Don't You Knock the Eunuch

The learned amongst you know the general history of eunuchs.^[1] They were usually appointed to guard the beds of the royals, but due to their infertility, were not at risk of muddying the lineage of a dynasty, nor did they have any competing loyalties to their own bloodlines. Additionally, many were castrated young, meaning that they were less muscular and more feminine than non-eunuch men, giving them a less threatening appearance.^[2]

This seemed to be a perfect solution for dynastic empires. Until it wasn't. Just as the "celibate" priests of Catholicism descended into heaven-for-donations Pre-Reformation,^[3] having a lack of direct descendants isn't a complete cure for corruption and self-interest.

A fascinating example of this occurred in the Ottoman court, which even had two types of eunuchs; the white and the black.^[4] Why the distinction between the two? Well, the Ottomans were an empire. Eunuchs were sought from abroad so they had no family close by to be loyal to.^[5] The power struggle between the white and black blocs was intentional to keep both sides' power in check. And finally, to be honest, the physical distinctiveness of the two made it easy to make sure neither strayed into the wrong areas of the palace.

The White Eunuchs, or the Kapı Ağaları^[6] were Christian boys taken from between the Balkans and the Caucasus. They were castrated (only partially) and managed palace schools and administrative training, but were situated in the outer palace.

The Black Eunuchs, or the Kızlar Ağası^[7] were from sub-Saharan Africa and typically underwent full castration^[8]. Due to their lack of any genitalia, they were tasked with guarding the Imperial Harem within the inner palace, as well as the Sultan's mother. It seems like all the Sultans were mama's boys,^[9] because the Chief Black Eunuch’s power came from being closest to her, allowing him to wield influence over succession planning and charitable endowments through her. This resulted in the Black Eunuchs being much more politically influential towards the latter half of the Ottoman Empire.

Harem politics in itself is an interesting topic, as this is how the Ottomans attempted to solve the same lineage problem that was rearing its ugly head in the Habsburg family. It turns out that picking your firstborn son to be the ruler, no matter what, doesn't always get the best candidate for the top job. Neither did inbreeding, born out of fear of rival families gaining influence. The Ottomans' solution to the same problem was by making sure that the Sultan's large family was the only influential one. Let’s not pretend it was perfect though. It resulted in a lot of fratricide and violent succession struggles. Newly crowned Sultans would kill their brothers and half-brothers to reduce the chance of civil war.^[10]

The Ottoman system of dynastic control feels foreign to us in the West, since unfortunately we're conditioned to accept a patrilineal head of state. However it’s still fascinating that the level of brutality required for state stability sustained an empire that lasted over six centuries.