5 - Material World: Fortunes and Possessions

Summary

Throughout history, a person’s rank and status significantly influenced his or her material world. It is no surprise, then, that palace affiliation impacted the material world of Ottoman subjects. Chapter 5 examines the wealth and possessions of palace-affiliated women in different periods of the eighteenth century, based on estate registers, and explores how it compared to the material world of contemporary women who were not related to the imperial palace. Comparing the material world of palace women to contemporary askeri status women who represented the privileged segment of society offers an opportunity to uncover the degree to which palace affiliation affected the material wealth and consumption habits of former members of the harem. It also allows us to uncover their socio-economic positions in society. Based on this profile, the chapter demonstrates how their affiliation with the imperial court generally brought these slave-origin women a level of material wealth that placed them within a particular position in society. A small group of these manumitted female palace slaves accumulated tremendous wealth and enjoyed the possession of commodities rarely encountered, even among contemporary women of free and high status. This situation lent them status as some of the most prominent people in society and as representatives of high culture.