The sultan’s household may be considered in three principal subdivisions, each of them composed of a number of parts: the outside service of the palace, the inside service of the palace, and the harem. The outside service was composed of men and _Ajem-oghlans_, the inside service of white eunuchs and pages, the harem of black eunuchs and women. The first two subdivisions were, in time of peace, in attendance at the principal palace which had been built by Mohammed II on the site of the acropolis of ancient Byzantium. The grounds of this palace were extensive: within the first gate was a large open space used on state occasions as a parade ground; within the second gate were the buildings of the palace proper, a beautiful garden, and an exercise ground for the pages. The members of the outside service, except the gardeners, did not ordinarily pass beyond the second gate of this palace. The harem was permanently located some distance away in the center of the city, in the first palace occupied after the conquest, known in the sixteenth century as the Old Palace.[433] In time of war, practically the entire outside service, and the principal officers and personal attendants from the inside service, accompanied the sultan. None of the women of the harem were taken with the army, as this was against the Ottoman custom, though permitted by the Sacred Law.[434] In excursions during time of peace some of the ladies might accompany their lord.[435] The three subdivisions of the household will be considered in the reverse order. THE HAREM The harem was so distinct in Suleiman’s time from the rest of his household, so little seen and known, so much his personal affair, that it would seem scarcely to demand attention in a consideration of his court. The importance of its officials and personages was small as compared with later times, after the harem had been removed to the principal palace and the sultans had begun to spend a much larger portion of their time in its society. Yet the influence of two of its ladies upon Suleiman was so great as to give them a place in history and a relation to the destiny of the nation. Accordingly, the harem cannot be passed over without mention. Its organization has already been sketched so far as regards the recruiting, conversion, and education of the women;[436] its groupings and principal personages remain to be described.