I should have mentioned that *Household Gods * is set in ancient Rome.
Then she added, “Damn, dogg, those shoes be crispy!”
While the more risque content of the Internet can provide gratification, I think the point still goes to the Sultan. How does looking at still shots of other men with multple women compare to being a Sultan with those multiple women? Very poorly, that’s how.
Sultan can bang any of the hand-picked hotties any time he chooses.
I get into an argument with a stripper who tries to charge me for an extra lap dance.
Advantage, Sultan 
You did have chamber pots, so if you needed to go to the toilet, especially at night, you could use one in your bedroom, and leave it for the maid to empty in the morning (if you were rich enough to afford a maid).
In reality, I’m not so sure that the multiple wives and/or concubines were completely ruled by the Sultan. Women have their ways, even with absolute despots 
And many of those marriages were made solely for political purposes. I wonder how many of those wives the Sultan actually had a real relationship with.
Typically, social wealth among women in a harem came about by bearing male heirs to him. So all the women wanted to fuck him. Basically, not fucking a wife would be punishment. The harem owner would typically have a first wife who would manage the harem socially for him, pimping the other wives to him.
Incredibly sweet deal for the sultan. For the other wives and the men who might have married them … not so much. One of the reason Middle Eastern culture still stinks on ice. (You can still have up to four wives in many ME countries, and in some, like Saudi Arabia, royals still have hundreds of wives.)
In addition to Lissa’s info about privacy, you should also know that every single freaking thing about a monarch’s personal life was codified and ceremonialized. Every piece of clothing, every little personal job, was the property of some courtier and a great honor to perform. The queen couldn’t just demand some privacy–it would upset a whole system, offend a lot of courtiers, and generally make trouble, so she had to put up with this huge ceremony every time she got dressed, no matter how slow and irritating it was. Sitting on the pot was another one of those jobs–and, with many monarchs, the court doctor would check the results to make sure all was well. Elizabeth I’s doctor would inspect bowel movements, and he wanted once 'round the pot and a bit over every morning. (That’s a near-quotation, but I can’t remember where I read it.)
You know, this post made a lot more sense when I noticed that you put a II up there. Since we were talking about rulers of the past I assumed it was a I. I had to read this 3 times before I noticed.
Keep in mind, the hotties 2000 years ago might not compare well with the hotties of today… Also, still shots are so last-century. People today get streaming video. People tomorrow might have holodecks.
We have air conditioning and central heating. Big advantage to us, IMO.
Those of us with pet cats experience the same thing now. My kitties seem to think that it’s impossible for me to use the bathroom without an audience.
Considering that a Sultan could kill any or all of them at will, I expect they did what they were told. I recall reading about one who decided he wanted a new harem, so he had his entire 100+ old harem tossed in a lake to drown.
So that’s a + for “ability to commit mass murder”, assuming you’re the sort who wants to commit mass murder.
On the other hand, you have the story of Scheherezade, which reflects a different aspect of reality in those situations.
::looks around office, checks for naked slavegirls ready to give blowjobs on command::
Nope.
Actually, Bosda, you were issued said horde last May. I took delivery for you. Right now they’re – well, we don’t need to go into specifics. But it’s evil.
That was Calvin Coolidge’s son. And Franklin Pierce, between his election and his inauguration, saw his son gruesomely killed in a railway accident. Awful.
As for royal pooping… IIRC, as recently as the 1980s, the Japanese imperial family had a courtier whose sole duty it was to assess the emperor’s bowel movements as recently.
With the notable exceptions of sex on demand and absolute power (not inconseqential perks, but still…) I think Joe Average today has it better than royals past by just about any yardstick.
Ooops. Strike that second “as recently.”
That wasn’t the only thing you took.
Where’s my mongoose? :dubious:
It’s true that anybody with an Internet connection can view any king of perverse sex possible (legality aside), they can’t actually experience. Fortunatly there are few men alive today who could “enjoy” a harem of “little fishs” like Tiberius Caeser.