In the Ottoman harem system, the harem was the part of the palace where the sultan lived together with his mother, wives, children and concubines. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Harem Apartments of Topkapı Palace served as the residence of the dynasty for about 380 years. The harem was a long-established institution with its own hierarchy, system of education and staff. The most esteemed person in the apartments was always the valide sultan, the sultan’s mother.
Quick Summary
- The harem was the separate, protected section of Topkapı Palace where the sultan’s family lived.
- The most powerful person in the harem was the valide sultan.
- Concubines were educated in the harem, and most of them were married off and left the palace.
- At the head of the harem staff was the Darüssaade ağası, the chief of the black eunuchs, known as the kızlar ağası.
- Until the middle of the 16th century the sultan’s family lived in the Old Palace.
Contents
- What was the harem?
- Where in the palace was the harem?
- Who lived in the harem?
- The harem hierarchy
- The harem eunuchs and the Darüssaade ağası
- Education and daily life
- The valide sultan and harem politics
- Misconceptions
- Frequently asked questions
What Was the Ottoman Harem System?
The word harem means a protected place that others are forbidden to enter. In the Ottoman palace it was the name of the private section where the sultan’s family lived. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the term Darüssaade, the “Abode of Felicity”, was also used for this section. The sultan’s private apartments were also located here.
According to the encyclopedia, the palace was run by three separate organizations called the Harem, the Enderun and the Birun. The Enderun was the palace school that trained men for state service. The Birun carried out the palace’s outer services. The harem was the most closed and best-protected part of this order.
The harem did not consist only of the sultan’s wives. The female members of the dynasty, the princes, the concubines and a large number of staff lived here. That is why the Ottoman harem system was as much an orderly palace institution as the home of a family.
Where in the Palace Was the Harem?
According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, in Topkapı Palace the harem was a separate space on the left side of the second and third courtyards, facing the Golden Horn. Its construction and expansion owe much to the long reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. Additions continued until the middle of the 19th century. The rooms and pavilions added as needs arose gave the section a complex structure.
According to the encyclopedia, the important parts of the harem include the Courtyard of the Valide Sultan, the Pavilion of Murad III and the School of the Princes. The Dormitory of the Halberdiers with Tresses, the Pavilion of Osman III and the Fruit Room are also among these parts.
In the early period the sultan’s family did not live in Topkapı. According to the encyclopedia, until the middle of the 16th century the family lived in the Old Palace, on the site of the present main building of Istanbul University. Hürrem Sultan moved to the New Palace, that is Topkapı, after the death of her mother-in-law Hafsa Sultan in 1534. The first valide sultan to live permanently in Topkapı was Safiye Sultan, the mother of Mehmed III.
We described the background of this move in our article Who was Hürrem Sultan, really?
Who Lived in the Harem?
According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the members of the harem were the sultan’s mother, daughters, sisters and wives. Women belonging to the dynasty, such as aunts and nieces, also lived here. The other members of the harem were concubines who had been presented to the palace as gifts or purchased. The princes also grew up in the harem.
The titles of members of the dynasty were also fixed. According to the encyclopedia, men belonging to the dynasty on their father’s side were at first called çelebi and later şehzade. Daughters were given the title sultan, while those related through their mother were called beyzade and hanım sultan. The sultan’s wives received the titles kadınefendi and haseki.
According to the encyclopedia, a record of 1478 from the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror puts the palace population at about 726 people. The harem does not appear in this record. It can be said that, together with the harem and those in the ruler’s close service, the people of the palace numbered more than 1,500.
According to the encyclopedia, women of the dynasty whose fathers or husbands were not on the throne lived in the Old Palace. For this reason the Old Palace is regarded as an extension of the harem organization.
How Did the Harem Hierarchy Work?
The most powerful person in the harem was the valide sultan. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, unless the valide sultan gave permission, no one approached her, addressed her or sat in her presence. Standing before her was called “el pençe durmak” or “divan durmak”, standing with hands clasped. After the sultan’s, hers were the grandest apartments in the harem.
Most women who were not members of the dynasty entered the palace as concubines. According to the encyclopedia, only a few of them became the sultan’s wives. The others were married off and left the palace after receiving education and training in the harem. Some joined the serving class in posts such as treasurer (hazinedar usta) and kalfa.
The titles of the women who bore the sultan children changed over time. According to the encyclopedia, until the early 18th century they were called hatun, haseki and, rarely, sultan or hanım. From the reign of Ahmed III onwards the titles kadın or kadınefendi were used. A woman whose son came to the throne became valide sultan.
