Harems and eunuchs Having two harems isn't bigamy by any chance? Alexander Kumor, Polish aphorist *My dream is a harem with fifty friends and without a single husband.? Sabrina Ferilli, Italian film actress *If the mountain does not go to Mohammed, Mohammed goes to the harem.? Gennady Malkin,

At our work, not long ago a dispute arose, or rather, not even a dispute, but a conversation with elements of a discussion.
What is the difference between a eunuch and a castrato?
For example, I thought: castrato means the testicles (testicles) have been removed, eunuch means the penis has been removed.
They explain to me: this and that, one and the same. Remove the testicles and the man will lose all his male power. Hormones are not from where, it will appear. Therefore, it won't get up. I decided to read on the Internet. Wikipedia says that it is the same thing, that a eunuch, that a castrato. then I read:

Castration must be distinguished from vasectomy - ligation of the vas deferens, as a result of which the ability to produce offspring is lost, but the hormonal background does not change, and penectomy - removal of the penis , which leads only to the impossibility of making sexual intercourse.

And then it’s still not clear what was cut off to the eunuchs? All together or just the penis.?

Eunuch (Greek) - a castrato, in particular a castrated servant, destined for service in the harems of the East. The custom of entrusting the supervision of wives to eunuchs originated in Asia Minor, where, however, the initial cause of castration was probably religious fanaticism, especially in the Syrian-Asia Minor cults of Attis and Cybele. According to Herodotus, it was customary in the East to castrate prisoners. E. are also mentioned in ancient Greece and Rome, but their castration took place in the East. According to legend, Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, sent 300 Corkyrian boys to Aliat, the king of Lydia, for castration. Put in the opportunity to act on the east. rulers, both directly and through their beloved wives and concubines, E. often acquired a strong influence on the course of state affairs. The history of the entire East is full of stories about the intrigues of E., about their power at court. Byzantium, whose court life was formed under the influence of the East, inherited with him and E. (see Eutropius). Mohammedanism, which allowed polygamy and caused an increased spread of harems, increased the need for E. In the Sultan's harem, the main E. - kizlyar-agasi (chief of girls) - has other E. under his command. In the intrigues of the seraglio, they play a prominent role; in Persia, E. is sometimes entrusted with important government positions. Greed, stinginess, cruelty are their hallmarks. E. are black and white; only the former are completely devoid of sexual organs. Turkey usually receives E. from Egypt; half of E. dies in a barbarous operation, carried out with the crudest tools. Famous in history are the philosopher Faforin, Aristonicus, the Ptolemaic commander, the famous Narzes under Justinian, and the vizier Ali under Suleiman II. The Law of Moses positively forbade castration and closed the entrance to the Tabernacle for the castrated; even castrated animals could not be sacrificed. The Church does not admit the castrated to the episcopal rank. For castration under the influence of religious fanaticism, see Cybele and Skoptsy; on castration for the purpose of educating singers, see Castrato.

Mule castration.

photo from here
In continuation of the topic, I found an interesting article

Since ancient times, as soon as the first powerful eastern rulers appeared, the number of women who belong to him became a sign of the viability of a real man. So, often the number that was. In harems, as elsewhere, there were strict rules: it was always necessary to maintain order, observe morality, integrity. Who kept order in the harem, who could be entrusted with this important and difficult task?

Women were second-rate people, it was believed that they could not do anything at all. It is unthinkable to let a man into the harem; few people can resist the temptation of so many beautiful women.

How did eunuchs appear?

The solution was found - eunuchs (from the Greek eunuchos - "guardian of the bed"), castrated men who can be trusted with the most important thing that the padishah has - his beautiful women. They tried to take eunuchs with dark skin color (negroes) into harems, in the hope that if one of them, by some chance, could have sexual intercourse with a concubine at the birth of a child, it would be clear that there was treason.

Three types of castration.

Before becoming a eunuch, a boy or a man was castrated. There were three types of this painful operation. The first was complete castration: the man lost both his penis and testicles. The second was to remove only the penis. The third - in the deprivation of the testicles. With any castration, when the wound healed along the edges, a processed metal or bamboo tube for urination was inserted into the resulting cavity. Later, they came up with an artificial penis made of rubber.

Eunuchs who were completely castrated at a young age, before puberty, often had feminine mannerisms, their voice did not break and remained young for life.

Suffering and pain of eunuchs.

