Castration was typically carried out on the soon-to-be eunuch without his consent in order that he might perform a specific social function; this was common in many societies. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 21st century BC.^[2][3] Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, treble singers, religious specialists, government officials and guardians of women or harem servants.

Eunuchs would probably be servants or slaves who, because of their function, had been castrated, usually in order to make them reliable servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler’s bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could in theory give a eunuch “the ruler’s ear” and impart de factopower on the formally humble but trusted servant. Similar instances are reflected in the humble origins and etymology of many high offices (e.g., chancellor originally denoted a servant guarding the entrance to an official’s study). Eunuchs supposedly did not generally have loyalties to the military, the aristocracy, nor to a family of their own (having neither offspring nor in-laws, at the very least), and were thus seen as more trustworthy and less interested in establishing a private ‘dynasty’. Because their condition usually lowered their social status, they could also be easily replaced or killed without repercussion. In cultures that had both harems and eunuchs, eunuchs were sometimes used as harem servants (compare the female odalisque) or seraglio guards.^{[citation needed]}

In Latin, the words eunuchus, spado, and castratus were used to denote eunuchs.^[4]

Etymology

Eunuch comes from the Greek eunoukhos, originally meaning “guard of the bedchamber or harem,” from eune, “bed,” + –ekhein, “to have, hold”.^[5]

Eunuchs by region and epoch

Ancient Middle East

Eunuchs were familiar figures in the Assyrian Empire (ca. 850 until 622 BCE) and in the court of the Egyptian Pharaohs (down to the Lagid dynasty known as Ptolemies, ending with Cleopatra). Political eunuchism became a fully established institution among the Achamenide Persians.^[6] Eunuchs held powerful positions in the Achaemenide court. The eunuch Bagoas (not to be confused with Alexander’s Bagoas) was the Vizier of Artaxerxes III and IV, and was the primary power behind the throne during their reigns, until he was killed by Darius III.^[7]

Ancient Greece, Rome and Byzantium

The practice was also well established in other Mediterranean areas among the Greeks and Romans, although a role as court functionaries does not arise until Byzantine times. The Galli or Priests of Cybele were eunuchs.

In the late period of the Roman Empire, after the adoption of the oriental royal court model by the Emperors Diocletian and Constantine, Emperors were surrounded by eunuchs for such functions as bathing, hair cutting, dressing, and bureaucratic functions, in effect acting as a shield between the Emperor and his administrators from physical contact, thus enjoying great influence in the Imperial Court (see Eusebius and Eutropius). Eunuchs were believed loyal and indispensable.^{[citation needed]}

However, it was not uncommon for wives to have sex with partially castrated eunuchs (those whose testicles were removed or rendered inactive only), hence the bitter epigram: “Do you ask, Panychus, why your Caelia only consorts with eunuchs? Caelia wants the flowers of marriage – not the fruits.” ^[8]

At the Byzantine imperial court, there were a great number of eunuchs employed in domestic and administrative functions, actually organized as a separate hierarchy, following a parallel career of their own. Archieunuchs—each in charge of a group of eunuchs—were among the principal officers in Constantinople, under the emperors.^[9] Under Justinian in the 6th century, the eunuch Narses functioned as a successful general in a number of campaigns. By the last centuries of the Empire the number of roles reserved for eunuchs had reduced, and their use may have been all but over.

Following the Byzantine tradition, eunuchs had important tasks at the court of the Norman kingdom of Sicily during the middle 12th century. One of them, Philip of Mahdia, has been admiratus admiratorum, and another one, Peter the caid, was prime minister.

China

Records of eunuchs in China date to the Shang dynasty, when the Shang kings castrated prisoners of war.^[10] In China, castration included removal of the penis as well as the testicles. Both organs were cut off with a knife at the same time.^{[11][12][13][14]} Men sentenced to castration were turned into eunuch slaves of the Qin dynasty state to perform forced labor for projects such as the Terracotta Army.^[15] The Qin government confiscated the property and enslaved the families of rapists who received castration as a punishment.^[16] Men punished with castration during the Han dynasty were also used as slave labor.^[17]

From ancient times until the Sui Dynasty, castration was both a traditional punishment (one of the Five Punishments) and a means of gaining employment in the Imperial service. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were about 70,000 eunuchs (宦官 huànguān, or 太監 tàijiàn) employed by the emperor, with some serving inside the Imperial palace. Certain eunuchs gained immense power that occasionally superseded that of even the Grand Secretaries. Zheng He, who lived during the Ming Dynasty, is an example of such a eunuch. Self-castration was a common practice, although it was not always performed completely, which led to its being made illegal. During the early Ming period, China demanded eunuchs to be sent as tribute from Korea. Some of them oversaw the Korean concubines in the harem of the Chinese Emperor.^[18][19]

