Avret Pazarları
Avret Pazarları[lb 1] or female slave bazaar,[3] was a market of female slaves located in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey). It was in use fromthe mid-15th century to the early 20th century.[4] Many households owned female slaves. They mostly used them as domestic servants. The Ottoman state regulated the slave market and imposed taxes on every slave transaction.
The women that were sold there came from many diffeent regions, in Africa, Asia and Europe. They were traded in Istanbul markets. In contrast to male slaves, women were often subject to sexual exploitation. Their sexuality was considered the personal property of their owners. Female slaves were frequently valued based on physical attributes like beauty and entertaining skills, especially when chosen by elite men as slaves or concubines.[5]
Slaves were sold to both commoners and the elite, including members of the Imperial Palace. Turkish media often overlooks non-elite or commoner women in slavery, instead focusing more on relatively privileged slaves in the Ottoman Imperial Harem. However, descriptions of Ottoman times do mention slaves owned by commoners in contemporary slave narratives, travelers' accounts, folk songs, late Ottoman Turkish novels, and 20th-century poems.[citation needed][<span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (December 2023)">citation needed</span>]
The Avret Pazarları slave market was officially closed during the Disestablishment of the Istanbul Slave Market in 1846-1847, though in practice the slave trade in Instanbul continued clandestinely until the early 20th-century.
References[change]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Zilfi 1997.
- ↑ Flemming 2018, p. 362.
- ↑ Bulgaru 2010.
- ↑ White 2012.
- ↑ Faroqhi 2020.
Notes[change]
- ↑ *In (Ottoman) Turkish, the term avret was typically used for common married or adult women, while hatun denoted more respected women.[1][2][full citation needed] During Ottoman times, unmarried adolescent girls were referred to as kiz. They enjoyed greater mobility and autonomy until marriage, but upon marriage and being labeled avret, their mobility and sexuality became subject to significant social control to prevent adultery and preserve male lineage rights and patriarchal honor.[1] Since the 20th century, in modern Turkish, the use of the term avret has been limited to intimate body parts.[1]
*Pazarları is the plural form of Pazari, derived from the Persian word Bazaar, meaning market.