Women, Gender, and the Palace Households in Ottoman Tunisia

Glossary

235 Glossary ʿalim (pl. ʿulamaʾ): Learned scholars, men of religion. ʿaljia (pl. ʿalaji): A female slave raised in the palace, including those taken captive in maritime raids around the Mediterranean. Bardo: An important palace dating to the Hafsid era, located in a small town a few miles from Tunis known by the same name. During much of the Ottoman era it was the political center and main residence of the ruling families. bey: At the beginning of the seventeenth century this title referred to the commander of the troops who toured the province of Tunisia on the tax-collecting missions. This figure became increasingly important by the mid-seventeenth century during the tenure of Murad Bey, and by its end was the most authoritative position in the province. The title was adopted as a surname by the descendants of Husayn ibn ʿAli, with the feminine form of beya used for women. bit al-muna. See kummania. dar (pl. diyar): House, often used in the registers to refer to a domicile as well as to a man’s wife. dey: Literally meaning “maternal uncle” in Turkish, this was a category of officers among the military forces that conquered Tunis in 1574. After the soldiers revolted in 1591, one of the deys served on the military council. By virtue of control of the military corps in the capital, the dey was the preeminent authority in the province in the early seventeenth century, though he subsequently lost power to the bey. For much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries this title was largely honorific but was accompanied by a few administrative duties in the city of Tunis and limited judicial authority. diwan: Military council established with the Ottoman conquest to create continuity in governance while the pasha was reappointed each year. eyalat-i mumtaze: An Ottoman designation of privileged or favored status accorded to Tunis. The province was not required to pay tribute to the imperial treasury but instead participated in maritime warfare and was accorded a modicum of autonomy in relations with foreign powers. fez: See shashia. firman: An imperial decree or edict, the orders sent from the sultan. haml: A unit of measure equivalent to the weight of a load carried by a camel, 236 Women, Gender, and the Palace households close to 246 kilograms, though with some variation depending on the product . See qafiz. hanba (pl. hawanib): Units of guards often serving at the palace ihsan: A good deed, used in reference to money distributed to dependents within the palace and members of the extended political network, a type of bonus. jaria (pl. juar): Concubines, or white female slaves in the palace; word sometimes used interchangeably with ʿalaji. khaznadar: Treasury, or treasurer. khadem (pl. khedam): Literally meaning worker or employee; within the palace, khedam was most often used to refer to slaves. kummania: A space used for storing provisions, also referred to as bit al-muna.The servant responsible for the kummania was the kamanja. mahalla: Tax-collecting mission that toured the province twice each year. mamluk: Generally, young boys who were brought to Tunis from the Caucasus as slaves who converted to Islam and were raised within the palace, filling a number of administrative and military functions. mʿamura: Inhabited, populous. Bardo al-mʿamura was one of the epithets for the palace, indicating its prosperity and ability to support a large population. manqalji: An employee at the palace who maintained clocks. metar: Liquid measure used for olive oil, just over 20 liters. mushir: Military rank roughly the equivalent of a marshal, first accorded to Ahmad Bey in 1840 upon his request. pasha: Initially the rank of the provincial governor, named by the sultan for one year. By the seventeenth century, it was an honorary position, with the main responsibility of paying the soldiers; later one of the titles of the beys. piaster: Basic unit of currency in accounting registers, called a riyal in Arabic, and broken down into 52 nasr. qafiz: A dry measure used predominantly for grains of approximately 400 kilograms ; can be divided into 16 wiba or 192 saʾ. qaftan: A full-length robe or cloak with sleeves. Made of different fabrics depending on the wealth of the individual, it could include brocade, gold and silver threads, and precious stones. The sultan sent a qaftan and firman of investiture to confirm the position of the bey in Tunis. qahwaji: A salaried palace official responsible for matters pertaining to coffee storage , provisions, preparation, and serving, including dishware...