Jean de Valette.
Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
His lover was:
His lover was:
Maria of Antioch.
Her lover was:
Alexios Komnenos.
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| @ Explore Turkey |
Ottoman Sultans.
"Extraordinarily beautiful women slaves raised by the Master Treasurer used to be congregated in a separate group named Sultan's assistant masters. The ones the Sultan liked were deposited as odalisques (Majesty's Chamber). The Sultan would select four of them as peyk (for his service) and the other four as Gozde (Favourite). If one of those Gozdes got pregnant she would promote (sic) to the rank of Ikbal (Felicity) and become Kadin Efendi (Wife). The Sultan would marry the Concubines he did not like, to some other men outside the Harem. There was not a precise rule for the Sultan to keep four Peyks and four Gozdes. It is known that some Sultans used to have fewer women. The sexual relations of the Sultans with their Concubines have always been told mixing with fantasies by some western authors." (Explore Turkey)"Islamic rulers have tended to stretch the rules by having a harem of concubines in addition to the four wives the Koran allows. This was true among the Mamluk rulers of Egypt (1250-1517) and among the sultans of the Ottoman Empire (late 1200s-1918). The Ottoman harem was presided over by the Valide Sultan---the mother of the sultan---who wielded considerable power. The harem was guarded by eunuchs and was a private place, forbidden to strangers. The women for the harem were selected from among prisoners of war and from slave markets, and they underwent a long period of training in the principles of Islam as well as learning skills such
(1842-1918)
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
1876-1909
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Ottoman Sultan Selim III
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Ottoman Sultan 1789.
Son of: Mustafa III & Mihrisah Valide Sultan.
"The treacherous Hangerli was meanwhile denouncing Hussein to the sultan as responsible for the disaster before Vidin; but he was not sufficiently versed in the secret scandal of Stambul (sic) to realise that Hussein's wife was the mistress of Selim III, and so this intervention brought disaster upon his head. An emissary was sent from the Porte to Bucharest, accompanied by a tall negro executioner. Forcing his way into the palace and into the very presence of the hospodar, he produced a firman of the sultan and ordered t e negro to strangle the wretched Hangerli then and there, before the eyes of his terrified guards (1 March 1799(. When some of the boiars rushed in, they found that the prince's head had already been hacked off, and the room was deluged with blood. His naked body was then thrown out into the street and left there till evening. An admirable picture of Turkish culture in the dying century." (A History of the rooumanians: 159)
Ibrahim.
Kings of Persia.
Ashot I.
" . . . In the ninth century Ashot the Great had been forced by Abbot Grigol of Khandzta to surrender his concubine to a nunnery. . . . " (Edge of Empire: A History of Georgia:118)
Darius III of Persia.
Xerxes of Persia.
His lover was:
Artiante.
Ancient Rome's Rulers.
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Bust of Marcus Antonius
in Vatican Museums
@ancient.eu
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Mark Antony (83-30)
Mark Antony's physical appearance & personal qualities. "...Ruggedly handsome, with a muscular build, broad forehead, and aquiline nose, Mark Antony, like Caesar, had a weakness for the opposite sex...." (Wallace, et. al., 2008, p. 321) [Ref1]
His lover was:
Cleopatra of Egypt.
"In 41 B.C. Antony began an affair with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, who had been Caesar's lover in the last years of his life. The queen gave birth to twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, but Antony was forced to return to Rome to deal with the aftermath of his wife and brother-in-law's failed rebellion against Octavian. The Senate pushed for conciliation between the triumvirs, pressing the recently widowed Antony to marry Octavian's sister Octavia Minor in 40 B.C." (History.com)
African Royals.
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| Amina, Queen of Zazzau |
". . . Hausa queen Amina dies at about fifty in present-day Nigeria. At sixteen, she began leading her people in an aggressive campaign to extend their territory, building walled camps, capturing many cities, establishing new trade routes, and taking a lover in each conquered town, only to have him beheaded in the morning. (Olson, 1994, p. 68) [Ref1:Black History Heroes]
Islamic Spain's Royal Favourites.
Abbad III al-Mutamid de Sevilla (1040-1095)
King of Sevilla 1069
"When he was 13 years old Al-Mu'tamid's father made his son Emir of Seville and appointed the Andalusi Arabic poet Ibn Ammar as his vizier. The young Al-Mu'tamid fell in love with Ibn Ammar. One night after enjoying poetry and wine he declared “Tonight you sleep with me on ths same pillow!" Al-Mu'tamid's father disapproved of the relationship (particularly as Ibn Ammar was a commoner) and sent him into exile in order to separate the two. When Al-Mu'tamid succeeded his father he recalled Ibn Ammar and bestowed high political and military favours on him. One night when sleeping together Ibn Ammar dreamt Al-Mu'tamid was going to kill him and fled. The caliph tried to reassure him that he would never do such a thing. However, they later got into a furious quarrel, and the caliph “fell into a rage and hacked him to death with his own hands”. After Ibn Ammar's death, the caliph grieved bitterly and gave his lover a sumptuous funeral. It was this type of decadence that would create resentment among his deeply religious Almoravid supporters." (Wikipedia)
"During these early years, a young, penniless, poet-adventurer was drawn to the court of Seville to prove his talent and reap his reward. Ibn 'Ammar's artful verse captured the fervent admiration of the young prince al-Mu'tamid, who aspired to model himself after the poet. Lovers of pleasure, high adventure and - above all - poetry, the two became inseparable companions. When al-Mu'tamid's father appointed him governor of Silves (in present-day Portugal) at age 23, the prince named Ibn 'Ammar his vizier, and later, when he ascended the throne, his prime minister. The two friends often sallied forth in disguise to the banks of al-Wadi al-Kabir, now the Guadalquivir River, to amuse themselves. On such an outing, al-Mu'tamid supposedly met his future bride. While strolling along the river's Bank where some young women were washing linen, the legend has it, al-Mu'tamid improvised a half verse, challenging Ibn 'Ammar to supply the second verse on the spot." (Aramco World)
Walladah bint al-Mustakfi de Córdoba (1001-1080)
Her lover was:
Ibn Zaydun.
a famous Arab poet.
"...Walladah (994-1077), a princess of Islamic Spain, refused to stay secluded within the harem or to wear the veil, and she was known to be the lover of a famous poet...." (Bardsley, p. 54)
Walladah was the daughter of Muhammad III, Emir of Cordoba, and an Ethiopian Christian slave.
References: [Bio1] [Bio2] [Ref1] [Ref2:Fatal Feminist] [Ref2:Helium] [Ref3:alshindagah] [Ref4:Alison Macmahan]
