Marriage, Reproduction and the Women of the Ottoman Empire
Most recognizable for its impressive conquests and formation of a powerful empire, the Ottoman Empire’s achievements are repeatedly attributed to the successes of powerful male figures. As a result, the main focus of discussion concerning the Ottoman Empire is exclusively on men, while the issue of Ottoman women is often overlooked. Echoing the words of Carole Pateman, a British feminist and political theorist, in a patriarchal society like the Ottoman Empire, the topic of “women, womanhood and women’s bodies represent the private; they represent all that is excluded from the public sphere” . Hence, one questions why Ottoman women are often concealed and why it is difficult for them
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to have an active role in politics and society, and become a more visible part of Ottoman history. To examine that, this paper will first analyze of the nature of marriage and reproduction in the Royal Court, the roles and significance it entails as well as the issues royal women encounter. It is then can we understand how difficult it is for all women to gain visibility and also how these traditions that started in the Royal Court continue to persist even up to the last decade of the Ottoman Empire. Royal Wives: Political Alliances To begin with, we must first investigate into the lives of the most prevalent women in the empire, the royal wives and concubines and discover the issues that they were challenged with. Much like in most parts of the world, many Ottoman marriages are usually motivated by familial social and economic gains. Royal marriages in particular, are in truth political alliances to secure economic and social benefits between nations, such as supply of armies, trade freedom and even territorial lands. For instance, in his book titled The Ottoman Empire, Structure of Power: 1300-1650, Colin Imber writes of the Sultan Orhan’s political marriage with Theodora, the second daughter of Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos in 1346. Orhan used this political marriage to establish an alliance between the two warring empires, in order to attain some degree of peace. Likewise, Imber notes that other sultan’s marriages, like Bayezid I’s marriage to the daughter of Yakud, the ruler of the Germiyan principaliy, were also political, as it bought significant territorial acquisitions under the Ottoman rule. Additionally, according to Imber, “the marriages of Ottoman princesses…seem to have followed a similar pattern.” All these cases depict the importance of royal wives in creating and maintaining an alliance. Hence, the role of royal wives are as assets to secure good political relations. While royal wives held an important role in the cementing of alliances, the nature of their marriages is usually loveless. According to Imber, “it seems from an early period to have been the custom of the dynasty to reproduce through slaves, the function of wives being political rather than reproductive.” Hence, it is common for many royal women to be viewed as an object for securing an alliance and not as a person. Therefore is subsequent lack of interest in the sultans to forge a personal relationship with his wife. It is for that reason that many royal marriages were almost exclusively sterile. Ultimately, while love and adoration could develop between the Sultan and his wife, whenever it became disadvantageous to be allied to a foreign nation and the marriage loses its purpose, and it became unnecessary to continue a loving relationship with the wife. For instance, in 1371 Sultan Murad I “married Thamar, the sister of the Bulgarian Tsar Shishman of Tarnovo. The purpose of the match was…to reduce Shishman to the status of vassal, owing Murad allegiance, possibly the payment of tribute…and the provision of troops to Murad’s army.” However, when Shishman became unable to do so, the marriage’s purpose abruptly ended, Murad I led an army against Tsardom in 1388. As Thamar now had no political relevance to the sultan, there was consequently reduced interest in maintaining a personal, loving relationship with her. Indeed, the role and significance of royal women is to serve a political purpose alone, hence the nature of their marriage is more often than not loveless, as having a personal relationship was deemed unnecessary and trivial. Considering the royal wives’ role as a political asset, clearly, it is quite difficult for them to have a more active role in politics and society.
As these women are merely to keep a treaty in place, it is not her role to make political decisions or to become an integral part of society. The royal wife is meant to be a stationary figure by the sultan’s side. If the royal wife were to become more a visible and integrated aspect politics and society, there is fear that it will be more difficult to cut ties with her and ultimately her home nation, as the royal court is in some way dependent on her presence. A more politically active royal wife could also undermine the sultan’s own rule, and make the sultan appear weaker. Therefore, it is important for the sultan to maintain the royal wives’ role as a decorative figure in order to prevent these issues. Furthermore, the loveless nature of the marriage makes it even harder for the royal wives to attain power. As very rarely a political wife is a sultan’s favorite, he is less likely to give her power and responsibilities. Hence, the royal wives’ role as a political asset in marriage, as well as the nature of this marriage poses as a limitation to their ability to have a more active role in politics and …show more content…
society. Royal Slaves: Mothers of Sultans However, reproduction presents an opportunity for some women in the royal court to attain some form of power and accessibility. As the Ottoman Empire is a patriarchal empire, it was important for Ottoman sultans to produce male offspring to continue the line. However, as royal wives only serve to cement a political alliance, the responsibility of reproduction was that of the royal concubines. According to Colin Imber, Ottoman sultans had a preference of reproducing through their concubine slaves: “The mother of …Bayezid I (1389-1402) was… Gülchichek (‘Rose’) and…her name suggests that she was not a free woman. Of Bayezid’s sons, the chronicler Shükrullah wrote… ‘He had six sons…their mothers were all slaves.’ …[Simmilarly, Mehmed I] had five sons…the mothers of all of them were slaves… So, too, were Hüma, the mother of Mehmed II and Gülbahar, the mother of Bayezid II.” Hence, with few exceptions, Ottoman sultans reproduced almost exclusively through concubines.
