Harem - what is it? History and culture of the East

In the world there are few socially known phenomena, the true meaning of which remains a hidden veil of secrecy from most people. An example, however, can serve as a harem. About them at least once in my life I've heard everyone, but few know about the true purpose, the device, the rules of life in them. But almost everyone is interested in the question "harem: what is this?"

Historical reference

The word "harem" has an interesting history. In Turkish it was borrowed from Arabic, and it came from the Akkadian dialect. But in any people it means something sacred, secret, and also protected from others' sights.

Sultan's harems as phenomena of social life in the East originate in the distant 1365, when the Sultan Murad I built a magnificent palace reflecting the power of his supreme authority. However, the classical harem with properly organized palace economy appeared in the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed Fatih, in 1453. A need for it arose in connection with the fact that the aggressive and gaining power of the Ottoman sultans was nowhere to take wives. It is during this period that the real story of the harem begins. Then he was replenished with concubines from different parts of the world, and the official spouses of the sultans became much smaller.

XV century is the date of the first written mention of the harem. Therefore, it can be reliably said that at that time only slaves were held there. The spouses of the sultans were the daughters of the Christian rulers of neighboring countries. And only at the end of the XV century, in 1481, Sultan Bayazid II introduced the tradition of choosing wives among the women of the harem.

Harem: factual and fantastic facts

Now let's try to understand the issue of "harem - what is this?" Is it a place of constant irrepressible debauchery or is it becoming a "strict regime prison"?

The harem was only a part of the house, closed to strangers who are not members of the family, where the women, the sultan's relatives were living: sisters, mothers. In some periods of time shelter in it was found by the brothers of the ruler, and also there lived eunuchs and other servants. It is the closure of these parts of the houses that explain the multiple misconceptions associated with Muslim harems. Some see their rich castles, where a lot of young beautiful girls in languid poses lie near the pool and live only the thought of attracting the attention of the Sultan and appeasing his fantasies. For others, the harem is a place of horrors, impregnated with envy, injustice, bondage, murder, arbitrariness. And it's not surprising that fantasies are so different, because to glance at least one eye to the eastern harem, only a few chosen could solve this mystery with seven seals.

Harem Realities

Indeed, life at different times in the harem was turbulent. There were murders and debauchery, but they fade in comparison with the orgies organized by European aristocrats in the eighteenth century.

Yes, there was Sultan Murat III, who managed to get 112 children for his life. You can try to imagine how much he liked his harem and the very act of love.

There were precedents with massacres. For example, Ibrahim I drowned in the bay almost 300 inhabitants of his harem. But medicine was proved that mentally he was a sick person. But the disorders of this kind, apparently, were possessed not only by the Turkish sultans, but also by certain well-known Russian personalities. For example, Lieutenant-General Izmailov tortured to death fifty of his serf concubines.

In fact, even the Sultan could not have been so easy to enter the harem. At first he had to inform him of his intention, and then the concubines were prepared, lined up as soldiers on the parade ground. Only then they invited the Sultan, but his entire visit was painted in steps.

The customs and habits of the Sultan's court have changed very much over time. The rulers remained oppressive, but human feelings were not alien to them either. If, at the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, the newly ascended Sultan killed his brothers, then the execution was replaced by imprisonment in "golden cages", which became a relic of the past only in the XIX century. In the same century concubines in the harem began to come either themselves, or they were brought by representatives of the Caucasian peoples.

Harem and its internal hierarchy

In fact, inside the harem there was a strict system, which all its inhabitants had to obey. The main one was considered to be the Valid, the mother of the Sultan. She had to obey all the concubines - odalik (Odalisque), from among which the sultan could choose his wives. The wife in the harem on the steps of the hierarchy went next after the Valid, if the master did not have any sisters.

