The sultan's court : European fantasies of the East

This is a survey of Western accounts of Oriental despotism in the 17th and 18th centuries. It focuses particularly on portrayals of the Ottoman empire and the supposedly enigmatic structure of the despot's court - the seraglio - with its viziers, janissaries, mutes, dwarfs, eunuchs and countless wives. Drawing on the writing of Montequieu, Rousseau and Voltaire, the book examines their intense fascination with the seraglio. It describes the way in which they constructed a fantasized account of a rational society. It also explores the nature of these fantasies and what they reveal about the foundations of modern political thought.