Imperial Ottoman

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Life in the Imperial Harem at Topkapı Palace

A day in the imperial harem of Topkapı — its courtyards, the valide sultan, the hierarchy of the women, the education of the princes and princesses, and the daily routine.

Life in the Imperial Harem at Topkapı Palace

The imperial harem of Topkapı Palace was the household of the women and children of the Ottoman dynasty, and it was one of the most elaborate institutions of the early modern world. From the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 to the dissolution of the harem in 1909, the harem was a parallel court in which the valide sultan, the principal consort, the concubines, the children, and the female relatives of the sultan lived, governed, and conspired. This article describes a day in the harem, its architecture, the internal hierarchy, and the routines of the women and children. It complements the broader survey of Ottoman society and culture and of the Ottoman family and the imperial harem.

The setting

The harem occupied a separate walled quarter in the heart of the Topkapı Palace complex, accessible through the heavily guarded Gate of the Imperial Harem. It was a self-contained world, with its own courtyards, apartments, school, hamam, mosque, hospital, and staff of hundreds of eunuchs, attendants, and servants.

The plan was a long, narrow, multi-courtyard complex of rooms running along the western side of the palace. The principal rooms included the Courtyard of the Eunuchs, the Hall with the Fountain, the Courtyard of the Valide Sultan, the Hall of the Valide Sultan, the Imperial Hall, the Hall of Murat III, the Privy Chamber of Murat III, the Twin Kiosk, the Apartment of the Chief Consort, the Apartment of the Sultana, and the Courtyard of the Favorites. The architecture of the harem is treated in the broader article on Ottoman architecture.

The hierarchy of the harem

The harem was governed by a strict internal hierarchy. At the top was the valide sultan, the mother of the reigning sultan, the most powerful woman in the empire. Below her was the haseki, the principal consort and generally the mother of the eldest son. Below the haseki was the ikbal, the secondary consorts, of whom the sultan might have several. Below the ikbal was the gözde, the favored concubines, and below the gözde the kalfa, the senior attendants.

At the bottom were the cariye, the enslaved women who served in the kitchen, the laundry, the wardrobe, and the household accounts. The cariye were recruited from the Christian populations of the empire, and the most talented of them rose through the ranks over decades; a number of the most powerful women of the empire — including several valide sultans — began their careers as cariye. The harem was also served by the black eunuchs of the Babüssaade and the white eunuchs of the palace. The chief black eunuch — the Kızlar Ağası — was one of the most powerful officers of the empire.

A day in the harem

The day in the harem began before dawn, with the call to the sabah prayer. The women washed, dressed, and made their way to the harem’s mosque for the prayer. After the prayer, they returned to their apartments for a light breakfast of bread, cheese, honey, and Ottoman coffee. The valide sultan received the principal officers of the harem and heard the reports of the household.

The mid-morning was devoted to the work of the household: the kitchen prepared the midday meal, the school staff taught the children, the senior women received visitors and managed the accounts. The midday meal — the taam — was the principal meal of the day, served on a low, round table and described in the article on Ottoman cuisine.

The afternoon was a period of rest, and the women of the harem visited the hammam for a bath, received visitors, or went to the gardens. The sultan, when in residence, often visited the harem in the late afternoon, and the hünkâr sofası was a period of formal reception. The evening meal was a lighter meal, often taken in the apartments of the senior women, and the harem settled into the night after the yatsı prayer.

The education of the princes and princesses

The children of the dynasty were educated in the harem until the age of circumcision, when the boys were sent to the Enderun, the palace school, and the girls were married or remained in the harem. The boys were taught the Qur’an, Arabic and Persian, Ottoman history, calligraphy, music, horsemanship, and the etiquette of the court. The girls were taught the Qur’an, history, calligraphy, music, embroidery, and household management.

The prince was the most important child in the harem. He was generally kept in the harem until the age of circumcision, between nine and fourteen, and he was then sent to a provincial governorship, the sancak, to learn the business of government. The provinces to which the princes were sent — Manisa, Amasya, Trabzon, Konya, Kefe, Bursa — were the training grounds of the dynasty, and the most successful sultans of the empire were those who had served long provincial governorships before their accession. The artistic and intellectual culture of the palace is treated in the article on Ottoman art and music.

The harem and political power

The harem was, throughout its history, a major political institution. The valide sultan exercised considerable political influence, especially when the sultan was a minor or a recluse. The period of the so-called Sultanate of Women of the seventeenth century was the high point of the political influence of the harem, when a succession of powerful valide sultans — particularly Kösem Sultan and Turhan Hatice — effectively governed the empire through a series of grand viziers.

The harem of the imperial household was dissolved in 1909, in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution, and the remaining members of the dynasty were exiled in 1924. The harem of Topkapı is now a museum, open to the public. The broader context of the harem and the Ottoman family is treated in a separate article in this silo.