Jariye - this is the lowest level of hierarchy - the potential concubines of the Sultan, who were able to pass the exam adequately. If such a girl managed to spend at least one night with the Sultan, she became gosde (gyuzde), which means "beloved". If she became a favorite, she was given the status of ikbal (ikbal), which in the harem was not more than 15. Her "level" the girl could improve if she could get pregnant, and then she became a cadet. The one who was fortunate enough to become a legitimate wife, received the title of Kadyn-Effendi. These women had privileges in the form of salaries, their own apartments and slaves.

Life of women in the harem

There were many women in the harem. Although Islam allowed no more than 4 legal wives, the number of concubines was not limited. In the XV century, when the customs were more strict, and the girls came here often not of their own free will, they immediately changed their name. Besides, they had to accept Islam (for that it was enough for them, raising their finger to the sky, saying: "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet") and give up all family ties.

The opinion connected with the fact that the girls in the harem waited languidly for days, when the Sultan would honor them with his attention, is erroneous. In fact, they were busy almost the whole day. Concubines in the harem of the Sultan were taught Turkish, reading the Koran, handicraft, court etiquette, music, the art of love. They had the opportunity to relax and have fun, playing various kinds of games, sometimes noisy and mobile. The harem of those times could be compared with the privileged closed schools for girls, who appeared in Europe only in the 20th century.

Concubines in the harem of the Sultan did not just learn. They subsequently passed the exam, which was accepted by the Validida Sultan herself. If the girls coped with dignity, they could count on the attention of the master. A concubine in a harem was not a captive in the full sense of the word. The girls often visited the guests, and the artists were invited to speak here. There were also various celebrations, and even took out concubines to the Bosphorus - to ride on boats, breathe air, take a walk. In a word, life in the harem was full.

Which women were chosen for the harem: selection criteria

Women in the harem, of course, were different, both physically and mentally. Often the slaves came here from the slave market at the age of 5-7 years, and here they were brought up to full physical maturation. It should be noted that Turkish women were never among the concubines of the Sultan.

The girls had to be smart, with cunning, attractive, with a beautiful physique, sensual. There is an opinion that an important role in choosing a beauty for the Sultan was played not only by her physical beauty, but also by the structure and beauty of her sexual organ. By the way, in some modern harems this selection criterion is still relevant. It was very important that the future concubine in the harem had not too large a vagina. And before the woman was admitted to the Sultan's box, she passed a series of tests with the retention of stone eggs and colored water, which should not have been spilled during belly dancing, into the vagina. This can explain the fact that not all wives or favorites of the Sultan had a beautiful appearance. Some attracted the beauty of another part of the body.

Little bit different was the Arab harem and its way of life. At least, the harem Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, who gained power in Iran in 1848, destroyed all the stereotypes that existed in terms of women's beauty. Of course, as the saying goes, the taste and color ... But the shah's harem was clearly an amateur. Judging by the photos (and after that the ruler left a lot, since he was fond of this occupation), he liked women in the body. The sources mention that the concubines were deliberately densely fed and did not allow them to actively move.

The brows of all the girls were fused. But if we raise the history of fashion in the XIX century, then remember that it was fashionable then, but "mustachioed" women were never "in a trend". And they liked Shah and liked them.

The eunuchs and their role in the harem

For the concubines of the Sultan, it was customary to follow closely. This function was performed by old checked slaves and eunuchs. Who are the eunuchs? They are slaves, brought mainly from Central Africa, Egypt, Abyssinia, who were subsequently castrated. Preference in this regard was given by the Negroes, because they by virtue of their physical characteristics carried the operations well and lived to their advanced years, while the Circassians, with more fragile health, were partially castrated and often seduced by the wards.

However, it should be noted that, at times, young boys themselves offered their candidacies to recruiters in the harem. What it is? A dream to become a castrated servant? No, just for a sly, cunning young man, it was a good opportunity to get some fortune and power in a much shorter period than if he were trading or serving in the army with the Sultan. Yes, and it was to grow. The chief of the black eunuchs had 300 horses and an unlimited number of slaves.

