of a law of succession. This was partly due, doubtless, to the fact that
he left no son who might assume leadership of the hosts of Islam. At
length, the Seljuk Turks attained to power, after which the empire fell
into minor sovereignties, which were brought together at last into the
Ottoman Empire. And while of late the stability of the reigning dynasty
has been the most noteworthy of the East, yet the fact that there was
not early established the ordinary custom of transmitting the
sovereignty from father to son has been the cause of much intrigue,
crime, and uncertainty in the dominion of the Turk. Cases have not been
unknown in Turkish history where several hundred women of the seraglio
were drowned in the Bosphorus because of plottings to depose the sultan.
They were tied in the traditional sack and dropped into the sea. It was
Ibrahim I., known as the Madman, one of the very worst of Turkish
rulers, who first conceived the idea of thus disposing of the old women
of the seraglio. Surprised and seized in the night, the unfortunate
victims of the sultan's madness were tied in sacks and then sunk to the
bottom of the sea. Only one of the large company of the unfortunates
escaped, by the loosing of the sack, and was picked up by a passing ship
and conveyed to Paris to tell the story of the cruel death of her
companions. Among the many notable instances of the tragic end to which
the plottings of the harem have come may be mentioned that of Tarkhann,
mother of Mohammed IV. So desirous was she that her son should reign,
that she slew all the other possible male heirs to the throne. She met
her nemesis, however, by strangulation. It is upon her life and that of
her rival that Racine has constructed his _Bajazet_.
Connected with the sultan's harem there are estimated to be about
fifteen hundred persons. The harem consists of a number of little
courts, or _dairas_; and the central figure of each of these courts is a
lady of the female hierarchy.
In the royal household there are three classes of women. The kadins, of
whom we have spoken, who may be termed the legitimate wives of the
sultan, though they are never formally married. Next are the _ikbals_,
or "favorite women." From this class the kadins are usually chosen. Then
come the _gediklis_, "those pleasant to look upon." The ikbals may come
from the number of these. The women of the third class are usually of
slave origin, purchased or stolen perhaps from Georgian or Circassian
parents. Those who are stolen are usually taken so early from their
homes, and so clandestinely, that their origin is seldom known to them.
If, however, the lady comes of high station her identity usually becomes
known, and she not unfrequently succeeds in elevating her family to a
position of power and emolument, either by direct influence or by
intrigue. In addition to these three classes of women there are _ustas_,
or "mistresses," who are maids in the service of the sultan's mother;
_shagirds_, or "novices," who are children in training for the higher
positions in the harem; and _jariyas_, or "damsels," who do the more
menial work of the establishments.
Captured slave girls have sometimes had a most interesting career. They
are brought in an almost continuous stream, but privately. In the
earliest days of their presence in the harem they are called _alaikes_,
and are placed under the care of elderly women, or _kalfas_, who bring
them up to suit the tastes of an Oriental court. They are instructed in
manners, in music, in drawing, and in embroidery. When later they reach
the proper age, they become attendants upon the kadins and the
princesses of the imperial household. There is no bar to their reaching
at length the highest station that it is possible for a woman to attain,
the favorite wife of the sultan.
The female department of the Turkish household is called the Hareemlick,
the male apartments being named the Islamlick. The women's apartments
are, of course, secluded. A male physician may see only the hand and
tongue of the sick lady. A black curtain is stretched to separate her
from his inspection. A eunuch conducts the physician to a point where
the sick woman may thrust out her hand through a hole in the curtain so
that the doctor may diagnose her disease.
Faithfulness in women is held in high esteem, restraint of the harem
being intended to insure it. In former days it was not a thing unknown
for unfaithful women to be drowned; but the custom has fallen into
disuse. Ladies of the harem, however, have a fair amount of liberty. On
certain occasions they go out driving and visiting; they frequent the
bazaars and the public promenades, always in vehicles, never afoot. They
enjoy entertainments among themselves. Theatricals are frequently
witnessed by them in the garden of the palace. Operas are also often
rendered for their enjoyment. When Turkish ladies visit one another in
the harem,--which they may do without permission or restraint from their
husbands,--it is customary to place their shoes outside the harem door
that their husbands may know guests are being entertained.
