Chapter 11: Enemies

Life continues as normal in the harem even though we know the sultan and many of his officials are busy preparing for war. We are told nothing about the pending war, although that doesn’t stop rumours from spreading through the harem like wildfire. Sümbul Aga discourages us from discussing the war, but he may as well try and stop the sun from shining. One alarming rumour is that the population of the harem is to be reduced, and that some slaves will be sent to the slave markets to be sold.

Even in normal times there is a slow but steady flow of concubines leaving the palace and new odalisques arriving. As if to confirm the rumour, Nigar Kalfa says that during wartime the rate at which concubines are discharged increases, while arrivals are limited to younger women given to the sultan as gifts by their fathers or local rulers. However, Nigar Kalfa then eases our concerns to some degree. She says that it is very rare for a concubine trained here in the palace to suffer the humiliation of being sold at a public slave market.

Nigar Kalfa’s comments remind me of something we learned early in our training. We were told in no uncertain terms that a concubine’s primary role is to produce children for the sultan. If a concubine doesn’t attract the sultan’s affections, or she fails to become pregnant within a reasonable time, then she is discharged from the harem. Even those women who spend their days doing the cleaning and laundry, rarely spend more than six or seven years working in the Old Palace. Those who are discharged are either transferred to a palace in the provinces, or granted their freedom and a suitable marriage arranged. A freed woman can choose to remain single, but she will find life harsh for a woman living alone. There are only two groups of women who remain in the harem for any length of time; those who produce children for the sultan, and those, like Daye Hatun and Nigar Kalfa, who rise in the hierarchy and become indispensable to the operation of the harem.

Among all the gloomy talk there is one piece of pleasing news. Hürrem has been moved to one of rooms on the mezzanine floor which are reserved for the favourites. She is sharing a room with Ayşe. Given their previous spats, Hürrem and Ayşe are probably not the best choice of room-mates, but nobody has dared to challenge the Valide’s specific instructions. Not that Hürrem seems to mind. She has spent several nights with Sultan Suleiman over the last week. I suspect there would have been more were it not for the war preparations. The sultan’s gifts to Hürrem have been generous. She now owns several new gowns, together with a collection of fine jewellery.

Of course, not everybody has been happy about Hürrem’s elevation in status. Mahidevran has her maid, Gülsah, spying on us and making trouble for Hürrem, while Mahidevran herself makes a point of shunning Hürrem. What is worse, the Valide herself seems displeased about Hürrem’s rapid promotion. It is undoubtedly Sultan Suleiman who has ordered that Hürrem must be granted the privileges of one of his favourites. Although the Valide governs the entire harem, she must nevertheless obey a direct order from her son. She has obeyed by doing the minimum required to comply with her son’s order. Hürrem’s daily stipend hasn’t been increased to the level normally paid to a favourite ... supposedly because she hasn’t completed her training and education. And the Valide must know that placing Hürrem in the same room as Ayşe will cause trouble before too long.

While life is now much more comfortable for Hürrem, she must nevertheless face new challenges. Hürrem has shown remarkable restraint in the face of blatant provocation from Gülsah. I don’t know why Mahidevran uses Gülsah in this way. Gülsah is tall and muscular, making her useful when physical intimidation is required. But what Gülsah has in muscle, she lacks in brains. Her mischief-making is often clumsy and obvious. Anybody committing acts of violence in the harem is severely punished, and on several occasions it is only Mahidevran’s support which has saved Gülsah from a whipping. Many of the odalisques are fearful of Mahidevran’s power, so they don’t complain to the agas about Gülsah’s abuses.

Because of my friendship with Hürrem, I must keep a constant lookout for Gülsah’s tricks. Since none of us have any means of securely locking our few possessions away, the harem relies on a combination of mutual trust and the threat of execution for anybody caught stealing. Gülsah has already intimidated some of the newest arrivals with the suggestion they might be framed for theft. Unfortunately some of the new women are too afraid to call Gülsah’s bluff. As a result, many of the new women are coerced into treating Hürrem and her friends as their enemy, and into helping Gülsah with her dirty tricks. Esme and I have had a few instances of mysteriously torn dresses and broken combs. Hürrem is slightly better off since her possessions are kept in her room where even Gülsah isn’t allowed to enter. I just hope Ayşe doesn’t succumb to Gülsah’s threats. Fortunately Ayşe seems content to remain neutral in what is evolving into a factional war within the harem. I’m surprised that the Valide allows this situation to continue, but she shows no sign of intervening.

The fateful day arrives when we are told that Sultan Suleiman is about to leave Constantinople to lead the Ottoman army into war. We still haven’t been told any details about the upcoming war, so we can only guess where the army might march. Some rumours say the war will be in the east against the Safavids of Persia. Other rumours say the army will march north-west to capture Belgrade from the Hungarians. If either rumour is true then the war could last many months.