When the Ming army finally captured Yunnan from Mongols in 1382, thousands of prisoners were killed and, according to the custom in times of war, their young sons – including Zheng He – were castrated.^[20][21] During the Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty), Chinese commanders castrated thousands of Miao boys when their tribes revolted, and then gave them as slaves to various officials.^[21]

The sons and grandsons of the rebel Yaqub Beg in China were all castrated. Surviving members of Yaqub Beg’s family included his 4 sons, 4 grandchildren (2 grandsons and 2 granddaughters), and 4 wives. They either died in prison inLanzhou, Gansu, or were killed by the Chinese. His sons Yima Kuli, K’ati Kuli, Maiti Kuli, and grandson Aisan Ahung were the only survivors in 1879. They were all underage children, and put on trial, sentenced to an agonizing death if they were complicit in their father’s rebellious “sedition”, or if they were innocent of their fathers’ crimes, were to be sentenced to castration and serve as eunuch slaves to Chinese troops, when they reached 11 years old, and were handed over to the Imperial Household to be executed or castrated.^[22][23][24] In 1879, it was confirmed that the sentence of castration was carried out; Yaqub Beg’s son and grandsons were castrated by the Chinese court in 1879 and turned into eunuchs to work in the Imperial Palace.^[25]

It is said that the justification for the employment of eunuchs as high-ranking civil servants was that, since they were incapable of having children, they would not be tempted to seize power and start a dynasty. In many cases, eunuchs were considered more reliable than the scholar officials. A similar system existed in Vietnam.^[26]

The tension between eunuchs in the service of the emperor and virtuous Confucian officials is a familiar theme in Chinese history. In his History of Government, Samuel Finer points out that reality was not always that clear-cut. There were instances of very capable eunuchs who were valuable advisers to their emperor, and the resistance of the “virtuous” officials often stemmed from jealousy on their part. Ray Huang argues that in reality, eunuchs represented the personal will of the Emperor, while the officials represented the alternate political will of the bureaucracy. The clash between them would thus have been a clash of ideologies or political agenda.^[27]

The number of eunuchs in Imperial employ fell to 470 by 1912, when the practice of using them ceased.^{[citation needed]} The last Imperial eunuch, Sun Yaoting, died in December 1996.

Korea

The eunuchs of Korea, called Naesi (내시, 內侍), were officials to the king and other royalty in traditional Korean society. The first recorded appearance of a Korean eunuch was in Goryeosa (“History of Goryeo”), a compilation about the Goryeo period. In 1392, with the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, the Naesi system was revised, and the department was renamed the “Department of Naesi” (내시부, 內侍府).^[28]

The Naesi system included two ranks, those of Sangseon (상선, 尙膳, “Chief of Naesi”), who held the official title of senior second rank, and Naegwan (내관, 內官, “Common official naesi”), both of which held rank as officers. 140 naesi in total served the palace in Joseon Dynasty period. They also took the exam on Confucianism every month.^[28] The naesi system was repealed in 1894 following Gabo reform.

According to legend, castration consisted of daubing a boy’s genitals with human feces and having a dog bite them off.^[29] During the Yuan Dynasty, eunuchs became a desirable commodity for tributes, and dog bites were replaced by more sophisticated surgical techniques.^[30]

Vietnam

Ly Thuong Kiet was a prominent eunuch general during the Lý Dynasty (1009-1225).

The Trần Dynasty sent Vietnamese boy eunuchs as tribute to Ming dynasty China several times, in 1383, 1384 and 1385^[31] Nguyen Dao, Nguyen Toan, Tru Ca, and Ngo Tin were among several Vietnamese eunuchs sent to China.^[32]

During the Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam, the Ming Chinese under the Yongle Emperor castrated many young Vietnamese boys, choosing them for their handsomeness and ability, and brought them to Nanjing to serve as eunuchs. Among them were the architect-engineer Nguyen An^[33] and Nguyen Lang (阮浪).^[34] Vietnamese were among the many eunuchs of different origins found at Yongle’s court.^[35] Among the eunuchs in charge of the Capital Battalions of Beijingwas Xing An, a Vietnamese.^[36]