The harem of one ruler is generally regarded as the property of his
successor. The women thus inherited, however, are not always sure of
favor. Sultan Mohammed II. killed, by drowning, all the women of his
brother's harem. Indeed, women of the harems generally cannot be said to
have ample protection; for no officer may enter any harem to inspect the
conduct there, or for any purpose whatever, unless the law of the house
admits him. The women, whether they be wives or slaves, are practically
at the mercy of their masters. Some women of the sultan's harem have
risen to positions of much influence and genuine power, though they have
generally been of foreign birth. The mother of the noted reforming
sultan, Mahmud II., who began to reign in 1808 when a mere child, was a
French woman. His stout resistance of the allied powers won for him a
certain admiration for doggedness, even if success did not crown his
efforts to keep Greece in subjection. It was into this struggle that
Lord Byron threw himself on behalf of Greece. Mahmud, it may be to some
extent through the influence of his French mother, introduced French
tactics into his army, but to no avail, and at length Grecian freedom
was assured.
The wife of Mahmud, Besma, taken as a little girl from the life of a
peasant, rose to a position of supreme dignity and great influence. Her
beauty easily won the passion of Mahmud. She never lost sight of her
humble origin and was much beloved by the masses of the people, even
those of the most lowly classes. She was the mother of Abd-ul-Aziz, and
it was she who unsuspectingly gave to the sultan, her son, the scissors
with which he killed himself. At any rate, the unfortunate monarch was
found dead in his apartments. The mother pined away in seclusion, and
was seen only in her deeds of charity. It was Besma who built the mosque
Yeni Kalideh at Ak Serai, and it is here she rests in the midst of a
beautiful garden of flowers, of which, during her lifetime, she was so
fond. On her death, about fifteen years ago, she was accorded a funeral
of great magnificence, and she was generally mourned throughout the
empire. It is said that when Besma was building the mosque, her money
fell short of her purpose, so that she could build but one minaret
instead of two, as custom entitled. Her son, however, came forward,
offering the necessary funds, which she declined with the remark: "No,
one minaret is sufficient to call the people to prayers; another would
only glorify me; the poor need a fountain." So she built a fountain for
the people, and it is one of the most beautiful in Constantinople.
One of the most celebrated--even if she be not one of the best--women
of Turkey history was Khurrem, the "Joyous," whom Europeans generally
knew as Roxelana. She was wife of the greatest figure in Turkish annals,
Suleyman the Magnificent, who reigned about the middle of the sixteenth
century. Roxelana, though her origin has not been clearly traced, was
probably of Russian descent. From the first this strong-minded woman
exerted great influence over Suleyman. In the first place, she forced
him to marry her publicly and with much ceremony, a proceeding which was
then without precedent. Usually to have it announced that a woman had
become mother of a male heir to the throne was regarded as sufficient
announcement of marriage with the sultan. But this woman, who had now
risen from the position of a slave woman to that of the highest dignity
possible for a woman in the empire, determined that her marriage with
the great monarch should be full of publicity and pomp. There was
feasting and, apparently, great rejoicing, though the people were
surprised and hardly understood what it all might mean. Roxelana was,
however, equal to the emergency, and with the sagacity and determination
which were native to her sent many slaves among the people as they
feasted, distributing presents of money and pieces of silk to the
masses. From this time, she not only held absolute sway over the sultan,
but evinced great skill in buying the friendship of the people by gifts
and acts of charity. Diplomacy was characteristic of her, and from
cruelty she would not shrink if it were necessary to carry out her
purposes, for she induced Suleyman, generally so just and prudent, to
destroy the oldest and most promising of his sons, since the young man,
Mustafa by name, stood in the way of her own son Selim as heir to the
throne. She succeeded in her designs, but placed on the throne one of
the weakest and most worthless of Turkish rulers, "Selim, the Sot."
