ottoman side substantiate such official missions. The collection of 10,700 pieces of Chinese porcelain is among the finest porcelain collections in the world. Porcelains often entered

10250-459: The norms of female seclusion spread beyond 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

10375-445: The palace and the Second Courtyard. This crenellated gate has two large, pointed octagonal towers. Its date of construction is uncertain; the architecture of the towers appears to be of Byzantine influence. An inscription at the door dates this gate to at least 1542. The gate is richly decorated with religious inscriptions and monograms of sultans. Passage through the gate was tightly controlled and all visitors had to dismount, since only

10500-402: The palace collection as parts of the estates of deceased persons, and were sometimes circulated as gifts amongst members of the royal family or other leading officials. Records indicate that by the 18th century the palace collection had 16,566 pieces of Chinese porcelain, compared to 400 pieces in the 16th century and 3,645 pieces in the 17th century. The Chinese porcelain collection ranges from

10625-626: The palace. It is a lush garden surrounded by the Hall of the Privy Chamber ( Has Oda ), the treasury, the harem and the library of Ahmed III . The Third Courtyard is surrounded by the quarters of the Ağas , page boys in the service of the sultan. They were taught the arts, such as music, painting and calligraphy . The best could become the Has Oda Ağası or high-ranking officials. The layout of

10750-497: 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 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

10875-403: The private and residential areas of the palace. The gate has a dome supported by lean marble pillars. It represents the presence of the Sultan in the palace. No one could pass this gate without the authority of the Sultan. Even the Grand Vizier was only granted authorisation on specified days and under specified conditions. The gate was probably constructed under Mehmed II in the 15th century. It

11000-641: The privy stables. This area also has a small 18th-century mosque and the bath of Beşir Ağa ( Beşir Ağa Camii ve Hamamı ), who was the chief black eunuch of Mahmud I. At the end of the imperial stables are the Dormitories of the Halberdiers with Tresses ( Zülüflü Baltacılar Koğuşu ). The responsibilities of the halberdiers included carrying wood to the palace rooms and service for some of the palace quarters. The halberdiers wore long tresses to signify their higher position. The first mention of this corps

11125-444: 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

11250-468: The reign of Suleyman the Magnificent . The Ottoman Empire had expanded rapidly and Suleyman wanted his residence to reflect its growing power. The chief architect in this period was the Persian Alaüddin, also known as Acem Ali. He was also responsible for the expansion of the Harem. In 1574, after a great fire destroyed the kitchens, Mimar Sinan was entrusted by Sultan Selim II to rebuild

11375-574: The remainder of the collection. Currently on exhibition are some 400 weapons, most of which bear inscriptions. The Gate of Felicity ( Bâbüssaâde or Bab-üs Saadet ) is the entrance into the Inner Court ( Enderûn meaning "inside" in Persian ), also known as the Third Courtyard, marking the border to the Outer Court or Birûn (meaning "outside" in Persian ). The Third Courtyard comprises

11500-459: The rest of world. One of the central tenets was the observation of silence in the inner courtyards. The principle of imperial seclusion is a tradition that was codified by Mehmed II in 1477 and 1481 in the Kanunname Code, which regulated the rank order of court officials, the administrative hierarchy, and protocol matters. This principle of increased seclusion over time was reflected in

11625-447: The restoration work carried out in 1792 and 1819 by Sultan Selim III and Mahmud II. The rococo decorations on the façade and inside the Imperial Council date from this period. There are multiple entrances to the council hall, both from inside the palace and from the courtyard. The porch consists of multiple marble and porphyry pillars, with an ornate green and white-coloured wooden ceiling decorated with gold. The exterior entrances into

11750-469: 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

11875-465: 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 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

12000-709: The sea. During Greek and Byzantine times, the acropolis of the ancient Greek city of Byzantion stood here. After Sultan Mehmed II's conquest of Constantinople (known since 1930 in English as Istanbul ) in 1453, the Great Palace of Constantinople was largely in ruins. The Ottoman court was initially set up in the Old Palace ( Eski Saray , اسكی سرای ), today the site of Istanbul University in Beyazit Square. Mehmed II ordered that construction of Topkapı Palace begin in 1459. According to an account of

12125-573: The shore in an area known as the Fifth Courtyard, but have disappeared over time due to neglect and the construction of the shoreline railroad in the 19th century. The last remaining seashore structure that still exists today is the Basketmakers' Kiosk , constructed in 1592 by Sultan Murad III . The main street leading to the palace is the Byzantine processional Mese avenue, known today as Divan Yolu ('Council Street'). This street

12250-471: The small and large rooms of the palace school. The small, indented stone on the ground in front of the gate marks the place where the banner of Muhammad was unfurled. The Grand Vizier or the commander going to war was entrusted with this banner in a solemn ceremony. Beyond the Gate of Felicity is the Third Courtyard ( III. Avlu ), also called the Inner Palace ( Enderûn Avlusu ), which is the heart of

12375-430: 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

12500-540: 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 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

12625-457: The south of the palace. This massive gate, originally dating from 1478, is now covered in 19th-century marble. Its central arch leads to a high-domed passage; gilded Ottoman calligraphy adorns the structure at the top, with verses from the Qur'an and tughras of the sultans. The tughras of Mehmed II and Abdulaziz , who renovated the gate, have been identified. According to old documents, there

12750-488: 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

12875-538: The sultan was allowed to enter the gate on horseback. This was also a Byzantine tradition taken from the Chalke Gate of the Great Palace . The Fountain of the Executioner ( Cellat Çeşmesi ) is where the executioner purportedly washed his hands and sword after a decapitation , though there is disagreement about whether the fountain was actually used for this purpose. It is located on the right side when facing

