Research Catalog

The chief eunuch of the Ottoman harem : from African slave to power-broker

Title
The chief eunuch of the Ottoman harem : from African slave to power-broker / Jane Hathaway.
Author
Hathaway, Jane, 1962-
Publication
  • Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2018.
  • ©2018

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library Sc E 19-142Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description
xvi, 323 pages : illustrations, map; 24 cm
Summary
"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 analyse 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"--
Subject
  • 1288-1918
  • Eunuchs > Turkey > History
  • East Africans > Turkey > History
  • Black people > Turkey > History
  • Harems > Turkey > History
  • East Africans
  • Eunuchs
  • Harems
  • Turkey > History > Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918
  • Turkey > History > Social life and customs. > Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918
  • Turkey
Genre/Form
History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Introducing the Chief Harem Eunuch -- The African connection -- Arrangement in black and white : eunuchs in the Ottoman palace -- The creation of the office of Chief Harem Eunuch and the career of Habeshi Mehmed Agha -- The crisis years of the seventeenth century -- Yusuf Agha and the Koprulu reforms -- A new paradigm : El-Hajj Beshir Agha and his successors -- Exile and the kingdom : the Chief Harem Eunuch and Egypt -- The Chief Harem Eunuch and Ottoman religious and intellectual life -- Reformed out of existence : the denouement of the Chief Harem Eunuch -- Memorializing the Chief Harem Eunuch.
Call Number
Sc E 19-142
ISBN
  • 9781107108295
  • 1107108292
LCCN
  • 2018022942
  • 40028628158
OCLC
1031343816
Author
Hathaway, Jane, 1962- author.
Title
The chief eunuch of the Ottoman harem : from African slave to power-broker / Jane Hathaway.
Publisher
Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Copyright Date
©2018
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Chronological Term
1288-1918
Other Standard Identifier
40028628158
Research Call Number
Sc E 19-142
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