Kira (title)

Kira, kyra,[1] kiera[2] or chiera (all are Greek for "lady"), was a common title for the women (usually Jewesses), who acted as agents for the women of the Ottoman sultan's Imperial Harem.

Due to the restrictions of the customary gender segregation which was imposed upon the women of the harem, they could seldom leave the harem, and their contact with the outside world normally have to take place through an intermediary. Because they generally could not have contact with men, it was difficult for them to conduct their business, as merchants and businesspeople were generally men. The intermediary therefore had to be a female (or sometimes a eunuch). Because muslim women were all subjected to gender segregation, albeit less strict for the working classes, the ideal intermediary were a non-muslim woman, who could pass freely in and out from the harem, as well as interact more freely with businessmen herself. This eventually resulted in the phenomena of the kira.

The often Jewish male merchants who sold clothing, jewels and luxury goods to the women of the imperial harem could not be admitted themselves to the harem to show their products because they were men, so a custom developed in which their goods where displayed by their wives. This position of intermediary could be very lucrative for a merchant wife in that situation. She could win the confidence of the women, and eventually be asked to perform other tasks as well for the harem women, such as acting as secretaries, handling their correspondence, acquiring medicines and performing medical treatments, and perform various business tasks for them, acting as their economic agents.[3] This was particularly the case for educated Jewish elite women from Spain and Italy, who were literate and more educated than the harem women, who were often slaves.[4] Many kiras continued their activity when they became widows, and thus earned a personal income.

Some kiras became famous as influential favorites. The most famous kiras were Strongilah, Esther Handali and Esperanza Malchi. It is unconfirmed whether kira was a formal position in the Ottoman court, or whether it was simply an informal phenomena.

References
  1. Esther Benbassa, Aron Rodrigue: Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries
  2. Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry, Cheryl Tallan: The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E.
  3. Minna Rozen: A History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul, The Formative Years, 1453 – 1566 (2002).
  4. Lucienne Thys-Senocak: Ottoman Women Builders: The Architectural Patronage of Hadice Turhan Sultan
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