How many wives in a harem

They attribute many disorders to her, in particular the consumption of money for a most superb mosque she is having built; but she has halted its construction.

Safiye's perceived excessive interference was a main cause of her unpopularity. Most of her actions were documented and vilified only when she had overstepped the bounds of the role of the Valide Sultan. It was during this time and due to the avarice of the Sultan and the Valide Sultan Safiye and her supporters , that the coinages were being clipped and debased. The Sultan and his mothers' greed was not the only cause of coin clipping; as the size of the harem increased, the stipends and expenditures of the harem also increased.

In order to maintain the harem lifestyle without overtly raising taxes , the coins were clipped. The coinage debasement led to the Istanbul monetary riots of that were initiated by the Sipahis and then taken up by the general population.

The clipping of coinage occurred again between and Thus they hope to patch up their quiet for a time. The demise of the princely governate during the reign of Mehmed III may have been partially due to his early death; he died just before the age his son Mahmud was to have been granted governance.

Following Mehmed's death , there followed five reigns - those of Ahmed I, Osman II, Mustafa I, Murad IV , and Ibrahim, spanning from to , where no son of the reigning Sultan ever reached the traditional age where he would have been sent to the provinces. Mehmed's death also marked the beginning of the seclusion of princes in the Kafes. The princes were kept in the Palace until they ascended to the throne. The combination of concubine slavery and the single-son policy served to limited both the possibilities of a young prince from seeking support from his maternal relatives if his mother was a daughter of a noble or influential rival neighbor.

It also served to minimize the possibility of two princes fighting for the support of the mother. It was during the reign of Ahmed I who build the Blue Mosque in Istanbul that the single-son policy was abandoned. When Ahmed became Sultan r. Ahmed's years of isolation with his brother in the Kafes left him with an insatiable need for continual diversion.

Mustafa was dethroned by the eunuch corps after a few months and his son Osman succeeded him. Osman was later killed in a Janissary and sipahis cavalry uprising. Mustafa was again released from the Kafes and enthroned. Murad IV 's cruelty soon became apparent as he passed a law prohibiting drinking and smoking throughout the empire, while he abused both habits. Murad himself died of terror after witnessing a solar eclipse , but not before ordering Ibrahim's death.

By that time, Ibrahim was too terrified to leave the Kafes when hearing about his brother's death as he was convinced that his cruel brother was jesting to torment him. He finally left the Kafes after Murad's corpse was shown to him. It was during Ibrahim's reign r. She had governance over the harem and through her influence with her son, governance of the Empire.

Ibrahim was entirely absorbed with his harem and became obsessed with furs; wanting to touch, feel, and see furs everywhere in the harem. Later on, in a fit of madness, he ordered that his entire harem to be killed by putting them into sacks and drowned in the Bosphorus.

After the change in law regarding the Kafes and the loss of provincial governorships for the Princes. The harem population dramatically increased as the princes and their harems remained inside the Seraglio Topkapi Palace harem. The population further increased during the reigns of Murad III , Ahmed I, and Ibrahim, as they spent more time in the bedchamber than ever. The increase in harem women populations is also correlated by the increase in expenditures.

During the reign of the Ibrahim r. This may have been due to the fact that Ibrahim was obsessed with furs and jewels. His desire to see furs everywhere in the harem greatly increased the harem expenditures as the price of furs would have gone up accordingly.

This would also apply to the price of jewels too, as he sought jewels for the decoration of his beard. Although it is not recorded exactly how much the daily stipends were for all of the Sultan 's Kadin s and concubines, general figures were available indicating that the Valide Sultan continued to enjoy the role as most influential and powerful member of the dynastic family by having the highest stipend. Nurbanu Sultan received a daily stipend of 2, aspers currency of the time , while her successor Safiye Sultan , received 3, aspers after the ascension of her son Mehmed III.

In contrast, the highest stipends of leading public officials were: the mufti aspers per day , the chief justices of Rumeli and Anatolia and aspers, respectively , and the chief Janissary Agha aspers.

Even the Sultan himself only received a 1, aspers stipend. After the Valide Sultan , the Kadin s were next in the harem hierarchy to enjoy great status. Their status was even higher than the Sultana 's Aunts and sisters of the current Sultan as they were accorded higher stipends. The Kadin 's higher status arose from the fact that she was the mother of the potential future Sultan.

Murad III 's favorite Safiye kadin received stipend of aspers a day, while his sisters Ismihan and Geverhan Sultan s received and aspers a day, respectively.

Murad's aunt Mihrimah Sultan received the highest stipend aspers a day amongst all of the royal females descending from the previous Sultan. Non- haseki or non-favorite concubines tended to receive stipends that were greatly reduced from those of the haseki Kadins.

This was demonstrated by the fact that at the end of Selim II 's reign, the haseki Nurbanu received 1, aspers a day, while Selim's other consorts, each the mother of a son, received only 40 aspers. As the Sultans' attention turned away from government, many of the harem women were able to manipulate the Sultan into raising their stipends in order to be able to purchase many of their jewels and furs. By the reign of Ibrahim , the role and stipend of the royal haseki had been diminished and instead the role and influence of the concubines had moderately increased as indicated by their stipends of 1, to 1, aspers.

