The Most Powerful Women In The Ottoman Empire | Hidden World Of The Harem | Timeline

Embark on a journey to explore the hidden world of the Harem, a world that has long been shrouded by mystery and erotic fantasies. In the 16th century the Turkish city of Istanbul was ruled by Suleyman the Magnificent. The center of his power was Topkapi Palace - at the heart of which was the harem. Into it came hundreds of women from all over the empire and beyond. It was a place where sex could equal power. This documentary tells the story of how some of these women came to play a pivotal role in running the world's largest empire from inside the mysterious and sometimes violent world of the Harem.
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[@bibianamassey7530]

I enjoyed this feature,as the Harem has always fascinated me. These women were true survivors. They were kidnapped, forced to learn an entirely new language and culture-and thrown into a literal hotbed of rivalry. The fact that they were able to survive this and win the love of a ruler who had access to dozens of other women is remarkable.

[@mareksicinski3726]

'survivor'' is such a meaningless term the way tou sue it also overuse of 'hotbed' Depends who did

[@SeldimSeen1]

Many didn't survive.

[@user-oj2nj9po2i]

First of all u should know how the world's rules in it's own way of achiving things. If u r talking about surviving than don't u think that we all somehow are surviving our life's with several problems and issues regarding our own battle field. By battle field I mean our lifehood our existing life. Each and every civilisation dynasti rulers have always been done everything to change others way of life as they are superior so people Should follow their direction and instructions, wether it's about region or language or culture. One need to learn that these different cultures are ultimately our pride our glory not our comdem, so respect it

[@felixdunkel2091]

The harem was a cruel life where girls were kidnapped from their parents, often forced converted, enslaved, and kept as property in a gilded prison. How are people still romanticizing this?

[@gerharddeusser9103]

Muslims...

[@tasinal-hassan8268]

Ironically the people who enslaved them were once slaves themselves.

[@kazimahin790]

@@gerharddeusser9103 TURKS* and don't forget same practice also in ancient Egypt, Greece, Sassanid , Byzantine =all over the mid ages in Europe.

[@DeeDee-lz8zx]

@@kazimahin790 Western Europe never allowed harems.

[@nicholaijerome7583]

Right, kings just divorced and sent them to a convent or killed their wives when they got tired of them.

[@lebogangmirriamshovhote4478]

Let's call it what it really was: human trafficking.

[@lebogangmirriamshovhote4478]

Meaning that black men were captured from Africa or wherever they were just so that they can become eunuchs for an empire far from home.

[@asabuj4363]

I think also. People with nuts brain can't figure it out. Human History is killing others and also extinct other species. That's all about.

[@angieweathers7180]

and other horrors of islam

[@ismael3259]

@@angieweathers7180 Christianity enslaved a whole continent, stole their lands and hunted bisons till extinction to kill natives that didn't turn to catholicism.

[@wasabiajaponica5564]

They are still doing it, Jeffrey Epstein was such a trafficker.

[@stoneoffarel]

Awesome documentary! Thank you for the upload

[@zarasbazaar]

They rip these women from their families when they're children, place them in the pressure cooker of the harem, and then seem shocked at how ruthless they are.

[@annisadwiputri7762]

Are you sure that's true ?

[@mehmedalimehmed6635]

do you know how many sultans mothers are not originally non Muslims and check why please

[@anainic2960]

zarasbazaar and we have been under ottoman empire for like 500 years...

[@morganlowe3353]

@@annisadwiputri7762 Are you sure that's true??? What's that supposed to mean? Did these women go willingly? I'm sure some did go willingly. If your living in the time you could be convinced into thinking this could be favorable. But if you ask me when you enslave 600 women, you ENSLAVE them. You don't send them an invite you steal them. This is fact not fiction.

[@tasinal-hassan8268]

@@morganlowe3353 Concubinage can be voluntary and involuntary,but for the most part it was the latter.

[@taylahschrader520]

A gilded cage is still a cage...

[@Anonymous.user.157]

Zack Smith absolutely not

[@wilmafistfit4788]

Wow how profound 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@Emorydawn830]

Right?! Like home is home. And one always prefers home. Maybe I am wrong.

[@squaretrianglez]

People still fantasize about this though

[@scottadkins9318]

true, but that probably beat starving to death in squalor somewhere....

[@simplemind7]

Killed his 19 brothers? I guess he wasn't very family-oriented.

[@minagica]

Monstrous!

[@wilmafistfit4788]

They had to. It’s how the succession worked

[@ahmedismail6916]

Actually, it's not him who killed his siblings. Mehmet III was weak and fragile like his father. The mastermind of the harem at the time was his mother, Safiye Sultan, and she was the one who made the conspiracy to kill all of her 19 stepsons on the day her husband Murad III died. She was originally Italian and her name was Sophia before it changed into Safiye (which means pure). Most of those sibling killings took place during an age known as the Sultanate of women where women, the mothers and wives of the Sultans, were the ones in control.

[@ahmedismail6916]

Mustafa Küçükkürtül I was talking about mehmet the third, the son of Murad III and Safiye Sultan. I didn't mention Mehmet the conqueror.

[@junaidradiamoda6560]

To avoid battle for succession. Remember why Mongol Empires collapsed. After Gengis Khan the founder died and no formal successor his 4 son divided the empire and declare war for each other that kills million people.