At the end of the 19th century, an English scientist Carter Stent, an expert on China, spoke in detail about the suffering that eunuchs experienced during the operation. He wrote in 1877: “The operation is carried out as follows. lower part the abdomen and upper thighs are bandaged tightly to prevent excessive bleeding. Then the removed parts of the body are washed three times with hot pepper water and cut off at the very base with a small curved knife resembling a sickle. At the end of the case, the wound is covered with paper soaked in cold water and carefully bandaged. The patient, supported by two operators, is forced to walk around the room for 2-3 hours, after which they are allowed to lie down, but they are forbidden to drink anything for three days. On the fourth day, the bandage is removed, and the sufferer can finally relieve himself. If this, it turns out, means that he is out of danger, if not, he is doomed to a painful death, since his passages are already swollen and nothing will save him.

Harem Games

Meanwhile, castration, especially partial, often did not deprive a person of male hormones, and sometimes eunuchs experienced torment because they were in the company of beautiful women. Here is how one sufferer described his torments: “I entered the seraglio, where everything inspired me with regret for my loss. Every minute I felt the excitement of the senses; thousands of natural beauties opened before me, it seemed, only to plunge me into despair... hopelessness in my soul ... I remember how one day, putting a woman in a bath, I felt such excitement that my mind was clouded, and I dared to touch a certain place on her body with my hand ... When I came to myself, I thought that my last day had come. However, I was lucky, and I escaped the most severe punishment.

However, the absence of a penis did not prevent the eunuchs from caressing the beauties, and while the rulers were busy with their own affairs, the eunuchs did not get bored in the company of their wives.

Moreover, there was a legend among the castrati - as a result of constant sexual contacts, the genitals will grow again. And the eunuchs caressed other people's concubines, however, at the same time they were terribly afraid of the ruler's revenge. The Chinese eunuch Li Guo was careless, and bites and bruises remained on the body of the concubines. His owner discovered these traces, and since the entrance to the harem was forbidden to everyone except the emperor and the eunuch, it was not difficult to figure out the culprit. A terrible punishment fell on Li Guo: he was sentenced to be cut into small pieces.

The eunuch Wei was in charge of the Qianlong Emperor's harem. Wei became so confident in his power that he quarreled with the chief minister and stopped noticing him. In response, the chief minister informed the emperor that his eunuchs frolicked in harems. The minister suggested that the eunuchs be immediately subjected to a second operation, and, naturally, the main eunuch, Wei, was subjected to painful torture in the first place ...

Castrato career and who could become a eunuch?

Who became a eunuch? Oddly enough, many went to this business voluntarily - the eunuchs lived comfortably, in luxurious palaces, and ate well. Some were sold by their parents, and sometimes the children later thanked them - often eunuchs made a career for themselves and became officials, military leaders or advisers to the owner.

For example, the eunuch Taijiang planned the entire irrigation system in China. Castrato Guo Shoujing built a large canal near Beijing for the Great Khan Khubilai. The eunuch Liu Ching even ruled the entire Middle Empire - from 1505 to 1510 - under the infant emperor Wi-Tsu.

The most famous Chinese eunuch was Admiral Cheng He. In the 15th century, he made sea voyages to India, Sri Lanka, Arabia, sailed along the coast East Africa. Was close to the discovery of Europe. He commanded a vast fleet of three hundred ships and thirty thousand sailors. In China, eunuchs were a respected and authoritative part of society. They united in special clans, sometimes very powerful, and the rulers were forced to reckon with them.

The humiliated pride and inability to have sex made the eunuchs sometimes extremely belligerent and cruel, which their masters skillfully used. Emperor Xuan Zong, the owner of a harem with five hundred concubines, appointed the eunuch Gao Lishi as his bodyguard and security adviser. One day, the emperor ordered Gao Lishi to undertake a punitive operation against Buddhist monks. The eunuch, capturing the monks, subtly dealt with them. He ordered the monks to be castrated, their genitals boiled and fed to the nuns. The nuns, in turn, had their breasts cut off, boiled and fed to the monks.

The executioner-eunuch came up with other tortures. Bags filled with quicklime were placed over the eyes of the unfortunate, their fingers were crushed, and finally, naked bodies were wrapped in soft metal pipes in the form of snakes and boiling water was poured into their open “mouths”.

Another eunuch of Xuan Zong was a certain Wang Feiyen, who erected the "Palace of Desirable Monsters". It was inhabited by the most ugly and ugly women, collected from all over the Middle Kingdom: dwarfs and giantesses, hunchbacked and legless, covered with scabs and bleeding with pus ... And even, as historical chronicles testify, a woman with two heads, distinguished by special passion. It was this idea with the "palace" that contributed to the rise of Van ...

