It will, therefore, be perceived that polygamy, in the case of a sultan, is a matter of policy, and not choice; for even should he content himself with one wife, the State would interfere.
The design of limiting his majesty’s wives to seven, is to spare the State the enormous expense attendant upon the maintenance of so many ladies of royal rank.
The present sultan, however, in asserting his prerogative, has limited the number to five, which, while it shows his power to exceed the restrictions upon other Mussulmans, at the same time, displays an inclination not to burden the State too heavily with his private expenses.
It is true he has had children by several others, whom custom requires to be elevated to the rank of kaduns, but he has retained them under the title of ikbals, or favorites, for the sake of sparing the State the additional expense which the dignity of kaduns would require.
The sultan being above all law, cannot submit to any matrimonial bondage; he is not, therefore, legally married to any of his wives, but those who are selected by him to share his affections, are pronounced by him Kaduns, or ladies, and not sultanas; for none but those of the royal blood can enjoy that title, except the mother of the reigning sultan, who on her son’s accession to the throne, takes, by courtesy, this title, and is called Validé Sultan.
The title Sultan is equally applied to males and females, with this difference only, that it precedes the name of the male, and follows that of the female: thus, they say Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid, but for his sister, Adilé Sultan.
When it is used by itself, it always implies the female branch of the royal family, and never his majesty, who is known by the title of Padishah, or Hünkear, or, in common parlance, Efendimiz—our Lord.
His majesty never forming an alliance with any of his subjects, all his kaduns are originally Georgian or Circassian slaves, who are selected for this distinguished honor and presented to him by his mother or sisters, on Kadir Gedjessy, or the night in which the Koran descended from Heaven.
They have each their separate establishments and retinue in the palace, and live as much apart as if in different dwellings, seldom seeing each other, except on occasions of state ceremony and etiquette.
The princes of the royal blood also reside in the same palace, who, if of age, have their own odaluks, attendants, etc.