Muslim matrilineal genealogy. Regardless of how the Ottoman harem had developed over time as an organization, the main observation is that the royal mothers had the most direct and sustained interaction with the future sultans of the Ottoman Empire and left an indelible mark on the reigns of their sons. Role of the court ladies For the perpetuation and service of the Ottoman dynasty, slave girls were either captured in war, given as gifts to the Sultan and the dynastic family on special occasions, recruited within the empire, or procured from neighbouring countries to become imperial court ladies (cariyes). The number of female slaves within the harem varied over time, and the harem itself was regularly renewed as a result of the practice of manumission. Manumission of the previous sultan’s concubines was especially common upon the enthronement of a new sultan. Most enslaved girls were Christian, and came from various countries, regions, and ethnic groups, including Circassia, Georgia, Russia, and Africa. There was no standard practice that determined what age girls entered the harem. Some arrived as children, while others entered at a later age. This slave trade was formally banned in 1854 but the ban was on paper only. After 1854, almost all court lady-slaves were of Circassian origin; he Circassians had been expelled from Russian lands in the 1860s and the improverished refugee parents sold their daughters in a trade that was formally banned but tolerated. Upon arrival at the palace, all of the women and girls began a transformation process to accord with their new life. They were converted to Islam through recitation of the core Islamic creed, and were given new names that accorded with their physical appearance or personality. They were prevented from contacting their families and were trained in court manners and activities, on the Islamic religion, and the Turkish language to prepare for life at court. Odalisque, a word derived from the Turkish Oda, meaning chamber: thus connoting odalisque to mean chamber girl or attendant, was not a term synonymous with concubine; however, in western usage the term has come to refer specifically to the harem concubine. The s, often introduced into the harem at a young age, were brought up in the discipline of the palace. This was the largest group of women within the harem. Inexperienced female slaves who newly entered the imperial palace were called acemi (novice), and their early