Several Malay envoys from the Malacca sultanate were attacked and captured in 1469 by the Lê Dynasty of Annam (Vietnam) as they were returning to Malacca from China. The Vietnamese enslaved and castrated the young from among the captured.^[31][37][38]

The poet Ho Xuan Huong mocked eunuchs in her poem as a stand in for criticizing the government.^[39]

Commoners were banned from undergoing castration in Vietnam, only adult men of high social rank could be castrated, most eunuchs were born as such with a congenital abnormality. The Vietnamese government mandated that boys born with defective genitalia were to be reported to officials, in exchange for the town being freed from mandatory labor requirements. The boy would have the option of serving as a eunuch official or serving the palace women when he became ten years old.^[40] This law was put in place in 1838 during the Nguyen dynasty.^[41] The only males allowed inside the Forbidden City at Huế were the Emperor and his eunuchs.^[42] The Nguyen Code explicitly forbade castration.^[43]

The presence of eunuchs in Vietnam was used by the French colonizers to degrade the Vietnamese.^[44]

Thailand

In Siam (modern Thailand) Indian Muslims from the Coromandel Coast served as eunuchs in the Thai palace and court.^[45][46] The Thai at times asked eunuchs from China to visit the court in Thailand and advise them on court ritual since they held them in high regard.^[47][48]

Burma

Sir Henry Yule saw many Muslims serving as eunuchs in Konbaung Dynasty Burma (modern Myanmar) while on a diplomatic mission.^{[49][50][51][52]} These Muslim eunuchs came from Arakan.^[45][46]

Ottoman Empire

In the Ottoman Empire, eunuchs were typically slaves imported from outside their domains. A fair proportion of male slaves were imported as eunuchs.^[53]

The Ottoman court harem—within the Topkapı Palace (1465–1853) and later the Dolmabahçe Palace (1853–1909) in Istanbul—was under the administration of the eunuchs. These were of two categories: Black Eunuchs and White Eunuchs. Black Eunuchs were Africans who served the concubines and officials in the Harem together with chamber maidens of low rank. The White Eunuchs were Europeans from the Balkans. They served the recruits at the Palace School and were from 1582 prohibited from entering the Harem. An important figure in the Ottoman court was the Chief Black Eunuch (Kızlar Ağası or Dar al-Saada Ağası). In control of the Harem and a perfect net of spies in the Black Eunuchs, the Chief Eunuch was involved in almost every palace intrigue and could thereby gain power over either the sultan or one of his viziers, ministers or other court officials.^[54] One of the most powerful Chief Eunuchs was Beshir Agha who played a crucial role in establishing the Ottoman version of Hanafi Islam throughout the Empire by founding libraries and schools.^[55]

The eunuchs in the Ottoman Empire were created mainly at one Coptic monastery, at Abou Gerbe monastery on Mount Ghebel Eter. The Coptic priests sliced the penis and testicles off Nubian orAbyssinian slave boys around the age of eight.^[56] The boys were captured from Abyssinia and other areas in Sudan like Darfur and Kordofan, then brought into Sudan and Egypt. During the operation, the Coptic clergyman chained the boys to tables and after slicing off their sexual organs, stuck a piece of bamboo into the genital area, then submerged them in neck-high sand to burn. The recovery rate was ten percent. The resulting eunuchs fetched large profits in contrast to eunuchs from other areas.^[57][58][59]

Indian subcontinent

Eunuchs in Indian Mughal royalty

Eunuchs were frequently employed in Imperial palaces by Mughal rulers as servants for female royalty, and often attained high-status positions in society. Eunuchs in Imperial palaces were organized in a hierarchy, often with a senior or chief eunuch (Urdu: Khwaja Saras) directing junior eunuchs below him. Eunuchs were highly valued for their strength, ability to provide protection for ladies’ palaces and trustworthiness, allowing eunuchs to live amongst women with fewer worries. This enabled eunuchs to serve as messengers, watchmen, attendants and guards for palaces. Often, eunuchs also doubled as part of the King’s court of advisers.^[60][61]

The hijra of South Asia

The Ancient Indian Kama Sutra refers to people of a “third sex” (triteeyaprakrti), who can be dressed either in men’s or in women’s clothes and perform fellatio on men. The term has been translated as “eunuchs” (as in Sir Richard Burton’s translation of the book), but these persons have also been considered to be the equivalent of the modern hijra of India.^{[citation needed]}