Other odalisques in the harem that served as general servants received stipends ranging from aspers. Ibrahims' penchant for women correlates with the increase in harem population. As he increased his harem size, he required more furs and jewels and thus dipped further and further into the State treasuries in order to support his extravagant tastes.

His many concubines and favorites also meant that an increase in stipends was necessary, as befitted their role in his pleasures. The general increase in harem women population also meant that the total amount of stipends required increased. The growth of the harem population follows a roughly parallel pattern with the harem expenditures.

The increased spending caused a strain on the state treasury as the Sultan was spending increasing amounts of time in the harem rather than leading the Janissaries on conquest of infidel lands. Other factors that led to the diminishing of state income were the lack of campaigning or Ghazi warfare on "infidels"- non- Muslim lands ; the overall inflation of the economy , and the increase in bribery and corruption of state officials.

Campaigning meant that the Janissary corps was not able to remain in the capital long enough to conspire and form intrigues. It also meant the conquering of new lands and people, which resulted in new riches for the armies, the state treasuries, new sources of slaves, and more taxes to be collected.

Monies capturing in the campaigns offset the cost of maintaining the mobile Janissaries. The gradual withdrawal of the Sultan into his harem also meant that the Janissaries were not led onto campaigns where they could capture new treasures for themselves. That many of the Janissaries were garrisoned in the capital meant those political intrigues between the harem and Janissary leaders could and did take place. The depositions may have been caused by a combination of factors.

Of central importance was that Sultan's no longer established their right to rule by proving themselves victors over their brothers, thus more qualified to rule, or by being designated heir by their fathers.

Many Sultans of the sixteenth century were either children or else incompetent adults. They could not or would not lead the army out to battle and thus could not develop an aura of invincibility or victory. The diminished role of the Sultan in the governing of the Empire can also be seen by his withdrawal away from public appearances. Much of the Ottoman state owed its existence as well as its continued prosperity and power to conquest.

It was a state committed to and organized for conquest. It was only through captured booty that the Ottoman state could afford to pay the Janissaries. The eventual halt of conquest also meant the difficulty of paying the troops would become increasingly obvious. Any military campaigns that were being waged brought in less booty, and the Janissaries had to also compete with any mercenaries for their share of war profits.

Constant fiscal problems of the time also led to the Janissaries being paid with debased coinage. The disorganization in the economy was not the sole reason for a Sultan's deposition; a new Sultan's ascension also meant a change in government policies. The fiscal, military, and political confusion resulting from four accessions in the years between and and suffered again between and , as the Empire endured and recovered from the utter incompetence of the Sultan Ibrahim; rocked the State foundations.

The rapid change in the Sultans also meant that the subsequent stability of the bureaucracy was threatened as top Ministers and Viziers were rapidly replaced.

Instability of the government threw off the delicate balance that had previously existed between the palace bureaucracy and the harem institution. The intrusion of Damat into the palace governance meant that the influence of the Valide Sultan mother of the Sultan and her daughters could be voiced through the Grand Vizier. The damat was dependent on the harem women for the maintenance of his position. Specifically, polygyny, the marriage of a man to more than one wife, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time.

A group of female animals cows herded and controlled by a male animal bull of that species for breeding purposes. Such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals, sea lions, baboons, and elephant seals. The having of a plurality of wives or husbands at the same time; usually, the marriage of a man to more than one woman, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time; - opposed to monogamy; as, the nations of the East practiced polygamy.

See the Note under Bigamy, and cf. The family of wives and concubines belonging to one man, in Mohammedan countries; a seraglio. This private space has been traditionally understood as serving the purposes of maintaining the modesty, privilege, and seclusion of women from other men. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny.

Published: 26 Jun, Harem noun The private part of an Arab household, traditionally forbidden to male strangers. Polygamy noun The condition of having more than one spouse or marriage partner at one time. Polygamy noun Specifically, polygyny, the marriage of a man to more than one wife, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time. Harem noun A group of female animals cows herded and controlled by a male animal bull of that species for breeding purposes.

Polygamy noun zoology The state or habit of having more than one sexual mate. Harem noun slang Any significant number of women together as a group; a bevy.

Polygamy noun botany The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers. Harem noun uncountable A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women. Polygamy noun The having of a plurality of wives or husbands at the same time; usually, the marriage of a man to more than one woman, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time; - opposed to monogamy; as, the nations of the East practiced polygamy.

Harem noun The apartments or portion of the house allotted to females in Mohammedan families. Polygamy noun The state or habit of having more than one mate.

Harem noun The family of wives and concubines belonging to one man, in Mohammedan countries; a seraglio. Polygamy noun The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers. Harem noun living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household.

Polygamy noun having more than one spouse at a time. Harem Illustrations. Polygamy Illustrations. Popular Comparisons. Save This Word! See synonyms for harem on Thesaurus. Animal Behavior. Facetious : Sometimes Offensive. We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms. But this sense is sometimes perceived as insulting by or to women because it implies that the man collects women like objects.

Words nearby harem harebell , harebrained , hareem , Hare Krishna , harelip , harem , harem pants , hare's-foot , hare's-foot fern , harestail , harewood. Words related to harem concubines , purdah , seraglio , serai , zenana.