The Harem Eunuchs and the Darüssaade Ağası
The service and security of the harem were entrusted to eunuchs. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, eunuchs were employed in the palace from the time of Sultan Mehmed Çelebi onwards. White eunuchs were called akağa and black eunuchs karaağa. Because they looked after the women’s section, these eunuchs were also called “kızlar ağası”, master of the girls.
According to the encyclopedia, in 1574 Habeşi Mehmed Ağa separated the office of Darüssaade ağası from that of Babüssaade ağası. In 1586–87 he also took over the supervision of the endowments of the Two Holy Cities (Haremeyn). From 1623 to 1922 this office always remained with the black eunuchs. The last Darüssaade ağası was Said Ağa.
Thanks to their closeness to the sultan, the Darüssaade ağaları gained great influence. According to the encyclopedia, in the 17th and 18th centuries they even played a part in the dismissal and appointment of grand viziers. After the Tanzimat most of their powers were taken from them.
According to the encyclopedia, a person appointed Darüssaade ağası was invested with a sable fur in the presence of the sultan. The imperial rescript announcing his appointment served as a kind of regulation of his duties. This post had no fixed term. Hacı Beşir Ağa held the office for twenty-nine years, in the reigns of Ahmed III and Mahmud I.
Education and Daily Life in the Harem
The harem was a closed world. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the needs of the harem women, who did not take part in city life, for education, entertainment and clothing were met by the Darüssaade ağası. Their shopping in the city was done through the harem eunuchs. Their links with the outside world were maintained by former palace women who had married and left the palace.
Besides palace etiquette and religious knowledge, the concubines were taught skills such as music and handicrafts. Those who were talented rose up the ranks of service. Women who were married off from the palace also helped spread palace culture into the city.
The princes also spent their childhood in the harem. According to the encyclopedia, in the 15th and 16th centuries they were sent to a sanjak at the age of eight or ten. After Mehmed III this practice was abandoned, and the princes spent their lives in the apartment in the harem called the Şimşirlik. From the second half of the 19th century they were allowed to live outside the palace.
The Valide Sultan and Harem Politics
According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the first to use the title valide sultan was Nurbanu Sultan, the mother of Murad III. The move of the harem to Topkapı and the keeping of the princes in the palace brought the valide sultan to the fore. The most important task of the valide sultan was to protect her son’s power. According to the encyclopedia, women who became valide sultan could not marry again.
When a sultan died, the members of the harem other than the princes were sent to the Old Palace. His mother, wives, daughters and concubines usually spent the rest of their lives there. Only the kadınefendi whose son came to the throne returned to Topkapı a few days later in a splendid ceremony called the valide procession. According to the encyclopedia, the wait in the Old Palace could sometimes last as long as twenty-seven years, as in the case of Saliha Sultan.
This situation prepared the ground for conflicts between the valide sultan and the hasekis or kadınefendis who wanted to put their own sons on the throne. According to the encyclopedia, there were twenty-three women in Ottoman history who lived to see their sons reign as sultan. We discussed one of the most powerful of them, Kösem Sultan, in our article Who was Kösem Sultan?
Misconceptions About the Ottoman Harem
European painters and writers often described the harem from their imagination. It was not possible for foreigners to enter the harem. For this reason the harem was long depicted in the West as a mysterious place of pleasure. In reality the Ottoman harem system was the home of the sultan’s family and a palace institution run by strict rules.
The second misconception is to think that every woman in the harem was the sultan’s wife. Most of the women were staff, students or servants. Only a small proportion of those who came from outside the dynasty became the sultan’s wives. We described the rules of the harem in more detail in our article on harem life in the Ottoman Empire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Ottoman harem?
It is in Topkapı Palace, on the left side of the second and third courtyards, facing the Golden Horn. Today it can be visited as a museum.
Who was at the head of the harem?
The valide sultan. The head of the harem staff was the Darüssaade ağası.
Could concubines leave the palace in the Ottoman harem system?
Yes. Most of them were married off and left the palace after completing their education.
Who was the kızlar ağası?
It was the popular name for the Darüssaade ağası. He was the head of the harem eunuchs and the harem servants.
What were the wives of Ottoman sultans called?
Until the early 18th century they were called hatun or haseki, and after the reign of Ahmed III kadın or kadınefendi.
Conclusion
In the Ottoman harem system, the harem was a palace institution with its own rules, where the sultan’s family lived. In this order headed by the valide sultan, concubines were educated, princes were brought up and the daily life of the dynasty was run. The Darüssaade ağası and the harem eunuchs provided the service and security of this closed world. The harem was both the home of the Ottoman palace and an important arena of politics.
