There is no mention of eunuchs at the Ottoman court before Mehmed the Conqueror conquered the Byzantine capital in 1453. But Byzantium had a huge caste of eunuch functionaries. When the Conqueror welcomed Byzantium’s aristocrats at court, eunuchs were one of the institutions they introduced.
Berrin Torolsan
For over three centuries, African eunuchs protected the Ottoman imperial harem in Istanbul’s palaces. At their head stood the Chief Harem Eunuch who was a figure of remarkable influence within the court—especially during the turbulent seventeenth century, when shifting political factions divided the palace. These eunuchs were from Ethiopia and forced into a journey to Imperial İstanbul where they lost their manhood through castration but gained an ironic power over the Imperial harem and the court and an ability to cultivate enduring connections with Cairo as well as the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
The role of eunuchs in the Ottoman harem were multifaceted. They were responsible for the education of the concubines, organised the Sultan’s visit to the harem, settling disputes in the harem, and organizing weddings, funerals, feasts and circumsation ceremonies. They also acted as religious figures financing and managing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Head of Black Eunuchs at the Imperial Palace, 1825
Eunuchs were also servants and had physical access to the Sultan through domestic functions such as making the Sultan’s bed, bathing and shaving him and even carrying messages to him. This gave the eunuchs the Sultan’s ear and granted them the position of the humble and trusted servant.
Note that Eunuchs have been documented in several other ancient and medieval cultures, including the Byzantine Empire, Imperial China and various Middle Eastern cultures and as Berrin Torolsan mentions, Ottoman Turks inherited the tradition from the Byzantines.
The peak of eunuch power was from the 16th to 18th centuries and their power declined with the modernisation of the Empire in the 19th century and came to an end in 1908 with the young Turk revolution in the Ottoman Empire.
When you visit the Imperial Harem in Topkapı Palace, make sure to visit the dormitory of the black eunuchs who had been guards of the Imperial Harem for centuries. The section has recently been opened to the public after centuries of being hidden, so make sure to be one of the first to see it!
