Mughal History: Mughals did not start Haram, know the history from which you are unaware

Mughals are infamous for Haram, whenever Haram is mentioned, it is considered to be associated with Mughals only, but in reality Haram started hundreds of years before Mughals came to India.

Mughals are the first thing that comes to mind as soon as Haram is mentioned, no matter why all the stories of Haram mentioned in the history are related to Mughals only. It is also true that in the Mughal period, Haram was such a symbol of opulence and power that every Mughal emperor wanted. Especially there were more than five thousand women in Akbar's harem, Abul Fazal himself has mentioned this in his Akbarnama.

Although the Mughals were not the ones who started the harem. The Haram started hundreds of years before the establishment of the Mughal Empire in India. The first mention of Haram in history is found in 1299. This is the same year when the Ottoman Empire was established. Osman Ghazi was its first ruler. The Ottoman Empire was a Turkish Empire, it is also known in history as the Osmani Empire.

when did the harem start

The meaning of harem is applied to a place where men were banned, it is a Turkish word. It is believed that Haram is derived from the Arabic word Haram. Which means forbidden. It is said that the harem started with the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. Although some historians tell it earlier. Although it came into effect only from the Ottoman Empire. At that time, the real power of the Sultan and the glory of the empire was estimated from his harem only.

Every woman had a rank in the harem

According to the recently released web series 'Magnificent Century' on the Ottoman Empire, every woman in the Ottoman Empire's harem had a rank. In this, there was valid sultan rank for sultan's mother, his wife was called kadin. The Sultan's favorite maidservant was called Gojde and the one on whom the Sultan put his hand was given the rank of Iqbal, which means fortunate.

The rules of the Mughal harem were like Ottoman

The harem of the Mughals has been influenced by the harem of the Ottoman Empire, the biggest example of this are the rules that were applicable in the Mughal harem as well, the biggest rule in this was the ban on the women of the harem going out. In the harem of the Mughals, like the harem of the Ottoman Empire, the women of the royal family also lived along with the maids. The Sultan could go to the harem whenever he wanted, the special thing was that every woman living in the harem of the Ottoman Empire could not come near the Sultan. Here also eunuchs were deployed for security.

This is how the Mughal Haram started

When Babar established the Mughal Empire in India, the system of Haram was started here. However, during the time of Akbar, Haram was established in the most grand form, in which there were more than five thousand women. Jahangir reduced the number of women in the harem, according to Manuchi there were more than 3 thousand women in his harem. Later, the harem continued even during the reign of Shah Jahan. However, during the time of Aurangzeb, the number of women in the harem had become very limited.