Roxelana's beauty is described as that which "attests that mixture of
the Asiatic and Tartar blood, wherever the dark eyes, the silken lashes,
the creamy paleness of the tint, the languor of the attitude habitual to
the Persian beauties, contrast with the rounded outline of the face,
with the shortness of the nose, the thickness of the lips, and the warm
coloring of the skin, traits peculiar to the daughters of the Caucasus."
At fifteen, she is said to have been the marvel and even the mystery of
the harem. Her memory knew only the rearing of the seraglio; but her
remarkable alertness and force of mind as well as beauty of person made
her from the first one of a thousand. Taught in the arts of music and
dancing, versed in foreign languages, and the study of history and
poetry, Roxelana added to her exuberance of youth a power of mind which
marked her for preeminence.
Rebia, wife of Mohammed IV., is another example of womanly power over
the head and heart of the supreme ruler of Turkey. Rebia was a Greek
girl from the island of Crete. Lamartine says of her: "The delicacy of
her lineaments, the brilliancy of her complexion, the ocean azure of her
eyes, the golden auburn of her hair, the caressing tone of her voice,
and the witchery of her wit made her to be dreaded still as the prison
companion of a fallen monarch, of whom she might amuse the languor and
reestablish the intrigue from the depth of his captivity." Even in
Mohammed's dethronement, Rebia clung to the fortunes of her lord, over
whom, during his power, she had always exerted decisive influence.
Italian women have also risen to a place of prominence in the royal
harem. This was notably true in the case of the beautiful Safia, a
Venetian captive girl, who had been brought into the seraglio of Sultan
Murad III., who succeeded Selim his father in the year 1574. Murad was
not strong, and was easily deceived by sycophants and ruled by women.
Among the latter was Safia, sometimes known as Baffo, belonging to the
family of Baffo of Venice. Baffo proceeded to rule her royal lord in the
interests of her native land. Venice, after Suleyman's death, had become
restless of Turkish rule, and proceeded successfully to throw it off.
Baffo never forgot her origin, and ruled with a high hand, not only as
Khasseki-Sultan, but also as Valideh. She set her son Mohammed III. on
the throne as successor to her husband, even though the consummation
could be reached only by the slaying of nineteen of the one hundred and
two sons of Murad. Foreign women will probably never again play so large
a role in Turkish affairs. The present sultan is said, however, to be
fond of the social attractions of European women. He is probably the
first Turkish sultan who has invited a European lady to dine with him.
The Turkish sultans have long lived in much magnificence. The old
seraglio, or imperial residence (from the word _seray_, a palace), was
beautifully situated "among the groves of plane and cypress that clothe
the apex of the triangle upon which the ancient city of Constantinople
is built." Now, however, the sultans have left these precincts around
which clustered so many memories of the horrible tragedies enacted
there, memories which even the magnificence of the place could not
destroy, and established their present residence, equal in natural
beauty to the old, but removed from the dirt and the memories, which had
at length gathered about the old seraglio.
The women's quarters are situated in the innermost portion of the
seraglio. Here are from three to twelve hundred women; at times there
are even more. These women are all foreigners. Indeed, all the guards
and attendants of the palace are of foreign blood. The sultan and his
children are the only Turks dwelling in the inner departments of the
royal palaces; and both he and they are born of foreign mothers. The
women's departments are carefully guarded. There were specially
appointed officers in the old seraglio as guards of the queens and their
children. These were the Baltajis, or "halberdiers," who were four
hundred in number. They, however, really attended the royal women only
when the sultan took with him some members of his harem to bear him
company on a journey or a campaign.
The Baltajis, on such occasions, walked by the side of the carriages of
the imperial ladies and guarded their camp at night. Ordinarily, the
sultan's harem was under the care of the black eunuchs, or about two
hundred Africans, who were specially entrusted with the imperial ladies.
Their chief was known as the Kislar Aghasi, or "master of the girls,"
and was regarded as one of the chief men of the empire.
The trade in captive boys and girls stolen from Europe, Asia, and
Africa was once very large; the pick of them being brought by purchase
into the sultan's palace, for one purpose or another. It was thought
that his imperial majesty's life was safer in the hands of foreigners
brought up almost from infancy in the palace, and knowing no other
allegiance than that to the will of the sultan.
