ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the variety of roles that eunuchs assumed in the Abbasid establishment during the early fourth/tenth century. In order to pinpoint the specific features of the eunuch institution in the Abbasid state, it is instructive to contrast it with that of eunuchs in the Byzantine empire of roughly the same period, namely in the fourth/tenth century. This is especially pertinent given that the most obvious source of influence for the eunuch institution in Islam is Byzantium. The chapter starts with some comparative remarks on eunuchs in the Byzantine and Abbasid empires and then proceeds to outline the various functions that eunuchs had in the Abbasid state, notably that of guarding the Abbasid courtly harem. It investigates their political influence by examining the careers of three eunuchs, each of whom played leading roles at the court of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir. The chapter also refers to the competition that ensued among the leading eunuchs.
