This has been the best history yet! I didn't know that the harems had so much control in China. The situation was very similar in pre-Inquisition Italy, though the women were free to live and roam where they chose, and their control held more of a political nature. If you haven't seen it, "Dangerous Beauty" is an interesting look into their lives. (though it does border on bing X-rated) It's pretty amazing exactly how much power prostitutes, mistresses, and harems have held throughout history; in many cultures, it was the only freedom offered a woman.

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Well, mistresses and power prostitutes are quite different to concubines in harem, because the weren't part of an official "system"; but yes, they DID hold an awful lot of power. Just about every civilisation in the world had powerful women that controlled the men - talking about pre-Inquisition women, if you're talking about the Roman Empire, it had it's fair share of power-usurping women. Augustus, possibly the most famous of all Roman rulers, had to keep a check on his wife Livia's power. Unfortunately, when he died, her son Tiberius took over and he listened to his mother. Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, who came just before Augustus, were enthralled by Cleopatra VII, then the Pharaoh of Eygpt (who usurped the Eygptian throne with the help of the Romans, and ruled alone). These are the more famous stories, but it's one that repeats itself in a gazillion places.

It may be interesting to note that while rear palaces held alot of sway in ancient China, it was possibly far "worse" in the Ottoman Islamic Empire. It's odd, because the Ottoman harems is the basis of these Western fantasies about submissive women - when in fact, the women and eunuchs basically RAN the entire palace. This is because the later Ottoman Empire has rules - to prevent rebellions by princes on the Sultanate, it's customary for all sons born to the Sultan to be bundled into a series of small rooms called "The Cage". They are locked in there ALONE 24/7, until the Sultan dies, which can be YEARS. During this time, their mothers will attempt to ensure her future position by organising to have the sons of rivals poisoned or killed - a smart concubine is one that is able to keep her son alive, while killing the sons of rivals. The most powerful concubine will have her son become the Sultan - all other princes will be killed once her son is crowned Sultan. Obviously, this didn't make for well-educated Sultans - one Sultan spend 47 years in "The Cage" - and this was part of the reason for the Ottoman Empire's fall. This story sounds unbelievable, but it is TRUE (but very scary).

And is "Dangerous beauty" a book? It sounds quite interesting, if with a rather sensational title. ;)

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Jeez, your posts give such good lessons. I'd probably get an A if I ever had a class on one. Thx for taking the time to write them up. :3

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