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THE ENIGMAS, HEDONISTICS, ANDENORMITIES OF THE IMPERIAL HAREMS INISLMIC TRADITIONBy: Jane l l e Harr i sonArt His tory 132cProfe s sor KhouryDue: 3/17/99
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Islam is a nation devoted to many aspects of traditional religious
orthodoxy, social and political theories and, a hierarchy of structures that are not
only conducive of the former enumerated but also several others. During the
reign of Ottoman Empire this hierarchy of mental and physical realms created an
ideology that placed the women of Turkey in distinct positions which led to a
great divide between the males from the females and, the wealthy from the
poor. Such divides led to the building of the Imperial Harems, or harem-I
humayin. The Ottoman mind was influenced by the Eastern theological doctrines
of the Hindu culture thus, there is a symbolic significance found in every mode of
Ottoman representation: from the architectural design of the palaces to the holy
words written in calligraphy on the tile walls. The Ottomans great architects such
as Mehmed II and later, Sinan used structural design; organization of buildings
like the Harem, the mosque, the mederese, the inner and outer gardens of the
palace, the Hans, and the minarets to express the Sultans divine status as a
ruling authority appointed by God. Another very important mode of expression
used to communicate this religious and political power was that of colors; mainly
those of red, blue, white, gold, and purple. Each with an ideological meaning
that defined the Ottoman mind.
By understanding the thinking process of the rulers, as well as their
architects, the importance of the Harem unfolds to reveal a layered meaning;
and within some historical context this discussion should identify these layered
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meanings so that the Imperial Harem, the harem-I humayin not only reflects the
negative side of Turkish womens lives, but also the positive.
In todays context there are very opposing views of Ottoman society.
Coming from the context of different historical views the story of the Ottoman
Empire is divided, thus reflecting as I stated in the title, the enigmas, hedonistic
and enormities of Islamic tradition. Norman Itzkowitz is one author that focused
on the male succession and sociopolitical structure of the Ottoman Empire. It
was his focus in Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition that left out the
importance of women in political as well as social realms. In a metaphorical
context his book could be a representation of the palace with the women; the
kadin, kadin bas, and the supreme Valide Sultan segregated in isolation away
from the royal court in the Harem. It is his one-sided historical context that
leaves the reader without any understanding of the Ottoman Consciousness
and without a context to study the architectural significance expressed by the
Sultans architects for which, as it has been stated continuously throughout the
palace records as a vital form of communication.
In trying to understand the consciousness of Ottoman society the
architectural structure of such palaces like the Topkapi Saray and the
Suleymaniye will help build an ideological representation which will encompass
the meaning of the Harem, Harem life, and Ottoman society verses other Muslim
states of the early 1500s to the 1800s. Perhaps this can be done by viewing the
Harem as a centerpiece of what has been called The circle of Equity (Itzkowitz
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88). The circle of equity is an all-encompassing formulation that embodied the
ethical, political, and social values of the Ottoman class (88).
It is at this point that Norman Itzkowitz gives the circle of equity only an
outer layer of explanation which, are eight statements written around the
circumference of a circle (88). I say outer because they are expressed in a
gender oriented frame of thought. The diagram below with an outer circle and its
eight statements, as well as an inner circle (a development of my own to signify
the vital role of women in society) that is a conscious representation of Ottoman
women which, is not only a supportive mirror reflection of the male dominated
society, but also the true building block for which the royal house of Osman was
born.
1) There can be no royal authority withoutthe military.
2) There can be no military without wealth3) The reaya produce the wealth4) The Sultan keeps the reaya by making
justice reign
5) Justice requires harmony in the world6)
The world is a garden, its walls are the
state
7) The states prop is the religious law8) There is no support for religious law
without royal authority (88).
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This inner circle of equity, one composed of the Harem life can also reflect
a ninth value of Turkish society, that which states all of the above can not exist
without the female as a life giver, the woman as the generator of society. This
statement is held valid by many of the Muslim customs found in their religious
and political laws. It expresses why there was a need for an Imperial harem to
house the many wives and concubines of the Sultan and the wives of his imperial
court. Now within the two circles I have diagramed the hierarchical structure of
society to emphasize where the different patterns of thought coincide and create
smaller hierarchical structures with women forming the base, as well as
positioning the female at the apex of rule. One example of this positioning of
power held by a Turkish woman was Hatice Turkan who held political reign in
the mid-seventeenth century. Most authority of the Valide Sultan (and any other
women) was contained within the harem-I humayin rather than the Empire
which, was the Sultans domain. Although the Valide Saltans role seems to be
one of silence and not ruling, much as it was in the Roman Empire that
influenced the Byzantine and Ottoman rulers she held political power within the
palace. Unlike the Valide Saltan, the other women of the Harem were subdued
by the different modes of pleasure that was offered to the kadin, kadin bas, and
the kadinlik (the four women who were the Sultans official concubines) .
