Harem (family and women’s quarters)

E748741

The harem was the private, secluded domestic space in Ottoman and other Middle Eastern households where the family’s women, children, and sometimes female servants lived, separate from the male public areas.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf domestic space ⓘ
gender-segregated space ⓘ
social institution ⓘ
accessibleTo eunuchs in elite households ⓘ
household women ⓘ
young children ⓘ
accessRestrictedTo adult male outsiders ⓘ
unrelated men ⓘ
actuallyFunctionedAs family living space ⓘ
site of childrearing ⓘ
site of domestic labor ⓘ
architecturalFeature separate quarters within a house or palace ⓘ
associatedWith honor culture ⓘ
patriarchal family structure ⓘ
purdah (female seclusion) ⓘ
contrastsWith selamlik (male guest and public area) in Ottoman houses ⓘ
culturallyLinkedTo Islamic legal and moral norms on modesty ⓘ
declinedInImportanceDuring late 19th century modernization reforms ⓘ
etymologyFrom Arabic ḥarīm ⓘ
etymologyRelatedTo Arabic ḥarām (forbidden, sacred) ⓘ
hasFunction protection of family privacy ⓘ
seclusion of women ⓘ
upholding gender segregation ⓘ
historicallyDocumentedIn European Orientalist literature ⓘ
Ottoman court records ⓘ
travelers’ accounts ⓘ
influencedBy class status of the household ⓘ
urban versus rural setting ⓘ
inhabitedBy children ⓘ
concubines ⓘ
female relatives ⓘ
female servants ⓘ
wives ⓘ
locatedIn private part of the household ⓘ
misrepresentedAs primarily erotic space in Western imagination ⓘ
misrepresentedIn Western Orientalist art ⓘ
relatedConcept women’s quarters in traditional Persian houses ⓘ
zanana in South Asian Muslim households ⓘ
separatesFrom male public areas of the house ⓘ
subjectOf Middle Eastern social history research ⓘ
gender studies scholarship ⓘ
timePeriod early modern Ottoman period ⓘ
pre-modern era ⓘ
usedIn Islamic societies ⓘ
Middle Eastern households ⓘ
Ottoman Empire ⓘ
variedAcross different Middle Eastern regions ⓘ
social classes ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Selamlık → relatedConcept → Harem (family and women’s quarters) ⓘ
Amer Fort → hasPart → Zenana (women’s quarters) ⓘ
linked to: Harem (family and women’s quarters)