[@user-zk8ed4kd2b]

This documentary is excellent. I saw it when it was televised and I’m glad to be able to see it on your channel.

[@heathsavage9459]

Women did not "come to" the harem. They were enslaved.

[@buddhidev7877]

Some of them were proposed by their parents/ sibling for the political meaning.

[@Zareyizn]

Your right, but they got amazing benefits while they were and so forth they would like their stay. Secondly the Ottoman Empire was an empire based on Islamic rulings they were forbidden to harm the slaves in any way due to the texts of the Quran and Sunnah.

[@Youtuber-ws5em]

www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-unknown-interesting-facts-about-Ravana Mythical legend about harem.

[@karlchilders5420]

Yeah, that's what they did back then. Big deal. Why make such an obvious, uninteresting statement? It's like saying "In the desert, there is this thing called Sand..."

[@Salem_Rabbit]

Women if wanted could present themselves in the service of the court and later show interest to be a part of harem

[@bethanypickering3116]

I feel they're overplaying the 'she did it for power' thing. I imagine she did it because her four sons would be murdered otherwise - which is perfectly reasonable.

[@sarahjudd9710]

Bethany Pickering exactly what I was thinking. If I was in her position I would be doing whatever I could to protect my children from death too. They say don’t forget this was about power, I say pffftt! They don’t know what it is to be a mother

[@barbarossaconstantinerossi278]

@Bethany....Well Said!! 💷

[@mois5570]

She made those children, so she'll have to protect? or the children where the guarantee of her power? If you answer this questions, you'll find answer to your questions.

[@sugarandsalt1261]

Well power was necessary for survival.

[@mois5570]

@@sugarandsalt1261 so, as you agreed, is power.

[@nfspbarrister5681]

28:13 " if i was lived in those days, since i was a younger brother...i would be strangled very young...or as a small child...but afterwards, i would be buried with extradordinary ceremony, which are not much of of consolation " HRH Prince Ertugul of turkey. Got to love the dry dark humour of a member of monarcy

[@birilerivar7666]

He is nothing of Turkey, we don't have a monarchy anymore. The Ottomans were exiled after the establishment of republic, but today they are allowed to have citizenship that's all.

[@nfspbarrister5681]

@@birilerivar7666 i know!. But if think like that, you have to forgo to glorify your history too?😂😂😂

[@anndwyer8617]

What happened to the daughters of the sultan?

[@TheSdzfr]

Safiye is actually the more interesting version of progenitors Hurrem and Nurbanu Safiye is also the more enigmatic version of successors Handan, Halime, Kosem and Turhan Would love to see a series dedicated to her, her rise in power, her misdeeds, her ill thoughts, etc.

[@monkiram]

It's fascinating to me that many generations of Sultan leaders were almost not ethnically Turkish at all. And when you consider that the wives, mothers, eunuchs, and Ottoman officials were also former prisoners of war, the entire Ottoman government were foreigners.

[@cenkiss2331]

And they lived on the backs of regular people. When ottoman empire ended all the villagers were living awful lives while sultan has hundreds of girls in a palace.

[@rileydinkleman1022]

monkiram America before America.

[@futurechild1202]

Turks aren't native to that regio. They are pan-asians. The country was later called turkeij.

[@robwalsh7493]

I thought that

[@skubytube]

monkiram Exactly !! Literally not sustaining their own people and race

[@ghihbgyu]

It's so ironic that the Sultans in this familiy just wanted to be monogamous and yet were discouraged, while many kings in Europe wanted more women but were expected to be monogamous.

[@cosmonaut379]

ghi6h66 bgyu5 that's not irony

[@ghihbgyu]

It's not? How is that?

[@Belihoney]

grass is always greener on the other side

[@jamiemohan2049]

Yes but it didn't stop the European ones lol some just had to hide it unless you were the Sun King of France.

[@momartin2149]

the French Kings were not expected to be monogamous

[@rajaseelan6934]

I watch this with disbelief on how this documentary tried to mellow and soften and romanticize the harem. These are women are taken forcefully from their families and probably killed too. The only reason was to fulfill the lust of the sultan. What a disgrace.

[@oldspecviews]

#AllLivesMatter these slaves are Christians took against their will, no different than ISS, am also with you on how this documentary tries make us believe these slaves were somehow very comfortable.

[@kssts5552]

Harem was not just for sultans needs it was more of a education center and most of the womens are engaged after their educstion

[@piratesswoop725]

They weren't killed. The lucky ones had children by the Sultan and were pretty much set for life whether they had sons or daughters, and the ones who did not were educated and then married into the Ottoman nobility.

[@kssts5552]

piratesswoop thats right

[@monotonya4506]

Neil Down black lives matter

[@dianesylvain3309]

Women who were slaves, and forced to drop their religions.....this is not a ROMANCE story. They were prisoners, and thought of as "possessions".

[@wilmafistfit4788]

Diane Sylvain no one is romanticizing it 🙄

[@maimunah.a13]

@tart70 I agree with what you've said like the news the commenters exaggerate their replies.

[@noname-nz7me]

Nowadays westerners praise this religion. They haven't felt what our ancestors have, that's why they romanticize it.

