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Imperial Harem
The Imperial Harem () of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan's harem – composed of the concubines, wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives and the sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded portion (seraglio) of the Ottoman imperial household. This institution played an important social function within the Ottoman court, and wielded considerable political authority in Ottoman affairs, especially during the long period known as the Sultanate of Women (approximately 1534 to 1683). Historians claim that the sultan was frequently lobbied by harem members of different ethnic or religious backgrounds to influence the geography of the Ottoman wars of conquest. The utmost authority in the imperial harem, the valide sultan, ruled over the other women in the household. The consorts of the sultan were normally of slave origin, including the valide sultan. The Kizlar Agha (, also known as the "Chief Black Eunuch" because of the Nilotic origin of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odalisque (Boston Public Library)
An odalisque (, ) was an enslaved maid, chambermaid or a female house slave attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan. In western European usage, the term came to mean the harem concubine, and refers to the eroticized artistic genre in which a woman is represented mostly or completely nude in a reclining position, often in the setting of a harem. It was part of a fascination with Orientalism, particularly in Great Britain and France. Etymology The word "odalisque" is French in form and originates from the Turkish language, Turkish ''odalık'', meaning "maid, chambermaid", from ''oda'', "chamber" or "room". It can also be transliterated ''odahlic'', ''odalisk'', and ''odaliq''. Joan DelPlato has described the term's shift in meaning from Turkish to English and French: Origin as the Turkish ''odalık'' An ''odalik'' was a (slave) maid who tended to the harem, but she could eventually become a Concu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burji Harem
A harem is a domestic space that is 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 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 (), and in the Indian subcontinent as (). Although the institution has experienced a sharp decline in the modern era due ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Favourites Courtyard Topkapi March 2008
In the context of the World Wide Web, a bookmark is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that is stored for later retrieval in any of various storage formats. All modern web browsers include bookmark features. Bookmarks are called favorites or Internet shortcuts in Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, and by virtue of that browser's large market share, these terms have been synonymous with ''bookmark'' since the First Browser War. Bookmarks are normally accessed through a menu in the user's web browser, and folders are commonly used for organization. In addition to bookmarking methods within most browsers, many external applications offer bookmarks management. Bookmarks have been incorporated in browsers since the ViolaWWW browser in 1992, and Mosaic browser in 1993. Bookmark lists were called ''Hotlists'' in Mosaic and in previous versions of Opera; this term has faded from common use. Cello, another early browser, also had bookmarking features. With the advent of social book ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valide Sultan
Valide Sultan (, lit. "Sultana mother") was the title held by the mother of a ruling sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans first formally used the title in the 16th century as an epithet of Hafsa Sultan (died 1534), mother of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent , Suleyman I (), superseding the previous epithets of Valide Hatun (lady mother), ''Mahd-i Ulya (other), mehd-i ulya'' ("cradle of the great"). or "the nacre of the pearl of the sultanate".Leslie Peirce, Peirce, Leslie P., ''The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire'', Oxford University Press, 1993, (paperback) Normally, the living mother of a reigning sultan held this title. Those mothers who died before their sons' accession to the throne never received the title of . In special cases sisters, grandmothers and stepmothers of a reigning sultan assumed the title and/or the functions . Term The word () literally means 'mother' in Ottoman Turkish, from Arabic . The Turkish phonology, Tu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murad III
Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-independent Saadi Sultanate, Morocco was for a time made a vassal of the empire but regained independence in 1582. His reign also saw the empire's expanding influence on the eastern coast of Africa. However, the empire was beset by increasing corruption and inflation from the New World which led to unrest among the Janissary and commoners. Relations with Elizabethan England were cemented during his reign, as both had a common enemy in the Spanish Empire, Spanish. He was also a great patron of the arts, commissioning the ''Siyer-i Nebi, Siyer-i-Nebi'' and other illustrated manuscripts. Early life Born in Manisa on 4 July 1546, Şehzade Murad was the oldest son of Şehzade Selim II, Selim and his powerful wife Nurbanu Sultan. He received a good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace ( ) is a 19th-century imperial palace located in Istanbul, Turkey, along the European shore of the Bosporus, which served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and from 1909 to 1922. History Dolmabahçe Palace was ordered by the empire's 31st sultan, Abdülmecid I, and built between the years 1843 and 1856. Previously, the sultan and his family had lived at the Topkapı Palace, but as the medieval Topkapı was lacking in contemporary style, luxury, and comfort, as compared to the palaces of the European monarchs, Abdülmecid decided to build a new modern palace near the site of the former Beşiktaş Sahil Palace, which was demolished. Hacı Said Ağa was responsible for the construction works, while the project was realized by architects Garabet Balyan, his son Nigoğayos Balyan and Evanis Kalfa (members of the Armenian Balyan family of Ottoman court architects). , the construction cost the equivalent of ca. US$3 bill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concubinage
Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar, but mutually exclusive. During the early stages of European colonialism, administrators often encouraged European men to practice concubinage to discourage them from paying prostitutes for sex (which could spread venereal disease) and from homosexuality. Colonial administrators also believed that having an intimate relationship with a native woman would enhance white men's understanding of native culture and would provide them with essential domestic labor. The latter was critical, as it meant white men did not require wives from the metropole, hence did not require a family wage. Colonial administrators eventually discouraged the practice when these liaisons resulted in offspring who threatened colonial rule by producing a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caliphate
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world (''ummah''). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517 until the Ottoman caliphate was Abolition of the Caliphate, formally abolished as part of the Atatürk's reforms, 1924 secularisation of Turkey. An attempt to preserve the title was tried, with the Sharifian Caliphate, but this caliphate fell quickly after its conquest by the Sultanate o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topkapı Palace
The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, 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 Fall of Constantinople, conquest of Constantinople. Topkapı was originally called the "New Palace" ( or ) to distinguish it from the Eski Saray, Old Palace ( or ) in Beyazıt Square. It was given the name , meaning Cannon Gate, in the 19th century. The complex expanded over the centuries, with major renovations after the 1509 Constantinople earthquake, 1509 earthquake and the 1665 fire. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. Female members of the Sultan's family lived in the harem, and leading state officials, including th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
