| Sažetak | Na arapskom jeziku riječ harem označava nešto što je zabranjeno i skriveno od ostalih. U slučaju osmanskoga harema, to je dio kuće sultana u kojemu su živjele njegove žene i obitelj, a u koji je samo on od muškaraca mogao ulaziti. U osmanskom društvu biti rob bila je čast i povlastica. Čak je bio moguć i zakonit islamski brak s robinjom te su čak i sultani u nekim slučajevima ženili svoje robinje. Inače su se sultanove žene, kojih je po šerijatskom zakonu moglo biti četiri, nazivale ikbal, haseki ili kadin efendi. Kćeri sultana koje su po rođenju dobivale titulu sultanije, udavale bi se najčešće za visokopozicionirane državnike (vezire, paše, begove...), a imale su sva prava kao i sam sultan u tome braku i bile su apsolutne vladarice svojemu mužu. Kada bi djevojke stigle u harem smještale su se u Malu i Veliku kamenu odaju, odakle su dalje bile upućene u kućanske poslove te su stupanj i vrsta njihovog obrazovanja ovisili o potrebi i zaslugama svake djevojke. Kasnije bi novakinje, kada bi dostignule pubertet, postizale činove câriye (džarija), şâgird (šagrid), gedikli ili gözde, tj. one koje su zapale sultanu za oko (gediklija – povlaštena; to su bile ujedno i nositeljice privilegije koja je bila nagrada za dugu službu, a osobno ih je izabirao sam sultan) i usta (usta). U haremu je bilo nejednakosti isto kao u svakome društvu. One sretnice koje su se isticale ljepotom, inteligencijom ili nekom drugom vrlinom postajale su sultanove miljenice (ikbal), koje su postavši majke prinčeva (potencijalnih budućih sultana) dobivale titulu haseki. Ukoliko bi sin jedne haseki jednoga dana postao sultan, tada bi ona dobila naziv sultanije majke (Valide Sultan), što je najviši čin koji žena može doseći u haremu. Kako je i ranije u tekstu spominjano, Valide Sultan vladarica je harema, a njezin utjecaj na dvoru raste u razdoblju između 1574. i 1687. Čak je sultan, kao i ostali najviši dostojanstvenici na dvoru, uvelike ovisio o damama u haremu najvišeg stupnja. U tome je razdoblju harem bio najveći politički centar. Naime zauzimanje najviših položaja ostvarivalo se najčešće na inicijativu tih žena. Također su vodile glavnu riječ u mnogim političkim odlukama. Upravo zbog njihovog velikog utjecaja na poslove države, tadašnje se razdoblje u osmanskoj historiografiji naziva Kadınlar Saltanatı ili Razdoblje vladavine žena. Institucija vakufa (dobročinstvo) u osmanskome je društvu bila vrlo cijenjena pa su majke prinčeva i sultana, princeze i dvorske dame dale graditi ubožnice, pučke kuhinje, kupaonice, smještaje za žene robinje koje se nalaze na tržnici, bolnice, džamije, škole, fontane itd. Ti kompleksi dobili su imena po svojim sponzorima te neki od njih djeluju i danas. Mnogobrojne su prostorije, odaje i odjeljenja koji se nalaze u haremu. Nije potrebno posebno isticati kako su svaki kutak i odaja bili luksuzno uređeni budući da su predstavljali kuću jednoga sultana. Logično je da je njegova odaja bila najljepša i najraskošnija, a slijede je odaje sultanija majki, sultanovih žena, kćeri, sinova, ljubimica itd. Između ostalih prostorija, u haremskom kompleksu nalaze se i „Kavezi” za prinčeve (prostorije u kojima su boravili prinčevi izolirani od svih zbivanja na dvoru kako ne bi podignuli pobunu protiv svojega brata sultana), hamam (prekrasna kupaonica za opuštanje i održavanje higijene žitelja harema), bolnica koja svjedoči o brizi za zdravlje te groblje na koje su se zakapali žitelji harema, ali ne i sultani, prinčevi i sultanije jer su oni imali vlastite velike grobnice izvana tog kompleksa. Druženje i razonoda bili su vrlo bitni za duh i tijelo te su dame često na taj način provodile vrijeme. Sultan je često odlazio u lov pa su postojale razne lovačke vile i imanja izvan dvora, koja je sultanova obitelj često posjećivala. Na dvoru i u samome haremu svi su se obrazovali, od onog najnižeg do onog najvišeg u hijerarhiji, a posebna se pažnja posvećivala obrazovanju prinčeva koji će jednoga dana možda postati sultani. Sultana Osmanskog Carstva bilo je mnogo, a najupečatljiviji su, nažalost, ostali oni koji su bili najokrutniji i koji su osvojili najviše zemalja. No bilo je i onih koji su se odlikovali zakonima za poboljšanje života svojih žitelja, koji su bili blagonaklonjeni prema ljubavi te prema svojoj braći koju nisu ubijali iako je zakon tako nalagao. Sultan je bio glava cijeloga Carstva i harema, a često mu je bilo jako teško uspješno ispunjavati te dvije uloge. |
