Seraglio

{{Short description|Administrative buildings in the former Ottoman Empire}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Redirect|Saray}}

[[File:Istanbul asv2020-02 img15 Topkapı Palace.jpg|thumb|A hall in the Seraglio (Topkapı Palace), Istanbul]] [[File:Ottoman Sultan Selim III (1789).jpg|thumb|Sultan Selim III holding an audience in front of the Gate of Felicity, by Konstantin Kapıdağlı, Topkapı Palace]] [[File:Ottoman officers in front of the Karak Saraya in Transjordan 1910.jpg|right|thumb|Ottoman officers in front of the Al-Karak Saray in 1910, following the Karak revolt.]]

A '''seraglio''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|IPA|s|ə|ˈ|r|ɑː|l|j|oʊ}} {{respell|sə|RAH|lyoh}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|s|ə|ˈ|r|æ|l|j|oʊ}} {{respell|sə|RAL|yoh}}.}} '''serail''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|IPA|s|ə|ˈ|r|aɪ|,_|s|ə|ˈ|r|eɪ|l}} {{respell|sə|RY|,_|sə|RAYL}}.}} '''seray''' or '''saray''' (from {{langx|fa|سرای|sarāy|palace}}, via Turkish, Italian and French) is a castle, palace or government building which was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ottoman Empire.

"The Seraglio" may refer specifically to the Topkapı Palace, the residence of the former Ottoman sultans in Istanbul (known as Constantinople in English at the time of Ottoman rule).<ref>{{cite web |title=Topkapi Palace Museum – museum, Istanbul, Turkey |url=http://global.britannica.com/topic/Topkapi-Palace-Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224122841/http://global.britannica.com/topic/Topkapi-Palace-Museum |archive-date=24 February 2021}}</ref> The term can also refer to other traditional Turkish palaces (every imperial prince had his own) and other grand houses built around courtyards.

== Etymology == The term ''seraglio'', from Italian,<ref name=Etym-TFD/><ref name=Etym-OED/><ref name=Etym-Treccani2/> has been used in English since 1581.<ref name=Kahf/> The Italian Treccani dictionary gives two derivations:<ref name=Etym-Treccani2/><ref name=Etym-Treccani1/> # one via {{langx|tr|seray}} or {{lang|tr|saray}}<ref name=Etym-TFD/><ref name=Etym-DRC/> (with the variants ''seraya'' or ''saraya''), which comes from {{langx|fa|سرای|sarāy|palace}}<ref name=Etym-OED/> or, per derivation, the enclosed court for the wives and concubines of the harem of a house or palace (see {{§l||Harem}}); # the other — in the sense of enclosure{{efn|name=ghetto|Traditionally an enclosure for wild animals, but also as a synonym of ''ghetto'', for example in Italy.}} — from Late/{{langx|la-x-medieval|serraculum}}, derived from Classical Latin {{lang|la|serare}}, {{lit|to close}}, which comes from {{lang|la|sera}}, {{lit|door-bar}}.<ref name=Latin/><ref name=Macdonald/>

The term may also be spelt ''serail'', via French influence, based on the Italian term.<ref name=Etym-OED/>

=== Harem === {{see also|Harem|Imperial Harem}} [[File:Inside the Harem, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey (Nov 2009).jpg|thumb|Tiled room inside the harem, Topkapı Palace]] [[File:John frederick lewis-reception1873.jpg|thumb|An illustration of the women's quarters in a seraglio, by John Frederick Lewis]]

Since the Topkapı Palace's harem (commonly known as "The Seraglio harem"<ref name=Harem/>) grew in prominence and fame, the term saray/serail/seraglio began also being commonly used as a synonym of ''harem'', the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in an Ottoman household.{{efn|The term ''harem'' is a generic term for domestic spaces reserved for women in a Muslim family, which can also refer to the women themselves.}}<ref name=Harem/>

Besides the Topkapı Palace ("The Seraglio"), the most famous seray is the Grand Serail of Beirut ({{langx|ar|السراي الكبير|Al-Sarāy al-Kabir}}) in Lebanon, which is the headquarters of the prime minister. It is situated atop a hill in downtown Beirut a few blocks away from the Lebanese Parliament. The hill was the site of an Ottoman army base from the 1840s, which was built up, fortified, and expanded in the 1850s. At first it was known as ''al quishla'', from the Turkish word ''kışla'', meaning barracks.

Other examples include: * the Grand Serail of Aleppo, in Syria; a French construction inspired to the Ottoman tradition. * the Red Serail of Tripoli, in Libya. Located in central Tripoli, it also houses a museum. * the new presidential palace of Turkey, completed in 2014, popularly called ''Ak Saray'' ("White Palace").