[@thegreatgatsby8180]

You Mean like Islam.

[@maimunah.a13]

They exaggerate Romance, suffering and yes Islam.

[@imjusthungryy]

This is interesting and disturbing at the same time

[@pennydaytreasures8173]

Krista Lenz pretty much all of history is interesting and disturbing

[@angelcruzfontanez6498]

@@pennydaytreasures8173 MN

[@angelcruzfontanez6498]

My ?if my mom

[@angelcruzfontanez6498]

mp]

[@angelcruzfontanez6498]

@@pennydaytreasures8173 I p lol p no pu

[@chocolatedevil666]

That Prince made me laugh. When he said that a lavish burial would not have been much of a consolation for being murdered. Its not funny but his tone sent me into fits

[@mumufeeder]

I felt that!

[@maocharlisme]

I want to meet that man! XP

[@stoneoffarel]

Yeah I laughed too and then felt a bit bad 😅

[@juanpefernandez]

Actually funny, excellent black humor, doesn't offend anyone

[@nfspbarrister5681]

Quite a grimm sense of humour the prince have there.

[@jeffsilva03]

The African guard is immortal, he never grows old.

[@ohk749]

Not a wise move to call anything immortal, no wonder Africa fell.

[@shanabell5276]

@@ohk749 ummm... Africa is a continent....

[@biljanas7931]

lol yeah sultans die one after another, but same guard man survives on and on :)

[@rabim106]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@butterfly4057]

Black dont crack i guess

[@christinad4432]

His was a very interesting documentary. Thank you for uploading this

[@VarietyGamerChannel]

Acquire wealth. Acquire power. Acquire women. I see little has changed.

[@gregkosinski2303]

Money, power, respect, Eaton’ right

[@Liveforeever]

Are you talking about the Christian White western pedo rings amongst the elite and celebs or the church clergy?

[@Liveforeever]

@Johnny Blaze nobody's disputing child marriage is wrong and I don't care about Israel anyway because its a fake terrorist entity nothing like the children of Israel millenia before.

[@thomasf.9717]

@@Liveforeever you sound like the typical muslim indoctrinated to hate jews.

[@bluesageful]

And it never will change.....no matter the culture, no matter where on the planet, if there's one constant of mankind, this is it.

[@TheBohemianStyle]

Thank you for posting.

[@chykim1]

Soo if it were forbidden to enslave or castrate Muslims, then what makes it ok to inflict those things onto others.... Seems a bit hypocritical.

[@toni5543]

They look for loopholes.

[@hollyandstelladoodle8748]

All religions and their followers are hypocritical.

[@freespiritable]

@drag0nfly_girl a religion is all about hypocrisy. Starting with pretending to buy the bs you find in these books, at this time and day especially. Before when ignorance flourished it could've been that people sincerely bought the nonsense they sell. But this day, it's pure hipocrisy.

[@freespiritable]

@drag0nfly_girl I'm not sure you understand what religion is.

[@sissyrayself7508]

A "bit" you say? More like a lot hypocritical.

[@helenphelan8184]

This is so interesting... thank you

[@meaganwillcott3177]

It is so interesting that the events between Hurrem and the Sultan occurred around the same time at the events with the Tudors.

[@Aku6Soku1Zan]

Hona Hona you are an idiot

[@elizabethhey9475]

Yes!!!! So fascinating.

[@erenyavuz1695]

Actually , when Safiye sultan is in the throne as ''Valide sultan'';She is really send each other letters to Elizabeth Tudor ;They are good friend and they are think similar for both of them

[@balafama2120]

what an evil turkish islamic system

[@beckyweiss6072]

@Eren Yavuz, Yeah, and there's actually a history of Valide Sultanas creating diplomatic correspondence, at least during the Sultanate of Women. Hurrem Sultan is responsible for sharply curbing the Tartar slave trade. No doubt Suleiman was fine with involving her in that because she was captured by Tartar slave traders, so the task would have been a personal one for her that she would have know how to handle well. Nurbanu Sultan wrote to Queen Regent/Queen Mother Catherine de Medici to renew the trade alliance that was struck between France and the Ottomans during the reigns of Francis I and Suleiman. Safiye Sultan's friendship with Elizabeth I was full of letters and gifts being exchanged; one of them actually gave the other a carriage, but I can't remember whom. It might have been Elizabeth gave the golden carriage to Safiye that we see in Magnificent Century: Kosem. Safiye's friendship with Elizabeth I came from Elizabeth's alliance with Safiye's son, (cannot remember his name) which happened during England's war with Spain. England was actually sending over military equipment for cannonballs to Istanbul and Elizabeth and Safiye's son were seriously looking into doing military exercises together. Elizabeth sent a clockmaker over to install some clock machine thing as a gift, which is stated in the documentary.

[@stevenpedersen3716]

Excuss me, you have video in your ads.

[@pecanbrown2006]

😂😂😂

[@helRAEzzzer]

😂👍

[@easystreet1888]

i see zero ads

[@stevenpedersen3716]

@@easystreet1888 Well now they've ruined the ad total, it's all video...

[@easystreet1888]

@@stevenpedersen3716 ✔️

[@leighthubakgala7562]

I don't get why they wanted so many heirs,when in the end they will be killed.