Times have changed, however, and it is not possible for the ruler of the
Turks to regard the best of the children of white and black parentage as
born to replenish his harem. Much of the old time mediaeval splendor has
been swept away, not only through the reforms of Sultan Mahmud II., but
by modern conditions which make the old seraglio an impossibility.
In the olden days the young princes were closely confined in a part of
the seraglio known as the Chimshirlick, or "boxwood shrubbery." It
contained twelve pavilions each surrounded by high walls which enclosed
a little garden. These were the residences of the sons of the sultan.
Each young prince was kept guarded in his pavilion enclosure, from which
he dared not emerge without his royal father's special permission. Thus
a prince's minority was spent in the _kafe_, or "cage." Each youth had
as attendants ten or twelve fair girls, besides a number of pages. These
and black eunuchs, who were his teachers, were his sole companions. As a
rule, the tongues of male attendants and of women unable to bear
children were slit. At the tenth year a young prince leaves his mother
and the harem for the guardianship of a _lalo_, or "male attendant," who
is his companion day and night; next a _mullah_, or "priest," takes the
youth in hand and gives him his schooling, which consists chiefly in
instruction in the teachings of the Koran.
[Illustration 5: _THE MUTES After the painting by P. L. Bouchard The
women's quarters are situated in the innermost portion of the seraglio.
Here are from three to twelve hundred women; at times there are even
more. These women are all foreigners. Indeed, all the guards and
attendants of the palace are of foreign blood..... The women's
departments are carefully guarded.
Women who bear no children and the subaltern eunuchs have their tongues
slit. Whan an order of death is issued, these mutes, with the fatal
cords, enter and noiselessly fulfil their commands._]
Among the female officials of the seraglio is the Hasnada Ousta, or
"grand mistress of the robes." She is usually an elderly woman of
respectability and of dignity. This lady acts as vice-Valideh, caring
for matters in the establishment to which it may not be possible for the
Valideh Sultan to give her own personal attention. She holds a place of
much honor, and women holding this position have been known to become
Valideh. There is also the Kyahya Kadin, or "lady comptroller," who is
generally selected by the sultan from among the oldest and most trusted
of the Gediklis.
The dress of the ladies of the royal harem was formerly altogether
Oriental; so also were the furnishings of the women's apartments. These
last still consist largely of low divans, costly embroidery, couches,
and the like; but European customs have now made themselves felt, not
only in the furnishings of the rooms, but more particularly in the
matter of feminine attire. Costly robes from Paris and Vienna have
invaded the precincts of the harem; and these, added to the wealth of
jewelry of which Oriental ladies are so fond, make it possible for the
women of the rich Turkish households to be quite cosmopolitan in their
modes of dressing.
Many of the lower ranks wear upon their head a sort of hood of black
silk, the Egyptian _chaf-chaf_. To this is attached a piece of black
netting, which can be dropped over the face of the wearer when she so
pleases. The women of Constantinople, however, are not so careful in the
matter of the veil as are the ladies living in cities under less
cosmopolitan influence.
European ideas and habits have greatly modified Turkish customs. The
_yashmac_ is the face veil which the Turkish girl receives when she
attains to the marriageable age. The word is derived from a verb which
means, when fully interpreted, "May long life be granted you." The
material is thin, fine lawn or similar stuff. The older and less
attractive women, or ladies who do not wish to be recognized in a public
concourse, as when shopping, wear a veil of thicker material.
The cloak used is the _feridje_. It is usually of black material, and
its shape is intended to conceal the outlines of the figure. The
_feridje_ is now much modified, however, by European tastes, and is not
greatly different from the opera cloak worn by the ladies of Paris.
