Ancient Egyptian history is both complex and fascinating. There are several reason why Egyptian history is so complex. At first glance you will see that Ancient Egyptian history can be divided into eight different periods: the Archaic Period, the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period, the Middle Kingdom, the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom, the Third Intermediate Period, the Late Period, and the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. Each of these periods is quite distinct in their politics, religion (though the basics were the same, allegiances to gods waxed and waned), and the people. The Intermediate Periods were times of great chaos, when the history of Egypt became even more complex since chaos tends to mean that records are inaccurate or missing.

When people think of ancient Egypt two things that generally come to mind are the pyramids and hieroglyphics. Therefore, the other major difficulty in studying Egypt is their written language. At least three written languages were used during the eight time periods of ancient Egyptian history: hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek. Only Greek survived through history, but the Rosetta Stone allowed for the correlation between the three to be deciphered. Like most forms of writing, hieroglyphics originally began as pictures. The growth of cities and public administration created a need for record-keeping and accounting; the simplest way to record a transaction involved pictures. “Five cows,” for instance, can be represented with five marks and a picture of a cow. But, as you can imagine, this type of writing is enormously inefficient (millions of pictures) and sometimes confusing (“Is that a cow or a hippo?” Five hippos?”). So the Egyptians developed a shorthand out of their pictures, in which a picture of a single-syllable word could stand for that syllable whenever it occurs in a word. Let me give you an example in English. Suppose we were to come up with a hieroglyphic system in English similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics. We have a single-syllable word, “cat,” which we represent with a picture of a cat. So when we write the word, “catalog,” we write the first syllable of the word with a picture of a cat. That’s how hieroglyphics work. Simple, right? No. There is a twist. The Egyptians never indicated vowel sounds in their writing, so the picture of a cat actually stands for the syllable “ct.” So the word “cut” would also be written by using a picture of a cat, and in the word “recite,” the last syllable would also be a picture of a cat. But check this out: the word “react,” since the last syllable consists only of the two consonants, “ct,” would also be a picture of a cat.

You can see now how difficult it must have been to decipher this mess. Even the Egyptians had problems. For instance, in English the words “recite,” “recut,” and “react” would be spelled exactly the same way in hieroglyphics (if you spelled the words in English without vowels, the three words would be spelled “rct,” “rct,” “rct”). So the Egyptians would add a picture at the end of the word to identify the word; “recut,” for instance, might be followed by a picture of a knife, “recite” might be followed by a picture of a mouth.

Because of this confusing way of writing, it is often difficult to know a great deal about Egyptian history. One of those problems is evident when you look at eunuchs in Ancient Egypt. Some historians suggest that eunuchs were unknown in Egypt and therefore, the Egyptian eunuch never existed. However, this is hard to believe since Egyptians were familiar with the three surgical modes of performing this operation: amputation of the penis alone, removal of the testicular apparatus, and total emasculation. The references to support this came either from the religious tradition, from the domain of fable, or from the subject of mutilation of cadavers for military or funerary purposes.

Horapollon lived in Egypt in the 5th century AD and is the author of the Hieroglyphica, one of the most curious works in Greco-Egyptian literature, arising out of the Hellenized atmosphere of Egypt at the end of antiquity. In this post-pharaonic work, Horapollon collects a series of hieroglyphic signs — which by that time had become unintelligible even to educated Egyptians — and attempts to establish for each of them the relationship between the image and its symbolic meaning. It is not until the Rosetta Stone was deciphered that these hieroglyphs could be read and understood. No matter how fantastical these attempts were in some cases, they are nonetheless of interest to Egyptologists, who do not fail to make use of them on occasion. Let us proceed like these specialists. Hieroglyphica contains an allusion to emasculation (castration) practiced on a living individual: “[How they portray a male who commits the crime of mutilating himself”]: “If they want to portray a male who commits the crime of mutilating himself, they draw a beaver: because the latter, when chased (by hunters), tears off its own testicles and leaves them behind as prey”. Which leads us to think of sexual mutilation as a rite of self-castration.