[@cutebutsadisticable]

People, especially heirs, died all the time so one must always have spares. Just in case.

[@poonamshinde9597]

That's how it works in the peaceful religion

[@GothWulfe]

@@poonamshinde9597 You realize that it happened the exact same way with christian monarchs too, right?

[@poonamshinde9597]

@@GothWulfe but they don't kills their sons or brothers or fathers mercilessly for the throne smh..

[@GothWulfe]

@@poonamshinde9597 You obviously didn't take the same world history classes I did. It wasn't uncommon for family members to arrange "accidents" for those between them and the throne, and wasn't unheard of for whoever was crowned to remove any rivals, either permanently, or by simply sending them off to a monastery (i.e. imprisoning them).

[@catsnmi270]

An excellent documentary. Thanks a lot!

[@faithfuldescent]

From my readings about the ottoman empire, the first valide sultan was Hafsa Sultan. She was the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. It wasn't Norbanu who first held this title.

[@hxhnerd6519]

Yesssss, thank you

[@studiot7480]

They blame women for the decline of the empire and for meddling in politics. Typical.

[@MsKK909]

They certainly helped since they were running things!

[@ceilconstante7813]

Well that's what happened with the Sultanate of women.

[@Marouanehalit]

hurem was responsible for many historical tragedies like prince mustafa unjust execution

[@Game-gl6fb]

@@Marouanehalit it's not proved that it was her who influenced the sultan ..its just a theory

[@isakzadeng3570]

Actually they can be blamed for both. A great woman like Kosem keeps the empire running while others leads to decline.

[@eurech]

Why isn't Hurrem's letter to the Polish king mentioned? She is the reason why the Ottoman-Polish peace lasted for so long.

[@thomasclein884]

why would she care of poland? it was not her motherland.

[@chocolatbownie35]

@@thomasclein884 She was actually not russian but born in a part of what is now ukrania and that made part of poland, so yeah, she was actually polish and wrote to the polish king

[@user-tt8hn3bu1t]

@@chocolatbownie35 she was not Polish, but Ukrainian. +daughter of orthodox priest. Polish were and are not orthodox.

[@dementedopossum8148]

Irina, that's not true. She was born in Ruthenia which was then part of Poland, not the Ukraine as it is now. Her father was supposed to have been a priest of the Eastern Orthodox Church, also called Orthodox Catholic Church.

[@annettemasden3382]

Very interesting and enjoyable . A very in depth documentary . Thank you !

[@saroyafanniel8932]

@19:55 -- Wow: the ancient version of 'Nair'! There truly is "nothing new under the Sun.".

[@paulsecrest9427]

Nothing under that robe either. I thought they would of just shaved it. They had razors back then at lest straight razors.

[@ahmetepik]

There was one single reason for the establishment of the harem; Crown protection. If the Sultans had got married to any Turkish-Ottoman, Muslim women from the noble families and tribes with different ethnic or secterian backgrounds than automatically the queen status would have arisen and another noble family or a tribe would have been a claimer of the crown. In the event of the sultan's death or abdication, than the crown would have passed to the family of the bride and rival aristocrat lineages would have been established, thereatening the salvation of the empire, leading to partition. Harem was established to stop this from happening. The sultans never married and never took any Turkish-Ottoman viwes and only had children from ex-slave foreign women, who were from the far off lands of the empire, with no families to lay claim for the crown.

[@zzyzxzee6374]

Best explination!

[@kaarlimakela3413]

Thank you for that. People tend to do things for actual reasons. It's logical, anyway. :)

[@Sarah-sh]

Jaylah Lopez sultan Suliman was the first Sultan to marry a free woman and that woman was Hürrem Sultan.He broke the rules.

[@ahmetepik]

And than what happened; The harem women started to exert influence on the Ottoman administration, gained great political power and personal wealth. One of the favorites of Sultan Ibrahim, 'Schivekar' around 1648 was even awarded all the annual tax renevues of Damascus. These women had their own bankers and brokers outside harem. They were purchasing jewelery and land with their handsome salaries. The first western style hotels in the coastal areas of Turkey was started by the ex-harem women and their descendands.

[@Sarah-sh]

Ahmet Sipahioglu yes and that was the Sultante of women.

[@liamingraham7660]

This was facinating! What a crazy way for an empire to generate an heir to the throne! It felt like game of thrones or something.

[@Gentleman-Of-Culture]

Thoroughly enjoyed that documentary 👌

[@megren2554]

"...Sooner or later is going to get a nutter on the throne." I died when the historian said that. Ha!

[@FF-dv6ti]

wanna be my harem?

[@sovietroulette]

i liked 'but after they strangled me, i would have be buried with great ceremony'

[@beckyweiss6072]

@sovietroulette. Yeah, I liked that guy. He had a very tongue in cheek morbid sense of humor about his family's past. You kind of need something like that in his position lol. I read that guy passed away though. :( RIP.

[@kistina0101]

I actually read your comment before reaching this part. After an hour plus watching this, and finally he said this...loved it ! Haha

[@undercoverangel1410]

We definitely have our nutter now ...

[@hyyacinthusa7324]

Why is Hurrem brunette in this video?She had clearly red hair , and blue eyes, she is even known as alexandra la rossa .

[@adeel-eh7xq]

In all of her paintings she has brown eyes and chestnut hair....

