Imperial Harems

To be honest, when I was leafing through the books I had just purchased for the semester and I saw the book Imperial Harem I laughed a little bit. My family and I, (mainly my mom and myself) referred to our neighbor's home as The Harem mainly because they had 6 daughters and frequently you could hear parties coming from the house. Now obviously this is not a harem but nonetheless it was how I have associated with the term for quite sometime. Pretty naive for a history major I think.

In reading this book, I came to understand not only the origin and the history of harems but their larger purpose as well. I find it fairly easy to generalize the nature of such things like this and find it even more convenient to fantasize as to the nature of the many women living there, much as the Europeans of the 17th and 18th centuries had done. In reality these women wielded a stick of immense power, holding influence in an empire that stretched throughout the Middle East. These women came from having a slave's background and then through beauty, cunningness, and a little bit of fate were able to infiltrate into the good graces of the Sultan (the ruler of the Ottomans) In competing for the heart of the Sultan, they were holed up in Kafes, which could have been mistaken for a large jail cell, with its metal bars enclosing the ladies.

In the event that the women were able to win the heart of the Sultan their power would become immense. Not unlike many of the Victorian Era rulers that dominated Europe during the same time period, the women that would become the Queen Mother (mother to the sultan) would have say in policy, the schooling of her children, and lest we forget how one can influence one in their own bed chambers. Overall, the book Imperial Harem had good substance, but was a dry read, making it the opposite of a page turner. As a history major, it appealed to me but i doubt that the general public would be so enamored with this publication.

Understanding culture and Islam

Technically this blog is a week late, but I am going to space this one from the third one by a couple days so it should not be too bad. Looking through my notes from last week, a lot of what we had discussed in class had to do with the history of the Middle East and more specifically the spread of Islam and its political affect on the region. It is undeniable that its effect has been felt, Islam is currently the 3rd most practiced religion in the world with close to 800 million people. Throughout history, the world from Europe to the United States have felt the impact of the Middle East and its distinct culture and values. It is seeped in tradition and makes it specifically unique more so than many other places in the world.

One of the most elementary of characteristics one notices is the impact of Islam. Many of the countries in the region today are Parliamentary Theocracies. This means that these countries practice Sharia Law (Islamic Law) as a way of governing over the people. Notable countries that practice this philosophy include Iran and Saudi Arabia which double as two of the more progressive economically in the region. Iran has long been trying to modernize and Saudi Arabia has always been a hub for culture and business with its vast amount of wealth derived from the OPEC and the oil trade.

Having taken Islam as a world religions minor, I love being able to relate much of what we study historically with the Middle East, into how religion may have affected these events. The Middle East represents an area of religious conflict as three major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) all have roots in the region. From the Crusades to the sacking of Constantinople, to the present-day Israel-Palestine conflict these events represent examples of these conflicts and it will be interesting to see how various viewpoints interpret these events.