Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was an Islamic caliphate (state), whose capital was Istanbul. It ruled over the Eastern Mediterranean, parts of eastern Europe, and eastern North Africa from the fall of Constantinople (Christian name of Istanbul) in 1456 until its dissolution at the end of World War I.

The Ottoman Empire should not be confused with modern Turkey. Turkey has rejected its Ottoman past, moving its capital from Istanbul to the new Ankara, and changing from the Arabic to the roman alphabet (thus making all prior books published in Turkish unintelligible to modern readers without special training.

The Ottoman Empire was Europe's most important contact with the "East", the exotic "other". Those running from the law in Europe could safely take refuge there. Men could have up to four wives, as long as they were treated equally (which seldom happened, in practice. Even more important, a man could divorce any or all of his wives whenever he wanted to, and take new ones. Since Mohammed married a girl of nine, pre-pubescent girls were not off-limits.

Like most of the Muslim world before it was influenced by colonializing Christians, no one cared about sexual behavior as long as it did not threaten public order. A man was expected to marry, to produce and support children. Aside ftom that requirement, a man could fo sexually pretty much what he wanted, and there wasn't even a need for secrecy. Prostitution was openly tolerated, if confined to designated areas. Nothing was wrong about sex with boys (and there were boy houses of prostitution and "peg houses" where boys' anuses were systematically stretched.

One could not be a homosexual as that is understood in the West today. A man willing receiving the penis of another man was inconceivable, disgusting, as it is today in (for example) Morocco. But having sex with whoever was never a problem if done with a minimum of discretion.