[@delioctavian7133]

she is known as "hürrem sultan". if you google it then you'll learn "alexandra la rossa"

[@claudiosaltara8591]

Hyyacinthus A : many hare women were girls splayed by Christian area or western women captured by moslem pirates and sold to the sultan ( the most beautiful of course) Josephine, wife of Napoleon had a cousin captured by the pirates and ended up in the sultan's harem. She gave birth to a son who became sultan. He became the allay to Napoleon against England. When Napoleon divorced Josephine (his aunt) he broke the alliance with Napoleon. These are the quirks of history. Always cherchez la femme.

[@meeeka]

Hurrem could also have hennaed hair, which would also rendered her a redhead. Same thing in Iran.

[@adeel-eh7xq]

She was Russian or Ukrainian so she could have had red or chestnut red colored hair. A lot of women in Asia dyed and still dye their hair with henna so it wouldn't have been a remarkable thing that poems would praise her for it. Some of her children had blonde hair so it is likely that she had that hair color. A lot of red heads produce children with blonde hair.

[@QueenofArgyle2525]

Wow! To be written poems of love such as this. Amazing.

[@paulhenry8004]

There are always going to be critics of historical stories/ their content/ various documents/ certain movies/authors and their articles. Enough said. Keep bringing the stories and your view to educate us. Thanks for your efforts. "An historical buff".😃

[@redv8664]

nice to know that I am ugly even by ancient standards!

[@xxzxzxzxx6974]

Only if you're black

[@xxzxzxzxx6974]

Only if you're ginger

[@gurukirupa9840]

Medeival my friend. Not ancient. You were most probably a catch back in the good old ancient days...

[@agisi7799]

There there u may find urself a delightfully mad sultan to love ur kind of beauty

[@AP-fg8vt]

So basically you were saved from the harem!! You can celebrate to that, sis 💃

[@egledavidsoniene5075]

Harem Magnificent Documentary is grate i love this topic. Thank you.

[@rusty9934]

Very interesting and good documentary ty

[@MaatsMerkaba]

I love how well they describe things and acted them out it really gave a clear understanding of the times in a really fun movie type away!

[@afterthedrjay]

Well now , a woman becomes a mother and then realizes her male offspring will be put to death if they aren't chosen as the sultan. That will make a woman quickly try to become as astute in politics as possible. A great motivation. Kudos to any woman who gains that much power because of such a reason. I have to respect such a woman.

[@futurechild1202]

idiot that is unrespectfull and evil

[@AnIdiotsLantern]

Hareem (aka Roxalana) is treated as one of history’s great villains because rather then go along with this butchery, she made a play to save her children. There has never been a male failure that some historian has not tried to blame a woman for

[@eurech]

@@AnIdiotsLantern There is no proof Hurrem had anything to do with Mustafa's death, so it's doubtful. But if she indeed had anything to do with it then I respect her. Better kill 1 person and saved multiple others rather than the way around.

[@katytyrell406]

@@AnIdiotsLantern Hurrem was malicious, cruel and provocative

[@evangelista6442]

How blessed and grateful I,ll be born in a time and country where women can mostly can life their lives as they want.

[@gwirgalon3758]

in which country? certainly not the us anymore..britian, austria, germany, france yes, I'd think so..but still a long way to go. Canada likely. many of the scandinavian countries. Where were you thinking of?

[@glockthirtyfive7617]

Evangelista Women with no name u are oppressed and you dont even know it. U are a slave of your desires. Constantly trying to please everyone except the one who looks back at you in a mirror. U walk, talk and dress the same way that you see gamorourised on tv. And your free? Wat a joke

[@birdtopaz5627]

7Nexus21 So MEN are so virtuous, that they deserve freedom and not women? MEN never run amok, never get destructive by abusing their freedom??? And MONARCHY is less evil than democracy? Open your eyes: a world without freedom is not a place for human life!

[@birdtopaz5627]

GLOCK ThirtyFive And you are, of course, the "master" of your own desires, right? *Hypocritical poppycock!*

[@birdtopaz5627]

Point of note: here's a happy *GET STUFFED* to those who would attack women's rights and enslave us. May God chastise YOU by seeing your own malicious desire fall on your OWN heads!

[@mrmirza7617]

As they say sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Instantly what looks like a fairy tale is history and reality .. awe inspiring , sensational and hair raising.

[@baylorsailor]

This documentary is really interesting! I had no clue!

[@luigirebollos9029]

Do you really have to be greedy with the ads??

[@tracylynnw]

Luigi Rebollos at least there’s no robot voice, that’s a plus right? :)

[@Eclipse1369]

Agreed, all of their vids are like this

[@myishenhaines1706]

I know right? How dare they want to get paid for all of the work they do to bring documentaries to people!

[@FactFlicks6]

add blocker for the win

[@remyn.9198]

I get them wanting to make money, but you get less commercials on TV, there should be a 5 commercial break maximum for the time of this video, I count 16!

[@gina1280]

What a trip, my life seems much better now!

