I was reading up on the Ottoman empire and stumbled upon this tale of treachery which left me reeling in utter shock. A feat not easily accomplished, as I am fully aware of the true nature of women. Whoever said women of past were any better than their modern day counterparts, is surely still caught up in the matrix.

STORY TIME...

The Harem

Perhaps the most terrifying feature of the Topkapi palace was the Imperial Harem. This consisted of up to 2,000 women, most of them bought or abducted as slaves, who served as the sultan’s wives and concubines. They were kept cloistered deep in the seraglio, and for a man to look upon them meant instant death. The harem itself was guarded and managed by the Chief Black Eunuch, who eventually leveraged the position into one of the most powerful offices in the empire.

Conditions in the harem itself presumably varied, although little information is available about events within its walls. It was said that there were so many concubines that some might barely set eyes on the sultan. Others managed to gain influence over the running of the empire. Suleiman the Magnificent fell madly in love with a Pole called Roxelana, married her, and made her a key adviser.

Roxelana’s influence was such that a grand vizier sent the pirate Barbarossa on a desperate mission to kidnap the Italian beauty Giulia Gonzaga in the belief that she alone would be a match for Roxelana’s charms. The plan was foiled by a brave Italian, who burst into Giulia’s bedroom and got her onto a horse just before the pirates arrived. After thanking the man profusely for saving her, Giulia supposedly had him stabbed to death for seeing her in her nightgown, a deed which won her the admiration of all Italy.