Middle East History: How did the construct of the harem change from the reign of Sultan Mahmut II to the 1920s?
Harem means “forbidden place” or “sanctum” and is a sacred place for Muslim female members. It comprises of enclosed quarters that are forbidden to men. All the females in a household that is the wives of the household head, their younger female children as well as female servants enjoy their privacy in Harems. The construction of Harems varies from palatial complexes as portrayed in Romantic tales or simple their quarters as was the case in the Ottoman tradition. The changes in democracy, women rights, globalization and the quest for progressive societies since the 1920s, have all downplayed the role of Harems over the years. This has affected not only the role of Harems in Islamic culture but also their construction1. There are several changes in the construction of the Harems during the reign of the Sultan Mahmut II and during the 1920s.
The harems constructed during the reign of Sultan Mahmut II in the 15th to 18th century were massive and luxurious. The Sultan’s imperial Harem was called seraglio. It housed the Sultan’s mother, his wives, daughters, female servants and was attended to by slave girls and eunuchs. The ancient Harems belonged to rulers, dignitaries and wealthy individuals. They were constructed as stately homes near the Sultan’s palace. They comprised of several individual rooms for women as well as large living quarters from where the women could learn ancient, Islamic culture2. In some cases, Harems were used as administrative bases. Hurrem Sultan the wife of Sulleyman the magnificent the mother to Selim II and Kosem Sultan the mother to Murad IV were both powerful women whose harems served as administrative bases for the respective Sultans during the Ottoman Empire3.
The Harems constructed during the reign of the ottoman had exquisite facilities such as pools, spas and magnificent balconies upon which the women overlooked the ancient Kingdoms. One of the most famous Harems belonged to the Sultans of Turkey in the 15th Century. A part of its construction included the palaces on seraglio point. Each Harem could house several dozens of women. Moulay Ismail the Sultan of Morroco from 1672-1727 housed over 500 concubines in his Palatial harem and had over 800 children. In those days, boys also grew up in the Harems up to the age of 16 years.
In modern day Islamic world beginning the 1920s, the institution where women are kept in seclusion as in a Harem is known as purdah. The advent of Islam changed the status of harems beginning in the late 18th Century. This led to the down fall of a famous Harem in Turkey belonging to Abd al-Hamid II in the year 19094. Harems constructed during the 1920s were small and insignificant as compared to the homes of the household head.
The fall of the ancient Harems in the late 18th century heralded the rise of similar institution which now served as the train women and children the modern day doctrines of Islamic culture and religion. Harems in the 1920s were more of social places for women while household heads continued to spare certain apartments in their quarters for women in their households to take privacy.
Bibliography
Billie, Melman. Women's Orients: English Women and the Middle East, 1718-1918. University
of Michigan Press, 1992.
Leslie P. Peirce. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire, new ed.
Oxford University Press USA, 1993.
Roberts, Mary. Intimate outsiders: the harem in Ottoman and Orientalist art and travel
literature. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007.
