Eunuchs were a common feature of pre- and early modern societies that are now poorly understood. Here, Jane Hathaway offers an in-depth study of the chief of the African eunuchs who guarded the harem of the Ottoman Empire. A wide range of primary sources are used to analyze the Chief Eunuch's origins in East Africa and his political, economic, and religious role from the inception of his office in the late sixteenth century through the dismantling of the palace harem in the early twentieth century. Hathaway highlights the origins of the institution and how the role of eunuchs developed in East Africa, as well as exploring the Chief Eunuch's connections to Egypt and Medina. By tracing the evolution of the office, we see how the Chief Eunuch's functions changed in response to transformations in Ottoman society, from the generalized crisis of the seventeenth century to the westernizing reforms of the nineteenth century.
Author(s): Jane Hathaway
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 340
01.0_pp_i_ii_The_Chief_Eunuch_of_the_Ottoman_Harem
02.0_pp_iii_iii_The_Chief_Eunuch_of_the_Ottoman_Harem
03.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page
04.0_pp_v_vi_Dedication
05.0_pp_vii_vii_Contents
06.0_pp_viii_viii_Figures
07.0_pp_ix_ix_Maps
08.0_pp_x_x_Tables
09.0_pp_xi_xii_Acknowledgments
10.0_pp_xiii_xiii_Note_on_Transliteration_and_Diacritics
11.0_pp_xiv_xiv_Abbreviations
12.0_pp_xv_xvi_maps
13.0_pp_1_11_Introducing_the_Chief_Harem_Eunuch
14.0_pp_12_39_The_African_Connection
15.0_pp_40_54_Arrangement_in_Black_and_White
16.0_pp_55_76_The_Creation_of_the_Office_of_Chief_Harem_Eunuch_and_the_Career_of_Habeshi_Mehmed_Agha
17.0_pp_77_104_The_Crisis_Years_of_the_Seventeenth_Century
18.0_pp_105_128_Yusuf_Agha_and_the_Koepruelue_Reforms
19.0_pp_129_159_A_New_Paradigm
20.0_pp_160_192_Exile_and_the_Kingdom
21.0_pp_193_220_The_Chief_Harem_Eunuch_and_Ottoman_Religious_and_Intellectual_Life
22.0_pp_221_247_Reformed_Out_of_Existence
23.0_pp_248_274_Memorializing_the_Chief_Harem_Eunuch
24.0_pp_275_282_Conclusion
25.0_pp_283_286_Ottoman_Chief_Harem_Eunuchs
26.0_pp_287_303_Works_Cited
27.0_pp_304_324_Index