Hijra, a Hindi and Urdu term traditionally translated into English as “eunuch”, actually refers to what modern Westerners would call male-to-female transgender people and effeminate homosexuals (although some of them reportedly identify as belonging to a third sex). Some of them undergo ritual castration, but the majority do not. They usually dress in saris (traditional Indian garb worn by women) or shalwar kameez (traditional garb worn by women in South Asia) and wear heavy make-up. They typically live in the margins of society and face discrimination.^[62] However, they are integral to several Hindu ceremonies which is primary form of their livelihood. They are a part of dance programs (sometimes adult) in marriage ceremonies. They also perform certain ceremonies for the couple in Hindu tradition. Other means to earn their living are: by coming uninvited at weddings, births, new shop openings and other major family events and singing until they are paid or given gifts to go away.^[63] The ceremony is supposed to bring good luck and fertility, while the curse of an unappeased hijra is feared by many. Other sources of income for the hijra are begging and prostitution. The begging is accompanied by singing and dancing and the hijras usually get the money easily. Some Indian provincial officials have used the assistance of hijras to collect taxes in the same fashion; they knock on the doors of shopkeepers, while dancing and singing, and embarrass them into paying.^[64] Recently, hijras have started to found organizations to improve their social condition and fight discrimination, such as the Shemale Foundation Pakistan.

Religious castration

Castration as part of religious practice, and eunuchs occupying religious roles have been established prior to classical antiquity. Archaeological finds at Çatalhöyük in Anatolia indicate worship of a ‘Magna Mater’ figure, a forerunner of theCybele goddess found in later Anatolia and other parts of the near East.^[65] Later Roman followers of Cybele, were called Galli, who practiced ritual self-castration, known as sanguinaria.^[65]

The practice of religious castration continued into the Christian era, with members of the early church practising celibacy (including castration) for religious purposes,^[66] although the extent and even the existence of this practice among Christians is subject to debate.^[67] The early theologian Origen found evidence of the practice in Matthew 19:10-12,:^[68] “His disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” (NRSV)

Tertullian, a 2nd-century Church Father, described Jesus himself and Paul of Tarsus as spadones, which is translated as “eunuchs” in some contexts.^[69] Quoting from the cited book:^[69] “…Tertullian takes ‘spado’ to mean virgin…”. The meaning of spado in late antiquity can be interpreted as a metaphor for celibacy, however Tertullian’s specifically refers to St. Paul as being castrated.^[69]

Eunuch priests have served various goddesses from India for many centuries. Similar phenomena are exemplified by some modern Indian communities of the Hijra, which are associated with a deity and with certain rituals and festivals – notably the devotees of Yellammadevi, or jogappas, who are not castrated^[70] and the Ali of southern India, of whom at least some are.^[71]

The 18th-century Russian Skoptzy (скопцы) sect was an example of a castration cult, where its members regarded castration as a way of renouncing the sins of the flesh.^[72] Several members of the 20th-century Heaven’s Gate cult were found to have been castrated, apparently voluntarily and for the same reasons.^[73]

Eunuchs in the Bible

Eunuchs are mentioned many times in the Bible such as in the Book of Isaiah (56:4) using the word סריס (saris). Although the Ancient Hebrews did not practice castration, eunuchs were common in other cultures featured in the Bible, such as Ancient Egypt, Babylonia, the Persian Empire and Ancient Rome. In the Book of Esther, servants of the harem of Ahasuerus such as Hegai and Shashgaz as well as other servants such as Hatach, Harbonah, Bigthan, and Teresh are referred to as sarisim. Being exposed to the consorts of the king, they would have likely been castrated.

There is some confusion regarding eunuchs in Old Testament passages, since the Hebrew word for eunuch, saris (סריס), could also refer to other servants and officials who had not been castrated but served in similar capacities.^[74][75] The Egyptian royal servant Potiphar is described as a saris in Genesis 39:1, although he was married and hence unlikely to have been a eunuch. The cupbearer who became governor of Judah, Nehemiah, may have been a eunuch.^{[citation needed]}

One of the earliest converts to Christianity was an Ethiopian eunuch who was a high court official of Candace the Queen of Ethiopia. Acts8:27-39 The reference to “eunuchs” in Matthew 19:12 has yielded various interpretations.

Castrato singers

Eunuchs castrated before puberty were also valued and trained in several cultures for their exceptional voices, which retained a childlike and other-worldly flexibility and treble pitch. Such eunuchs were known as castrati. Unfortunately the choice had to be made at an age when the boy would not yet be able to consciously choose whether to sacrifice his reproductive capabilities, and there was no guarantee that the voice would remain of musical excellence after the operation.

