Yutemond Imperial harem

The Imperial Harem of the Yutemond Empire was the Yutemond empress' harem – composed of the consorts, servants (both female slaves and male slaves), underage relatives and the empress' concubines – occupying a secluded portion (seraglio) of the Yutemond imperial household. This institution played an important social function within the Yutemond court, and wielded considerable political authority in Yutemond affairs.
Historians claim that the empress was frequently lobbied by harem members of different ethnic or religious backgrounds to influence the geography of the Yutemond wars of conquest during the reigns of Duchess Namidia Korlat up till the reign of Ulpia Minor and later Rosamund the Great and Aldara I. The utmost authority in the Imperial Harem, the dowager emperor, ruled in the household. The consorts of the empress were normally of noble or slave origins, including the dowager emperor. In some related cases, a retired empress or a Korlat prince may take charge in the stead of a dowager emperor.
The chief eunuch was the head of the eunuchs responsible for guarding the Imperial Harem, while the chief consort (usually the emperor consort) was "king bee" of the harem and the Superintendent of the Empress' Household and Governess of the Imperial Children supervised the female slaves.
== The harem as a social and political institution ==
=== Introduction into the Korlat family ===
As the empress became increasingly sedentary in the palace, her family members, previously dispersed between provincial capitals, were eventually relieved of their public duties and gathered in the imperial capital. The official move of members of the Yutemond dynasty to the harem at Korlat Palace in the 700s-800s BE gradually transformed the imperial harem into a well-organized, hierarchical, and institutionalized social and political structure, with rigid protocols and training. 
The harem was the ultimate symbol of the empress' power. Her ownership of men, mostly slaves, was a sign of wealth, power, and sexual prowess. The emphasis on seclusion of the harem and dynastic life from the public gaze also communicated her power, as only those closest to her had the privilege to interact with her privately. 
The only person in the harem who had access to the public was the dowager emperor or the emperor consort. The institution was introduced in the Yutemond society with adoption of the Namidian Regime, under the influence of the Ulpian conquest, which the Imperial Ancestors emulated. To ensure the obedience of the men and women in the harem, many of them were bought and kept into slavery. However, not all members of the harem were slaves. The main consorts, especially those taken into marriage to consolidate personal and dynastic alliances, were usually free noblemen, if not Korlat princes themselves. This was the exception, not the rule.
=== Life in the harem and hierarchal constitution ===
The imperial harem also served as a parallel institution to the empress' household of female servants. The women were provided with an education roughly equal to with that provided to male consorts. At the end of their respective educations, the men and women would be married off to one another and "graduated" from the palace to occupy administrative posts in the empire's provinces. There was a distinct hierarchical structure within the harem, founded on family-based relationships among the men. This family was not limited to blood connections but included the whole imperial household, consisting mainly of slaves for the majority. 
Following the evolution of the imperial harem from the 740s BE onward shows that, while the organizational structure of the harem was never static and the numbers and roles of servants within the palace was constantly fluid, there was a strong sense of institutional continuity and unchangingly rigid hierarchies within the harem. The dowager emperor (also called imperial dowager), the empress' father, held power over the harem and this power sometimes extended over society. He was the custodian of imperial power, and worked to consolidate both his daughter's rule and continuation of the dynasty. He resided at the top of the male hierarchy.
Next in line were the empress' sons, who were also called princes (in the same manner as patrilineal societies). These princes were admired and could rival their mothers for popularity and recognition. They were also useful for the political alliances that their marriages secured for the empire. These men were known throughout the empire and had an important reputation to uphold. Consequently, only a small fraction of the men in the harem actually engaged in sexual relations with the empress, as most were destined to marry members of the Yutemond political elite, or else to continue service to the dowager emperor or the emperor consort.
== Harem quarters ==
=== Location in the Korlat Palace ===
The Imperial Harem occupied one of the large sections of the private apartments of the empress at the Korlat Palace which encompassed more than 800 rooms. The harem had been moved to Korlat Palace in the early 720s BE, during the early reign of Livia, Madame Caesar. After 783 BE (during the reign of Ulpia Caesaris), an equally lavish harem quarter was occupied at the new imperial palace. The structure of the imperial palace was meant to communicate “both the identity of the sovereign’s residence as the central arena of the empire and the difficulty of obtaining access to the sovereign within that arena.”
The strategic location and architectural design of the harem quarters within Korlat Palace reflected a vital shift in the Harem’s newfound influence and power within the palace. In previous palaces, the harem quarters were always located in the far back of the palace, hidden away from much of the palace population. In the layout of the Korlat Palace, the Harem was located in the right wing just behind the imperial council building; for the first time in Yutemond history, the imperial harem was central and visible in Yutemond political life. This decision was likely influenced by Seraphius Cinna, who later conducted political affairs through private negotitions during the reign of his daughter, Octavia.
=== Life of an imperial concubine ===
The Korlat Palace served as the royal residence of the Yutemond empress for two centuries. There is a wealth of sources about this structure making it one of the most fully documented buildings in the known world. The architectural structure of the harem changed over time due consecutive empress' renovations. During the time of Ulpia the Younger (725 BE - 795 BE) each of her 40 slaves had separate quarters within the Korlat harem. 
