THE MISTRESSES OF THE SULTAN - HAREM REIGN (2/3)

THE MISTRESSES OF THE SULTAN - HAREM REIGN (2/3)

Episode Two takes Western viewers into the exotic world of the Ottoman Empire during the phase of its greatest political expansion. This new interpretation of the history of the harem and its members not only puts an end to many common misconceptions but also uncovers amazing new findings. The fact that European ladies of the harem determined the destiny of an Islamic empire of monumental scale for almost one hundred years has been almost totally overlooked by history books to this day. Uniquely, Venetian archives have provided insight into the stories of Russian, Italian and Albanian slaves, who assumed power from their incompetent husbands and created a "sultanate of women" in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.