ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the roles that eunuchs had in the Fatimid empire, a shi'i dynasty that reigned in North Africa and Yemen from 297/909 until 567/1171. It focuses on two themes: first, there is an analysis of the eunuchs' gender; and second, an examination of the links eunuchs had with sacredness. The chapter presents the preliminary results of a still on-going investigation in reference to the concepts of gender and sacredness. It provides an argument that eunuchs were not understood as a "third gender" but were instead gendered according to the different contexts in which they acted or were represented. Authors who had diverse aims and audiences compiled the sources, and consequently eunuchs are represented in different ways. To make this point clear, various kinds of sources are examined within the chapter: the literary genre of adab, chronicles, medical, legal and religious sources. The chapter explores eunuchs in the Fatimid dynasty, focusing particularly on gender and sacredness.