The modes of pleasure within the Harem were to the normal eye plesures
to be envied. The peasantry perhaps longed for such opportunities not knowing
that the pleasures were used to subdue the angst within their imprisoned souls.
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To subdue the womens jealousy and rivalry the use of opium was widely
accepted and, encouraged to promote a sense of relaxation and paradise. The
kadin cubuqu (womans pipe) was used to smoke great Turkish tabacco and,
opium. Fine foods to fill the belly and coffee to promote conversations kept the
concubines in positions of lower authority. The Valide Sultan, one can assume,
rarely had time to join in the lax conditions enjoyed by the lower ranks of the
Imperial Harems residences. This mode of thinking reflects Muslim religious
belief that the holy war is psychological rather than geographical because she
had to keep a clear head to continue in her role as the apex of the womens
stream of thought.
Though this psychological war is a customary belief throughout the
Turkish society, it also is contradictory to the Sultans purpose of conquering
other lands for political power and, positioning the palaces in geographical areas
that reflect piety towards God. The reasons for mentioning the holy war as
psychological rather than geographical is that in the enclosure of the Harem the
women must have had some mental repercussions from the seclusion they were
subjected to from outer society. The repetitive acts that became the kadians
ritual way of life could only stagnate their lust for life. Even in a paradise setting,
with courtyards and fountains, hamams and sitting rooms, the enclosed, isolated
environment could only begin to pressure-cook the minds of imprisoned women.
This isolation was less intense with the company of others; thus the variable of
psychological warfare is reintroduced. Thus, the physical surrounding did have
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repercussions on the mind, but the intoxicating substances could help (or hinder)
in the battle for sanity.
The Topkapi palace is one such structure that inherently reflects the
ideology of Turkish male society. It was built by Mehmed II and renovated later
by Sinan in the late 1500s (roughly 1585). The spatial, architectural, and
functional organization of the royal household was unified under one principle:
the omnipotence of the Sultan (Architecture, Ceremony, and Power 96).
The Palace, with its three courtyards that divide the palace into a
hierarchy of symbolic meaning, displays the power of the Sultan and, the
segregation of common persons from the authorities of the royal court. Each
courtyard is separated by a gate that transmits the intellectual significance of the
architectural structure of the palace. Although Sinan did not built the Topkapi
Palace he was able to instill his architectural communication in the renovation he
conducted after the royal kitchens burnt down in 1574. It was believed that
major damage to the Harem left Sinan with the freedom to express his own
meanings through use of space, materials, and positioning of the royal
apartments.
The Imperial Harem is a large complex of apartments in the third court,
which is divided into three distinct parts: the first housed the male pages,
entrusted to white eunuchs. The second housed the female population, guarded
by the black eunuchs, and the third is a walled hanging garden which,
communicates with the other two through gates (History 91). This three-layer
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division is reflective of the structures guarding the Sultan from the common
people. These structures are the courtyards and, the gates that protect
penetration of lower status persons from entering the next level.
In Cengiz koseoglus The Topkapi Saray Museum Architecture: The Harem
and Other Buildings, the structural design of the Harem is presented with key
buildings numbered. In this diagram the most public area is presented
longitudinally with the Carriage gate as #1 on the far left. Entrance from there or
the Cumie Kapisi (main entrance #18) is parallel to the quarters of the black
eunuchs. The rise of power is presented as the 2nd and 3rd levels are examined in
more detail by Koseoglus. This symbolic pattern gives rise to the continuous
theme of layered accessibility, noting that rarely anyone was admitted into the
Harem at all, and if any outsiders were permitted entrance, one can conclude
that the throne room (#39), the Valide Sultans apartments (#30), bedchamber
(#33), baths, the kadins quarters (#23), and the Valides courtyard (#38) where
strictly forbidden.
