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Etymology

Coming from the Arab tradition, the harîm حريم (compare haram) is a word old Caliphs used to call their maids^{[citation needed]} (Another common word is Gairya جارية). The world knows the harem by way of the Ottoman Empire. For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... This article covers the word as used in Islamic urban planning. ... Ottoman redirects here. ...

In Western languages such as English, this term refers collectively to the women in any polygynous household as well as to the "no men allowed" area, or in more modern usage to a number of women followers, friends, or admirers of a man. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The term polygyny (neo-Greek: poly+gune Many + Wives) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ...

In other Western languages, the term serraglio - from an Italian variant of Persian saraay, meaning 'palace, enclosed courts' - has much the same connotations. A serraglio is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish household, from an Italian variant of Turkish saray, meaning palace, enclosed courts. In the context of the turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozarts... Farsi redirects here. ...

Scene in a Harem, Guardi

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2024x1445, 229 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Harem ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2024x1445, 229 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Harem ... Giovanni Antonio Guardi (also Gianantonio Guardi; 1699 in Vienna – 1760 in Venice) was a painter like his younger and more famous brother Francesco Guardi. ...

Word history

The word has been recorded in the English language since 1634, via the Turkish harem, from the Arabic haram (forbidden), originally entailing "women's quarters," literally: "something forbidden or kept safe," from the root harama: "he guarded, forbade." The triconsonantal H-R-M is common to Arabic words entailing forbidden. The word is cognate to the Hebrew herem, rendered in Greek as ’anáthema when it applies to excommunication pronounced by the Jewish Sanhedrin court - all these words mean that an object is "sacred" or "accursed". The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... In the terminology used to discuss the grammar of the Semitic languages, a triliteral is a root containing a sequence of three consonants (so also known as a triconsonantal root). ... () is the triconsonantal root of many Arabic words, and many of those words are used as names. ... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ...

Female privacy in Islam is very respected and honored, to the extent that any unlawful breaking into that privacy is harām (forbidden). For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ...

Contrary to the common belief, a Muslim harem does not necessarily consist solely of women with whom the head of the household has sexual relations (wives and concubines), but also their young offspring, other female relatives, etc.; and it may either be a palatial complex, as in Romantic tales, in which case it includes staff (women and eunuchs), or simply their quarters, in the Ottoman tradition separated from the men's selamlik. Concubinage is either the state of a couple living together as lovers with no obligation created by vows, legal marriage, or religious ceremony, or the state of a woman supported by a male lover who is married to, and usually living with, someone else. ... European illustration of a Eunuch (1749) Chief Eunuch of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II at the Imperial Palace, 1912. ... Selamlik (Turkish: Selamlık) is the portion of a Turkish palace or house reserved for men. ...

History

Women of the Harem- Watercolor on Paper by Haydar Hatemi-1997

The harem of the Turkish Great Sultan, which was in the Topkapı Palace serraglio, typically housed several hundred - at times over a thousand - women including wives. It also housed the Sultan's mother, daughters and other female relatives, as well as eunuchs and slave girls to serve the aforementioned women. During the later periods, the sons of the Sultan also lived in the Harem until they were sixteen, when it might be considered appropriate for them to appear in the public and administrative areas of the palace. The Topkapı Harem was, in some senses, merely the private living quarters of the Sultan and his family, within the palace complex. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (540x778, 63 KB)Haydar Hatemi www. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (540x778, 63 KB)Haydar Hatemi www. ... Haydar Hatemi was born in Alamdar, Iran on March 3, 1945. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Entrance of Topkapı Palace, Bab-üs Selam The Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı in Turkish, literally the Cannongate Palace - named after a nearby gate), is located at the tip of a spit of land in the European part of Istanbul. ... A serraglio is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish household, from an Italian variant of Turkish saray, meaning palace, enclosed courts. In the context of the turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozarts... European illustration of a Eunuch (1749) Chief Eunuch of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II at the Imperial Palace, 1912. ... Slave redirects here. ...