| Sažetak (engleski) | In Arabic, the word harem means something that is forbidden and hidden from the others. In the case of the Ottoman Harem it was part of the Sultan's home where his wife and family lived and where he was the only one allowed to enter among all the men. In Ottoman society being a slave was an honor and a privilege. Marriage with a slave was legal, and even Sultans in some cases married their slaves. There were four types of Sultan women determined by the Shari'ah law called Ikbal, Haseki or Kadin efendi. The daughters of the Sultan were by birth called Sultanas and were most likely to marry high-ranking statesmen (Viziers, Pashas, Beys...), had all the rights as a Sultan himself in that marriages and were absolute rulers to their husbands. When the girls arrived in Harem, they were accommodated in the Small and Big stone chambers, from where they were referred to different types of housework, so the level and the type of their education depended on necessities and merits of each girl. Later on, the novices would, by the time they reached puberty, achieve the rankings of Câriye, Şâgird, Gedikli or Gözde, being the ones that attracted the Sultan's attention (Gediklija – the privileged ones; they were the holders of the privileges which were a prize for long service and personally chosen by a Sultan) and Usta. There was inequality in the Harem, same as in every society. Those lucky ones who stood out (by beauty, intelligence or some other virtue) became the Sultan's favorites (Ikbal), which became mothers of princes (potential future Sultans) and gained the title of Haseki. And if the son of a Haseki would one day become a Sultan then she would get the name of Sultan's mother (the Valide Sultan) which is the highest rank that a woman can reach in Harem. As mentioned earlier in the text, Valide Sultan was a ruler in Harem and her influence on the court grew in the period between 1574. and 1687. Even the Sultan, like the other high-ranking dignitaries in the court, was greatly influenced by the women in Harem of the highest rank. In that period Harem was the largest political center. Namely, getting the highest ranking positions was most often possibble by the initiative of these women. They also took the lead in many political decisions. Precisely because of their great influence on state affairs, that period of Ottoman historiography is called Kadınlar Saltanatı or the Period of Women's Reign. The institution of Vakuf (benevolence) was greatly appreciated in the Ottoman society, so mothers of princes and Sultans, princesses and court ladies sponsored the construction of almshouses, public kitchens, baths, houses for slave women in the market place, hospitals, mosques, schools, fountains... These complexes were named after their sponsors and some of them still work today. There are numerous rooms, chambers and departments in the Harem. It is not necessary to emphasize that each corner and hall were luxuriously decorated since they represented the home of a Sultan. It is logical that his chamber was the most beautiful and most luxurious one, followed by the Sultan's mother, Sultan's women, daughters, sons, his favourites… Among all the other rooms, there are also "Cages" for the princes in the Harem Complex (the rooms where princes stayed isolated from all the events of the court so they could not rise a revolt against their brother Sultan), the hammam (a wonderful bathroom for relaxation and maintenance of the Harem resident's hygiene), a hospital attesting to the health care and the cemetery where they buried Harem residents , but not the Sultans, princes, and Sultanas because they had their own large tombs outside the complex. Companionship and leisure were very important for spirit and body and ladies often spent time doing it. Sultan often went hunting, so there were various hunting villas and estates outside the courtyard that Sultan's family often visited. At the court and in the Harem everybody got an education, from the lowest to the highest ones in the hierarchy and they paid special attention to the education of the princes who could one day become a Sultan. There were many Sultans of the Ottoman Empire and, unfortunately, the most memorable ones were the ones who were the cruelest and who conquered the most countries. But there were also those who liked their laws to improve the life of their residents, who were kind to love and to their brothers whom they did not kill even though the law ordered so. Sultan was the head of the entire Empire and Harem and it was often difficult for him to successfully fulfill these two roles. |