Seventeen saraya were established in Palestine during Ottoman rule; most were established by regional officials and their families such as the Ridwan dynasty and Zahir al-Umar and his family.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bshara |first=Khaldun |title=The Ottoman Saraya: All That Did Not Remain |url=https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/213043 |journal=Jerusalem Quarterly |volume=69 |page=66|doi=10.70190/jq.I69.p66|doi-access=free|year=2017}}</ref>

== In Italy == In modern Italian the word is spelled {{lang|it|serraglio}}. It may refer to a wall or structure, either for defence — such as the Serraglio of Villafranca di Verona, a defensive wall built by the Scaligeri — or for containment, for example of caged wild animals.{{efn|name=ghetto}}<ref name=Etym-Treccani1/> The ghettoes established in many Italian cities following the promulgation by Pope Paul IV in 1555 of the papal bull ''Cum nimis absurdum'' were initially called {{lang|it|serraglio degli ebrei}}, {{lit|enclosure of the Jews}}.<ref>Debenedetti-Stow, Sandra (1992). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20101121 "The Etymology of "Ghetto": New Evidence from Rome"]. ''Jewish History'' '''6''' (1/2), The Frank Talmage Memorial Volume: 79–85 {{subscription required}}</ref>

Seraglio is also the name of the artificial island on which Mantua is located.

== In literature and the arts == In the context of the {{lang|fr|turquerie}} fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozart's 1782 Singspiel, {{lang|de|Die Entführung aus dem Serail}} (''The Abduction from the Seraglio''), based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's 1781 {{lang|it|italic=no|libretto}} {{lang|de|Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail}} (''Belmonte and Konstanze, or The Abduction from the Seraglio''). In Montesquieu's 1721 ''Persian Letters'', one of the main characters, a Persian from the city of Isfahan, is described as an occupant of a seraglio.

== Homophones == ''Saraya'' is also used as a military unit title in the Arab world. In this case, the Arabic is {{lang|ar|سرية}}, a different word from "saraya" ({{lang|ar|السرايا}}), as in a building. The etymology of the two terms also differs: {{lang|ar|سرية}} is from Arabic and communicates the idea of a "private group". However, the plural is {{lang|ar|سرايا}} (''saraya''), indistinguishable from the term "saraya" which is a variant (in the singular) of saray (the building).

The normal translation for {{lang|ar|سرية}} is ''company'' (military unit), but in the case of the Lebanese Resistance Saraya the term is often arbitrarily translated as ''brigades''.

Another example is the Syrian Defense Saraya.

== See also == {{wiktionary|saray|seray|serail|seraglio}} {{commons category}} * Caravanserai, another word involving ''saray'', is an inn or rest stop for caravans * Sarayburnu (also known as Seraglio Point) * Grand Serail in Beirut, Lebanon, now the office of the prime minister of Lebanon * ''The Abduction from the Seraglio'', opera singspiel by Mozart * Ottoman court

== Notes and references == === Notes === {{notelist}}

=== References === <references>

<ref name=Etym-Treccani1>{{Cite dictionary |title=Serraglio (1) |dictionary=Treccani: Vocabolario on line |publisher=Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana |location=Rome |url=https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/serraglio1 |access-date=28 August 2025 |lang=it}}</ref> <ref name=Etym-Treccani2>{{Cite dictionary |title=Serraglio (2) |dictionary=Treccani: Vocabolario on line |publisher=Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana |location=Rome |url=https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/serraglio2/ |access-date=28 August 2025 |lang=it}}</ref> <ref name=Etym-TFD>{{Cite dictionary |title=seraglio |dictionary=The Free Dictionary |publisher=Farlex |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/seraglio |access-date=3 November 2022}}</ref> <ref name=Etym-DRC>{{Dictionary.com |seraglio |access-date=3 November 2022}}</ref> <ref name=Etym-OED>{{OEtymD |seraglio |access-date=3 November 2022}}</ref> <ref name=Latin>{{Cite dictionary |title="sĕra", entry from Lewis & Short |dictionary=Latin Word Study Tool |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=sera&la=la#Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=sera-contents |access-date=3 November 2022 |via=Perseus}}</ref> <ref name=Macdonald>{{Cite book |title=Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary |publisher=Chambers |year=1972 |isbn=055010206X |editor-last=Macdonald |editor-first=A. M. |location=London |page=1235}}</ref> <ref name=Kahf>{{Cite book |last=Kahf |first=Mohja |title=Western Representations of the Muslim Woman |publisher=University of Texas Press |page=5}}</ref> <ref name=Harem>{{Cite web |title=Harem |url=http://www.allaboutturkey.com/harem.htm |access-date=3 November 2022 |website=Allaboutturkey.com}}</ref>

</references>

== Bibliography == * {{Cite book |last=Freely |first=John |author-link=John Freely |title=Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul |year=1999}}

Category:Buildings and structures in the Ottoman Empire Category:Culture of the Ottoman Empire Category:Ottoman imperial harem

ar:سراي