The once fashionable footgear, the yellow Turkish slipper, has given
place generally to the slipper of patent leather worn by European
ladies. Much of the beauty of color and picturesqueness of costume has
therefore passed away, as may be seen from the following description of
the Turkish woman's appearance at the middle of the sixteenth century:
When they (the women of Turkey) go abroad, the ladies wear the
_yashmac_ made of gold stuff, heavily fringed, and confined to the head
by a crown blazing with jewels. The figure is concealed by a cloak of
richest brocade or velvet. Sometimes you may have the charm of seeing as
many as one hundred _arabas_, or carts, very splendid and richly gilded,
drawn by gaily decorated bullocks, each containing a number of these
great ladies with their children and slaves.
"The procession is a most gorgeous sight. Each cart has as many as four
mounted eunuchs to protect it from the curiosity of the public, who have
their faces almost to the earth, or avert them entirely, as the caravan
passes." So, also, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu has left, in a letter to
the Duchess of Marlborough, written in 1717, a very graphic account of
the costume of the sultana.
Lady Mary describes the _dolma_, or "vest of long sleeves," the
diamond-bedecked girdle, the long and costly chain about the neck,
reaching even to the knees, the earrings of diamonds shaped like pears,
the _talpoche_, the headdress covered with bodkins of emeralds and
diamonds, the diamond bracelets, the five rings upon her fingers, the
largest ring Lady Mary ever saw except that worn by Mr. Pitt. There was
also a pelisse of rich brocade brought to the royal Turkish lady when
she walked out into her garden. Fifty different kinds of meat were
served at her dinner, but one at a time; her golden knives were set with
diamonds in the hafts; gorgeously embroidered napkins were in abundance,
etc. Much of this magnificence and display has now passed away, but, as
Stanley Lane-Poole says in his _The History of Turkey_: "While the house
of the Ottoman monarch of to-day, if more in keeping with the spirit of
the time, is very commonplace beside that of last century ...
nevertheless, the modern seraglio is hardly an anchorite's cell."
Cosmetics were once used in profusion. The painting of the eyebrows and
the dyeing of the finger tips with henna were considered marks of
beauty. The custom is dying out entirely in Constantinople, though in
the remoter regions of the empire the habit is still in vogue. The
attempts at beautifying the face are often referred to by the poets as
marks of beauty, as when Fuzuli dilates upon the
"Eyes with antimony darkened, hands with henna crimson dyed.
Among these beauties vain and wanton, like to thee was ne'er a bride.
Bows of painted green thy eyebrows; thy glances shafts provide."
Mohammedan countries of any culture have long held the bath in great
esteem. Turkish ladies of high rank once frequented the public baths
with regularity, but the modern improvements in the private houses have
made this custom far less general.
The women of the Turkish empire present an almost infinite variety.
Under the dominion of the sultan the nationalities are many and
heterogeneous. So also it would be impossible to make any general
statement of the treatment of women among the Turks. In many parts of
Turkey there is but one wife in the household, and she is well treated
and highly respected; affection prevails in the harems of not a few;
while in others concubinage, neglect, harshness, ignorance, vice are
present with their deadly effect.
Divorce may be readily obtained in Turkey; but parental influence often
protects the woman who otherwise might fare unjustly. Mohammed also gave
some protection to wives, since he considered a wife to have rights in
her own fortune even while married, and held that if divorced,
restitution of this fortune was to be made.
Turkish women, except those of the richer families, generally nurse
their own children. Many children die in infancy through the ignorance
of mothers of the lower classes. Some mothers still swaddle their little
ones. In the event of illness, instead of a trained physician, many
mothers send for a "wise woman" or a wizard. In the harems, it is
suspected that many infants are actually killed. The Mohammedan
population increases more slowly, notwithstanding the practice of
polygamy, than the Christian population of the Turkish Empire.
It is the custom among families of the better class to give the boys
over from infancy to the care of a _dadi_, or slave girl, whose business
it is to care for him during his youth, and it is not infrequent that
evil springs from this intimacy. Both boys and girls are under the care
of a _lalo_, or male slave, when the children are out of the precincts
of the harem. The influence of the slaves and menials, with whom so many
Turkish children are thrown, is, as a rule, far from elevating.
Submission is a lesson that is very early taught to Turkish children.
This insures an obedient, tractable spirit, and is the cause of all that
is best in the Turkish character.