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- Title
Osmanlı Sarayı'nın Mahremi: Topkapı Sarayı Haremi'nin Sınır ve Yasakları.
- Authors
Kocaaslan, Murat
- Abstract
This article discusses the borders that were allocated "consciously" or "unconsciously" in Harem which was established on the Golden Horn side of the Topkapı Palace that was symbolically and physically the most significant inheritance of the Ottoman dynasty, and one-to-one relationship between architectural organization and status. In this context, particularly the role of the locations at the center of Harem made available for the use of Queen Mother in defining the borders in Harem is discussed. Different from the other places in the Palace, Harem has a narrow, dense and complex architecture. Another issue this article sets out to determine is whether the complexity of the structure was the result of a conscious choice or not. In this study, the borders that were assumed to be in Harem are taken into consideration in the context of verse 53 of Ahzab sura written on the tablet on the entrance door of Harem. Thus, the statements in this verse were reminding Harem people of the borders mentioned in the article. However, the present condition of the locations within the architectural organization which were made available for the use of the mother of the sultan, Queen Mother, was used to support the existence of the borders. In addition, in order to be able to understand the degree of importance attached to protecting the borders in Harem, this study focuses on the speech of Queen Kösem Sultan which was recorded in the sources of the time and which reminded the Kara Aghas of the borders in 1650. The first result under the light of the data obtained during the study is that there was a conscious choice in the architectural organization despite the complex architectural structuring of Harem. In particular, the proportion --largeness-- of the locations was determined according to people and their status. It has been observed that within the architectural organization of Harem every unit which would meet the needs of Kara Aghas, women slaves and other people living in Harem was taken into consideration and each unit within such intertwined architectural organization provided them with the opportunity to meet their own needs in their own living area. It is argued that this mode of architectural design in Harem established borders between locations and that going beyond these borders was not tolerated. Furthermore, it is also understood that this system was controlled by the authority of Queen Mother. It is known that the authority of Queen Mother had an important place in particular in the memory of the Ottoman society after the second half of the 16th century. At the beginning of the 17th century the change in the tradition of succession of the throne from the father to the son which had been going on uninterruptedly for thirteen generations in the Ottoman State had been substituted with the system in which the oldest member of the family ascended the throne. After this major change in the system, Queen Mother had obtained a significant political power. The important role of the Queen Mother in the architectural organization of living areas and in controlling the borders in Harem seems to be the reflection of the political power of the authority of Queen Mother in Harem.
- Subjects
TURKEY; TOPKAPI Palace (Istanbul, Turkey); HAREMS; ARCHITECTURE &; community; ENSLAVED women; OTTOMAN architecture; SIXTEENTH century; GOLDEN Horn (Turkey); OTTOMAN Empire
- Publication
Journal of Faculty of Letters / Edebiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, 2011, Vol 28, Issue 2, p95
- ISSN
1301-5737
- Publication type
Article