Harem - (from Arabic - "forbidden place") - a habitat or, simply put, the dwelling of women, slaves and children of the Sultan. It was called Dar-us-saadet - "House of Happiness". The most famous are the harems of the Ottoman sultans, but the Abbasids and Seljukids also had "Houses of Happiness".

At first, the harem was intended for the maintenance of slaves, because the daughters of Christian rulers from neighboring states were taken as wives. But after the reign of Bayezid II (1481-1512), this tradition changed, and the sultans began to choose wives from the inhabitants of the harem.

At first, the harem was intended for keeping slaves.

Of course, the main guests of the harem were the sultans themselves. After them - the mother of the Sultan (valide). When her son ascended the throne, the valide, accompanied by a magnificent procession, moved from the old palace to the new one and settled in special chambers. Following the valide, finally, came the wives of the Sultan - kadyn-efendi. Without a doubt, the most colorful inhabitants of the harem were slaves (jariye). Responsible for the security of the harem were: the heads of the Islamic hierarchy (sheikh-ul-Islam), the grand vizier (sadrazam), the head of the harem security (dar-us-saadet aghasy), and, of course, a special class of harem servants - eunuchs (harem-agalars).

Slaves

Where did the slaves in the Sultan's harem come from? Very simply - the eastern princes themselves sent their daughters to the Ottoman harem in the hope that they would become the chosen ones of the Sultan. Slaves were bought at 5-6 years of age and brought up to full physical development. Girls were taught dance, music, playing the musical instruments, etiquette, the art of giving pleasure to a man. Already in adolescence, the girl was previously shown to the Grand Vizier. If she was found to have physical defects, bad manners, or any other defects, her price dropped sharply, and her father, accordingly, received less money than he expected. By the way, when selling their daughter, her parents signed documents indicating that they no longer have any rights to her.

The most beautiful slaves that the Sultan could choose to marry had to study very carefully. The first point was the mandatory adoption of Islam, unless of course the girl was of a different faith. Then the slaves were taught to read the Koran, to pray together or separately. Having received the status of a wife, they founded charitable institutions and built mosques, somehow provided for Muslim traditions. The surviving letters of the Sultan's wives testify to their education.

In addition, the slaves received a daily salary, the amount of which changed with each new sultan. They were given gifts and money on the occasion of various festivities and celebrations. The slaves were well taken care of, but the Sultan severely punished those who deviated from the established rules.

If a slave lived in the harem for 9 years and was never chosen as a wife, she had the right to leave the harem. The Sultan gave her a dowry, a house and helped her find a husband. The slave received a document signed by the Sultan, confirming her status as a free person.

Favorites

Slaves lived in a common or lower harem. Favorites lived in the upper harem, and wives usually lived in palaces. Usually, if the Sultan was going to spend the night with a concubine, he would send her a gift. Then the chosen one of the Sultan was sent to the bath. After the bath, she was dressed in loose and clean clothes and escorted to the Sultan's chambers. There she had to wait at the door until the Sultan got into bed. Entering the bedroom, she crawled on her knees to the bed and only then got up and lay down next to the Sultan. In the morning, the sultan took a bath, changed clothes and sent gifts to the concubine if he liked the night spent with her. This concubine could then become his favorite.

If the favorite became pregnant, she was instantly transferred to the category of “happy” (ikbal), but if there were several of them, then they were assigned ranks: first (main), second, third, fourth, and so on. Having given birth to a child, the ikbal could after some time receive the status of the wife of the Sultan, but this tradition was not always observed.

Each ikbal had a separate room in the upper harem. Their menu consisted of fifteen dishes: beef, chicken, fruit, yogurt, compote, butter, etc. In the summer, ice was served to cool drinks.

Sultans' wives

The new wife of the Sultan (kadyn-efendi) after the wedding received a written certificate, she was presented with new fabrics, jewelry, outfits, and, of course, from the lower harem she was settled in a separate room specially allocated for her on the upper floors. The head guardian and her assistants taught her the imperial ways. In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Kadyn-efendi, who had children, began to be called Haseki. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was the first to bestow this title on his wife Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska (also known as Roksolana).