[@rickparsent9632]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWmZo6KqpbWIZ7M

[@hez5160]

That's an interesting jump at 3:13. We went from talking about Alexandra arriving in 1520, to the rule of Elizabeth the 1st (who wasn't born until 1533 and didn't become queen until 1558)

[@aneilaseyiekeretsu]

How can anyone in their right mind call a harem a 'university for women'. Leslie Peirce, no matter how much you want to it's just not possible to beautify something that involves enslavement, exertion and forceful conversion.

[@mikha007]

Tell that to your captors

[@kenna163]

There was no forceful conversion.

[@pavilionman64]

The women of the harem were educated, they knew how to read and write. Especially poetry and playing instruments. They lacked neither food nor shelter. They could be the mother of the future sultan or the favorite, maximum respect and power that a woman could get in those times. They were locked up in a palace. I doubt very much that they would be better off outside, in a patriarchal and harsh world. Today it would be cruel but in those times it was a luxury to be in the harem of a sultan or rich merchant.

[@strawberrie6491]

@@pavilionman64 they can't see their loved ones or family

[@LukeA1223]

The same people that refer to the prison system as a criminal college.

[@ByDaniSimone]

I just love historical stories. I should have been a historian😩

[@paulchristian7693]

History taught in schools is boring. The best Education is done on your own by traveling ,internet, u tube, books,etc.

[@Numinousborn]

His-story is not always true facts.

[@GypsyGirl317]

@@paulchristian7693 back in the 70s, I loved my history classes in high school (NZ) and I have studied history for myself ever since 😊 So much of what I learned back then has helped me to understand global situations during my lifetime.

[@hanamaarevic4406]

You can still do it. I belive in you.

[@FireWolf583]

I’ve always loved history, but recent research shows that the better jobs that involve history degrees are pretty much at a standstill with hiring. It sucks but there’s nothing we can really do about it... I had to switch my major to criminal justice, hopefully I can knock it out fast and start a career as a criminal historian or criminal psychologist

[@lexigrimhaive]

This was an incredibly interesting documentary. It is also a cautionary tale about why clear rules of succession are ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL.

[@salenebrom6476]

Lexi Grimbrooke backups necessary

[@MonaLisaSarcasm]

They said Selim was considered a failure for having one son and four daughters in the beginning.. but in a world where brothers need to kill each other to have one healthy son who lived to young adulthood sounds like a blessing and you should stop trying for more damn kids right then and there.

[@susanneal6063]

And how when the Son would die as many Kids did in that Time? Selim isnt fertil for ever. He had to plan in advantage in case his Son dies that there are enough others.

[@Zzx75]

Hurrein was his soul mate. None other could write such beautiful poems. This is a great documentary!

[@valeriepvi3667]

If you think about, this woman from Ukraine was the most extraordinary and powerful queen ever! Yes, we have few well known French Russian, English .. but all of them were born royals. This woman was a brought there as a slave! She was from different ethnic, religion ... obviously she was incredible intelligence!

[@diliraupova9683]

Obviously if she were brought to French, Russian or English as you mentioned, she wouldn't be able to survive there. It goes to show how naive people were around her in harem and she used it to her benefit. Her name "Hurrem" means the one who is always happy and laughs", which proves that everyone was just miserable and didn't know how to be entertaining, that's why Suleiman was attached to her more, even though she wasn't that beautiful. Suleiman did everything whatever she asked for, in another words he was under her feet, and she used that to her benefit, that's how she gained power. I wouldn't compare her to other queens, she wasn't that close to compare given the fact of their origins. And Ottomans were excellent warriors not good economists, all they did conquer lands, but were not able to sustain them. That's why they started to decline.

[@annajohnson6010]

It's a modern political slang Ukrenian... Ukraine did not exist until modern times.

[@Mmm-ud7dc]

Thats the beauty of women. Look at all of them how they become from the 13 year old slaves to the most powerful woman of the world. Hurrem Sultana it was the first step for womens. Then even Nurbanu, Safiye, Halime, Kiosem. It is something amazing about it. All of them they started from the worst you can imagine and look we are still talking about them 4-5 ages after 👏🏻

[@msmajmia7896]

@@annajohnson6010 It's a modern political slang Ukrenian... Ukraine did not exist until modern times. nor Budapest existed until 1873 :-DDD

[@anon4780]

@@diliraupova9683 How do you know she was not beautiful? Were you there? Did you physically see her? No. You're simply making assumptions. Most eastern European girls are by far more beautiful on average than the average western girl and 100 times better looking than any girl of royal status. Why are you defending women from royal backgrounds? How does having a royal background and living like a parasite off their own people make them in any way better? It does not. Most "peasant" girls were far more beautiful than girls from "royal" families. "Royal" is nothing more than an earthly title. If anything it means their family background is full of incestuous murderers, snobs, guilty of crimes against their own people. Money and having the best of everything does not guarantee beauty or intelligence. That's common sense. Since you brought up physical appearance, look at modern royal families. The Royal families outside of Britian look better than the British Royal family simply because they've chosen not to partake in incest with 1st cousins like the "British" royal family. Who are ethnically German not British, just FYI. On average every female from a "royal" bloodline does not look better than the average female in Ukraine, past or present. Ukraine is famous for their women.

[@carenasmith7]

Don't know why it's in my recommendations but I'm watching 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@danielalvarez3499]

Intrigued about the past. Been binging Timeline for a while now.