It is claimed that harems existed in Persia under the Ancient Achaemenids and later Iranian dynasties (The Sassanid Chosroes II reportedly had a harem of 3,000 wives, as well as 12,000 female slaves) and lasted well into the Qajar dynasty. The women of the royal harem played important though underreported roles in Iranian history, especially during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. However, this claim is disputed by some Persian historians.^[1] Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Dynasty was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire, including Cyrus II the Great, Darius I and Xerxes I. At the height of their power, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled over territories roughly emcompassing some parts of todays Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate... Khosrau II, Parvez (the Victorious), king of Persia, son of Hormizd IV, grandson of Khosrau I, 590 – 628. ... The Qajar dynasty was the ruling family of Persia from 1796 to 1925. ... The Iranian Constitutional Revolution (also Persian Constitutional Revolution and Constitutional Revolution of Iran) took place between 1905 and 1911. ...

Harem is also the usual English translation of the Chinese language term hougong, 後宮—literally meaning "the palaces behind." Hougong are large palaces for the Chinese emperor's consorts, concubines, female attendants and eunuchs. The women who lived in an emperor's hougong sometimes numbered in the thousands. Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ...

The institution of the harem exerted a certain fascination on the European imagination, especially during the Age of Romanticism (see also Orientalism), due in part to the writings of the adventurer Richard Francis Burton. Many Westerners imagined a harem as a brothel consisting of many sensual women lying around pools with oiled bodies, with the sole purpose of pleasing the powerful man to whom they had given themselves. Much of this is recorded in art from that period, usually portraying groups of attractive women lounging by spas and pools. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Romantics redirects here. ... For the book by Edward Said, see Orientalism (book). ... For other persons named Richard Burton, see Richard Burton (disambiguation). ...

A centuries-old theme in Western culture is the depiction of European women forcibly taken into Oriental harems - evident for example in the Mozart opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Serraglio") concerning the attempt of the hero Belmonte to rescue his beloved Konstanze from the serraglio/harem of the Pasha Selim. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... Die Entführung aus dem Serail (K. 384; in English The Abduction from the Seraglio; also known as Il Seraglio) is a opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ... A serraglio is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish household, from an Italian variant of Turkish saray, meaning palace, enclosed courts. In the context of the turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozarts... Pasha, pascha or bashaw (Turkish: paÅŸa) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors and generals. ...

The same theme was and still is repeated in numerous historical novels and thrillers. For example "Angélique and the Sultan", part of the bestselling French series by Sergeanne Golon, in which a 17th Century French noblewoman is captured by pirates, sold to the King of Morroco and installed in his harem, stabs the king with his own dagger when he tries to have sex with her and stages a dramatic and successful escape. Anne Golon (born 1921) is a French author, better known to English speaking readers as Sergeanne Golon. ...

H. Beam Piper used the theme in a science fiction context, portraying a gang which kidnaps girls from a Western-dominated, technologically advanced timeline and sells them to a Sultan's harem in an Asian-dominated timeline (see[1]). To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Look up timeline in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Sultan (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Harem, for other uses of the word
• Seraglio
• Concubine
• Eunuch
• Devşirme system
• Hammam
• Köçek
• Odalisque
• Islam and Slavery
• Culture of the Ottoman Empire
• Zenana
• Pilegesh
• Orientalism

Look up harem in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A seraglio is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish household, from an Italian variant of Turkish saray, meaning palace, enclosed courts. In the context of the turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozarts... A swampy marsh area ... European illustration of a Eunuch (1749) Chief Eunuch of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II at the Imperial Palace, 1912. ... Devshirmeh (Turkish devşirme, Greek, paedomazoma) refers to the system used by the Ottoman sultans to tax newly conquered states, and build a loyal slave army and class of administrators: the Janissaries. ... A hammam in Chefchaouen, Morocco The Turkish hammam (also Turkish bath or hamam) is the Middle Eastern variant of a steam bath, which can be categorized as a wet relative of the sauna. ... The köçek phenomenon is considered to be one of the most significant symbols of Ottoman Empire culture. ... Odalisque with a slave by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, painted in 1842 An odalisque was a virgin female slave, who could rise in status to being a concubine or a wife in Ottoman Seraglios, but most of whom tended to the harem of the Turkish sultan. ... 13th century slave market in Yemen The major juristic schools of Islam traditionally accepted the institution of slavery. ... Early on as the Ottoman Turks drove out the Byzantines from Anatolia and later pursued them into Europe, the pursuit was a part of the Jihad (or Holy War) against Christianity, and the first Ottoman rulers called themselves Gazi, or Holy Warriors. ... In India, a zenana is the part of a house reserved for the women among Hindu families of good caste. ... A Pilegesh is a concubine. ... For the book by Edward Said, see Orientalism (book). ...

