Concubinage

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Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between two people in which they do not wish to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often viewed as similar but mutually exclusive.

During the early stages of European colonialism, administrators often encouraged European men to practice concubinage as a means to deter them from paying for sex with prostitutes (which could spread venereal disease) and from engaging in homosexuality. Colonial administrators also believed that forming intimate relationships with native women would deepen white men's understanding of native culture and provide essential domestic labor. This was critical to the colonial project, as it meant white men did not need wives from the metropole and, therefore, did not require a family wage. Over time, colonial administrators discouraged this practice when these relationships resulted in offspring who posed a threat to colonial rule by creating a mixed-race class that could challenge white hegemony. This political threat eventually led colonial administrators to promote the migration of white women to the colonies, where they aided the colonial project, benefitting from their racial privilege and contributing to the cult of domesticity, the illusion of distinct public and private spheres, and their own oppression by white men.

In China, until the 20th century, concubinage was a formal and institutionalized practice that upheld the rights and obligations of concubines. A concubine could be freeborn or of slave origin, and her experience could vary tremendously according to her master's whim. During the Mongol conquests, both foreign royals and captured women were taken as concubines. Concubinage was also common in Meiji Japan as a status symbol.

Many Middle Eastern societies practiced concubinage for reproduction. The Code of Hammurabi documents the custom of a barren wife offering her husband a slave as a concubine. The children born from these relationships were considered legitimate. This practice of concubinage was also prevalent in the premodern Muslim world, with many rulers of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire being born from such unions. Across Africa, from Egypt to South Africa, slave concubinage led to racially diverse populations. This practice declined following the abolition of slavery.

In ancient Rome, the practice of concubinatus was a monogamous relationship that served as an alternative to marriage, usually due to the woman's lesser social status. Widowed or divorced men commonly took a concubina, the Latin term from which the English "concubine" is derived, instead of remarrying to avoid complications with inheritance. After the Christianization of the Roman Empire, Christian emperors elevated the status of concubines by granting them and their children property and inheritance rights typically reserved for wives. In European colonies and American slave plantations, single and married men engaged in long-term sexual relationships with local women. In the Dutch East Indies, concubinage led to the formation of mixed-race Indian-European communities.

In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic world, the term " concubine " has almost exclusively referred to women, although a cohabiting male may also be termed a concubine. In the 21st century, concubinage is used in some Western countries as a gender-neutral legal term for cohabitation, including between same-sex partners.

Etymology and usage

The English terms "concubine" and "concubinage" emerged in the 14th century, deriving from Latin terms used in Roman society and law. The term concubine (c. 1300), meaning "a paramour, a woman who cohabits with a man without being married to him, " comes from the Latin concubina (f.) and concubinus (m.), which in Roman law referred to "one who lives unmarried with a married man or woman. " These Latin terms originate from the verb concumbere, meaning "to lie with, to lie together, to cohabit," formed from "com, " a prefix meaning "with, together," and "cubare, " meaning "to lie down. " Concubine is a term widely used in historical and academic literature, and its meaning varies considerably depending on the context. In the twenty-first century, it typically refers specifically to extramarital affection, "either to a mistress or to a sex slave, " without placing the same emphasis on the cohabiting aspect of the original definition.

Concubinage emerged as an English term in the late 14th century, meaning the "state of being a concubine; the act or practice of cohabiting in intimacy without legal marriage." It was derived from Latin through Old French, where the term may in turn have come from the Latin concubinatus, an institution in ancient Rome that signified "a permanent cohabitation between persons for whom there were no legal obstacles to marriage. " More plainly, it has been described as a long-term sexual relationship between a man and a woman who are not legally married. In pre-modern to modern law, concubinage has been used in certain jurisdictions to describe cohabitation, and in France, it was formalized in 1999 as the French equivalent of a civil union. The US legal system also used to refer to cohabitation with this term, but it never evolved further and is now considered outdated.

Characteristics

Forms of concubinage have existed in all cultures, although the prevalence of the practice and the rights and expectations of those involved have varied considerably. Similarly, the rights of offspring born from such relationships, the legal and social status of concubines, their roles within households, and societal perceptions of the institution have also differed. A relationship of concubinage could occur voluntarily, with the parties agreeing not to marry, or involuntarily, such as through slavery. In slave-owning societies, most concubines were slaves, also referred to as "slave-concubines. " This institutionalization of concubinage involving female slaves dates back to Babylonian times and has been practiced in patriarchal cultures throughout history. Regardless of the status and rights of the individuals involved, they were typically inferior to those of a legitimate spouse, often facing limited or excluded inheritance rights.

Concubinage and marriage are often seen as similar yet mutually exclusive. In the past, couples might have been unable to marry due to differences in social class, ethnicity, or religion, or a man might have wanted to avoid the legal and financial complications associated with marriage. Practical barriers or social disincentives to marriage could involve disparities in social standing, an existing marriage and laws against bigamy, religious or professional restrictions, or a lack of recognition by the relevant authorities.

The concubine in concubinage generally held a lower social status than the married party or homeowner, and this was often the reason concubinage was preferred over marriage. A concubine could be considered an "alien" in a society that did not recognize marriages between foreigners and citizens. Alternatively, she might be a slave or a person from a poor family seeking a union with a man of nobility. In other instances, certain social groups, such as Roman soldiers, were forbidden from marrying, making concubinage a viable alternative to marriage.

In polygynous situations, the number of concubines permitted within an individual concubinage arrangement has varied greatly. In Roman law, where monogamy was expected, the relationship was identical (and alternative) to marriage except for the absence of marital affection from either or both parties, which conferred rights related to property, inheritance, and social rank. By contrast, in parts of Asia and the Middle East, powerful men kept as many concubines as they could financially support. Some royal households had thousands of concubines. In such cases, concubinage served as a status symbol and for the production of sons. In societies that accepted polygyny, having a concubine offered advantages over a mistress, as children from a concubine were legitimate, while those from a mistress were considered "bastards. "

Categorization

Scholars have made attempts to categorize patterns of concubinage practiced in the world.

The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology gives four distinct forms of concubinage:

• Royal concubinage was intertwined with politics and reproduction. Concubines became consorts to the ruler, fostered diplomatic relations, and perpetuated the royal bloodline. Imperial concubines could be chosen from the general population or prisoners of war. Examples include imperial China, the Ottoman Empire, and the Sultanate of Kano.
• Elite concubinage allowed men to enhance social status and fulfill desires. Most of these men already had wives. In East Asia, this practice was justified by Confucianism. In the Muslim world, it resembled slavery.
• Concubinage could also serve as a common-law relationship, allowing couples who did not wish to marry to live together. This was common in medieval Europe and colonial Asia. In Europe, some families discouraged younger sons from marrying to prevent the division of family wealth among many heirs.
• Additionally, concubinage could function as a form of sexual enslavement of women in patriarchal systems. In such cases, the children of a concubine could become permanently inferior to the children of the wife. Examples include Mughal India and Joseon Korea.

Junius P. Rodriguez identifies three cultural patterns of concubinage: Asian, Islamic, and European.

Antiquity

Mesopotamia

In Mesopotamia, it was customary for a sterile wife to provide her husband with a slave as a concubine to bear children. The status of these concubines was ambiguous; they could generally not be sold, yet they remained the wife's slave. However, in the late Babylonian period, reports indicate that concubines could be sold.

In general, marriage was monogamous. "If, after two or three years of marriage, the wife had not given birth to any children, the husband was allowed to buy a slave (who could also be chosen by the wife) to produce heirs. However, this woman remained a slave and never gained the status of a second wife."

Middle Assyrian Period (14th–11th centuries BC)

In the Middle Assyrian Period, the main wife (assatu) wore a veil in public, and a concubine (esirtu) could do so if she accompanied the main wife or if she was married. "If a man veils his concubine in public, declaring 'she is my wife,' this woman shall be his wife." It was illegal for unmarried women, prostitutes, and slave women to wear a veil in public. "The children of a concubine were of lower rank than the descendants of a wife, but they could inherit if the latter remained childless."

Ancient Egypt ==

While most Ancient Egyptians practiced monogamy, a male pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife. This arrangement allowed the pharaoh to form diplomatic marriages with the daughters of allies, as was the custom of ancient kings. Concubinage was a common occupation for women in ancient Egypt, particularly for those with talent. A request for forty concubines by Amenhotep III (c. 1386–1353 BC) to Milkilu, Prince of Gezer, states:

"Behold, I have sent you Hanya, the commissioner of the archers, with merchandise in order to have beautiful concubines, i.e. weavers. Silver, gold, garments, all sort of precious stones, chairs of ebony, as well as all good things, worth 160 deben. In total: forty concubines—the price of every concubine is forty of silver. Therefore, send very beautiful concubines without blemish."

– Lewis, 146

Concubines were kept in the pharaoh's harem. Amenhotep III housed his concubines in his palace at Malkata, one of the most opulent in Egypt's history. The king was seen as deserving of many women, provided he cared for his Great Royal Wife as well.

Ancient Greece

In Ancient Greece, the practice of keeping a concubine (Ancient Greek: παλλακίς pallakís) was common among the upper classes, and they were, for the most part, women who were slaves or foreigners, but occasionally free-born based on family arrangements (typically from poor families). Children produced by slaves remained slaves, and those by non-slave concubines varied over time; sometimes they had the possibility of citizenship. The law prescribed that a man could kill another man caught attempting a relationship with his concubine.

By the mid-fourth century, concubines could inherit property, but, like wives, they were treated as sexual property.[49] While references to the sexual exploitation of maidservants appear in literature, it was considered disgraceful for a man to keep such women under the same roof as his wife. Apollodorus of Acharnae said that hetaera were concubines when they had a permanent relationship with a single man, but used the two terms interchangeably.

Ancient Rome

Concubinatus was a socially and, to some extent, legally recognized monogamous union that served as an alternative to marriage in the Roman Empire. Concubinage was most commonly practiced when one partner, typically the man, belonged to a higher social class, especially the senatorial order, which faced penalties for marrying outside their social stratum. The female partner was referred to as a concubina, while the term concubinus is primarily used to denote men in same-sex unions or to belittle a relationship in which the woman held dominance.

The term concubina in family memorial epitaphs signifies that this role was socially acceptable. A man was not permitted to have both a concubina and a wife (uxor) simultaneously, although a single tombstone might list multiple wives or concubinae in succession. In contrast, the pejorative term paelex referred to a concubine viewed as a sexual rival to a wife—typically a war captive and thus unwilling in early Rome—and by late antiquity, it was loosely equated with "prostitute. " Nonetheless, in Latin literature, concubinae are frequently portrayed as slaves maintained as sexual luxuries in the most literal sense of "bedmate. " The key difference is that using an enslaved woman did not constitute concubinatus in the legal sense, which might require a signed document, although even an informal concubine enjoyed certain legal protections that positioned her among the more privileged slaves of the household.

Concubines occupied an entire chapter, which is now fragmentary, in the 6th-century compilation of Roman law known as the Digest; however, concubinatus was never a fully established legal institution. It evolved in ad hoc response to Augustan moral legislation that criminalized certain forms of adultery and other consensual sexual behaviors among freeborn individuals (ingenui) outside marriage. Even Roman legal experts struggled to parse the different forms of marriage, the status of a concubina, and whether an extramarital sexual relationship constituted adultery or was permissible pleasure-seeking with a prostitute, professional entertainer, or slave.

Roman emperors often took a concubine, usually a freedwoman, instead of remarrying after their wife's death to avoid the legal complications related to succession and inheritance. Caenis, the freedwoman and secretary of Antonia Minor, was Vespasian's wife "in all but name, " according to Suetonius, until her death in AD 74. Roman manumission law also permitted a slave owner to free a slave and enter into concubinatus or a formal marriage. Epitaphs suggest that both partners in concubinatus could also be freed persons, for reasons that are not entirely clear.

A slave lacked the legal personhood to marry under Roman law or to contract concubinatus, but the heterosexual union of two slaves, or a freedperson and a slave, might be recognized as an intention to marry when both partners gained the legal status that permitted them to do so. In this quasi-marital union, known as contubernium, children often seem to have been desired, in contrast to concubinatus, where children were more frequently viewed as complications and there was no intention to marry.

Asia

Concubinage was quite common throughout East Asia before the early 20th century. The main purposes of concubinage for men were pleasure and producing additional heirs, while for women, the relationship could offer financial security. The children of concubines had reduced rights regarding inheritance, which was regulated by the Dishu system.

In China and the Muslim world, a king's concubine could attain power, especially if her son ascended to the throne.

China

In China, successful men often had concubines until the practice was outlawed when the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. The standard Chinese term translated as "concubine" is qiè 妾, a term that has been used since ancient times. Concubinage resembled marriage in that concubines were recognized sexual partners of a man and were expected to bear children for him. Unofficial concubines (Chinese: 婢妾; pinyin: bì qiè) held a lower status, and their children were considered illegitimate. The English term concubine is also used for what the Chinese refer to as pínfēi (Chinese: 嬪妃), or "consorts of emperors, " an official position often carrying a very high rank.

In premodern China, it was illegal and socially disreputable for a man to have more than one wife at a time; however, having concubines was acceptable. From the earliest times, wealthy men purchased concubines and added them to their households alongside their wives. The acquisition of concubines was similar to the purchase of slaves, although concubines held a higher social status.

In the earliest records, a man could have as many concubines as he could afford to purchase. From the Eastern Han period (AD 25–220) onward, the number of concubines a man could have was limited by law. The higher the rank and the more noble the identity a man possessed, the more concubines he was permitted to have. A concubine's treatment and situation were variable and influenced by the social status of the male to whom she was attached, as well as the attitude of his wife. In the Book of Rites chapter on "The Pattern of the Family" (Chinese: 內則), it states, "If there were betrothal rites, she became a wife; and if she went without these, a concubine." Wives brought a dowry into a relationship, but concubines did not. A concubinage relationship could be entered into without the ceremonies used in marriages, and neither remarriage nor a return to her natal home in widowhood was allowed for a concubine. There are early records of concubines allegedly being buried alive with their masters to "keep them company in the afterlife. "

The position of the concubine was generally considered inferior to that of the wife. Although a concubine could produce heirs, her children held a lower social status than a wife's children, though they ranked above illegitimate children. The child of a concubine was required to show filial duty to two women: their biological mother and their legal mother—the wife of their father. After the death of a concubine, her sons would offer sacrifices to her, but these offerings were not continued by the concubine's grandsons, who only made offerings to their grandfather's wife.

Until the Song dynasty (960–1276), promoting a concubine to a wife was regarded as a serious breach of social ethics. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), the status of concubines improved. It became acceptable to elevate a concubine to wife status if the original wife had passed away and the concubine was the mother of the only surviving sons. Furthermore, the prohibition against forcing a widow to remarry was extended to widowed concubines. During this period, tablets for concubine-mothers appeared to be more commonly displayed on family ancestral altars, and the genealogies of some lineages included concubine-mothers. Many of the emperor's concubines during the Qing dynasty were freeborn women from prominent families. Concubines of men of lower social status could be either freeborn or enslaved.

Imperial concubines, kept by emperors in the Forbidden City, held different ranks and were traditionally safeguarded by eunuchs to ensure that they could not be impregnated by anyone except the emperor. In Ming China (1368–1644), there was an official system for selecting concubines for the emperor. The candidates' ages primarily ranged from 14 to 16, with virtues, behavior, character, appearance, and physical condition serving as the selection criteria.

Despite the limitations imposed on Chinese concubines, there are several examples in history and literature of concubines who achieved great power and influence. Lady Yehenara, otherwise known as Empress Dowager Cixi, was one of the most successful concubines in Chinese history. Cixi first entered the court as a concubine to Xianfeng Emperor and gave birth to his only surviving son, who later became Tongzhi Emperor. She eventually became the de facto ruler of Qing China for 47 years after her husband's death.[79]

An examination of concubinage features in one of the Four Great Classical Novels, Dream of the Red Chamber (believed to be a semi-autobiographical account of author Cao Xueqin's family life).[80] Three generations of the Jia family are supported by one notable concubine of the emperor, Jia Yuanchun, the full elder sister of the male protagonist Jia Baoyu. In contrast, their younger half-siblings by concubine Zhao, Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan, develop distorted personalities because they are the children of a concubine.[citation needed]

Emperors' concubines and harems are emphasized in 21st-century romantic novels written for female readers and set in ancient times. As a plot element, the children of concubines are depicted with a status much inferior to that in actual history.[citation needed] The zhai dou (Chinese: 宅斗，residential intrigue) and gong dou (Chinese: 宫斗，harem intrigue) genres show concubines and wives, as well as their children, scheming secretly to gain power. Empresses in the Palace, a gong dou type novel and TV drama, has had great success in 21st-century China.[81]

Hong Kong officially abolished the Great Qing Legal Code in 1971, thereby making concubinage illegal. Casino magnate Stanley Ho of Macau took his "second wife" as his official concubine in 1957, while his "third and fourth wives" retain no official status.[82]

Mongols Main article: Wives of Genghis Khan Polygyny and concubinage were very common in Mongol society, especially for powerful Mongol men. Genghis Khan, Ögedei Khan, Jochi, Tolui, and Kublai Khan (among others) all had many wives and concubines.

Genghis Khan frequently acquired wives and concubines from empires and societies that he had conquered, these women were often princesses or queens that were taken captive or gifted to him.[5] Genghis Khan's most famous concubine was Möge Khatun, who, according to the Persian historian Ata-Malik Juvayni, was "given to Chinggis Khan by a chief of the Bakrin tribe, and he loved her very much."[83] After Genghis Khan died, Möge Khatun became a wife of Ögedei Khan. Ögedei also favored her as a wife, and she frequently accompanied him on his hunting expeditions.[84]

Japan

Before the legal establishment of monogamy during the Meiji period, concubinage was prevalent among the nobility. Its primary purpose was to secure male heirs. For instance, the son of an Imperial concubine often had the opportunity to become emperor. Yanagihara Naruko, a prominent concubine of Emperor Meiji, gave birth to Emperor Taishō, who was later legally adopted by Empress Haruko, the Emperor's formal wife. Even in merchant families, concubinage was occasionally practiced to ensure heirs. Asako Hirooka, an entrepreneur and the daughter of a concubine, worked tirelessly to support her husband's family after the Meiji Restoration. After giving birth to her only daughter, Kameko, she lost her fertility; thus, her husband—who had a good relationship with her—took Asako's maid-servant as a concubine and fathered three daughters and a son with her. Kameko, as the child of the formal wife, married a nobleman and matrilineally preserved the family name.

A samurai could take concubines, but their backgrounds were checked by higher-ranked samurai. In many cases, taking a concubine was akin to marriage. Kidnapping a concubine, although common in fiction, would have been shameful, if not criminal. If the concubine was a commoner, a messenger was sent with betrothal money or a note for tax exemption to ask for her parents' acceptance. Although the woman would not be a legal wife, a situation normally considered a demotion, many wealthy merchants believed that being the concubine of a samurai was superior to being the legal wife of a commoner. When a merchant's daughter married a samurai, her family's money erased the samurai's debts, and the samurai's social status improved the standing of the merchant family. If a samurai's commoner concubine gave birth to a son, the son could inherit his father's social status.

Concubines sometimes wielded significant influence. Nene, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was known to occasionally overrule her husband's decisions, while Yodo-dono, his concubine, became the de facto master of Osaka Castle and the Toyotomi clan after Hideyoshi's death.

Korea

The Joseon monarchs maintained a harem that included concubines of various ranks. Empress Myeongseong successfully bore sons, thereby preventing the sons of concubines from gaining power.

Children of concubines often held lower value in terms of marriage. A daughter of a concubine could not marry a son born of a wife from the same class. For example, Jang Nok-su was a concubine-born daughter of a mayor, who was initially married to a servant and later became a high-ranking concubine of Yeonsangun.

The Joseon dynasty, established in 1392, debated whether the children of a free parent and a slave parent should be considered free or enslaved. A child born to a scholar-official father and a slave-concubine mother was always free; however, that child could not hold government positions.

India

In Hindu society, concubinage was practiced with women for whom marriage was undesirable, such as those from an upper-caste or a Brahmin background. Children born of concubinage followed the caste categorization of their mother.

Before the Independence of India, in Gujarat, the Bhil women were concubines for the Koli landlords.

In medieval Rajasthan, the ruling Rajput family often had certain women called paswan, khawaas, and pardayat. These women were kept by the ruler if their beauty impressed him, but without formal marriage. Sometimes they were granted rights to income collected from a particular village, similar to queens. Their children were socially accepted but did not receive a share in the ruling family's property and married others of their own status.

Concubinage was practiced in elite Rajput households between the 16th and 20th centuries. Female slave-servants or slave-performers could be elevated to the rank of concubine (called khavas or pavas) if a ruler found them attractive. Entry into concubinage was marked by a ritual; however, this ritual differed from those marking marriage. Rajputs often took concubines from Jat, Gujjar, and Muslim communities but refrained from taking concubines from untouchable castes, as well as Charans, Brahmins, and other Rajputs. Instances exist of wives eloping with their Rajput lovers and becoming their concubines.

Europe

Vikings

Polygyny existed among Vikings, allowing wealthy and powerful Viking men to have multiple wives and concubines. Viking men could capture women to make them their wives or concubines. Concubinage for Vikings was associated with slavery; they took both free women and slaves as concubines. Researchers suggest that the Vikings may have originally begun sailing and raiding in search of women from foreign lands. Some theories propose that polygynous relationships in Viking society could have led to a shortage of eligible women for the average male; polygyny heightens male competition in society by creating a group of unmarried men willing to engage in risky behaviors for status and romantic gain. Therefore, the average Viking man may have felt compelled to undertake riskier ventures to acquire wealth and power in order to attract suitable women. This theory was articulated in the 11th century by historian Dudo of Saint-Quentin in his semi-imaginary " History of The Normans. " The " Annals of Ulster " describes raptio and notes that in 821, the Vikings plundered an Irish village and "carried off a great number of women into captivity. " Individuals captured during the Viking raids in Western Europe, including Ireland, could be sold to Moorish Spain through the Dublin slave trade or transported to Hedeby or Brännö, and from there via the Volga trade route to present-day Russia, where slaves and furs were traded with Muslim merchants for Arab silver dirhams and silk- artifacts which have been discovered in Birka, Wollin, and Dublin. Initially, this trade route between Europe and the Abbasid Caliphate passed through the Khazar Khaganate, but from the early 10th century onward, it shifted to Volga Bulgaria before continuing by caravan to Khwarazm, reaching the Samanid slave market in Central Asia, and finally making its way through Iran to the Abbasid Caliphate in the Middle East, where there was a substantial market for slave girls as concubines.

Early Christianity and Feudalism

The Christian morals developed by Patristic writers largely promoted marriage as the sole form of union between men and women. Both Saint Augustine and Saint Jerome strongly condemned the institution of concubinage. In his great sixth-century code, the Corpus Iuris Civilis, Emperor Justinian granted concubines and their children the property and inheritance rights usually reserved for wives. He brought the institution of concubinage closer to marriage, but he also reiterated the Christian injunction that concubinage must be permanent and monogamous.

The two perspectives, Christian condemnation and secular continuity with the Roman legal system, remained in conflict throughout the Middle Ages, until the Church outlawed concubinage in its territories during the 14th and 15th centuries.

Middle East

In the historic Muslim Arab world, "concubine" (surriyya) referred to the female slave (jāriya), whether Muslim or non-Muslim, with whom her master engaged in sexual intercourse as well as household or other services. Such relationships were common in pre-Islamic Arabia and in other pre-existing cultures of the wider region. Islam introduced legal restrictions and discipline around concubinage, and it encouraged manumission. Furthermore, Islam endorsed the education of female slaves (instruction in Islam), supporting their freedom or marriage if they embraced Islam and abandoned polytheism or infidelity.

Acknowledged children of concubines are generally recognized as legitimate, with or without wedlock, and the mother of a free child is considered free upon the death of her male enslaver. Evidence suggests that concubines held a higher rank than female slaves. Abu Hanifa and others advocated for modesty-based practices for concubines, recommending that they be established in the home, their chastity protected, and not misused for sale or shared with friends or kin. While scholars urged masters to treat their slaves equally, a master was permitted to show favoritism towards a concubine. Islamic scholars have disagreed on the precise interpretation of verse 23:6 in the Quran, which some believe allows sexual intercourse with concubines after marrying them, as Islam forbids such relations outside of marriage. Some scholars suggested hosting a wedding banquet (walima) to celebrate the concubinage relationship; however, this is not mandated by Islamic teachings and reflects the personal opinions of certain non-liberal Islamic scholars. Additionally, the Arabic term for concubine, surriyya, may have derived from sarat, meaning "eminence, " indicating the concubine's higher status than other female slaves.

The Qur'an does not use the word "surriyya"; instead, it employs the expression "Ma malakat aymanukum" (that which your right hands own), which appears 15 times in the text.[121][122] Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi clarifies that "two categories of women have been excluded from the general command of guarding the private parts: (a) wives, (b) women who are legally in one's possession".

Some contend that concubinage was a pre-Islamic custom permitted under Islam, allowing Jews and non-Muslims to marry a concubine after teaching her, instructing her well, and eventually granting her freedom. In the traditions of the Abrahamic religions, Abraham had a concubine named Hagar, who was originally a slave of his wife Sarah. The story of Hagar influenced how concubinage was perceived in early Islamic history.

Sikainga states that one rationale for concubinage in Islam was that "it satisfied the sexual desire of the female slaves and thereby prevented the spread of immorality in the Muslim community." Most Islamic schools of thought limited concubinage to a relationship in which the female slave was required to be monogamous to her master, though the master's monogamy to her is not mandatory. However, Sikainga argues that, in reality, this was not always practiced, and female slaves were sometimes targeted by other men in the master's household. These views of Sikainga are controversial and contested.

In ancient times, two sources of concubines were permitted under an Islamic regime. Primarily, non-Muslim women taken as prisoners of war became concubines, as occurred after the Battle of the Trench or in numerous later Caliphates. It was encouraged to manumit slave women who rejected their initial faith and converted to Islam or to formalize their marriages with them.

The expansion of various Muslim dynasties led to the acquisition of concubines through purchases from the slave trade, gifts from other rulers, and captives of war. Having a large number of concubines became a symbol of status. Almost all Abbasid caliphs were born to concubines. The practice of keeping concubines was widespread among all Islamic dynasties until the abolition of slavery in the 20th century. Similarly, the sultans of the Ottoman Empire were often the sons of concubines. Consequently, some individual concubines came to exert a degree of influence over Ottoman politics. Some concubines developed social networks and accumulated personal wealth, both of which enabled them to rise in social status. The practice declined with the abolition of slavery, starting in the 19th century and finally being abolished in the Arabian Peninsula in the 1960s, with slavery in Saudi Arabia being banned in 1962 and in Oman in 1970.

Ottoman sultans seemed to prefer concubinage over marriage, and for a period, all royal children were born to concubines. The consorts of Ottoman sultans were often neither Turkish nor Muslim by birth. Leslie Peirce argues that this was because a concubine did not possess the political leverage that a princess or a daughter of the local elite would have. Additionally, Ottoman sultans generally had only one son with each concubine; once a concubine gave birth to a son, the sultan would no longer engage with her. This practice limited the power of each son.

New World

When slavery became institutionalized in Colonial America, white men, regardless of their marital status, sometimes took enslaved women as concubines; the children of these unions remained slaves.

In various European colonies in the Caribbean, white planters took black and mulatto concubines due to the shortage of white women. The children from such unions were sometimes freed from slavery and even inherited from their father, although this was not the case for the majority of children born from these relationships. These connections seemed to be socially accepted in the colony of Jamaica and even attracted European emigrants to the island.

Brazil

In colonial Brazil, men were expected to marry women of equal status and wealth. Alternatively, some men practiced concubinage, which involved extra-marital sexual relationships. This practice was condemned by the Catholic Church, and the Council of Trent threatened excommunication for those who engaged in it. Concubines included both female slaves and former slaves. One reason for taking non-white women as concubines was that free white men outnumbered free white women, even though marriage between races was not illegal.

New France

Some French settlers in New France were noted to keep native women as "concubines," sometimes while married to a white woman. This practice was particularly common in Louisiana, although it was discouraged by the clergy.

United States

Relationships involving enslaved individuals in the United States and the Confederacy were sometimes euphemistically termed concubinary. From lifelong connections to occasional sexual encounters, these relationships with enslaved people highlight a profound power imbalance between a person regarded as chattel and their legal owner. When personal ownership of enslaved individuals was enshrined in law, they possessed no legal authority over their own personhood, which was controlled by another entity; thus, an enslaved person could never truly provide legal consent in any aspect of their life. This lack of consent arises in part from the capacity of a slave master to legally coerce actions and statements, including expressions of affection and consent, through rewards and punishments. Legally, the concept of chattel slavery in the United States and Confederate States was defined and enforced such that the ownership of a slave's legal personhood put the master as the sole arbiter of consent regarding the bodily integrity and actions of that enslaved individual, except as limited by law. With slavery recognized as a crime against humanity under United States law and in international customary law, the legal foundation of slavery is utterly repudiated, as are any rights that owner-rapists had to exercise proxy consent, sexual or otherwise, on behalf of their enslaved individuals.

Free men in the United States sometimes engaged in relationships with female slaves that they referred to as concubinage, although marriage between races was prohibited by law in the colonies and later in the United States. Many colonies and states also enacted laws against miscegenation or any interracial relations. Starting in 1662, the Colony of Virginia, followed by others, codified the principle that children inherited their mother's status, known as partus sequitur ventrem. This led to generations of multiracial slaves, some of whom were legally considered white (one-eighth or less African ancestry, equivalent to a great-grandparent) before the American Civil War.

In some cases, men formed long-term relationships with enslaved women, granting them and their mixed-race children freedom and providing their children with apprenticeships, education, and capital transfer. The relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings serves as an example of this. Such arrangements were more common in the American South during the antebellum period.

Plaçage

In Louisiana and former French territories, a formal system of concubinage known as plaçage developed. European men took enslaved or free women of color as mistresses after making arrangements to provide them with a dowry, housing or other transfers of property, and sometimes, if they were enslaved, offering freedom and education for their children. A third class of free people of color emerged, particularly in New Orleans. Many became educated, artisans, and property owners. French-speaking and practicing Catholics, these women merged French and African-American cultures, creating an elite community between those of European descent and the enslaved. Today, descendants of the free people of color are generally called Louisiana Creole people.

In Judaism

In Judaism, a concubine is a marital companion of lesser status than a wife. Among the Israelites, men often recognized their concubines, and these women held the same rights in the household as legitimate wives.

Ancient Judaism

The term "concubine" did not necessarily refer only to women after the first wife; a man could have many wives and concubines. Legally, any children born to a concubine were considered the children of the wife she served. The concubine may not have commanded the same respect as the wife. In the Levitical rules regarding sexual relations, the Hebrew word commonly translated as "wife" is distinct from the Hebrew term for "concubine. " However, on at least one occasion, the term refers to a woman who is not a wife, specifically the handmaiden of Jacob's wife. According to the Levitical code, sexual intercourse between a man and the wife of another man was forbidden and punishable by death for both individuals involved. Since having many children was regarded as the highest blessing, wives often gave their maidservants to their husbands if they were barren, as in the case of Rachel and Bilhah. The concubine's children frequently had equal rights with those of the wife; for example, King Abimelech was the son of Gideon and his concubine. Later biblical figures, such as Gideon and Solomon, had concubines and multiple childbearing wives. For instance, the Books of Kings state Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

The account of the unnamed Levite in Judges 19–20[160] shows that the taking of concubines was not the exclusive preserve of kings or patriarchs in Israel during the time of the Judges, and that the rape of a concubine was utterly unacceptable to the Israelite nation and led to a civil war. In the story, the Levite appears to be an ordinary tribe member, whose concubine was a woman from Bethlehem in Judah. This woman was unfaithful and eventually abandoned him to return to her paternal household. However, after four months, the Levite, referred to as her husband, decided to travel to her father's house to persuade his concubine to return. She is amenable to returning with him, and the father-in-law is very welcoming. The father-in-law convinces the Levite to remain several additional days, until the party leaves behind schedule in the late evening. The group passes up a nearby non-Israelite town to arrive very late in the city of Gibeah, which is in the land of the Benjaminites. The group sit around the town square, waiting for a local to invite them in for the evening, as was the custom for travelers. A local old man invites them to stay in his home, offering them guest right by washing their feet and offering them food. A band of wicked townsmen attack the house and demand the host send out the Levite man so they can rape him. The host offers to send out his virgin daughter as well as the Levite's concubine for them to rape, to avoid breaking guest right towards the Levite. Eventually, to ensure his own safety and that of his host, the Levite gives the men his concubine, who is raped and abused through the night, until she is left collapsed against the front door at dawn. It is important to note that the Levite man chose to save himself from rape at the expense of his wife. In the morning, the Levite finds her when he tries to leave. When she fails to respond to her husband's order to get up (possibly because she is dead, although the language is unclear) the Levite places her on his donkey and continues home. Once home, he dismembers her body and distributes the 12 parts throughout the nation of Israel. The Israelites gather to learn why they were sent such grisly gifts, and are told by the Levite of the sadistic rape of his concubine. The crime is considered outrageous by the Israelite tribesmen, who then wreak total retribution on the men of Gibeah, as well as the surrounding tribe of Benjamin when they support the Gibeans, killing them without mercy and burning all their towns. The inhabitants of (the town of) Jabesh Gilead are then slaughtered as a punishment for not joining the 11 tribes in their war against the Benjaminites, and their 400 unmarried daughters given in forced marriage to the 600 Benjamite survivors. Finally, the 200 Benjaminite survivors who still have abduction by the other tribes grant no wives a mass marriage.

Medieval and modern Judaism

In Judaism, concubines are referred to by the Hebrew term pilegesh (Hebrew: פילגש). The term is a loanword from Ancient Greek παλλακίς, meaning "a mistress staying in house".

According to the Babylonian Talmud, the difference between a concubine and a legitimate wife was that the latter received a ketubah and her marriage (nissu'in) was preceded by an erusin ("formal betrothal"), which was not the case for a concubine. One opinion in the Jerusalem Talmud argues that the concubine should receive a marriage contract without a clause specifying a divorce settlement. According to Rashi, "wives with kiddushin and ketubbah, concubines with kiddushin but without ketubbah"; this reading is from the Jerusalem Talmud,

Certain Jewish thinkers, including Maimonides, believed that concubines were exclusively reserved for royal leadership, thus commoners should not have concubines. Indeed, these thinkers argued that commoners should not engage in any sexual relations outside of marriage. Maimonides was not the first Jewish thinker to criticize concubinage; for instance, Leviticus Rabbah severely condemns the custom. Other Jewish thinkers, such as Nahmanides, Samuel ben Uri Shraga Phoebus, and Jacob Emden, strongly opposed the notion that concubines should be forbidden. Despite these prohibitions, concubinage remained widespread among Jewish households in the Ottoman Empire, mirroring the practice among Muslim households.

In the Hebrew of contemporary Israel, " pilegesh " is often used to mean "mistress"—i.e., the female partner in extramarital relations—regardless of legal recognition. Efforts have been made to popularize pilegesh as a form of premarital, non-marital, or extramarital relationship (which, according to the perspective of the person or persons enacting it, is permitted by Jewish law).

Concubinage and slavery

In some contexts, the institution of concubinage diverged from a free, quasi-marital cohabitation to the extent that it was forbidden for a free woman to engage in concubinage, reserving this institution solely for slaves. This type of concubinage has been practiced in patriarchal cultures throughout history. Many societies would automatically free the concubine after she bore a child. It typically occurred nonetheless among the societies that did not legally require the manumission of concubines. In slave-owning societies, most concubines were slaves, but not exclusively. The appeal of concubinage for certain men stemmed from the concubine's dependency on the man; she could be sold or punished at her master's discretion. According to Orlando Peterson, slaves taken as concubines generally enjoyed a higher level of material comfort than those used in agriculture or mining.

External links

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Concubinage ]

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