Harem Massacre: 280 Women Drowned in One Night

The Harem Massacre is one of the most chilling and little known atrocities of Ottoman history. On the night of November 2, 1622, Sultan Osman II was murdered in a palace coup, and in the chaos that followed, the new regime ordered the drowning of 280 women from the royal harem. These women, concubines, wives, and servants, were viewed as political liabilities or potential threats to the new power structure. Rather than risk any challenge to the throne, they were thrown into the Bosphorus or drowned in the palace cisterns, silenced without trial or mercy. This gruesome event highlights the brutal lengths to which the Ottoman court would go to eliminate even the possibility of dissent or intrigue, exposing the dark reality behind the gilded walls of imperial harems.