The night from Friday to Saturday, the sultans were required to spend only with one of their wives, the rest of the nights were spent with whomever they wanted. Such was the order consecrated by the tradition of Islam. If a wife was not with her husband for three consecutive Fridays, she had the right to appeal to a judge (qadi). By the way, the same guardian followed the sequence of meetings of the wives with the Sultan.

The sultans spent the night from Friday to Saturday with only one of their wives.

Kadyn-efendi necessarily called their sons "your highness"; when they came to visit them, they had to stand up and say: “My brave young man!” Regardless of age, the princes kissed the hand of the kadyn-efendi as a sign of respect. The women of the harem, in order to demonstrate their respect, kissed the hem of the kadyn-efendi skirt. In relations with each other, the sultan's wives observed a number of formalities. When one of the wives wanted to talk to another, she sent a maid to her to get consent. The Sultan's wife, riding in a palanquin, was accompanied by eunuchs on foot. If all the wives left at once, then their palanquins lined up according to the seniority of the owners.

eunuchs

The first eunuchs appeared in the Ottoman harem during the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. At first, the protection of the harem was entrusted to white eunuchs, but in 1582 Murad III appointed the Abyssinian Mehmed Aga as the eunuch. Since then, Abyssinians (Ethiopians) have almost always been selected as eunuchs.

It was believed that white boys endure the operation more difficult and often die after castration, while blacks survived much more. Therefore, Arab slave traders began to kidnap children from Africa and take them for castration to places known to them.

As the eunuchs became more and more, they organized a kind of guild. Boys accepted into this guild were brought up by adult eunuchs. Young eunuchs were given the names of flowers as names. Trained eunuchs usually served the valida, sultan's wives and princesses. Eunuchs guarded the entrance to the harem.

The chief eunuch of the harem informed the Sultan about the situation in the harem

Already after 1852, the entire management of the harem was completely transferred to the eunuchs. The chief eunuch of the harem bought slaves for his sultan and informed him about the situation - the behavior of his wives and concubines, gave advice on punishments and promotions in the harem hierarchy. At the same time, the duties of the chief eunuch were very extensive - he even had the right to prepare the Sultan at the wedding ceremony. When the chief eunuch retired, he was given a pension. The new sultan usually appointed another chief eunuch, but this was not always the case. Despite the fact that some of the chief eunuchs were completely illiterate, they actively took part in public policy, because they always received the support of the Sultan himself and his wives.

Mothers of Sultans

The rooms of the Sultan's mother (valide) were the second largest after the rooms of the Sultan. Slave maids lived on the lower floor.

Valide, despite their status, had enormous power. Sultans always revered their mothers and treated them with special respect.

Sunset of the harems

Mehmed VI Wahid ed-Din (1918-1924) was destined to become the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The defeated in World War I, Turkey was defeated as an ally of Germany, and was occupied by the allied states.
source

On my own behalf, I’ll add that on the territory of the harem, namely, near the rooms of the Sultan’s mother, the Valide, the treasury of the Ottoman Empire was traditionally kept - a kind of analogue of the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.