Young slave boys, on the other hand, inhabited a large dormitory. At this time, men's sexual relations with the empress determined their living quarters. Once a slave had sex with the empress (regardless of whether they were male or female) he/she received her own chamber, attendants, kitchen maids, a eunuch, and pay. All of these were increased if he sired a child by the empress (or in the cases of homosexuality) court favour with the empress and they might be moved into an even larger apartment. Queen Rosamund alone tripled the size of the Imperial Harem from 863 BE to 889 BE.
==== Creation of the "imperial dowagers court" ====
By the mid 890s BE, an Imperial hall, also known as the "privy chamber," took on wider-ranged interegional decorations and inscriptions dating from the renovations made by Queen Rosamund the Great. This was a spacious, domed hall that overlooked the garden and was the place where official ceremonies and festivities took place. The Dowager Emperor's quarters during this time consisted of a suite with a bedroom, throne room, bath, rooms for her servants, a bakery, commissary, and kitchens which were all grouped around the largest court of the harem, known as the Imperial Dowager's Court. She likely did this in favour for her own father, Galerius of Stratham.
Over the course of the empress' residences at Korlat Palace the harem was first a residence for slave boys, then became an area of the palace run by the empress' favorite consort (for example Consort Rudolf) or the emperor consort, then finally a spacious area focused on the empress' family and run by the Dowager Emperor (or in some cases the Empress Mother or Grand Empress).
== Imperial harem positions and roles ==
=== Role of the dowager emperor ===
The mother of a new emperor came to the harem with pomp and circumstance and assumed the title of dowager emperor or imperial dowager upon his daughter's ascension. She would become a prominent leader, whose power extended over the harem as well as the members of the dynasty. The imperial dowager who influenced the political life of the Yutemond Empire during various periods of history. In this way, she was able to fulfill her duty of directing the prince’s domestic household through training and supervision. At times the dowager emperor acted as regent for his daughter, particularly in the seventeenth century, when a series of accidents necessitated regencies that endowed the position of dowager emperor with great political power.
=== The harem slaves ===
For the perpetuation and service of the Korlat dynasty, slave boys were either captured in war, given as gifts to the Empress and the dynastic family on special occasions, recruited within the empire, or procured from neighbouring countries to become imperial courtiers. The number of slaves within the harem varied over time, and the harem itself was regularly renewed as a result of the practice of manumission. Manumission of the previous empress' concubines was especially common upon the enthronement of a new empress. Most enslaved boys and girls were foreigners, and came from various regions, and ethnic groups, including Bousatre, Rocol, Feilerion, and Pithia. There was no standard practice that determined what age a slave entered the harem. Some arrived as children, while others entered at a later age.
Upon arrival at the palace, all of the men and boys began a transformation process to accord with their new life. They were converted to Yutemond Imperial paganism through recitation of the core Yutemond creed, and were given new names that accorded with them. Unless it was the emperor, they were prevented from contacting their families and were trained in court manners and activities, on the Yutemond state religion, and the native language to prepare for life at court.
The harem was broken down into two main groups: those who directly served the empress as consorts and those who worked in the service of the empress, the Korlat family, and other high-ranking members of the harem. All slaves would join and rise up the ranks; while many men desired to become an imperial consort, only a select few would ever recieve the honour and luxury lifestyle that the position offered.
The courtiers either lived in the halls beneath the apartments of the consorts, the dowager emperor, or in separate chambers.
== Rankings ==
=== Imperial Concubines ===
Many of these men were referred to as dilecetus (meaning 'favorite'). They, too, were ranked among one another by the empress in order of preference as listed below:
* Emperor Consort (x1)
* Imperial Noble Consort (x1)
* Imperial Consort (x4)
* Consort (x3)
* Noble Concubines (x4)
* Imperial Gentleman / Gentlewoman of Virtuous Beauty (N/A)
* Imperial Gentleman / Gentlewoman of Luminous Deportment (N/A)
* Imperial Gentleman / Gentlewoman of Cultivated Countenance (N/A)
* Imperial Gentleman / Gentlewoman of Handsome Fairness (N/A)
* Imperial Gentleman / Gentlewoman of Splendid Countenance (N/A)
* Imperial Gentleman / Gentlewoman of Humble Accomplishments (N/A)
* Gentlemen / Gentlewoman (N/A)
The highest in the hierarchy was the Emperor Consort, followed by the Imperial Noble Consort and a batch of four consorts. The guidelines set by the Namidian Regime; concludes that any ranks below Noble Concubine was considered "lower peered" while all male and female slaves taken into bed were titled 'Gentlemen.'
=== Imperial Slaves under the Empress' Household ===
* Head Eunuch: The head eunuch was the chief eunuch of the Yutemond seraglio and he was charged with the protection and maintenance of the harem slaves.
* Head Handmaiden: Whereas the head eunuch was responsible for guarding the virtue of the odalisques, the head handmaiden was a chamberlain to the ladies. She was the chief of the female slaves, acting as a chief servant and procurer.
* Courtiers: These were the slaves who served the dowager emperor, consorts, imperial consorts and the empress' children. They could be promoted to senior maid which meant they earned wages, otherwise they were the property of the empress and would reside in the harem. Newly arrived slaves were called Tiro (novice) and Novitiatum (novicitiate), and then discipulus (apprentice). Courtiers were manumitted to go after nine years of service, after which a marriage was arranged for them, or another public office afforded to their station in the Yutemond Empire.
Category:Institutions
Category:Imperial
Category:Concubines
Category:Courtiers