Everything about Seraglio totally explained
A
serraglio (also
seraglio) is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and
concubines in a
Turkish household, from an
Italian variant of
Turkish saray, meaning "palace", "enclosed courts".
In the context of the
turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozart's
Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail (
serail =
serraglio).
The term can also refer to other traditional Turkish palaces (every imperial prince had his own) and other grand houses built around courtyards.
Description
A Turkish harem staff commonly included
eunuchs. These were slaves, either captured in war (mainly Christian Europeans in the
Balkans) or recruited within the empire (especially
Caucasian peoples from
Georgia and
Armenia and blacks from
Egypt and
Sudan) or even beyond (especially in
Abyssinia). Black eunuchs usually were
Sandali (for example their genitalia were entirely amputated), hence they were preferred for harem service, while White eunuchs usually kept part of their penis and/or testicles, so they were assigned to less 'intimate' duties, for example secretarial.
They were often donated to the Sultan by his governors, in total about six- to eight hundred.
In
Topkapı Palace (
Topkapı Sarayı), the main
Ottoman palace in
Istanbul, now a museum, the
Kızlar Ağası, the chief black eunuch, was the master of the harem, sometimes considered second only to the
Grand Vizier (head of the imperial government, but often working in his own palace or even away, for example on military campaign) in the confidence of the Sultan, to whom he'd and arranged access (including his bedchamber, the
ne plus ultra for every harem lady), also being his confidential messenger. As commander of an imperial army corps, the
baltaci (halberdiers), he even held the supreme military dignity of three-tail
pasha (general).
Meanwhile the
Kapi Agha, the chief white eunuch, was in charge of 300 to 900 white eunuchs as head of the 'Inner Service' (the palace bureaucracy, controlling all messages, petitions, and State documents addressed to the Sultan), head of the Palace School (school for pages training as white eunuchs), gatekeeper-in-chief, head of the infirmary, and master of ceremonies of the Seraglio, and was originally the only one allowed to speak to the Sultan in private. In 1591,
Murad III transferred the powers of the white to the black eunuchs as there were too many embezzlements and various other nefarious crimes attributed to the white eunuchs, but later they regained some favor.
During the
Kadınlar Sultanati, the eunuchs increased their political leverage by taking advantage of minor or mentally incompetent Sultans, causing political instability. The teenage Sultans were "guided" by regencies formed by the
Valide Sultan, the Grand Vizier and the Valide's other supporters- and the Kizlar Agha was the Valide Sultan's and Kadin's intimate and valued accomplice.
Further Information
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