Buy new:
-57% $7.78
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon
Sold by: BetAlpha
$7.78 with 57 percent savings
List Price: $18.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$7.78 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$7.78
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon
Ships from
Amazon
Sold by
BetAlpha
Sold by
BetAlpha
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$6.60
Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less See less
FREE delivery May 20 - 21. Details
Or fastest delivery May 14 - 16. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$7.78 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$7.78
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

John Freely
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

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

by John Freely (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$7.78","priceAmount":7.78,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"78","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"knYsFBwlxXSsoDDRCJHm7w5mL8gbCsu75j0Wpedi4vCQiyns%2Fen3g3dNtGVwr6BnNmWE0z7VcJh%2BsietC8IZqW9SiDEUrIEGa5zwjNrKoCITHZSiIq2uwpR%2FkW25%2Bb5LPBCsSaDcs%2FZJnQvt4V2JvnhhTgKfaTbq7%2FiYSj3nUOu%2F0RLi8gE1Fw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$6.60","priceAmount":6.60,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"60","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"knYsFBwlxXSsoDDRCJHm7w5mL8gbCsu7CQHvT4lNzEgk8EMc3zBuLZ9iggTMFLJmmoI4u350lQXgVxCIxQ1rZ9SWJ4FH8lBHG9XnLqBDGuRPSLanZB3RYQfwrlrejjjOoyxC1c%2B%2Be68dKSr%2Fwagffmvgd%2Fawmz%2BlWwxg%2F%2FVucLE%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

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].

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tauris Parke Paperbacks
  4. Publication date
    December 30, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9781784535353
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1784535353
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

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 ‏ : ‎ 10.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 31 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
John Freely

John Freely

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
31 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

D. Stevens
5.0 out of 5 stars Used book?
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
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
Helpful
 Report
Robert Widdowson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. If you are interested in learning useful ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
Great book. If you are interested in learning useful information about Constantinople/Istanbul, then read anything by John Freely. He's lived in Istanbul many years, has written extensively about the city, its history, culture, and society and writes very clear prose. When you read his books you actually understand what he's saying and acquire knowledge. He's a very good, reliable guide.

He also wrote a wonderful book about walking tours of modern Istanbul which is anything but pedestrian (ha ha, get it? Walking tours...pedestrian? Sorry, I couldn't resist). He writes like a novelist when he describes the buildings, neighbourhoods, and traditions. It's clear that Freely admires the city, but he doesn't just give you a starry-eyed account of the growing metropolis. He includes warts and all.

Although I've never visited Istanbul, I feel that I have, since reading Freely's books. What higher praise can you give such a writer?
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Harry Eagar
3.0 out of 5 stars The House of Felicity? Not!
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
Helpful
 Report
L. Sabin
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Stories of the Ottoman Imperial Court
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2002
Verified Purchase
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
Helpful
 Report
PenWin
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended history
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2020
Verified Purchase
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!
Helpful
 Report
APeper
2.0 out of 5 stars Not very good
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2018
Verified Purchase
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.
Helpful
 Report
Thinking
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful history of the Ottoman Sultans
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
halfway through this book and cannot put it down.
Helpful
 Report
Jane Krayesky
5.0 out of 5 stars Great job on a used paperback.
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
This used hook looked like it had never been opened. In excellent condition. Exactly the volume I wanted.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

M. Baerends
4.0 out of 5 stars Topkapi
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
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.
Report
TerryPa
5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of a long and complex history
Reviewed in Australia on November 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
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.
Report