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Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul (Tauris Parke Paperbacks) Paperback – December 30, 2016

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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.

This edition features a new Preface by [Freely].

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Book Description

The story of the House of Osman, the imperial dynasty that ruled the Ottoman Empire for more than seven centuries.

About the Author

John Freely (1926 - 2017) was born in New York and joined the US Navy at the age of seventeen, serving during the last two years of World War II. He had a PhD in physics from New York University and did post-doctoral studies in the history of science at Oxford. He was for many years professor of physics at Bosphorus University in Istanbul, where he taught physics and the history of science. He wrote more than forty books, including Light from the East: How the Science of Medieval Islam Helped Shape the Western World (I.B.Tauris, 2010), The Grand Turk, Storm on Horseback, Children of Achilles, The Cyclades,The Ionian Islands (all I.B.Tauris), Crete, The Western Shores of Turkey, Strolling through Athens, Strolling through Venice and the bestselling Strolling through Istanbul (all Tauris Parke Paperbacks).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1784535354
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tauris Parke Paperbacks (December 30, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781784535353
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784535353
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2020
    I became fascinated with harem fiction forty years ago, when I bought and read "The Kadin" by Beatrice Small. In the ensuing years I devoured countless novels about Topkapi and it's residents-until I began reading about the actual lives of the Sultans and their entourages. I found their stories twice as fascinating as any work of harem fiction. This book is a must for "Ottomaniacs." It goes through the lives of all the sultans, as well as the lives of their mothers, their staffs, and their favourites. Only one family ruled the Ottoman Empire for over six centuries-and their individual stories are incredible. The reader meets conquerers, saints, and lovers-some great rulers ,others riddled with alcohol and mental illness. There are the ambitious mothers and concubines. There is murder, fratricide, war, and intrigue. There is jealousy, romance, and lust. And all of this is lived out in palaces full of unimaginable luxury and extravagance. Reader, I believe that this book can cure any Ottoman fiction addict!
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2023
    This was a recommendation by the tour company before a trip to Turkey.. I ordered this as a used book since it was less expensive. Too my surprise, this book has never been read. There are no creases on the spine to show that it was even browsed. Very happy.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2007
    The House of Osman must surely have been the most useless dynasty in all history, even more so than the Japanese emperors. At least the Japanese emperors performed the annual rites of planting rice. Although the Osmanli claimed to be both sultans and caliphs, not one made the hajj.

    Such occasional odd facts present the justification for spending time with John Freely`s "Inside the Seraglio," which is otherwise nothing much but court gossip. Freely never even describes the origins of the Seraglio, which was not a Turkish custom.

    The strange combination of hysteria about women's sexuality and a preference (much of the time) for coupling with boys was taken from the Arabs, but the ferocious habit of strangling all the brothers of a new sultan was a characteristic Turkish touch, even if justified by a verse from the Koran -- an interpretation not usually made by other Muslim ruling families.

    The allure, for Europeans, of the Seraglio was its aura of lasciviousness, which is on prominent display here. Freely quotes freely from European observers and (less often) Ottoman sources about orgies. Not only sexual orgies, but, at various times, orgies of music, tulips, wrestling, mayhem, alcohol. Even, sometimes, orgies of devotion. Curiously, given Turkey's reputation for poppies, no sultans are described as opium users.

    Most were drunks, and at least half were deranged. Considering how precarious and nerve-wracking being a sultan or a sultan's woman, servant or vezir could be, it is a surprise that none ever made a break for freedom. Life was certainly precarious. For 200 years, a period of 11 rulers, no son succeeded his father.

    Despite the fecklessness of the last 30 or so sultans, the dynasty lasted much longer than most, about 600 years. Because the harem girls were almost always foreigners (latterly, almost exclusively Circassians), most of the Osmanli rulers had very little Turkish ancestry.

    Although "Inside the Seraglio" has its moments, it does not make a good book. Call it Licentiousness-lite.

