Ottoman Harem

Harem in the Ottoman Empire The image of a harem conjures visions of opulent surroundings filled with beautiful, sensuous women whose sole duty was to entertain an aging yet still lustful sheik or sultan. This image may have been based on the imperial harems of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of the Ottoman Empire. In this period of history, harems played an important role in the governing of the Ottoman Empire. This most renown period …

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