Diodorus of Sicily also alluded, twice, to the existence in Egypt of castration practised on living beings. In describing the Theban monument which he called the tomb of Osymandias the contemporary of Augustus confirms that “on the second wall prisoners defeated by the king were represented deprived of their hands and sexual parts, as if to say that they were not shown to be men by their courage, and that they remained inactive in the midst of dangers”. We can confirm that Diodorus never actually viewed a relief of that kind and that the description that he gives us — no doubt based on second-hand information — is based on an inaccurate interpretation of the well-known depiction of the calculation of the number of enemy cadavers by counting the phalluses and the hands. The composition in the Ramesseum is in ruins today, but fortunately one can find identical scenes elsewhere, notably at the temple of Ramses III in Medinet-Habu. Here one can see scribes taking the inventory of the cut hands and sectioned phalluses, piled up in heaps in front of the pharaoh. That these bloody trophies were in fact remains of cadavers and not amputations performed on living prisoners can be read even in the legends that comment on the reliefs, and even better in the following, more elaborate text of Meneptah, found at Karnak and not accompanied by any depiction. This inscription states that they are: “… killed persons from whom the phallus and prepuce has been removed …” Later we find: “Killed Libyans from whom the phallus-and-prepuce have been removed …”

Let us see if his second reference is more worthy of interest. This one cites castration as a corporal punishment provided by Egyptian legislators. His own words: “The laws concerning women were very severe. Anyone who was convicted of raping a free woman had to have his genitals cut off; because they considered that this crime included in itself three very great evils: insult, corruption of morals, and confusion of offspring.” This is a special case of that policy of repression which, by attacking the part of the body with which the crime was committed, ensured that the guilty party “would carry unto death an indelible mark that must have prevented others from breaking the law, by warning of this punishment”.

Obviously, the above castrations were done for a variety of reasons. Self-castration was probably performed as part of a religious cult for one of the Egyptian gods. It was also not uncommon in ancient warfare to castrate or otherwise mutilate prisoners of war. The reason for this is to either make the soldiers lame so that they could no longer fight or in the case of castration to keep soldiers from producing future generations of soldiers that could wage war. The third instance, as a punishment for rape, is somewhat self explanatory from above. Often these men castrated as punishment would have become slaves.

However, it appears that eunuchs, like eunuchs in other areas of the ancient Middle East, performed bureaucratic duties or as men who guarded harems. Why it was necessary to castrate government bureaucrats, may never be known but if you have ever had to deal with bureaucracy, you might understand the desire to castrate bureaucrats, LOL.

Today, July 19, 1799, one of, if not the, most significant historical discoveries of all time was found.  Rosetta Stone is a slab of black basalt now in the British Museum on which is inscribed an Egyptian decree of 197 BC honoring the king Ptolemy V Epiphanēs. The inscription is given in three versions, Greek and two forms of Egyptian: hieroglyphics (‘picture-writing’) and demotic, the simplified form of hieroglyphic in common use. The discovery of the stone in Egypt in 1799 made possible the eventual decipherment of hieroglyphics by the French scholar Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832).

Without the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the subsequent deciphering of its text, much of what historians and archeologist know about ancient Egypt would still be lost and what we currently know would have continued to be guesswork.  However, with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, scholars have been able to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics and can now read the world carved and painted on the walls of the tombs of the Ancient Egyptians.

Since we will be talking more about Ancient Egypt today, I thought it was only appropriate to commemorate this significant finding on its 211th anniversary.

The image of a harem conjures visions of opulent surroundings filled with beautiful, sensuous women whose sole duty was to entertain an aging yet still lustful sheik or Sultan. This image may have been based on the imperial harems of the 16th and 17th centuries of the Ottoman Empire. In this period of history, harems played an important role in the governing of the Ottoman Empire. This most renown period was known as the Reign of Women, the Kadinlar Sultanati. The involvement of the harem women, and more specifically, the Valide Sultan (Sultan’s Mother or Queen Mother) and the Sultan’s favorites (favored harem women), in state politics, diminished the power and position of the Sultan. As the Sultan was the head of the government (or Divan), this interference proved to be detrimental to the Ottoman state.

Historical Background

<img border="0" alt="Harem women
and Black Eunuch” align=”left” src=”http://www.allaboutturkey.com/pic/harem2.jpg&#8221; width=”223″ height=”263″>The harem was defined to be the women’s quarter in a Muslim household. The Imperial harem (also known as the Seraglio harem) contained the combined households of the Valide Sultan (Queen Mother), the Sultan’s favorites (hasekis), and the rest of his concubines (women whose main function was to entertain the Sultan in the bedchamber). It also contained all the Sultanas (daughters of the Sultan) households. Many of the harem women would never see the Sultan and became the servants necessary for the daily functioning of the harem.