Institute of eunuchs at the royal courts ancient world was widespread in ancient Persia, in Assyria and then in Byzantium. Eunuchs were also involved in sacred cults such as those of Artemis, who was worshiped megabizes ancient Greece, and Gauland, worshipers of Cybele ancient rome. Ulpian describes three kinds of eunuchs: the eunuch by nature, the eunuch made by man, and all other kinds of eunuchs. Castrati was called in Latin recession, a nature spadones- a term for natural eunuchs, that is, those men who were born with undeveloped genitals and outwardly similar to women. Undoubtedly, in each culture of these societies there were different types castration is "full" or "partial", however, due to the lack of sources, it is impossible to say something exactly about certain individuals, because it was not always specified "what" the castrato was. One can only guess that the eunuch of the spiritual cult had to be completely castrated, as was the eunuch serving in the women's bedchambers, while the eunuch on the male side was only "partially" castrated. In this article, I will briefly talk about the division that appeared with the beginning of Muslim rule in the Near and Middle East. In the Arab world, a eunuch was designated by the term khadim which literally means "servant". This is mentioned by the classic author al-Jahiz (776-869). After the Islamic conquest, only slaves, that is, foreigners, were castrated, since it was forbidden by law to castrate a "believer". For example, in Ottoman Turkey, eunuchs were often peoples of the Caucasus and the Balkans, that is, from Christian families or from societies of other faiths. The definition of "black" or "white" eunuch has become known to many from the Ottoman Empire since the 16th century, when Kara Khadym(black eunuchs) and for enderuna(where the sultan and his servants lived) ak-khadymy- white eunuchs. However, long before that time, the practice of such a division was used in the East, in particular in the Muslim world, just until that moment it had not been legalized as an institution. As early as the 15th century, according to a late Byzantine source, Sultan Mehmed II gave a decree to bring slaves from Ethiopia, which gives reason to believe that there were black servants in his palace, undoubtedly eunuchs. It is not surprising that even in ancient times, the caliph of Baghdad al-Amin had many eunuchs, black and white, in the court, and the favorite among the first was the eunuch Cautar. The Arab scholar Hilal al-Sabi reports on the servants of the Abbasid court during the reign of Caliph al-Muqtadir (908-932): "In the days of al-Muktadir, his residence contained 11,000 eunuchs (khadim) - 7,000 black and 4,000 white Slavswho were free". The text confirms the fact that "black" or "white" is not only a type of castration, but also a race. By the way, another stupid delusion is that the place of eunuchs is only a harem. Eunuchs performed not only the affairs of the harem, but most of all administrative and military duties. At the court of the aforementioned al-Muqtadir, eunuchs became trusted advisers in politics and were powerful administrators. This was the practice in all Muslim states, given that the Abbasid dynasty became a model for many royal courts. Eunuchs not only played a major role in all official ceremonies and receptions, they had access to all instances, as messengers, spies, speakers and overseers. Being closest to the ruler, they deserved the trust of their devotion to the master. Thanks to this, eunuchs earned respect, and it was forbidden to insult them. For example, in 897, when any of the crowd shouted " Oh Akik! "to the black eunuch, then on the orders of Caliph al-Mu'tadid himself, such an offender was arrested for insulting a eunuch. The term has many meanings, rather it is a slang ridicule, since the Arabic verb Akik is to sing a song to heal the sick. Apparently, some racists and eunuchophobes were not satisfied with the fact that the eunuchs had a great influence on the ruler and almost decided matters for him. So, what are the types of castration radically different? White eunuchs are primarily slaves from the Indo-European race, and black ones from the Negroid. The misconception that the "black eunuch" is a form of castration is easy to refute for those who are well acquainted with oriental literature. But first I will describe some medical nuances. The writer al-Subki describes the types of castration: mamsuh- a eunuch who had the entire organ removed along with the testicles; majbub- the one whose penis is removed, but the testicles are left; and finally, the most common type of castration for white eunuchs: khasi- Removed the testicles but the member is left. Scholars and legislators of Sunna law (Sunnis) believe that mamsuh has the right to look at women (that is, everything is removed from him, therefore, he will not be able to have lustful thoughts), it is understood that mamsukhs have the right to be closer to women as servants. Whereas majbub or khasi they have no right to approach women, they are destined for the servants of men. In all cases, white eunuchs were even forbidden to approach women, namely because they were not completely emasculated. For example, Zain al-Dahya in the story about the will of the founder of the tomb makes it clear:

" And he put in charge of his post the free and most righteous eunuchs of all races, and then the most righteous of his free people from the white male slaves. However, he establishes the condition that the most righteous eunuch of the white race, namely the one who does notneighborswith women" .

The writer and scholar al-Jahiz, for example, wrote that the castration of white eunuchs "opposite black, this operation supported all natural inclinations", which suggests that the white eunuch was capable of a sexual life. Whereas a Mamluk scholar in the 1300s clearly explains the difference and role of black eunuchs:

" There are also many black Arabs. They are completelystricken and not ashamed (regardinghis state). These people are called "hadim" and rich noble rulers bestow honor on them. Also, these castrated khadim watch the women's quarters of the Turks, for no man has the right to go there except as a castration.andRaboutwannyechamberlains".

