NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Harem (household)

In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. haram) is the part of the household forbidden to male strangers. In English, this term refers collectively to the wives in a polygynous household as well as the "no-males allowed" area. Another English definition for this term that is more modern in its usage is that of a number of women followers or admirers.-1... This article covers the word as used in Islamic urban planning. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The term polygyny (neo-Greek: poly+gyne woman) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ...

Contrary to the common belief, harem is not necessarily a part of a palace and its inhabitants do not necessarily consist solely of women with whom the head of the household has a sexual relation. For example the Ottoman harem (the harem of the sultan's palace in the Ottoman Empire would contain several hundred women including wives, mistresses, the sultan's mother, daughters and other female relatives and eunuchs and slave girls to serve the aforementioned women. 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. ... A sultan (Arabic: Ø³Ù„Ø·Ø§Ù†) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-mÃ¼ddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335 - 1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million... Chinese Eunuchs A eunuch is an infertile human male whose testicles have either been removed (deliberately or by accident) or are otherwise non-functional. ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ...

Harem is also the usual English translation of the Chinese language term hougong, 後宮—literally meaning "the palaces behind." Hougong are large Chinese royal palaces for the emperor's consorts and female attendants. 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 CitÃ©, 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. This article is about the continent. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Orientalism is the study of Near and Far Eastern societies and cultures by Westerners. ... Richard Burton, portrait by Frederic Leighton, National Portrait Gallery, London Sir Richard Francis Burton (March 19, 1821 â€“ October 19, 1890) was a British consul, explorer, translator, writer and Orientalist known for his often-unprecedented exploits of travel and exploration as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. ...

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Category: Sociology 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. ... The Turkish hammam (also Turkish bath or hamam) is the Turkish variant of a steam bath, which can be categorized as a wet relative of the sauna. ... The kÃ¶Ã§ek 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 1840. ... Ottoman Turkish is the variant of the Turkish language which was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire, containing extensive borrowings from Persian, which in turn had been permeated with Arabic borrowings. ... A seraglio is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish Muslim household, from an Italian variant of Turkish sarayı, meaning palace, enclosed courts. Topkapi Palace (Topkapı Sarayı) is the main Ottoman palace in Istanbul, now a museum. ... In 1856 The New York Daily Times reported that a consequence of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus was a glut of beautiful Circassian women on the Constantinople slave market, and that this was causing prices of slaves in general to plummet. ...

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