The reasons for harem existence can be seen from Ottoman cultural history. Ottoman tradition relied on slave concubines along with legal marriage for reproduction. Slave concubines was the taking of slave women for sexual reproduction. It served to emphasize the patriarchal nature of power (power being “hereditary” through sons only). Slave concubines, unlike wives, had no recognized lineage. Wives were feared to have vested interests in their own family’s affairs, which would interfere with their loyalty to their husband, hence, concubines were preferred, if one could afford them. This led to the evolution of slave concubines as an equal form of reproduction that did not carry the risks of marriage, mainly that of the potential betrayal of a wife. The powers of the harem women were exercised through their roles within the family. Although they had no legitimate claim to power, as their favor grew with the Sultan, they acquired titles such as “Sultan Kadin” which solidified their notion of political power and legitimacy within the royal family was reflected with titles including “Sultan”.

During the 16th century, both male and female members of the imperial family used the title of “Sultan”. As the role of the royal favorite concubine (title: Sultan) eroded during the 17th century, the title designation also changed to “kadin” or “haseki,” which were names originally reserved for less prominent members of the royal family. Henceforth, only the mother of the reigning Sultan was addressed as a Sultan: the Valide Sultan. The retention of the title of Sultan for the mother indicated the power of the Valide Sultan. After all, men could take as many concubines and odalisques as they desired, but they only had one mother.

Many of the concubines and odalisques of the Imperial harem were reputed to be among the most beautiful of women in the Ottoman Empire. Young girls of extraordinary beauty were sent to the Sultan’s court, often as gifts from the governors. Numerous harem women were Caucasians, Georgians, and Abkhazians. They were usually bought from slave markets after being kidnapped or else sold by impoverished parents. Many Georgian and Caucasian families encouraged their daughters to enter concubinage through slavery, as that promised to be a life of luxury and comfort. All slaves that entered the harem were termed odalisques or “women of the court” – general servants in the harem. Odalisques were not usually presented to the Sultan. Those that were of extraordinary beauty and talent, were seen as potential concubines, and trained accordingly. They learned to dance, recite poetry, play musical instruments, and master the erotic arts. Only the most gifted odalisques were presented to the Sultan as his personal gedikli (maids-in-waiting). Generally, odalisques would be assigned as servants to the oda (or court) of a harem mistress. For example, the Mistress of the Robes, or the Keeper of Baths, or the Keeper of Jewels, etc. It was possible for these odalisques to rise through the ranks of the harem hierarchy and enjoy security through their power and position.

The most powerful women in the harem were the Valide Sultan and the Kadins. The Valide Sultan was responsible for the maintenance of order and peace inside the harem. Being a female elder in the Imperial family, the Valide was expected to serve as a guide and teacher to her son by educating him about the intricacies of state politics. Often, she was asked to intervene upon the Sultan’s decisions when the Mufti (head of the Muslim religion), or the Viziers (ministers) felt that the Sultan may have made an erroneous decision.

Kadin‘s were the Sultan’s favorite women. Tradition allowed only four principal Kadins but unlimited number of concubines. Kadins were equivalent in rank to that of a legal wife, and were given apartments, slaves, and eunuchs. For example, during the reign of Selim II (the Sot), his favorite, the bas kadin Nurbanu had an entourage of one hundred and fifty ladies-in-waiting. The amount of properties, clothing, jewelry, and allowances given, was all-proportional to the affection the Sultan held for them.

Odalisques were at the bottom of the harem hierarchy. They were considered to be general servants in the harem. They were not usually seen to be beautiful enough to become presented to the Sultan. Odalisques that were seen as potential candidates for concubinage were trained to become talented entertainers. The greatest honor a Sultan could bestow upon a male guest was to present him with an odalisque from his court who had not yet become his concubine. These women were greatly coveted as they were beautiful and talented, and what is more important, had links into the harem hierarchy. Concubines could be considered an equivalent to the modern version of a “one night stand”. They were odalisques that were presented to the Sultan and after that one night, they might never see the Sultan again unless the girl became pregnant with a male child. If she was successful in birthing a male child, then she would become an ikbal (favorite) to the Sultan. The female hierarchy followed the pattern of odalisques (virgins), concubines (“one night stands”), ikbals (favorites), and kadins (favorites “wives”).

Harem women formed only half of the harem hierarchy. Eunuchs were the integral other half of the harem. Eunuchs were considered to be less than men and thus unable to be “tempted” by the harem women and would remain solely loyal to the Sultan. Eunuchs were castrated men and hence possessed no threat to the sanctity of the harem.

According to Muslim tradition, no man could lay his eyes on another man’s harem, thus someone less than a man was required for the role of watchful guardianship over the harem women. Eunuchs tended to be male prisoners of war or slaves, castrated before puberty and condemned to a life of servitude.