[@zimrianispresent8123]

Awesome quality

[@millieil6510]

Good documentary. When life gives you lemons...it's interesting to hear the stories of how these women took so much disadvantage and injustice and make it BIG!

[@sugarlumps73]

Fascinating! thanks for sharing.

[@jeannemarie3704]

Fascinating!

[@alexisgreen-hernandez4709]

Excellent documentary. I have never heard this story before but I find it to very educational and informative yet a bit sad 😔 😢. I love the History documentaries on You Tube thanks for sharing.😎😎😎

[@user-ww2lc1yo9c]

For royal families, concubines have existed in all societies throughout ages, and yes they have had limited rights. Nothing unusual about that as such.

[@sultansimmer1871]

Anon Anon geisha

[@catamish9338]

I read that the Magnificent Suleiman mini series’ lead Hurrein had a nervous breakdown and declined to act further in the show. The article stated the Producer would pick up with Roxelana and Suleiman as older rulers to continue the story but no idea when it would continue. Loved the mini-series! I learned a few Turkish phrases that later proved useful at work. Barrack! Evette!

[@lilliehalumi8770]

That show was a disgrace to history. I could not tolerate Hurrem's ugly childish faces and tantrums.

[@bela1995100]

Yok is my favorite

[@pradeeshpalissery9814]

Nice work

[@AshleyLebedev]

Fantastic documentary

[@evavoronina8627]

She was Ukrainian , the daughter of the ukrainian priest , not Russian

[@agisi7799]

A Ukrainian born in the Poland

[@thomasclein884]

@@agisi7799 it was Ukraine territory occupiued by Poland!

[@thomasclein884]

@drag0nfly_girl ahahahaha your brain is provice of your body. sUkraine was mentione dearlier than Russia was created.)) Russia is nothing! ans soon it will collapse

[@marwitta5640]

this is what they said

[@_gossipgirlxoxo]

And a redhead ☝🏻

[@sbs2047]

"Wait! Are you saying if we keep strangling our princes, there is a remote possibility we might run out of them one day?"

[@andreadelikat2220]

Lol

[@2livenoob]

politicians*

[@nfspbarrister5681]

Duh. Humankind are kinda notorious for their stupidity. Just look at the 1 child policy of china.

[@alvinlin8140]

@@nfspbarrister5681 agree

[@Jolenesmart1980]

@@2livenoob haha took me a second thinking that’s not what she was trying to spell ooos whoosh lol got it now

[@skevinikitas9708]

I watched all the 149 episodes of the magnificent 15th century and I'm hooked on them what's a beautiful stories.❤

[@trafalgar22a8]

Interesting and enjoyable.

[@lilyann168]

Definitely waaay better to be a sultan's daughter, than son!

[@feb0216]

lilyann168 and mother of sultan’s daughter, even if he may not love her at least she and her daughters would have lived without the fear of death hanging over their heads

[@Ica-dk5wp]

lilyann168 but then you will be married to old vizier...

[@AngelOfMusic20]

Ica 7804 if he looks anything like marwan kenzari I'm all in!

[@Ica-dk5wp]

Sharon Yarbrough hahaha tru2 XD

[@elenagelmez5064]

lilyann168 nope, you will be mixed

[@peterabbotsford2131]

Excellent and fascinating video. The line I now have to use on my own mother: "He drowned in a sea of mortification."

[@HeidiJoubert]

I actually wrote that line down as soon as I heard it! :-) Great lyric

[@Happyheart146]

To get rid of the excessive ads, drag the bar through to the end and then restart.

[@squishy8758]

I can really see how that eunuch character in Game of Thrones was true to the historical role of eunuchs

[@susie9893]

One commenter suggested this was romanticized - I agree to this in every way especially in the early part of the video. If you've ever seen the Sultan's palace in Istanbul you'll know that this video concentrated extensively on the lavish parts of the palace and never showed any real detail of the accommodations (cells! I mean like PRISON - small, dank, stone rooms with bars on windows etc) where common members of the harem AND their children were housed. Combined with those arsenic body hair treatments I can't imagine that many of the harem population were long lived nor lived pleasant lives! I think it was probably like a very strict monastery/brothel, the Sultan-mother being like a combination of reverend mother and a madam

[@stormbringer3022]

a women's place is in servitude, history has proven this time and time again. Susie, you too.

[@susie9893]

@@stormbringer3022 wow you really ask for it don't you?

[@annmcdaniel1092]

@@stormbringer3022 Oh, you poor delusional little boy.

[@MiaMore.]

@@annmcdaniel1092 I guarantee he's single lol!!

[@claudiaaleixo9899]

This guy must one that sits on his but all day and then asks for dinner! Man you should re visit your backdated views! Looks bad on you!

[@feurigerStern]

So nice to have a documentary about the history of the Ottoman Empire

[@schattensand6129]

The moment one of that princes reached puberty he got his own harem. If he was killed by father or brother all his own sons were garrotted with a bow string and their whole harem, his consorts, were sewn into a sack, rowed out on the waters of the golden Horn and drowned to be sure that no posthumous son would survive. The ground of the golden Horn is littered with the bones of young females. For sure no word of this procedure uttered here. Mahlzeit!