Sources and references

• Mohammed Webb: The Influence of Islam on Social Conditions Paper, World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1893
• TheOttomans.org Historical Web-site.
• Leslie P. Peirce: The Imperial Harem : Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire Oxford University Press, USA; New Ed edition (September 2, 1993 ISBN 0-19-508677-5
• Suraiya Faroqhi: Subjects of the Sultan : Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire I. B. Tauris (November 10, 2005) ISBN 1-85043-760-2
• Billie Melman: Women's Orients : English Women and the Middle East, 1718-1918 University of Michigan Press (July 15, 1992) ISBN 0-472-10332-6
• Alan Duben, Cem Behar, Richard Smith (Series Editor), Jan De Vries (Series Editor), Paul Johnson (Series Editor), Keith Wrightson (Series Editor): Istanbul Households : Marriage, Family and Fertility, 1880-1940 Cambridge University Press; New Ed edition (August 8, 2002) ISBN 0-521-52303-6
• Emmanuel Todd: The explanation of ideology: Family structures and social systems B. Blackwell (1985) ISBN 0-631-13724-6
• Oleg Grabar: The Formation of Islamic Art Yale University Press; Rev&Enlarg edition (September 10, 1987) ISBN 0-300-04046-6

1. ^ http://www.livius.org/a/iran/persepolis/harem/harem.html Livius.org Retrieved on 04-13-07

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

Non-Fiction

• Etymology OnLine
• Catholic Encyclopaedia (passim)
• Alev Lytle Croutier: Harem: The World Behind the Veil Abbeville Press; Reprint edition (July 1998) ISBN 1-55859-159-1
• Alev Lytle Croutier: The Palace of Tears Delta; Reprint edition (January 2, 2002) ISBN 0-385-33491-5
• Anastasia M. Ashman and Jennifer Eaton Gokmen, editors: Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey Seal Press; Reprint edition (March 12, 2006) ISBN 1-58005-155-3
• Lal, Kishori Saran (1988). The Mughal Harem. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. ISBN 81-85179-03-4. 
• Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul: The Sultan's Harem Penguin (Non-Classics); New Ed edition (July 3, 2001) ISBN 0-14-027056-6
• M. Saalih : Harem Girl : A Harem Girl’s Journal Delta; Reprint edition (January 2, 2002) ISBN 0-595-31300-0
• Fatima Mernissi: Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in a Modern Muslim Society Delta; Reprint edition (January 2, 2002) ISBN 0-253-20423-2
• N. M. Penzer, M.A., F.R.G.S.: THE HARĒM an account of the instiitution as it existed in the Palace of the Turkish Sultans with a history of the Grand Seraglio from its foundation to modern times Dorset Press (1993) ISBN 1-56619-255-2
• Andrew Rippin: Muslims (Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices) Routledge; 2 edition (November 30, 2000) ISBN 0-415-21782-2
• Malise Ruthven: Islam: A Very Short Introduction Oxford University Press, USA; New Ed edition (June 15, 2000) ISBN 0-19-285389-9

The Catholic Encyclopedia is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the The Encyclopedia Press, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. // History The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11, 1905 under the supervision of five editors: Charles G... Anastasia M. Ashman (born 1964 in Berkeley, California) is a cultural essayist and editor specializing in tales of personal adventure. ... Jennifer Eaton Gökmen (born 1971 in Wayne, Michigan) is an American writer and editor. ... Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey (Türkçe Sevmek in Turkish) is a nonfiction anthology by 32 expatriate women from seven nations and five continents about their lives in modern Turkey, published by Seal Press in North America (2006, ISBN 1-58005-155-3) and... K.S. Lal is a controversial Indian historian. ...

Fiction

• Dora Levy Mossanen: Harem: A Novel Touchstone (July 30, 2002), ISBN 0-7432-3021-3
• Colin Falconer: The Sultan's Harem Crown (July 13, 2004) ISBN 0-609-61030-9
• N. M. Penzer: The Harēm : Inside the Grand Seraglio of the Turkish Sultans Dover Publications (May 13, 2005) ISBN 0-486-44004-4

External links

• Some paintings of harems