Editing Concubinage (section)

== Categorization ==
Scholars have made attempts to categorize patterns of concubinage practiced in the world.

''The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology'' gives four distinct forms of concubinage:{{sfn|The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology|1999}}
*Royal concubinage, where politics was connected to reproduction. Concubines became consorts to the ruler, fostered diplomatic relations, and perpetuated the [[royal bloodline]]. Imperial concubines could be selected from the general population or prisoners of war. Examples of this included [[imperial China]], the [[Ottoman empire]] and the [[Sultanate of Kano]].{{sfn|The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology|1999}}
*Elite concubinage, which offered men the chance to increase social status and satisfy desires. Most such men already had wives. In East Asia this practice was justified by [[Confucianism]]. In the Muslim world, this concubinage resembled slavery.{{sfn|The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology|1999}}
*Concubinage could be a form of common-law relationship that allowed a couple who did not wish to marry to live together. This was prevalent in medieval Europe and colonial Asia. In Europe, some families discouraged younger sons from marriage to prevent division of family wealth among many heirs.{{sfn|The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology|1999}}
*Concubinage could also function as a form of sexual enslavement of women in a patriarchal system. In such cases the children of the concubine could become permanently inferior to the children of the wife. Examples include [[Mughal India]] and [[Joseon Korea]].{{sfn|The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology|1999}}

[[Junius P. Rodriguez]] gives three cultural patterns of concubinage: Asian, Islamic and European.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2011|p=203}}