    We really are given no reason to care who these people were, not in the context of a great state. There are many interesting illustrations, taken from Turkish miniatures or European engravings, but they are too small, muddy and monochromatic to reveal much. Freely has written a number of travel books, and something could have been made of the fabulous architecture that the sultans put up, but nothing is.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2002
    This fascinating book summarizes the court life of the Ottoman sultans in Istanbul. It begins with a few short passages on the founding of the dynasty in the 13th Century, but the most intriguing stories begin after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the Ottoman takeover of the city.
    John Freely writes in a clear and concise manner that makes what could be complex material simpler to read. And the characters, from the royal courtiers to the concubines to the sultans themselves are all portrayed with fascinating insight. The text is illustrated throughout by some beautiful prints and sketches as well.
    This is a great book about the inner workings of the court life of the Ottoman dynasty, and will likely whet the reader's appetite to do delve more deeply into the subject.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2020
    I liked this book, it takes a unique approach to telling the history of the Ottoman Empire with a focus on the sultans rather then politics, great battles or other socio economic concerns. highly recommend it!
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2018
    I am sorry to say that I really didn't enjoy this book at all. Mr. Freely didn't seem to dig in and try and figure out what was actually court gossip and rumor as opposed to real fact. It seemed like he just skimmed the top on all the people he profiled. There was no effort to discover if some of the reports were biased or outright falsehoods to paint a certain picture. It sort of came off like I was reading the Enquirer for the Sultans. I feel like so much more could have been done and just wasn't. I wouldn't recommend this book. It wasn't even a fun read. It was tedious.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2017
    halfway through this book and cannot put it down.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2014
    This used hook looked like it had never been opened. In excellent condition. Exactly the volume I wanted.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Luiz Antonio Vital Teixeira
    5.0 out of 5 stars Avaliacao final da compra.
    Reviewed in Brazil on December 12, 2021
    O livro esta em ótimas condições e o serviço do vendedor foi também muito bom. Recomendo-o a todos.
  • Luisa Mercier
    5.0 out of 5 stars for history lovers
    Reviewed in Italy on December 2, 2018
    Really interesting read!
  • TerryPa
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of a long and complex history
    Reviewed in Australia on November 16, 2022
    Beautifully written an immensely evocative this is a book that explains, informs and entertains. It will make you want to book your next trip to this most amazing of destinations.
  • M. Baerends
    4.0 out of 5 stars Topkapi
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2023
    Describing almost 5 centuries worth of Sultans is not easy. By way of disclaimer, the writer mentions 'this is not a history of the Ottoman Empire'. Although understandable, this is also the book's main weak point. Let me explain. The reality of the private lives of the Sultans is that very little real information is available, except perhaps on the latest Sultans. Rather than racking off the names of concubines and children of each Sultan, it would have been more interesting to expand on the public life of the Ottoman Empire, i.e. how it was doing vis-a-vis competing powers. This in fact had a large bearing on the Sultan's private lives, since in many cases lack of success in foreign wars led to Sultans being deposed / murdered / kalltgestelt by either ambitious family members or angry janissaries. It would also have been appropriate to at least attempt to explain why the Ottoman Empire was increasingly unsuccessful (albeit resilient), a fact that also profoundly impacted the private lives of Sultans. Their ever more Western lifestyle (e.g. stopping to kill their half-brothers but rather keeping them under lock and key, living in European-style palaces rather than in Topkapi,, failing to lead the army in person and even playing the piano) must have been a direct result of the loss of confidence in the simple warrior traditions of the early Ottoman Empire, caused by a series of lost wars.

    Still, an interesting book which is why I gave it four stars. Perhaps not as good as Freely's highly original work on the deposed would-be Sultan Jem, but certainly better than his Mehmet II book.
  • Paul Xuereb
    3.0 out of 5 stars Falls between two stools
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2001
    This book makes pleasant reading and provides the tourist in Istanbul with some interesting historical background covering the 15th-early 20th centuries, but the narrative is too linear and includes very few analyses of why things were happening that way at any particular time. Moreover, the title is misleading since the descriptions of life in the Topkapi Sarayi tend to be skimped especially for the earlier centuries. The book will thus fail to satisfy the general reader seeking lively information about palace life in Istanbul. At the same time the historical account will fail to meet the serious scholar's quest for an in-depth account of the historical process.