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Encyclopedia > Seraglio

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'. A swampy marsh area ...


In the context of the turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozart's Singspiel (Opera in German; serail=seraglio) Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The term can also refer to other traditional Turkish palaces (every imperial prince had his own) and other grand houses built around courtyards. Singspiel (song-play) is a form of German-language music drama, similar to modern musical theater, though it is also referred to as a type of operetta or opera. ... 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. ...


Description

A Turkish harem staff commonly included eunuchs. These were slaves, either captured in war (mainly Christian Europeans in the Balkan) or recruited within the empire (especially Caucasian peoples from Georgia and Armenia and blacks from Egypt and Sudan) or even beyond (especially in Abyssinia). Black eunuchs usually were Sandali (i.e. their genitalia were entirely amputated), hence they were preferred for harem service, while White eunuchs usually kept part of their penis and/or testicles, so they were assigned to less 'intimate' duties, e.g. secretarial. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. ... A eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. ... ... Ethno-Linguistic groups in the Caucasus region For the term Caucasian referring to all white people, see Caucasian race. ... This article needs cleanup. ...


They were often donated to the Sultan by his governors, in total about six- to eight hundred. In Topkapi Palace (Topkapı Sarayı), the main Ottoman palace in Istanbul, now a museum, the Kızlar Ağası, the chief black eunuch, was the master of the harem, sometimes considered second only to the Grand Vizier (head of the imperial government, but often working in his own palace or even away, e.g. on military campaign) in the confidence of the Sultan, to whom he had and arranged access (including his bedchamber, the nec plus ultra for every harem lady), also being his confidential messenger. As commander of an imperial army corps, the baltaci (halberdiers), he even held the supreme military dignity of three-tail pasha (general). Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı in Turkish, literally the Cannongate Palace - named after a nearby gate), located in Istanbul (Constantinople), was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1465 to 1853. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: Konstandinúpoli, historically known in English as Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and economic center. ... A Vizier (وزير, sometimes also spelled Wazir) is an Arabic term for a high-ranking religious and political advisor, often to a king or sultan. ... This page lists direct English translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. ... Pasha (or pascha, bashaw; Turkish: paÅŸa; originally from Persian padshah or padeshah meaning king or from Turkish bash head, chief [1]) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors and generals. ...


Meanwhile the Kapi Agha, the chief white eunuch, was in charge of 300 to 900 white eunuchs as head of the 'Inner Service' (the palace bureaucracy, controlling all messages, petitions, and State documents addressed to the Sultan), head of the Palace School (school for pages training as white eunuchs), gatekeeper-in-chief, head of the infirmary, and master of ceremonies of the Seraglio, and was originally the only one allowed to speak to the Sultan in private. In 1591, Murad III transferred the powers of the white to the black eunuchs as there were too many embezzlements and various other nefarious crimes attributed to the white eunuchs, but later they regained some favor. Murad III Murad III (July 4, 1546 – January 15, 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death. ...


During the Kadınlar Sultanati, the eunuchs increased their political leverage by taking advantage of minor or mentally incompetent Sultans, causing political instability. The teenage Sultans were "guided" by regencies formed by the Valide Sultan, the Grand Vizier and the Valide's other supporters- and the Kizlar Agha was the Valide Sultan's and Kadin's intimate and valued accomplice. The Valide Sultan was the mother of a ruling sultan in the Ottoman Empire. ...


See also

A caravanserai (also spelt caravansarai, caravansary Persian كاروانسرا, Turkish: kervansaray), means home or shelter for caravans (caravan meaning a group or convoy of soldiers, traders or pilgrims engaged in long distance travel). ... 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. ... Devshirmeh (Turkish devşirme) 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. ... In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. ... The köçek phenomenon is considered to be one of the most significant symbols of Ottoman Empire culture. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Odalisque with a slave by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, painted 1840. ... Ottoman Turkish (Turkish: Osmanlıca or Osmanlı Türkçesi, Ottoman Turkish: لسان عثمانی - lisân-i Osmânî) is the variant of the Turkish language that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire. ... Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) Coordinates: Country Bosnia and Herzegovina Entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Canton Sarajevo Canton Mayor Semiha Borovac Area    - City 142 km²  (54. ...

External link

  • AllAboutTurkey

  Results from FactBites:
 
classical music - andante - fidelio in the seraglio (1220 words)
The opera's plot bears more than a passing resemblance to that of Beethoven's Fidelio, in that the herione ventures into the heart of the enemy camp disguised as a young man in order to find and rescue her beloved, who is being held prisoner.
The scenario is, like that of Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio from several decades later, an example of 18th-century Europe's craze for turquerie — orientalism, Ottoman-style.
The hero, Prince Ridolfo, has been captured and enslaved by the Sultan of Egypt, where the titular faithful princess, Cunegonda, arrives in search of him; in her male disguise, she is welcomed as a guest at court.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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