The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire (Studies in Middle Eastern History) [Paperback]

Leslie P. Peirce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0195086775 | ISBN-13: 978-0195086775

The unprecedented political power of the Ottoman imperial harem in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is widely viewed as illegitimate and corrupting. This book examines the sources of royal women's power and assesses the reactions of contemporaries, which ranged from loyal devotion to armed opposition. By examining political action in the context of household networks, Leslie Peirce demonstrates that female power was a logical, indeed an intended, consequence of political structures. Royal women were custodians of sovereign power, training their sons in its use and exercising it directly as regents when necessary. Furthermore, they played central roles in the public culture of sovereignty--royal ceremonial, monumental building, and patronage of artistic production. The Imperial Harem argues that the exercise of political power was tied to definitions of sexuality. Within the dynasty, the hierarchy of female power, like the hierarchy of male power, reflected the broader society's control for social control of the sexually active.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The harem described in Leslie P. Peirce's fascinating book is not the lascivious sexual playground conceived by the Western imagination but the locus of power in the Ottoman empire...The general thesis of this outstanding book--that the power wielded by the women of the imperial harem was real, and that it stood in an organic relation to broader Ottoman political traditions and practice--will be widely accepted."--American Historical Review

"Peirce's work effectively reinforces recent work on the post-S�leymanic period, while at the same time revising scholarship about the imperial harem and the dynastic family. In doing so, her book is a significant contribution to the field."--The Historian

"The Imperial Harem is the definitive book on its subject. While it is excellent reading for students of women's studies, it is an important contribution to Ottoman history as well."--MESA Bulletin

"A tour de force. Peirce has brought her detailed knowledge of Ottoman harem politics to revise a fundamental question of Ottoman historiography: how did the dynasty adjust to the transformation of imperial ideology necessary in light of the regime's change from aggressive expansion to stasis."--Carl F. Petry, Northwestern University

"This is an excellent book, and a new departure in women's history within the Islamic field. Peirce discusses women not as a class apart, not as part of dynastic politics in the Ottoman Empire, thus shedding new light on political processes, and showing women to be an integral part of the dynasty."--Beatrice Manz, Tufts University

About the Author

Leslie P. Peirce is at Cornell University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 2, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195086775
• ISBN-13: 978-0195086775
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A serious look at the lives of women in Ottoman Turkey, September 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire (Studies in Middle Eastern History) (Paperback)

This book might be a disappointment to someone looking for gossip about life in the harem as envisioned by writers of fiction. But for anyone really interested in understanding the role of women and the domestic household in the royal court of a great Muslim Empire, this is the real thing, brilliantly researched and thoughtfully presented.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Women and Power within the Ottoman Empire., March 12, 2003

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire (Studies in Middle Eastern History) (Paperback)

First off the book explains WHY female harems existed in the first place. The simple answer is this. If the sovereign gets married to a Princess of another power that power could lay claim to the throne. BUT if he has offspring with a bunch of slaves, women who are not of the Muslim faith and are not linked to powerful families, than outsiders could not lay claim to the throne by right of blood.
Yet don't think these concubines were powerless. In fact, through their sons and daughters, through networks based on retainers, son-in-laws and slaves, they gained great influence and wealth. Mothers of princes, wives and royal mothers to the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, they were a big part of the inner workings and political events within the palace.
They were eyes and ears of the Sultan when he was away, they were symbols of benevolence and powerful diplomats for the Empire, they were tutors and guardians for their sons.
The book has a helpful glossary, a two page genealogical chart, two maps and is VERY detailed. I would suggest this book ONLY to people interested in the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East or women in history. It is also VERY dry.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb scholarship, eloquently written book., October 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire (Studies in Middle Eastern History) (Paperback)

Even a non-expert like myself can appreciate the superb scholarship and eloquent style of a book about the Ottoman Imperial harem. A topic, about which too little is written and what little there is, tends to be fiction. I hope to see more books about Ottoman history and culture.