13000-455: 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 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

13125-501: 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 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

13250-430: The treasury building is a target stone ( Nişan Taşı ), which is over two metres tall. This stone was erected in commemoration of a record rifle shot by Selim III in 1790. It was brought to the palace from Levend in the 1930s. The arms collection ( Silah Seksiyonu Sergi Salonu ), which consists primarily of weapons that remained in the palace at the time of its conversion, is one of the richest assemblages of Islamic arms in

13375-632: The treasury, called hazine where the Spoonmaker's Diamond and the Topkapi Dagger are on display. The museum collection also includes Ottoman clothing , weapons , armor, miniatures , religious relics, and illuminated manuscripts such as the Topkapi manuscript . Officials of the ministry as well as armed guards of the Turkish military guard the complex. The Topkapı Palace forms a part

13500-451: 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,

13625-603: 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

13750-431: The walls of the chamber were covered with mosaic works spangled with azure and gold; the exterior of the fireplace of this chamber of solid silver and covered with gold, and at one side of the chamber from a fountain water gushed forth from a wall." The present throne in the form of a baldachin was made on the order of Mehmed III. On the lacquered ceiling of the throne, studded with jewels, are foliage patterns accompanied by

13875-456: 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"

14000-530: The world, with examples spanning 1,300 years from the 7th to the 20th centuries. The palace's collection of arms and armor consists of objects manufactured by the Ottomans themselves, or gathered from foreign conquests, or given as presents. Ottoman weapons form the bulk of the collection, but it also includes examples of Umayyad and Abbasid swords, as well as Mamluk and Persian armor, helmets, swords and axes. A lesser number of European and Asian arms make up

14125-465: Was a wooden apartment above the gate area until the second half of the 19th century. It was used as a pavilion by Mehmed, a depository for the properties of those who died inside the palace without heirs and the receiving department of the treasury. It has also been used as a vantage point for the ladies of the harem on special occasions. Surrounded by high walls, the First Courtyard ( I. Avlu or Alay Meydanı ) functioned as an outer precinct or park and

14250-437: Was another ("inner") treasury in the Third Courtyard, this one was also called "outer treasury" ( dış hazine ). Although it contains no dated inscriptions, its construction technique and plan suggest that it was built at the end of the 15th century during the reign of Süleiman I. It subsequently underwent numerous alterations and renovations. It is a hall built of stone and brick with eight domes, each 5 x 11.40 m. This treasury

14375-468: 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

14500-600: Was originally called the " New Palace " ( Yeni Saray or Saray-ı Cedîd-i Âmire ) to distinguish it from the Old Palace ( Eski Saray or Sarây-ı Atîk-i Âmire ) in Beyazıt Square . It was given the name Topkapı , meaning Cannon Gate , in the 19th century. The complex expanded over the centuries, with major renovations after the 1509 earthquake and the 1665 fire. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. Female members of

14625-430: Was probably completed around 1465, during the reign of Mehmed II. It received its final appearance around 1525–1529 during the reign of Suleyman I. It is surrounded by the former palace hospital, bakery, Janissary quarters, stables, the imperial harem and Divan to the north and the kitchens to the south. At the end of the courtyard, the Gate of Felicity marks the entrance to the Third Courtyard. Numerous artifacts from

14750-585: Was probably originally constructed under Mehmed II and then renovated and enlarged by Suleiman I between 1527 and 1529. Sultan Mahmud II rebuilt the lantern of the tower in 1825 while retaining the Ottoman base. The tall windows with engaged columns and the Renaissance pediments evoke the Palladian style. The building where the arms and armor are exhibited was originally one of the palace treasuries ( Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn Hazinesi / Hazine-ı Âmire ). Since there

14875-534: Was redecorated in the rococo style in 1774 under Sultan Mustafa III and during the reign of Mahmud II. The gate is further decorated with Qur'anic verses above the entrance and tuğra s. The ceiling is partly painted and gold-leafed, with a golden ball hanging from the middle. The sides with baroque decorative elements and miniature paintings of landscapes. The Sultan used this gate and the Divan Meydanı square only for special ceremonies. The Sultan sat before

15000-486: Was renovated in 1723 by Sultan Ahmed III . It was destroyed in the fire of 1856 and rebuilt during the reign of Abdülmecid I . The main throne room is located inside the audience chamber. According to a contemporary account by envoy Cornelius Duplicius de Schepper in 1533: "The Emperor was seated on a slightly elevated throne completely covered with gold cloth, replete and strewn with numerous precious stones, and there were on all sides many cushions of inestimable value;

15125-540: 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

15250-696: 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

15375-680: Was used by the Ottomans as a storehouse and imperial armoury. This courtyard was also known as the Court of the Janissaries or the Parade Court. Court officials and janissaries would line the path dressed in their best garb. Visitors entering the palace would follow the path towards the Gate of Salutation and the Second Courtyard of the palace. The large Gate of Salutation, also known as the Middle Gate (Turkish: Orta Kapı ), leads into

15500-534: Was used for imperial processions during the Byzantine and Ottoman era. It leads directly to the Hagia Sophia and turns northwest towards the palace square to the Fountain of Ahmed III . The Imperial Gate is the main entrance into the First Courtyard. The sultan would enter the palace through the Imperial Gate ( Turkish : Bâb-ı Hümâyûn , meaning 'royal gate' in Persian , or Saltanat Kapısı ) located to

15625-414: Was used to finance the administration of the state. The kaftans given as presents to the viziers, ambassadors and residents of the palace by the financial department and the sultan and other valuable objects were also stored here. The janissaries were paid their quarterly wages (called ulufe ) from this treasury, which was closed by the imperial seal entrusted to the grand vizier. In 1928, four years after

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