The word 'Harem' introduced itself in English
lexicon way back in the 17th century.
It was originated from the Arabic dialectal which was then scripted as 'harim.'
The word implies the meaning of a sacred,
inviolable place for female members of the family.
While in English, the word can also mean the concubines of a polygamous bloke.
The significance behind the words
The words H,R,M is witnessed in other terms
which are related to the ideology of wordings
like, haram which is obsolete and forbidden, mahram (unmarriageable family member),
ihram which means a pilgrim's state of ritual sanctification during
Hajj (one of the five pillars of Islam) and al-Haram al-Sarif.
In Turkish referring to Ottoman era, the harem which precisely meant part of houses
reserved for women to be called as 'haremlik' and that of men to be known as 'selamik.'
The happenings around the place
Scholars who tend to master their knowledge in fields of historical
massacres or any circumstances that had imperative impacts, in this sector,
tend to refer to the term as polygynous royal families of the antique.
Whereas the vicinity of upper-class standards where women were sheltered
to be kept in isolation by the reigns of Russia was termed as terem.
This term if is to be broadly explicated was
used by highly tagged historians to discuss
the privileged social practice of female
solitude that touched peak in the 17th century.
Interesting fact, the idea harem or seclusion of
females was not an origin of Muhammad or Islam.
This was well-structured over political
errands established by upper classes of Iraq.
It was well before the beginning of the Islam phase.
The ancient existence
Harem, which was usually the concept of secluding
the women, existed even before the advent of Islam.
Such praxes were often found to exist in the upper ranks of society in
the communities of Ancient Greece, Byzantine Empire, Persia, and Iraq.
These were also established in ancient near eastern
settlements, chiefly the ones where polygamy was approved.
The custom of keeping the women behind curtains
Most royal courts at places like Assyria, Persia,
and Egypt, in pre-Islamic times, possessed
a Harem, where female attendants and eunuchs
took care of the queens and royal concubines.
'Purdah' or the custom of keeping the females behind
curtains, which was popular amongst south Asian traditions,
could have been possibly influenced by the conventions of Islam, although
seclusion of the lady kind was present before the Islamic invasions.
Religious and social customs
The custom of secluding women is not bounded solely to Islam, but the English
word 'Harem' emphasizes the sheltered lives of women in Islamic homes.
The harem system came to its full existence and commencement
of execution in the Islamic realm under Abbasid Caliphate.
Few archaeologists believed having the Islamic culture customized
from the Byzantine Empire and Persia which was cited back.
Religious traditions and social customs were believed to have
an impact on secluding women in the eyes of Eleanor Doumato.
The execution, as well as the implementation of female seclusion, had
a sharp decline in the early stages of the 20th millennium, and thus,
the world witnessed increased opportunities for women henceforth.
Still in practice in areas of low development like rurals of
Afghanistan and typical orthodox regions belonging to Persian Gulfs.