This layering of accessibility, or hierarchy is also encircled with the
ideological theme of male power encompassing the female world of social,
religious, and political life. The male eunuchs are a symbol of a gate that is a
gate of power that denies anyone from entering the Sultans wives and
concubines areas. While at the heart of the Harem the Valide Sultans quarters
stand where she is able, in a metaphorical tone, to oversee everything that
occurs in the Harem. She is at the heart of the circumference of the circle of
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equity viewing the actions from the inside to the outer layers. This theme is
reflective of the diagram I presented earlier with the male and female streams of
thought encircling the triangle of hierarchal power.
Mehmed II designed the Topkapi Palace, but it has been stated by
historians that it is unclear weather or not he in fact designed and built the
Imperial Harem. Suleyman also took part in the renovation of the palace before
Sinan did a major overhaul as the chief administrator of architecture. It was at
that time it has been concluded that the large structure called the Imperial
Harem was built.
If this is so, then the final interpretation of the architectural design will
have a significantly different outcome. Mehmed II, when designing structures
used an ideology that his complexes where the center of learning. They also
reflected his imperial claims to the Byzantine succession. If Sinans structures
within the Topkapi Palace where influenced by Mehmed II, which it seems they
were, and only seems appropriate to keep the continuity of architectural
communication, then the ideology of the former must be considered in the later.
Sinan may have interpreted his work differently, trying to give the Imperial
Harem meaning beyond Mehmed IIs frame of thought, but the ideas he had to
work with were already pre-designed. Sinan therefore, had much more freedom
of expression in designing many of the other complexes.
If we compare for example, the way the Imperial Harem is a compact
structure, tightly enclosed with very few open spaces (and no windows) such as
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the Valide Sultans throne room, or the concubines infirmary where, the
pressures of the imprisoned life, the imprisoned soul exbound to Sinans
mosques we find a great contrast in structural language.
The courtyards which are the only areas of release can, in this respect be
a metaphor for the opium used to relax the inmates and, deviate their minds
from the reality that they are prisoners. And within the Harem itself, there are no
religious structures, no mosque for the women to go to and pray. In fact, these
women, mainly the concubines, got lost in a world detached from God. They
lived a life of indulgence, seeking pleasures too often. Was Sinan trying to
express various layers of meaning within the ideology of Mehmed IIs structural
design? Mainly, the communication and embodiment of the womens life and
position in the palace, as well as the womens own inner emotions and outlets?
The Harem then, reflects early Christianitys ideology of the Bibical tale
about Adam and Eve. The Muslims did accept many of the scriptural writings
found in the Christian Holy Bible. If the Harem is a symbol of the embodiment of
the women in the Palace, then women are devoid of any religious sanctuaries
and only express a very intense mood or an act of indulgence, both of which
create a feeling of release and entrapment for the Sultan and the rest of the
palaces residences.
Now, contrasting this idea to the structural designs of Sinans mosques
there are significant differences between the architectural designs. Sinans main
concern in his builds was a sense of harmony and space (History 240). In the
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Suleymaniye complex, the mosque was built as a symbol of paradise (100).
The vast open spaces of this mosque, with the high dome, was designed to be
illuminated by divine light from the heavens. These mosques, as well as many
others built by Sinan express a pressure-free, spacious environment where one
can pray and mediate to and for God.
The layered meaning of the Sultans importance is now set in an encircled
form of representation. The palace is a symbol of the embodiment of the Sultan
as the State. Within this embodiment there are the microcosmic bodies that hold
specific positions within the palace. The mosque; the Harem; each of these
within his power; his circumference of thought, with only various outlets from his
imprisoned soul. The Harem can be an analogy of the opium used by women to
release the pressures of ruling by the Saltan; not quite a European brothel, but
similar in many functions the Harem was visited by the men of the court. The
mosque one the other hand was his way of release by communicating with God
through prayer and satisfied his soul from any angst he might have to endure. All
of these reflect ideological symbols that start with the Muslim religious doctrines
that believe expansion of holy power is through the bringing forth of new life and
to claim territory that he believes God gave to him as the ruler of his state. The
Sultan communicated his power through the design and expense of his royal
palaces, the architects held a very important position, and the ideology of the
Harem reflects many meanings and can be read as a symbol charged with many
meanings as it has been pointed out in this essay.
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Goodwin, Godfrey. The Private World of Ottoman Women. London: Saqi Books:
1997.
Zilfi, Madeline, C. Women In The Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern Women in the
Early Era. New York: Brill 1997.
Itzkiwitz, Norman. Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition. London: 1972