Late 10th century, the geographer al-Maqdisi believed that the difference in castration was made due to racial differences in order to deprive them of the ability to produce offspring. But this is a delusion. Such authors knew nothing about anatomy and physiology, which doctors knew about. Why were black slaves completely castrated? Since the type of castration of mamsukh was a complex and risky operation, a hardy chosen one was needed for this. Already at that time it was known that Africans were considered stronger, more enduring, had less risk of infection, so they were used so that there was less risk of losing a valuable slave. And since black slaves were mamsukhs, they had access to women. Hence the Ottoman practice Kara-Khadymov, and "kyzlar-aga" is always beyond doubt of African origin. White slaves, stripped only of their testicles in order to remove testosterone from their bodies, were destined to serve on the male side. They served the princes, the ruler himself, and stood at the head of the page boys. By the way, the type of their castration is described in Ancient Greece, Greek term flysia- eunuchs whose testicles were squeezed (verb flan- squeeze) so that they dysfunction and do not supply testosterone to the body. It was preferred in ancient times to castrate before puberty, the sooner the better, that is, long before the boy begins to grow a beard and body hair. This was done for the reason that the boy retained his beauty, youth and femininity, and he did not "coarse" like ordinary young men who matured by the age of 16. The body of a boy castrated before puberty (up to 12 years old) was radically different from the body of an ordinary man: 1. Such a eunuch became feminine and effeminate, his features were rounded, fat appeared on his hips; 2. despite the similarity with women, there was one difference from them: incredibly tall and long limbs (arms, legs and fingers), because their bones did not stop growing, that is, like eternal teenagers; 3. Their body had no hair at all, there was no pubic hair or beard, in this they were more like "eternal children", and not like women. It was also practiced so that eunuchs became lovers for their masters, and therefore, from time immemorial, castration has been inextricably linked with homosexuality. In conditions of limited sexual orientations, such as in Christianity or Islam, the institution of eunuchs became the gateway to the freedom of personal preferences. Feminine eunuchs or young boys became objects of love for men, as visually they were acceptable to the aesthetic views of society. The beauty of eunuchs, both black and white, is noticed by Arab sources. In the sources, one can come across descriptions such as that their figures are graceful, they are exquisitely dressed, and their faces are sweet. Interestingly, black eunuchs also served in the Muslim shrines of Mecca and Medina, because many female pilgrims also flocked there, and therefore only a eunuch had the privilege of guarding the holy place, like all donations. So the famous Ibn Battuta, who visited the sanctuary of the tomb of the Prophet, describes them:

" The servants of the noble mosque and its keepers are eunuchs from Ethiopia and nearby places. They present a beautiful appearance, they have a clean and neat appearance, and their clothes are elegant. The chief of them, known as Sheikh al-Khuddam, has the position of chief emirs. They receive a salary in the lands of Egypt and Syria, which is brought to them annually" .

In Mamluk biographies, the senior eunuch of the guard, Kafur is described as "perfect in appearance among the best people, absolute in its ideal character, and in its image awe-inspiring." A distinctive feature of the prepubertal castrato is his height. Almost all travel biographers notice the abnormal growth of eunuchs. The Mamluks of Egypt often noticed other qualities of eunuchs, calling them jamil(beautiful), wasim(cute), ahsan(best, finest) or akmal(most perfect). Jean Louis Burckhardt, already with a negative European view, in 1811 describes the eunuchs of the Hejaz "eerilyskinny like skeletons" like eunuchs " hid their thinness underthick clothes". In fact, just the very high stature of the old eunuchs seemed terrifying to him. With many sources in my archives, I could tell more about the eunuchs, the role of which is said a lot in the descriptions of the eastern royal courts, but I would not want to stretch the article, the purpose of which was to clearly explain the difference between black and white eunuchs, I repeat, precisely in their racial affiliation, which refutes the prevailing opinion that the type of castration does not depend on this. As history shows, despite the fact that eunuchs became slaves, their status did not affect the growth of their career, influence and privileges. It doesn’t matter what race, black or white, they had the right to enjoy the respect, admiration and even fear of people, since it was the eunuchs who were entrusted with the post of managers and guardians of the inviolable. Notes Marmon, Shaun. Eunuchs and Sacred Boundaries in Islamic Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. "On the term Khadim in the Sense of Eunuch in the Early Islamic Sources." Arabica 32 (1985): 289-308. Cheikh-Mousa, A. "Gaziz et les eunuques ou la confusion du méme et de l"autre." Arabica 29 (1982): 184-214. Marmer, David Bruce Jay. The Political Culture of the Abbasid Court, 279-324 (A. H.) Ph. D. thesis, Princeton University, 1994. Ringrose, Kathryn, M. "Living in the Shadows: Eunuchs and Gender in Byzantium." In Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History, ed Gilbert Herdt, pp. 85-519. 1994. Tougher, Shaun F. "Byzantine Eunuchs: An Overview, with Special Reference to their Creation and Origin. Servants At The Gate: Eunuchs At The Court Of Al-Muqtadir. Nadia Maria El-Cheikh. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2005 David Ayalon, Eunuchs, Caliphs and Sultans: A Study in Power Relationships (Jerusalem: the Magness Press, 1999