Women Under Polygamy/Chapter 13
CHAPTER XIII
THE IMPERIAL HAREM IN TURKEY
The plural system of marriage arose in Turkey among the mixed Caucassian races that came to be known as Turks. Descendants of a wandering Tartar horde, the founders of Turkey brought with them the customs of ancient Asia. Very early in their history they were polygamous; but to-day the Turks are said to be the least addicted to polygamy of any of the nations under the dominion of Islam.[1]
Ancient marriage in Turkey was a matter of negotiation and arrangement, and not of capture, as among the Arabs and some other Eastern tribes. To this day marriage is largely under the direction of a third person, or several persons, besides the contracting partners. The matrimonial agency is an old institution of the Ottoman Empire.
Although the great majority of Turks are married to one woman only, there are numerous harems in Constantinople and other towns. The sultans have always maintained plural marriage, and their harems have sheltered a large number of mistresses of all grades, besides the legal wives. A sovereign in Turkey is allowed to wed seven women. There is no restriction upon the number of his concubines and slaves; and some of the rulers have kept as many as a thousand women in their palaces.
Five thousand pounds a day has been stated as the cost of supporting a royal harem in Turkey. The pomp and grandeur of a sultan's court are beyond comparison. The ruler of the empire is a mighty autocrat to whom the utmost deference and obedience must be yielded. He must live in a truly regal state, befitting his exalted position.
For the sultans are not ordinary monarchs; they have despotic control of the souls and bodies of their subjects. They are the chiefs of the army, the supreme judges, and the kings. Behind the towering white walls of the Imperial Harem at Constantinople live thousands of persons of both sexes, all of them ministers and servitors to the pleasures of the Sultan. There is an army of eunuchs, and several hundred cooks, besides a multitude of slaves. The eunuchs who guard the approaches to the palace are all white men, who are not permitted to enter within. Negroes are the personal attendants upon the ladies of the court and the harem.
The Chief Master of the Maidens is a dignitary of unique eminence. He is almost feared by the Sultan himself. Here, as in Egypt, the Kislar-aghasi is like a king. His salary is enormous, and when he retires, he is entitled to a liberal pension for the rest of his days.
There are many well-paid officials in the royal household. The principal woman-supervisor controls a regiment of kalfas, who have subordinates under their guidance. There are the "Mistress of the Sherbet," and the "Mistress of the Coffee," and numerous other female officials, all of them living in more or less splendour and authority. Their servants are the alaiks, who are practically slaves, though they have well-defined rights.
The Sultan's seraglio is adorned by the most beautiful women that Circassia can provide. Highest in rank is the mother of the heir to the throne, who possesses supreme privileges and a heavy dowry. The chief wives are next to her in station; and beneath them are the inferior wives, and the odalisques. Every woman in the palace is at the beck of the monarch.[2]
When a harem lady has been blessed by the admiration of her sovereign, she rises at once in position. She is entitled to her own suite of rooms and attendants. A large sum of money is allotted to her, and she is secure and wealthy for life.
The slaves are selected for their youth and grace. In former days they were chosen in public, as in the Egyptian markets; but now the Sultan inspects the candidates in the harem, attended by the Chief Eunuch and other officers. These slave-girls are not treated with harshness, nor contempt. They have dainty fare, charming dresses, and comfortable chambers. If one shows an aptitude for music, the best instructors are provided for her training. Dancing is taught to all the girls, and many excel in the art, and become favourite performers. Care of the skin and the complexion and frequent bathing are enjoined.
A clever country maid may, by the exercise of her physical attractions, her wit, or her dancing, win the favour of the monarch. Many uneducated girls who enter the harem learn languages and become moderately well educated in a few months. A slave, if she is exceptionally intelligent, may become a teacher.
There is keen emulation among the host of slave-girls for the royal favour. Happy is the maiden who "has been looked upon." Her hour of triumph is near. An inquiring glance from her master's eye is the presage of good fortune, and she is set aside to await a summons to the royal chamber.
Many are the stories of crimes and cruelties perpetrated behind the forbidding walls of the harem. In byegone days, no doubt there were tragedies and horrors, though probably their frequency has been grossly exaggerated by foreign writers. I shall show presently that the Turk is not a truculent tyrant of women, and that the Turkish lust for cruelty has been overstated. Mahommed taught explicitly that servants should be treated with consideration and sympathy. The Prophet did not sanction slavery. Most probably the system was derived from the Hebrews. Turkish women of rank, who own slaves, are notably fair and kindly in their control of these attendants. Frequently the slave girl is a confidential companion, and a real affection exists between mistress and servitor.