Hurrem Sultan (Roksolana) - the "iron lady" of the harem

Despite the fact that the history of the harem as a social phenomenon has a long, and the sultans had many wives, the names of only a few of them have reached us. The harem of Sultan Suleiman became known in many respects precisely thanks to the Ukrainian by birth, which, according to various sources, was called the felts of Anastasia, the toli of Alexander Lisovskaya. The Muslims, however, renamed the girl to Hürrem.

She was abducted by Crimean Tatars during one of the raids, on the eve of her own wedding. Judging by what is known about her, we can say that she was a cunning woman, strong, with an uncommon mind. She encroached not only on the life of the sons of the padishah from the first wife, on the life of her mother-in-law, but also on the life of her youngest son. But she was truly extraordinary, if for 15 years she was able to discourage Sultan Suleiman from the harem and become the only female ruler.

Topkapi - the eternal home of a harem

The Topkapi Palace complex was founded by the Sultan Mahmed as the official residence of the Ottoman rulers. And the well-known harem of Sultan Suleiman also lived here. It was from the filing of Hurrem (or Roksolana) that the largest reorganization of the palace ensemble was made in its entire history of existence. At different times in the harem could range from 700 to 1200 women.

For the person who got into Topkapi for the first time, the harem and the palace itself will seem like a real labyrinth with a lot of rooms, corridors, courtyards scattered around it.

All the walls in the harem in those days were lined with exquisite Izninskaya mosaic tile, which in almost ideal condition has survived to our days. Even today, it continues to amaze tourists with its beauty, brightness, accuracy, detail of the picture. Making out the walls in this way, it was impossible to create two identical rooms, so every boudoir in the harem was special.

Topkapy occupy a vast territory. In the palace there are 300 rooms, 46 latrines, 8 baths, 2 mosques, 6 storages for supplies, swimming pools, laundries, hospitals, kitchens. Whether all this was in the harem, or part of the premises were attributed to the Sultan's part of the palace, is not known. To date, only the first floor is open to tourists. All the rest carefully continues to hide from the curious eyes of tourists.

All the windows in the harem were barred. However, there are also some clearly residential premises, in which there were no windows at all. Most likely, these were rooms of eunuchs or slaves.

But no matter how beautiful and interesting it was not in the harem, it is unlikely that any girl will want to be in it as a guest. Life in the harem always obeyed the internal strict rules, laws and regulations, of which we still do not know.

Modern harems

Paradoxically, this does not sound, but in modern Turkey (at least in its central part) harems to date, no. But the Turks themselves, smiling, add that it is only according to official data, but in rural areas, especially in the southeast, this way of life remains relevant.

Polygamous marriage is a given for 40% of women living in Jordan, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq and the countries of the African continent. But it is worth noting that such luxury as the harem remains the privilege of the rich men, because only they are able to maintain in financial equality their official wives, who can be four in all. Each spouse must have his own house (well, or at least a private bedroom with his own entrance), decorations, outfits, servants.

Most women in the modern harem are in this position of their own free will, but some, as before, are forcibly kept. But there are cases that contracts are concluded with women, after the expiry of which they can return to their usual life before, noticeably enriched. After all, the rumors of the generosity of modern sultans are rumors.

As before, women for the harem are selected not by its owners themselves, but by "specially trained people" - the so-called mashata who are searching the world in search of the next beauty. But a beautiful face is by no means the only "passing ticket" in the harem. A girl should be passionate enough in bed, be able to seduce her master, she must understand how to quash conflicts and quarrels. To establish all the criteria there are special checks (or, if you want, tests), only after passing, which the woman shows directly to the owner of the harem.

After all of the above, the impression of a harem still remains ambiguous. Some will continue to perceive it as a relic of the past with restriction of freedom and infringement of women's rights, others as an opportunity to enrich themselves and secure themselves for a while, and some as a chance to find their real prince on a white horse. But all this is a harem. What is it exactly for you, it's up to you to decide.