[@wairokpamamritchenglei6203]

I satisfied myself watching ancient documentary staff

[@jbharco40]

My mother in law as a child in Istanbul witnessed the release of women in the harem. She and her friends were expecting the women to be beautiful but she said they were all very ordinary.

[@adbc1f72]

Jeanette bowen How old is your mother -in-law?

[@jbharco40]

@@adbc1f72 She passed away about 1979. She was born about 1911.

[@Indiegirl007]

So.....basically they had the same beauty standards that permeate modern western society. Young, white, skinny, and everything shaved from the upper lip down.

[@Tom-gh8lz]

*nose down

[@masg9389]

People in middle ages were all skinny. Back then beauty standards were different. Women had to be "juicy". If you see portraits of noble women from middle ages and the renaissance paintings all women had some extra weight, like Hurrem, Kosem and Nurbanu. Especially on the hips, because that was a sign they will give birth to healthy children. Caucasian girls were the most popular and most expensive in the slave market for their pale white skin, healthy long black hair and almond eyes. People of Caucasus were known for their strength, health and longevity, so it must have played a role.

[@lavish_1717]

They love white women in Muslim countries

[@akramkarim3780]

@@lavish_1717 they "women" love brown men in europe also

[@lavish_1717]

akram karim Women don’t chase after men

[@shitlordfm3345]

This documentary is much less about Suleiman the Magnificent, and instead about the Sultanate of Women; that being said, its a fascinating and highly interesting subject, well worth the hour and thirty minute watch.

[@BeveC21E]

Yes, it explains clearly in the title that it's about the 'harem', not the sultan.

[@janicesnyder9305]

Quite fascinating.

[@1Skorpia]

They were brought at an early age ? So they were CHILDREN 😬😖😖😖

[@haneenawad5012]

skorpia g no they were brought form the age 15-17

[@lavish_1717]

Haneen Awad What are your sources ? They certainly weren’t Muslim girls either.

[@jenniferhouse1939]

Not any different than any other country during this time

[@abotrump5186]

@@lavish_1717 you again 😂 you are everywhere

[@sanjidurrahmanchowdhury2807]

Yes. Starting From 7.

[@gloriagreen542]

Loved every bit of this series! I have only one statement! Hurrem was a true survivor and for this I loved her grit.

[@CandyKoRn]

Hurram was 8 years old when she was enslaved, I think she was a teenager, at least, when she was a part of Suleiman's harem.

[@frogosplayer1]

Calm down with the ads...ppl are trying to actually enjoy your documentry...😩

[@boutchie06]

It was the 1% that had harems, just like now.

[@sumlatinkid]

@@Genevasplaytime lots of money, clothes, travel, nice car, we have modern day monarchs except we dont call them monarchs....

[@radsquid9541]

20 minutes in and all i know is that we don't know much and are guessing, this is kinda undermining to literally every information in this documentary lol

[@petelosuaniu]

Brutal world. I'd rather have been a peasant.

[@terrandroid]

You are considered a peasant now

[@bartendersdaughter6003]

Whose life wasn't brutal and short back then??

[@petelosuaniu]

@@terrandroid thanks. Loving it.

[@2livenoob]

Doubt that.

[@TomorrowWeLive]

then your life would have been even worse.

[@lolagabrielle2671]

Does anyone knows where can I watch this with spanish subtitles? My mother does not speak english but loves Suliman history, she even travel there to tour the palace!!

[@kirstiemcfeatters4348]

Apparently I've stumbled into Ad City.

[@divesvyas8542]

There was a very awesome Turkish series by the name "Magnificent Sultan" based on Suleiman and Hurrem Hatun (Alexandra). The best thing was that Hurren was very beautiful in that and acting of almost everybody was very good, bad thing is that not all episodes were available with english subtitles :(

[@ThePerfectPlanByD]

Dives Vyas The full series is on Netflix now - with subtitles!

[@madcraftsman6158]

Dives Vyas it was a very interesting retelling of the story though, pretty much not historically accurate and Hürem in the series was a true beauty but in reality she was quite ungly! :)

[@idontgiveafaboutyou]

Mad Craftsman I thought the real Hurrem was beautiful

[@madcraftsman6158]

Wendy Hull not really... If you google her name you will come across busts of her or even information of the time that mention that.. (though she was bright-witted and with humor, and thus she was named Hurem by the sultan because she made him laugh)

[@idontgiveafaboutyou]

Mad Craftsman Oh ok

[@kishorkumarshaw7095]

Thanks!

[@suriyabhai7223]

Very interesting 👌👌

[@BRAND0N...]

I really like that you at least present an expert oposing opinion to the clear indication of your docs. That's fairer than most these days.

[@PastaMasta123]

Omg if there was TV back then this would be keeping up with the harem! SO MUCH DRAMAAA!!!!

[@amanammad7521]

The gallant dor lol i like the way you think.

[@yourmailishere]

Ever heard of "magnificent century"?

[@sawha6378]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@DavidJones-oh2uz]

Aman Ammad ikneptune

[@jenniferhouse1939]

🤣🤣🤣

[@jacquelineamar5757]

Beautiful story but sometimes so sad,greed,cruelty and fear are the most vices of all😓😓😓😓😓

[@AngeliqueW1]

Horrible destiny for sons who weren’t the oldest, eunuchs, and women. It was sad for the oldest son because of pressure and expectations.