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The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire: Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan
At the height of the Ottoman Empire, black eunuchs ― rare, castrated slaves imported from ― became a key part of court politics. Unlike white eunuchs, who were only permitted outside the palace, black eunuchs had access to the harem, the Sultan's inner court. The Chief Black Eunuch, appointed personally by the Sultan, had both the ear of the leader of a vast Islamic Empire and held power over a network of spies and informers, including eunuchs and slaves throughout Constantinople and beyond. The story of these remarkable individuals, who rose from difficult beginnings to become amongst the most powerful people in the Ottoman Empire, is rarely told. George Junne places their stories in the context of the wider history of African slavery, and places them at the centre of Ottoman history. The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire marks a new direction in the study of courtly politics and power in Constantinople.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 30, 2016
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 18, 2020
There are a lot of parts of this book that are repetitive and circular, and the book title is a bit misleading. Only some of the chapters are about the Black eunuchs, and even those often include tangents about harem women, etc. The author does not discuss the reliability of western accounts about the lascivious nature of the harems, which could lead some readers to absorb these accounts uncritically.
That said, I will give this a 2.5 tipping 3 because the bib is extensive, the appendices are helpful, and as a compilation of some disparate information about slavery/eunuchs/ottoman empire, it was helpful to have it all in one place. I would have really liked more discussion about race as a component in the empire and/or slavery, but perhaps that would be asking too much.
That said, I will give this a 2.5 tipping 3 because the bib is extensive, the appendices are helpful, and as a compilation of some disparate information about slavery/eunuchs/ottoman empire, it was helpful to have it all in one place. I would have really liked more discussion about race as a component in the empire and/or slavery, but perhaps that would be asking too much.
Displaying 1 of 1 review