As women are the carrier of children, they are again important in the purpose of reproduction. However, beginning after the reign of Suleyman I, the mothers of the sultan became more significant figures in court politics. In the past, the harem was separate from the royal court, hence though the mothers of the princes were are responsible for their children’s upbringing, they played little role court politics after her son’s coronation. However, as Leslie P. Pierce states, “in the post-Suleymanic period, with the integration of the harem into the sultanic household, the mother became once again preeminent as the senior member of the household, with claim to certain generational prerogatives over her son.” It was during this time that the role of the valide sultan (Queen Mother) emerged. The valide sultan played in important role in the governing of the state, “[she] did not exercise her power in a vacuum…[rather,] she was the heart of a number of different factions and networks of influence in whose collective interest she can be said to have acted.” Imber notes that Suleyman I’s concubine, Hurrem Sultan, was the one who set precedent for this role. Hurrem, who was the favorite of the sultan, “did not accompany her sons to their governorships in the provinces, but remained in Istanbul at the center of power, with immediate access to the sultan.” From there she could influence
the internal politics and control aspects of governance. As such, when her son, Selim II came into power, she already set herself a position of power as the mother of the reigning sultan. It was Hurrem that first altered the political structure of the royal court, allowing women to have power and visibility. Plainly speaking, prince Mehmed in 1582 even remarked, “…the queen-mother governed everything…one had to depend on them, or at least not have them against you”.
xii Author’s Note) Cooney believes that “Hatshepsut remains an important example of humanity’s ambivalent perception of female authority.”(pg. xii Author’s Note) The Women who would be king is more then just a book about the rise of a female pharaoh, it’s a reflection of how people in the ancient world assessed women in power. As well of how people today look at women in power of ancient history. Looking at Hatshepsut’s story it is easy to compare the similarities between the struggles of women obtaining power and of women running and in power today. By studying Hatshepsut we may get a better understanding of the fear or resistance of wanting females in powerful political positions. Hatshepsut thrived and became one of the most powerful and important individuals in the ancient world dominated by masculinity. Hatshepsut seemed to have done the
The role of women in learning and education underwent a gradual change in the Afro-Eurasian world and the Americas between the 11th and 15th centuries. As societies in Africa, Middle East, India, China, Europe, and America grew more complex they created new rights and new restrictions for women. In all regions of the world but the Middle East, society allowed women to maintain education in order to support themselves and their occupations. Women slaves in the Middle East were, however, prized on their intelligence. In Africa, women were trained in culinary arts. In India, women learned how to read and write with the exception of the sacred verses of the Vedas.
Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics.
The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest running empires in history, spanning 624 years. The women of the Ottoman empire were often limited to the household of their husband’s and held back by Ottoman lawmakers and authorities. The point of view of outsiders was varied, but there were both positive and negative views.
Was she the archetypal wicked stepmother, an unnatural and scheming woman ?of the most virile character who would deliberately abuse a position of trust to steal the throne from a defenceless child? (Gardiner, 1961:184)? Or was she ?an experienced and well-meaning woman who ruled amicably alongside her stepson, steering her country through twenty peaceful, prosperous years who deserves to be commemorated among the great monarchs of Egypt? (Budge, 1902:I)? According to biographer and historian Joyce Tyldesley, Queen or as she would prefer to be remembered, King Hatchepsut became the female embodiment of a male role, whose reign was a carefully balanced period of internal peace, foreign exploration and monument building (Tyldesley, 1996:1). This study will show that it was Hatshepsut the Pharaoh?s devotion to the god Amen and her protection of the maat of 18th Dynasty Egypt that allowed her to forge her successful New Kingdom regime.
