Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul

by John Freely

Overview

This is the story of the House of Osman, the imperial dynasty that ruled the Ottoman Empire for more than seven centuries, an empire that once stretched from central Europe to North Africa and from Persia to the Adriatic. The capital of this empire was Istanbul, ancient Byzantium, a city that stands astride Europe and Asia on the Bosphorus. And it was in the great palace of Topkapi Sarayi that the sultans of this empire ruled. Inside the Seraglio - a classic of Ottoman history - takes us behind the gilded doors of the Topkapi and into the heart of the palace: the harem, where the sultan would surround himself with his wives, concubines, eunuchs, pages, dwarfs and mutes and where all the tempestuous events of empire were so often played out. This is the history of a remarkable palace in all its colour and opulence and the story of its influence on a great empire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857728708
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/11/2016
Series:	International Library of Historical Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

John Freely (1926-2017) was born in New York and joined the US Navy at the age of seventeen, serving with a commando unit in Burma and China during the last years of World War II. He has lived in New York, Boston, London, Athens and Istanbul and has written over thirty travel books and guides, most of them about Greece and Turkey.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the New Edition vii

Acknowledgements xi

Preface xii

Turkish Spelling and Pronunciation xiv

Maps xv

1 The House of Osman 1

2 Mehmet the Conqueror 10

3 The House of Felicity 24

4 Süleyman the Magnificent 38

5 The Sultanate of Women 52

6 An Organ for the Sultan 68

7 Regicide 79

8 The Procession of the Guilds 91

9 Three Mad Sultans 105

10 The Hunter Caged 118

11 A Cage for Princes 131

12 Tulip Time 142

13 Murder in the Music Room 158

14 The Auspicious Event 174

15 On the Shores of the Bosphorus 186

16 The Year of the Three Sultans 200

17 Imprisoned Sultans 213

18 The Fall of the House of Osman 228

19 The Gathering Place of the Jinns 246

Glossary 251

Ottoman Sultans (The House of Osman) 256

Genealogy of the Sultans 257

Mothers of the Sultans 258

Bibliography 259

Index 268