Women in Ottoman Empire

Trevor C Martin
1/22/2015
Quote: Womens obligaitions - bake bread, clean up dishes, do laundry, prepare meals,
and the like. If she does not maintain these, she is a sinner. - 16th century Anatolian,
Birgivi Mehmed 1573. (a counter movement rose due to this guy and his strictness). Duties
to husband - faces veiled (as Spartans and Persians). (wearing a veil in order to not see
men). Juan Luis Vives on a manual about how a Christian woman should be. Education:
when she learns to read, read books with good manners, and when she earns to write, take
holy scripture and sayings of philosophers to fasten her memory - (Juan Luis Vives).
Why were Ottoman women educated? Why do women (or people in general) get educated today? (to get ahead in life). (accrue the social status that being educated gets
you). Ottoman women had no perspective of being employed at state service, and cannot
be teachers at medreses. If they could obtain timar, they could run it to make money. Otherwise, they couldnt go to higher school, but the lower schools, (mekteb) had schools for
girls only. When they graduated, they had no perspective of continuing school. Slave girls
who were taken into palace service were educated at medreses, which were the best places
of education (but not the janissary curriculum, although the janissary was educated there).
Social mobility avenues were usually through the palace, but the Ottomans were keen on
compartmentalizing society (and they didnt like it when people converted religions). If you
were a taxpayer, you could go to medrese and become a professor, and then youd become
an oskaree. Possibly they were educated to be better wives. (this comes primarily from
religious education post 14th century). When the Ottomans came into the picture, womens
role in Islamic society was set. (there were accounts of women ghazis, but most of those
were converts from Christianity, but somehow they all submit to husbands). Those epics
exist in Europe, but over there, they were mostly Saracens (muslims). (wtf??)The desire to
go to higher education didnt really exist. There were women poets, and poetry was highly
respected. There were biographical dictionaries about poets.
Harem: until 19th century, the harem was a secluded area in the palace. No one could
enter except for the Sultans family (forbidden to all strangers). 18th century on, youd get
lots of stories about harem. Trained girls to service the dynasty to produce male heirs for
the continuation of the Ottoman family. Women were from slave markets or POWs. Mostly
from Caucasus. They were apprenticed lik the devshimre boys (ottomans would always have
master and apprentice). Some women were presented to the Sultan, and if they had a sexual
relationship, the girl would be a Concubine. If she bears a boy by the Sultan, she becomes
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important in the harem, as she could become the Imperial Mother (most powerful woman
in empire).
Have as many women and children as you wanted
Dynasty continues
Male heirs could get killed
As many concubines as they wanted. Husband-wife contract binding under Isamic law.
Rights and duties restrictive on sultans absolute authority
After the Ottomans got powerful, they married slave girls to ensure that they didnt
lose power by marrying someone who would have external allegiances (eg royalty of
another country)
Later no official lawful marriage
Roxelana - hurrem Sultan, Suleyman Is wife, daughter of catholic priest. gave birth
to Prince Mehmed in 1521, and 5 more children. Kills a member of the royal family to
keep her sons chance at being Sultan and in a plot against a grand vizier.
harem agasi (Chief Black Eunuch) aga (there white Eunuchs too). was at the valide
sultans side (imperial mother who had absolute authority over harem) - constructed
charitable institutions in society
Below imperial mother, there were family members (imperial offspring, consorts, unmarried or widowed princesses) & harem administration
She financed a few things on the Dardanelle. THere were already 2 castles. There were
issues in the 17th century with Venic coming in with their warships attacking traders coming
into Instanbul from Marmara and Mediterranean.
mehr was payed immediately at marriage ceremony, and there was a deferred dower. In
the 18th century, you needed o pay 2000 okce. You could buy a nice house with this much
money. It was a deterring factor to prevent divorces. There was a deferred okce (it was easy
for men to divorce women).
Polygamy patterns: 91.8% of men had one wife in 17th century. 7.8% had 2. 0.1% - 3
wives. 0.3% - 4 wives. Men with more income had more wives. 10% of men across society
had more than one wife. Most women werent afraid of second wives, but slave girls who
could live in the family. As long as she didnt have a child, the man could dispose of her. If
a slave girl bore a child to the Muslim man, the child becomes a free person. We dont have
slave girl figures.
vakif (maqf) - charitable endowment. You construct a building. You endow it forever
using an economic perpetuity. You give it the income of a land. Someone looked at the
figures in 1546. 37% of the endowments were endowed by women. Of the smaller ones, 55%
were women. Turks used the orientalist image of the harem to promote things.
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