We learned about life in a harem in the series The Magnificent Century, but the harem was not an Ottoman invention. The harem was passed to the Ottomans from the Arabs, namely from the Abbasid Caliphate.
In the Middle Ages, when the Great Ottoman Empire was at the peak of its power, stubbornly trying to conquer Christian Europe, almost every rich Turk had a harem in which his wives and concubines lived.
I must disagree with a few points. The jarya (slave girls) under the Arab caliphate of Cordoba achieved great power and status The Arabs adopted the custom of segregating their women from the ancient Classical Greeks, who kept their women in separate quarters, Never socializing or dining with them ( unlike the Romans).
In essence, the harem was a state within a state.
Any state secrets were freely discussed there.
They had their factions, leaders weaving intrigues and trying to turn their master against his rivals.
We learned about life in a harem in the series The Magnificent Century, but the harem was not an Ottoman invention. The harem was passed to the Ottomans from the Arabs, namely from the Abbasid Caliphate.
Such a scale led to the fact that the harem became an isolated society in which women lived according to their laws.
Therefore, the harems of the sultans often numbered hundreds of women, all of whom pleased just one man.
The size and wealth of the harem were considered a source of pride, emphasizing the prestige of the owner and his position in society.
In the Middle Ages, when the Great Ottoman Empire was at the peak of its power, stubbornly trying to conquer Christian Europe, almost every rich Turk had a harem in which his wives and concubines lived.
They could consist of many palaces and other buildings, reaching the size of an entire city.
I must disagree with a few points. The jarya (slave girls) under the Arab caliphate of Cordoba achieved great power and status
The Arabs adopted the custom of segregating their women from the ancient Classical Greeks, who kept their women in separate quarters, Never socializing or dining with them ( unlike the Romans).
If you look clearly Harem was a integral part of sunnat .