At Garden Point, in Constantinople, the tourist is shown the spot where offending wives of the royal serai, or harem, were formerly cast into the Bosphorus, sewn up in a sack. "Thousands of women" are said to have received this capital punishment for adultery. Upon what authority are these accounts based? It is well-known that the affairs of the seraglio are conducted in the utmost secrecy. Who was present when hundreds of women were drowned at the same time? I do not say that such a penalty has never been inflicted upon erring wives; but I am disposed to ascribe much of this alleged cruelty to the imagination of prejudiced historians, hostile to the religion of Islam, and anxious to represent polygamy in its darkest aspects.
We have taken it for granted that the Sultan is the head and chief of the whole court and harem. To a large extent, this is true. But there is one who commands the sovereign, and is often feared by him. This potentate is a woman, the Validé Sultana, who reigns supreme over the great harem family. Here is highly instructive evidence of the persistence of the matriarchal authority in Turkey. The mother of the king is queen over the king and his family.
The Sultana-mother lives in magnificent apartments in the palace. Sixty of the handsomest eunuchs wait upon her, besides her female retinue. She supervises the women officials, and directs all the internal domestic affairs of the vast court. Her servants approach with folded arms, as a mark of humility and the highest respect. She is surrounded by the strictest ceremonial, and treated almost as a divinity. Every member of her family, from the Sultan himself, trembles at the thought of her displeasure. And yet we read of "the degraded position" of Turkish women. How can this be reconciled with the fact 
If the Sultana Validé dies, the Sultan's wet-nurse is elevated to this royal position. A slave-girl may, through good fortune, become the Sultan-mother. Mahmud II. fell in love with a girl of the bath-chamber, and she bore Abdul Niedgid, who became ruler of Turkey. Thus the slave became Sultana Validé.
The life of the ruler of Turkey is not one of complete ease and luxury. As a prince, his probation is extremely austere. He is practically a prisoner, occupying the "cage," or kafe, for several years. In his own apartments, he is kept, uncontaminated by the outside world, under the direction of tutors and professors. It is true that he has several maidens and many servants to share his close seclusion. But his life is by no means idle and purposeless.
This training for the throne is succeeded by the responsibilities of government. The ruling of Turkey is not a sinecure. The position of Sultan becomes more and more difficult. Nominally, he is the supreme head of the dominion, but actually he is influenced by ministers and counsellors.
The very magnitude and opulence of the sovereign's possessions induce weariness and satiety. He strives to lead the simple life. Rising early, he performs his devotions, eats a plain, light meal, and receives his visitors. Those who seek an audience are received with courtesy and set at their ease. They are even permitted to sit by the Sultan on his divan.
Many of the Sultans may be described as having been domesticated. Almost all of them have proved good parents, and much attached to their children. Throwing aside the cares of the realm, they love to join the mothers and the children in the nursery, and to romp with the youngsters. The present Sultan is fond of horseback riding and sailing.
While a Jewess is never admitted to the Imperial Serai, there are several Christian women among the Sultan's train. They are well treated, and no intolerance is shown to their creed, which they are not asked to reject.
The daughters and sisters of the Sultan sometimes marry husbands without royal lineage. In these cases the husbands are extremely submissive to their wives; and they may not sit down in their presence without first asking permission.
The ladies of the Royal Harem wear costumes designed in Paris, and dress in the height of each changing fashion.[3] On State occasions of importance, they dress in the Turkish trousers and shawls. They are allowed to go out shopping in the bazaars, provided that they are suitably veiled.
The women of the seraglio often spend the day in boating, and they are fond of excursions into the country. Many parties of them, attended by their servants, go in carriages, and picnic in the woods. They play games and romp like children.
The Sultan has more than one palace, besides well-appointed houses for his favourite ikbals. These ladies live apart from the serai, and have their own guards and servants. They entertain their royal spouse in their own residences.[4]
The slaves of the royal household fare as well as the ladies whom they attend; and their lot is certainly easier than that of most servants in Christian countries. Mrs. Garnett thinks that, in many respects, the Turkish female slave is better off than the domestic servant of the West. At the end of seven years of servitude, she is a free woman, and often a husband and a dowry are found for her. If she is beautiful and amiable, she may rise to a very enviable position in the serai.
- ↑ "Diary of a Turk," Halib Halid, 1903.
- ↑ Several of my facts are gathered from Miss Bowman-Dodd's "Palaces of the Sultan."
- ↑ Lady Duff-Gordon, writing to "The London Budget," Nov. 23, 1913, says that in Paris "the harem influence continues to be strongly evident in the fashions of the winter. … The harem dress is the dress of allurement. No Occidental woman understands the mystery, the depth of allurement, as Oriental women do."
- ↑ See Mrs. Lucy M. J. Garnett's interesting volume, "Women of Turkey." II. Ibid.