Manumitted female slaves of the Ottoman Imperial Harem (sarayîs) in the eighteenth century Istanbul

Abstract

This dissertation restores the lives of a large body of manumitted female palace slaves (sarayîs), and explores their role and place at the imperial court through a study of various aspects of their lives in the eighteenth century. Affiliation to the imperial court opened up access to patronage networks that had been generated during their period of service in the harem and continued following their transfer from the imperial palaces. Manumission did not loosen the patronage ties with the imperial household, but signaled the beginning of a new kind of relationship based on mutual interest and interdependence between the two parties: manumitted female palace slaves and the imperial household which provided patronage. By examining various aspects of sarayî women’s lives, such as marriage, residential patterns, material world and philanthropic acts, through the perspective of patronage relationship, the present dissertation reveals the extent of this enduring patronage relationship and the implications for both parties. This ongoing affiliation to the imperial court left a considerable imprint on the lives of manumitted female palace slaves and provided them with benefits and advantages in various stages of their lives according to their status in the harem hierarchy. From another perspective, manumitted female palace slaves secured the interest of the imperial household even after leaving the imperial palaces. By establishing loyal households through marriage, contributing to the making of a court region, introducing court culture to the urban society, contributing to the wealth of imperial court members by bequests and endowments, and contributing to city life through architectural patronage, sarayî women of all levels demonstrated power and prestige of the imperial household which was important in the context of the century. At the final point this study reveals that, in the political context of the era, a complete understanding of the internal functioning of the imperial court politics cannot be fully understood without taking into consideration the role of these loyal allies of the imperial household who acted as component of the imperial court all through their lives.