The Harem's Paper Trail: Ottoman Women in the Archives

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the documentary legacy of the Ottoman harem, focusing on the şeriyye sicilleri (Sharia court records) and vakıf deeds that reveal the legal and economic agency of women like Hürrem Sultan, Kösem Sultan, and Turhan Sultan. They discuss how these records survive in archives like the Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi in Istanbul, the challenges of interpreting Ottoman Turkish script, and what a 16th-century divorce case or a 17th-century property dispute tells us about daily life inside the harem. Lucas explains the role of the kadı (judge) and the kızlar ağası, and how women used the courts to protect their wealth, manumit slaves, and contest inheritance. The conversation also touches on the legacy of these documents for modern historians, including the work of scholars like Leslie Peirce. No clickbait, just the quiet power of a signature on a centuries-old deed. #OttomanEmpire #Harem #ValideSultan #HRremSultan #KSemSultan #TurhanSultan #Eriyyesicilleri #VakF #Kad #KZlarAAs #TopkapiPalace #OttomanArchives #ShariaCourt #SultanateOfWomen #LesliePeirce #HistoricalDocuments #History #FexingoHistory #HurremSultan #KosemSultan Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo