Many books can now be found about the concubines of the great ancient rulers. Their fates were different. But some concubines, later, became great rulers or wives of the greatest rulers of the world.
The status of a concubine assumed the existence of a permanent relationship, similar to marriage, but was lower than that of a wife. Almost all rulers in the Middle East had concubines, while at the same time strongly maintaining the distinction in the status of wife and concubine.
In the Biblical records, one can find the names of concubines, who later became the founders of entire ethnic groups. Thus, the four heirs of the family of Israel were born of concubines, who were the maids of Jacob's wives. This amazing fact was consistent with the ancient marriage contracts of the rulers of the Middle East: if the wife turned out to be sterile, then she was obliged to give her husband one of her maidservants-concubines for childbirth. But, if, subsequently, the wife gives birth to an heir, then he has advantages in succession to the throne over the children of the concubine.
The morals and customs of ancient Egypt are of the greatest interest. The rulers of this country were supposed to have a large harem. So, the pharaohs had several harems scattered throughout the country. In this case, traveling around his country, the pharaoh did not need to carry women with him - in every palace many sleek beauties were impatiently awaiting him. By the way, aged women and those who did not like the pharaoh were taken to the most remote harems.
In the harems of the pharaoh lived not only the ruler's concubines and wives, but also their children and distant relatives of the pharaoh. For example, during the reign of Pharaoh Amenophis III, there were about a thousand women in the harem. It was a great honor and great luck for the Egyptian to get into the ruler's harem. Concubines had rights and not simple duties in a harem. Many of the inhabitants of the harems received a good income from their own estates, weaving workshops, they even managed production.
Of course, the child of a concubine rarely became a ruler, because numerous sons of official wives had advantages to the throne. The cruel customs of the ruling elite of those times led to the fact that the life of the heir was in constant danger. Therefore, no one knows who was lucky: the child of the concubine (who arranged his life well) or the young pharaoh.
Women from different countries of the world lived in the harem. Sometimes royal daughters from neighboring states lived in the female half, whose presence guaranteed the pharaoh the absence of the insidious plans of his neighbors in relation to Egypt. Pharaoh allowed these daughters of the rulers of the strongest states in the world to call themselves "brother" and created the illusion of their equality to themselves. By the way, the princesses did not come to the ruler of Egypt empty-handed: they brought with them slaves, jewelry and many gifts to the Pharaoh. Despite this, foreign princesses were on a par with other, far from noble, concubines.
I must say that free morals have always reigned at the French court. This also applies to the existence, on quite legal grounds, of concubines at the "sun king". And if in the Egyptian ruling house, women never interfered in politics, then the king of France could well take action, based on a surge of emotions or sexual acts, communicating with his beloved. The female influence on the politics of the French king was enormous.
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As a rule, the monarch chose his wife, guided by political considerations, but this did not prevent him from having an official favorite, whom he dressed up and presented with gifts. The king's beloved lived in the royal chambers and combined the position of the favorite, mistress and concubine of the monarch, she gave birth to the king's children. Considering this "house building" of the French king, it is safe to say that he was a polygamist: the favorite concubine and the queen lived side by side and gave the king biological offspring. And although the children of the king from the lawful wife had the advantage to occupy the throne, in history there have been cases of raising bastards to the supreme power of the country.
However, not only the rulers of the Middle East and Europe allowed themselves to be polygamous. On the other side of the world - in the East, no less exciting events took place. In addition, the spicy scent of oriental exoticism enhances the impressions of them. Few people know that in China, a woman concubine ruled a gigantic country for more than half a century. As soon as she was not called - Gracious, Wise, Radiant, Main, Healthy, Clear, Majestic, Long-lasting, Sublime, Beneficial, Protected, Deep, Calm, Faithful, Revered, Highest … But her real name was - the great ruler of the Qing dynasty, the empress Cixi. She came from a family of impoverished nobility. The name given to her by her parents is Lanier. She perfectly understood, having found herself in the imperial palace as a concubine in 1853, that she might never meet with the master, and remained forever in the servants. At that time, the imperial concubines were divided into five categories: the imperial precious mistress, the precious mistress, the mistress, the concubine, and the precious person. Lanier was ranked among the lowest class of concubines.
An awkward, angular girl with irregular facial features - it was not even a question that she could attract the attention of the emperor, experienced in sexual pleasures with the most beautiful women of the empire. But she made every effort to change the situation in her favor: she began to study dances and plastic movements with zeal, read many books, learned to take care of her body. With all the money she earned in the harem, she hired the most famous courtesan in the city to teach her erotic tricks.
She bribed the courtiers close to the emperor. And, finally, she managed to lure the aging emperor into her tent. The emperor was so impressed by her singing, as well as the art of seduction, that he spent several days with his forgotten concubine. Thus, the girl not only acquired a new name, but also became one of the ruler's wives.
Along with raising her status, Cixi gained access to the imperial treasury and gained power over people. As a woman, she blossomed. Cixi, according to eyewitnesses, was unusually good - at the age of 50, she looked thirty. But her position was still precarious. The fact is that Cixi did not have children for a long time and gave birth to her first child only in 1856, calling him Tongzhi. Although, there were persistent rumors that the real mother of the boy was a concubine named Xiangfeng, who was killed immediately after giving birth.
Cixi was distinguished by exorbitant cruelty towards the emperor's concubines - she killed those who became close to the emperor. Cixi very quickly changed all the servants and guards in the palace. The main selection criterion was personal loyalty to her personally. After the sudden and tragic death of the emperor, Cixi receives the title of Great Empress of the Celestial Empire.
Years passed. It is time for the emperor's son to take the reins of government from his mother. But almost immediately, after accession to the throne, the young ruler of Tongzhi died suddenly. It was rumored that he was killed on the orders of his mother. Cixi hastened to appoint her nephew as the next emperor, and she herself became regent.
For half a century, she was the full-fledged ruler of China. She ruthlessly cracked down on her enemies. The years of her reign were marked by bloody wars and uprisings. One day she ordered cannons to be fired at a cathedral in the center of Beijing. She did not care that women and children had died then; the shooting stopped only after she complained of a headache from the noise of the gunshots. The country lagged behind in economics and technology, its authority was falling day by day. During the Boxing Rebellion, Cixi ordered the extermination of foreigners whom she considered a threat to ancient Chinese traditions. Foreign powers sent troops to rescue their citizens. The Empress fled. She lost money and power. Chaos began in the country.
After the suppression of the "boxing uprising" by the allied forces, she was offered to return to the throne, but with the condition of carrying out reforms under the control of the West. In her old age, Cixi became addicted to drugs. It was said that it was in this way that she tried to banish from memory all the bloody horrors of her reign. But, despite the fact that all her life she was the sovereign ruler of China, she often recalled the time when she was just a concubine of the great emperor and wore pearl earrings donated by him to the end of her life.