3.4: Women, Slaves, and Eunuchs in the Dar al Islam

Introduction

Life within the "gunpowder empires" was comparable to other, similar regions, territories, and empires throughout the rest of the world. The main difference came in the form of social norms and culture, which were heavily influenced by the local version of Islam practiced in the region. The Ottoman Empire, as pointed out in an earlier section, opened itself up to more outside cultural influence than the Safavid Empire did, which accounts for the differences as well. This section explains the effect of that culture and society on some of the more marginalized people within these realms.

Figure 3.4.1: "Women's Clothing in Safavid Persia," Jean Chardin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Women in the Dar al Islam 

In Islamic tradition, the prophet Mohammed’s wives veiled themselves; that is, they wrapped their heads and upper bodies in silk and linen scarves.  Given the fact that many of them accompanied the prophet on his travels to spread the word of Islam, this makes sense to protect themselves, not only from the wind, sun, and weather found in that region of the world, but also from the eyes of other non-religious men, who may disobey the edicts put forth by the prophet. As a result, it became common practice for women who could afford the coverage that may restrict movement to veil themselves in many different manners.  After Mohammed passed, his followers split to interpret and spread his word in other regions, and thus the veiling of women changed to conform to the expectations of that region. Veiling, however, has been considered an “oppressive” feature of modern Middle Eastern countries. This is due to the Eurocentric perspective of the European traders, predominantly men, who determined that the high-ranking women covering themselves meant that they “hid” themselves; more evidence of the “barbaric” nature of those who occupied the Dar al Islam. However, looking at other Judeo-Christian female traditions, one can note the coverings of “modest” females within those realms.  For example, head coverings and scarves are required among several Jewish sects, and Christian nuns wear a wimple and veil, which was a common headdress of European women in the Middle Ages. Even during the English Elizabethan “golden age”, during travel, high-ranking women frequently wore masks held in the mouth to protect their alabaster skin from the sun.  Among women in Europe in the sixteenth century, like many other locations where whiteness was celebrated as purity, being what we today might refer to as “tan” was a sign of the working class.

Women in Islamic territories had more freedom to engage in business and contribute to the economy within the Dar al Islam than many Eurocentric histories give them credit for, based on a European perception and comparison.  Islamic women kept the dowries bestowed upon them when they got married and used them to not only manage their households, but also to engage in trade and business – doing so through proxies – and found philanthropic works, such as madrasas (schools), mosques, soup kitchens, and hospitals.  Although they were unable to engage directly with men they were not related to, particularly wealthy and noble women, they nonetheless made their mark; the Sultana Roxelana, one of Sultan Suleyman’s concubines and later his wife and mother to four of his children, built a university in Istanbul, as well as a mosque and hospital. 

Figure 3.4.1 is a drawing of five women standing in a row wearing outfits from the Safavid Persian Empire. The woman on the far left is the only one who is fully veiled. The other four women have long hair, and are wearing long modest outfits along with headwear. In Safavid Persia, the higher ranking a woman was, the more “modest” she needed to clothe herself (see Figure 3.4.1), by Shi’ite Sharia law. This didn’t stop women, though, from participating in business and education like their Ottoman neighbors, nor did it stop the practice of the haram, or sacred space, of women who either served or were related to the Shah.  There is also evidence that women who didn’t necessarily fit into the inner sanctum still occupied spaces occupied by men, even by the Shah himself.  When meeting with English noble brothers and merchants the Sherleys, Shah Abbas I was accompanied by multiple women on horseback, riding next to the shah in clothing that apparently shocked the foreigners and almost made them forget the protocol due to the shah, kissing his foot in the stirrup while kneeling before him in supplication.  Abbas appeared to be so delighted by the Sherleys’ reaction that he did away with the formality, allowing them to remain on horseback to accompany the shah to another meeting place, where a feast and celebration had been set up and the roles of the women became clearer as they interacted with the men. Having spent time in Italy, both of the Sherleys recognized who a courtesan was, which allowed for more familiarity between the respective Christian and Muslim nations. 

Slaves and Eunuchs

Slavery was common within the gunpowder empires, but it wasn’t the race-based slavery of the American continents and their European settlers.  Instead, it took the form of either tribute from conquered lands or the purchase of the survivors of sacked villages and towns in the Balkans and Ruthenia (Russia), predominately Christian lands.  It was illegal for Muslims to enslave other Muslims, although that rule was often overlooked when Christian slaves converted to achieve higher positions within households or government systems. Many of the serving men and women who occupied the Dar-al-Islam were slaves taken from conquered territories, either serving in the harem or with the Janissaries.  

Men serving in the harem were required to become eunuchs, losing their reproductive qualities in order to avoid any “temptation” by the women under their care, especially as the women were considered the property of the ruler.  These eunuchs, however, could still find themselves in positions of considerable influence within the harem, acting as go-betweens for various important women, such as wives and mothers of the rulers or their children, even gaining the ear of a prince or ruler themselves, as well as infinite income ability.  Both slave men and women within the harem were expected to be educated in reading and writing, mainly in the language of the territory they occupied, as well as other skills, such as music, dancing, and accounting. 

Men placed with the Janissaries would also receive an extensive education, being not only trained in martial arts and warfare, but also in mathematics, the sciences, reading, writing, and other skills. This was where slave children taken from Christian lands could receive education in ways they wouldn’t have been expected to gain from the places they came from and could even rise in administrative or military ranks. One of Suleyman’s closest and most influential advisor was a slave named Ibrahim, who would eventually rise to the rank of Grand Vizir, much to the anger and dismay of native Ottomans who felt they should be rewarded in this manner, instead of a slave.  

Female slaves could find themselves serving the ruler as a concubine, but that was not the only fate of a female slave.  More often they became household servants and served as translators between their fellow slaves from similar regions and their overlords or ladies. They would go to serve not only the important women of the harem, relatives of and mothers to children of the ruler, but also other noblewomen who lived outside of the royal harem and who may run harems of their own. An example of this was a slave woman named Mahidevran, a concubine to Sultan Suleyman who bore his first male child, Mustafa.  When Mustafa was old enough, he was made governor of a region of Ottoman territory, and his mother accompanied him, creating a harem for Mustafa and ruling over it as the Valide Sultana, the ruler’s mother. Female slaves could be sent as gifts between noble and wealthy women, and a woman who gave birth to the child of a ruler could expect to be assigned her own quarters with slave women to wait on her.  

When a slave woman was able to produce an heir to the throne, they gained an elevated status, including influence in political affairs – limited though it was, fully dependent on the ruler’s feelings about the woman – as well as having money to invest in businesses, schools, hospitals, and other public spaces, which contributed to the development of Islamic regions.  An example of this is one of Sultan Suleiman’s concubines Roxelana (also in section 3.1) and her building projects and efforts in Istanbul.  And should a woman’s son come to the throne, that woman’s power grew through influence.  In the Ottoman Empire, later reigns after Suleiman saw the Valide Sultana, or “Queen Mother,” become what might be known as the “power behind the throne.” Sultanas were in charge of the harems and saw to the running of the household. Royal Islamic men revered their mothers, as long as they remained in the appropriate position, and this gave them opportunities not often seen in other parts of the world.  

Review Questions

• What similarities do you see between women in the Dar al Islam and those of other regions and empires during the same time period? What are the differences, and how do they affect the perception of these women by other civilizations? 
• How does the concept of slavery and eunuchs fit into these imperial societies?  What are the similarities and differences between slaves in the Dar al Islam and other regions of the world? 
• How does slavery in the Dar al Islam compare with race-based slavery on the American continents?