Quoted By:
"Under Soltan Hosayn’s auspices, the royal harem grew to immense proportions. Nicolas Sanson in 1694 estimated that the harem counted more than 800 women; in 1696 the shah is said to have taken more than 500 harem women with him on a hunting trip; and the Russian consul in Isfahan, Samseon Avramov, in 1717 witnessed the royal caravan enter Kashan with 525 camels carrying 1,000 women guarded by 200 eunuchs. To fill the ranks of the harem, the shah intensified a longstanding royal practice of selecting pretty girls from all over the country for the palace. The year 1700 seems to have stood out in this regard, for it would become known as kizlarun ili, the year of the women. According to Rostam-al-Hokama, the shah in his lifetime deflowered 3,000 women and slept with 2,000 more. These were then divorced and given to high-ranking officials."
