Harem (Arab. El-Harim, 'the inviolable') is that part of a polygamist's house which is set apart for the use of his wives and their attendants; it also denotes this collective body of women. In all Mohammedan countries it is customary for wealthy men to keep a harem; for, though four is the number of wives to which the faithful are restricted by the Koran, there is no limit to the number of concubines a man may have except his ability to maintain them. The mention of a harem naturally suggests to most people the female portion of the royal households of Turkey and Persia and Egypt. In the sultan's harem each wife—he alone may have seven—has a separate suite of apartments and a separate troop of female slaves to wait upon her and do her bidding. All the female slaves or odalisques throughout the harem are, however, at the disposal of their royal master. She who first gives birth to an heir, whether wife or slave, is instantly promoted to the rank of chief wife. The title sultana is borne, not by the sultan's wives, but by his mother, sisters, and daughters. The real ruler of the harem is the sultan's mother, but under her is the lady-superintendent of the harem, usually an old and trusted favourite of the sultan. The duties of guarding the harem or seraglio (Ital. from Latin sera, 'a bar;') cf. Turkish and Persian serai or saray), as it is sometimes called, are entrusted to a small army of eunuchs, the chief officer of whom generally enjoys considerable political influence. The inmates of the harem lead a very secluded life. They are not allowed to be seen by men, except their nearest relatives, as father and brother. Their principal occupations are needlework, spinning, and embroidery, which are relieved by the 'cult' of the toilette, and such amusements as dancing, singing, and games. On the death of the sultan those women who have borne daughters to him are at liberty to leave the harem and marry again; the mothers of princes are transferred to the 'old seraglio,' and kept there until they die. In the harems of the great men of Turkey and Egypt a good deal of modern European luxury has been introduced of late years, and the ladies now dress themselves in accordance with fashions derived from Paris or London.
The institution is not, however, confined to Mohammedan countries, but flourishes also, or did flourish, in some form or other, amongst the Jews, Babylonians, ancient Persians, Siamese, &c. In Bangkok, the capital of Siam, the harem of the king forms a walled city within the larger city, so extensive is it.
The holy cities of Mecca and Medina are together called the harems or the sacred places, and the sacred mosque at Mecca is designated the mesjid el-harim or 'the inviolable mosque.'
During the 18th and 19th centuries the interiors of oriental harems have been entered and the lives of their inmates studied by several European and American ladies, as those of Constantinople by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in 1716; those of
Cairo and Damascus by Harriet Martineau in 1847; that of the Khedive at Cairo by two ladies of Mr W. H. Seward's American party in 1871; some in Turkey by another American lady, Mrs Caroline Paine; and the royal harem at Bangkok by yet another lady from the United States, Mrs Leonowens. For harems in India, see ZENANA.