As women were sometimes forbidden to sing in Church, their place was taken by castrati. The practice, known as castratism, remained popular until the 18th century and was known into the 19th century. The last famous Italian castrato, Giovanni Velluti, died in 1861. The sole existing recording of a castrato singer documents the voice of Alessandro Moreschi, the last eunuch in the Sistine Chapel choir, who died in 1922.

Non-castrated eunuchs

According to Byzantine historian Kathryn Ringrose,^[76] while the pagans of Classical Antiquity based their notions of gender in general and eunuchs in particular on physiology (the genitalia), the Byzantine Christians based them on behaviour and more specifically procreation. Hence, by Late Antiquity the term “eunuch” had come to be applied to not only castrated men, but also a wide range of men with comparable behavior, who had “chosen to withdraw from worldly activities and thus refused to procreate”.^[77] The broad sense of the term “eunuch” is reflected in the compendium of Roman law created by Justinian I in the 6th century known as the Digest or Pandects. That text distinguishes between two types of eunuchs – spadones (a general term denoting “one who has no generative power, an impotent person, whether by nature or by castration”,^[78] D 50.16.128) and castrati (castrated males, physically incapable of procreation). In this historical text, Spadones are eligible to marry women (D 23.3.39.1), institute posthumous heirs (D 28.2.6), and adopt children (Institutions of Justinian 1.11.9), unless they are castrati.

Eunuchs in the contemporary world

The hijra of India (see above) may number as many as 2,000,000,^[79] and are usually described as eunuchs, although they may be more of a male-to-female transsexual individual, but have surgical castration instead of reassignment surgery, and seldom have access to hormones. The loss of testosterone and lack of estrogen means their bodies take on the characteristics of post-pubertal eunuchs.

The most commonly castrated men are advanced prostate cancer patients. In the United States alone there are more than 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed each year. It is estimated that over 80,000 of these men will be surgically or chemically castrated within six months of diagnosis.^[80] With the average life expectancy after castration, there are approximately a half million chemically or surgically castrated prostate cancer patients at any time in the U.S. alone.^{[citation needed]} While most of these men would deny the term “eunuch,” they meet all physiological characteristics of post-pubertal eunuchs. Some do, however, embrace the term for the historic and psychological grounding that it gives them.^[81][82]

Convicted sex offenders who have been castrated are rare, although there is debate as to whether the drastic reduction of testosterone and the consequent diminishing of libido might have an effect on recidivism.^[83]

A study on eunuchs has found that they live 13.5 years longer than non-eunuch men as a result of a lack of testosterone, which suppresses the immune system, and its resultant negative effects on health.^[84]

In popular culture

Films

• The 2001 documentary film Bombay Eunuch examines the changing role of India’s hijras, some of whom are also eunuchs
• The 2011 film Nilkantho treats the plight of the Indian hijras with sensitivity
• The 2003 documentary film American Eunuchs investigates the underworld of modern eunuchs in America
• Kiss the Moon, a 2010 documentary set in Pakistan, portrays three generations of eunuchs examining the ancient rituals and religious beliefs surrounding their community
• The Last Eunuch, a 1988 Chinese biographical film directed by Zhang ZhiLiang, tells the story of Sun YaoTing, who saw the last royal palace’s extravagant lifestyle and experienced the breakdown of the last imperial empire and felt the new changes brought by the new age.
• In Game of Thrones, an American epic fantasy television series, Varys is a major character. He is played by starring cast member Conleth Hill. Season 3 introduces the Unsullied, slave soldiers who are fully castrated and trained for battle at a young age.
• In Mel Brook’s 1981 comedy History of the World, Part I, under the section of “The Roman Empire”, an entire scene is devoted to a joke about Eunuchs, the length of African genitals, and the song, “Caldonia“; all rolled into one.

Books

• Several tales of the Arabian Nights focus on eunuchs^[85]
• Eunuchs feature prominently in Montesquieu’s 1722 novel Lettres Persanes, about Persian visitors to 18th-century France
• Bagoas, the eunuch favorite of Alexander the Great, is the main character and narrator of The Persian Boy, a 1972 historical novel by Mary Renault
• The Janissary Tree and its sequels are crime novels set in Istanbul in the 1830s, written by Jason Goodwin featuring Yashim, a eunuch detective
• George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire features the eunuch Varys, also called the Spider, a court official, bearing the title of Master of Whisperers, the equivalent of the real worldspymaster. The Unsullied, elite eunuch soldiers are also greatly featured in the books.

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