The Chief Eunuch of the Ottoman Harem

Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-1-107-10829-5
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 338 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 644 g

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hathaway, Jane

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction to the Chief Harem Eunuch; 2. The African Connection; 3. Arrangement in black and white: eunuchs in the Ottoman Palace; 4. The creation of the office of Chief Harem Eunuch and the career of Habeshi Mehmed Agha; 5. The crisis years of the seventeenth century; 6. Yusuf Agha and the Köprülü reforms; 7. A new paradigm: El-Hajj Beshir Agha and his successors; 8. Exile and the Kingdom: the Chief Harem Eunuch and Egypt; 9. The Chief Harem Eunuch and Ottoman religious and intellectual life; 10. Reformed out of existence: the dénouement of the Chief Harem Eunuch; 11. Memorializing the Chief Harem Eunuch; 12. Conclusion.

Über Autor(innen)

Hathaway, Jane
Jane Hathaway is Professor of History at Ohio State University and one of the world's leading authorities on the Ottoman Empire and on eunuchs in Islamic societies. She is the author of five books, including The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule (2008), which won the Turkish Studies Association's M. Fuat Köprülü Book Prize. She also authored the article 'Eunuchs' for the third edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, a seminal reference work. Her research has been funded by prestigious grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Institute for Advanced Study.