Inside the Royal Harems of the Ottoman Empire

<p>You can't move for people talking about the Roman Empire or the British Empire, but what about the Ottoman Empire?</p><br><p>It spanned a huge period of time and at the heart of it was the Royal harem: enslaved women who lived in closed-off servitude to the Sultan.</p><br><p>Peaking in the 17th century, who were these women? What were their lives like inside the palace? And why have westerners been particularly fascinated by this part of history?</p><br><p>Joining Kate today is Dr Michael Talbot, Professor in the History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Middle East at University of Greenwich, to help us find out.</p><br><p>This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.</p><br><p>Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at <a href="historyhit.com/subscribe"; rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>historyhit.com/subscribe</u></a>;. </p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK"; rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>All music from Epidemic Sounds.</p><br><p>Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.</p><p>Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: <a href="open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa"; rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa</a></p>;

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