A lady is an object, one which men attempt to dominate. A man craves to get a hold of this being beneath his command, and forever have her at his disposal. In her piece “Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem,” published in 2002, Fatema Mernissi illustrates how Eastern and Western women are subjugated by the control of men. Mernissi argues that though she may have derived from a society where a woman has to cover her face, a Western woman has to face daily atrocities far worse then ones an Eastern woman will encounter. Moreover, Mernissi’s core dogma in “Size 6: The Western Women's Harem” is that Western women are not more fortunate than women raised into harems in other societies. Additionally, she asserts that though women in the Western world are given liberties, they coincide with the unattainable ideals of what is aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, to strengthen her argument towards her wavering audience, Mernissi’s main approach in her paper is to get the reader to relate with her issue by means of an emotional appeal, while also utilizing both the ethical and logical appeal to support her thesis.
All of these women were the ones who now had access to the queen, forcing yet another important role in the politics of the nation, into the hands of women. While the women were apolitical13 their male counterparts--sons, brother, husbands, fathers--served the queen in several political roles. One of the greatest shifts of power that would affect the most change in government: the grooms of the stool had, during the time of Henry VIII and Edward VI, taken many responsibilities belonging to the secretary and William Cecil took them back14 and this gave him enough sway to create the agendas of council and create policies15.
Contemplating the relationship between gender and power, one undoubtedly notices that tradition regards men as the holders of official office and power. Historically, men have also always been the leaders of their families, and turned to in times of trouble or need. Making generalizations is normally a weak approach to any task; in this case however, it is necessary to do so in order to illustrate how drastically opposite the situations prove in various selections from "1001 Arabian Nights." Rather than men taking critical roles of power, the women characters, especially at crucial moments in the plot, empower themselves far beyond the male figures, and, consequently, prove much more important to their respective plots. The stories offer a different perspective on the gender-power relationship and, consequently, ask readers to reconsider their notions of the traditional relationship between gender and power.
The memoir gives a unique perspective of the noblewoman in this period of Russian society. A male-centered society made it difficult for women to shape and control their lives, however it was possible through means of gaining respect. The society respected woman who had a virtuous demeanor. Especially, those who lived with an immoral spouse and still were able to show virtuous characteristics. Anna is able to gain the respect of people higher in authority than her husband receiving special treatment for various requests. Through her marriage, she recognizes that her husband has rights that she doesn’t have in shaping and controlling her life privately and especially publicly. This society causes for women to depend on men completely.
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.
The attitude towards women, their treatment and their rights, underwent many changes during the Renaissance. During feudal times women were given more liberties and enjoyed freedoms. They could own land and had many of the rights men had. However, this period where so many great changes had been made in the church, in literature, and in all other artistic areas, women took a big step backward in their fight for equality.
The Women of the Middle East have played substantial roles for their corresponding countries since the advent of colonialism in the region. Middle Eastern women have worked in all types of fields including medicine, education, agriculture, government, private sector, and even defense. They have kept roofs over their family’s heads while their husbands were away in wars, or even in foreign countries to work in jobs that they could not find in their own countries. The roles of women in the countries of Yemen and Oman are no exception, but while they still find ways to contribute to their country, they care constantly stereotyped, discriminated, and ridiculed by men who are known and unknown to them. This paper will discuss the individual contributions of the women living in Yemen and Oman, and will discuss in further state laws and cultural norms that are affecting the women living in these countries today.
...l, many Egyptians were beginning to detest the British occupation and the Wafd Party demanded for a constitutional monarchy. Later Hamida achieves great success and power that is unique for a woman, but power corrupts and absolute power absolutely corrupts, and eventually she will lose all the success and power to become a street prostitute working for Ibrahim Faraj.
Women’s rights is the fight for the idea that women and men are both equal. Over the course of history, billions of women have fought for their rights and have fortunately been able to persuade government-like authority to initiate laws where women were being benefited, but in the Byzantine Empire that was not the case. Women were oppressed and seen as weak which affected their lifestyle, marriage life, and career opportunities. Hence, women were unfortunately not able to fully progress beyond the role of a housewife set by society.
The Kingdom of Kush is one of the earliest civilizations to develop in the Nile River Valley; it was located in the Northern African region of Nubia, which is today’s Sudan (Kaufmann). The Kingdom of Kush contributed to the civilization and culture of Egypt. One thing that did not carry over into the Egyptian lifestyle was the importance of woman. In Egypt, women were placed in more traditional, homebody roles (Kushite Politics). In Ancient Kush, women were more active than men (Kushite Politics). Women worked on farms, in the labor force and they were even royalty (Kaufmann). Kushite women played a large part within the governance of the kingdom, which is considered unique for the ancient civilizations of that time.