White eunuchs were first provided from the conquered Christian areas of Caucasia, Georgia, and Armenia. They were also culled from Hungarian, Slovenian, and German prisoners of war. These white eunuchs were captured during the conflicts that arouse between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan countries. Black eunuchs were captured from Egypt, Abyssinia and the Sudan. Black slaves were captured from the upper Nile and transported to markets on the Mediterranean Sea – Mecca, Medina, Beirut, Izmir and Istanbul. All eunuchs were castrated en route to the markets by Egyptian Christians or Jews, as Islam prohibited the practice of castration but not the usage of castrated slaves.

There were several different varieties of eunuchs:

Sandali, or clean-shaven: The parts are swept off by a single cut of a razor, a tube (tin or wooden) is set in the urethra, the wound is cauterized with boiling oil, and the patient is planted in a fresh dung-hill. His diet is milk, and if under puberty he often survives.

The eunuch whose penis is removed: He retains all the power of copulation and procreation without the wherewithal; and this, since the discovery of caoutchouc, has often been supplied.

The eunuch, or classical thlibias and semivir, who has been rendered sexless by the removing of the testicles…, or by their being bruised…, twisted, seared or bandaged.

Black eunuchs tended to be of the first category: Sandali, while white eunuchs were of the second or third categories, thus have part or their entire penis intact. Because of their lack of parts, black eunuchs served in the harem, while white eunuchs served in the government (and away from the women). At the height of the Ottoman Empire, as many as six to eight hundred eunuchs served within the Seraglio (palace). Most eunuchs arrived as gifts from governors of different provinces. At the end of their training as young eunuch pages, eunuchs were assigned to service. White eunuchs were placed under the patronage of various government officials or even into the service of the Sultan himself (like in Topkapi Palace). If they were black eunuchs, they were placed into the service of a harem personage, such as a Kadin, or a daughter or sister of the Sultan. They could also serve under the Kizlar Agha (master of the girls), the Chief Black Eunuch.

The Chief Black Eunuch (Kizlar Agha)

The Kizlar Agha was the third highest-ranking officer of the empire, after the Sultan and the Grand Vizier (Chief Minister). He was the commander of the baltaci corps (or halberdiers – part of the imperial army). His position was a pasha (general) of three tails (tails referring to peacock tails, and the most number of tails permitted being four and worn by the Sultan). He could approach the Sultan at any time, and functioned as the private messenger between the Sultan and the Grand Vizier. He was the most important link between the Sultan and the Valide Sultan (mother of the Sultan).

The Kizlar Agha led the new odalisque to the Sultan’s bedchamber, and was the only “man” who could enter the harem should there have been any nocturnal emergencies. His duties were to protect the women, to provide and purchase the necessary odalisques for the harem, to oversee the promotion of the women (usually after the death of a higher-ranking kadin) and eunuchs. He acted as a witness for the Sultan’s marriage, birth ceremonies, and arranged all the royal ceremonial events, such as circumcision parties, weddings, and fêtes. He also delivered sentence to harem women accused of crimes, taking the guilty women to the executioner to be placed into sacks and drowned in the Bosphorus which lay outside the Topkapi Palace.

The Chief White Eunuch (Kapi Agha)

The Chief White Eunuch was the head of the Inner Service (which is the palace bureaucracy) and the head of the Palace School (school for white eunuchs). He was also Gatekeeper-in-Chief, head of the infirmary, and master of ceremonies of the Seraglio. The Kapi Agha controlled all messages, petitions, and State documents addressed to the Sultan, and was allowed to speak to the Sultan in person. In 1591, Murad III transferred the powers from the white to the black eunuchs as there were too many embezzlements and various other nefarious crimes being attributed to the white eunuchs, among them being purported intimacy with the harem women. The Kapi Agha‘s loss of powers was seen through the decreasing of his ceremonial duties (which had various stipends entailed) and the decrease in his overall income. Originally, the Kapi Agha was the only eunuch allowed to speak to the Sultan alone, but as his importance decreased, the Valide Sultan and the Kizlar Agha were able to request private audience with the Sultan also. Because of their possible disloyalty, white eunuchs were assigned positions that did not bring them into contact with the harem women as many of them had incomplete castrations (still possessing of their penis). The total number of white eunuchs in the Seraglio at any given time was between 300 and 900.

In the late sixteen hundreds, the power of the black eunuchs grew. During the Kadinlar Sultanati, the eunuchs increased their political leverage by taking advantage of child Sultans or mentally incompetent ones. It was during this period of enthronement of child Sultans that caused political instability. The young teenage Sultans were “guided” by regencies formed by the Valide Sultan, the Grand Vizier and the Valides other supporters. The Kizlar Agha was the Valide Sultan‘s and the Kadin‘s intimate and value accomplice.