User:BDMesser531/Eunuch

Fatimid Caliphate
In the Shi'i Fatimid Empire (909CE - 1171CE) eunuchs played major roles in the politics of the caliphates court, as well as holding a certain level of sacredness due to their association with the Fatimid imam-caliph. The eunuchs of the empire were normally purchased from slave auctions and belonged to a variety of Arab and non-Arab minority groups, though in many other cases they were brought from various noble families in the empire, which gave these individuals special connections to the Caliph. However, a system that employed foreign slaves, from multiple ethic & multi-linguistic groups were preferred and often quoted as "ideal servants". With imams normally ruling over a majority non-Shi'i population the court eunuchs' served an important role of being ambassadors of the Imam-Caliph. They would use their own loyalty and fervor toward both the Shi'i sect and the imam-caliph himself amongst the common people of the empire to increase love for Fatimid rule. This was effective due to the mixed heritages of the eunuchs which gave them an ethnic and/or cultural common ground with the people they spoke with. Not just due to their inability to produce offspring, which made them less of a threat politically, but also in the fact that they had no choice but to dedicate their lives to their masters. Politically speaking the eunuchs often were placed into positions of significant power in one of four sectors; the service of the female members of the court, the service of the male members of the court, administrative and clerical positions, and military service. This is seen during the Fatimid occupation of Cairo. Here eunuchs had at some point held the position of shurta and hisba who controlled the military garrison and the markets respectively; the two most important positions in the city besides the magistrate himself. The wide net of eunuchs across all elements of the court made them quite unique in the political realm, As only they could deal with both men and women. However the most important role of Fatimid Eunuchs was was in their direct service to the Imam-Caliphs as chamberlains, treasurers, governors, and attendants. Here they held a great amount of political and spiritual sway in both the noble realm and the commoner population. For instance in 946 AD the Imam-Caliph al-Qa'im died resulting in a power vacuum causing a large familial conflict. This conflict only came to an end due to the Court Eunuch al-Jawdhar informing the possible heirs that al-Qa'im had bequeathed his title to his son al-Mansur. Al-Jawdhar was the sole person told about this by al-Qi'am as the hujja, which in the Shi'i sect of Islam is the chosen individual that imams are able to inform about their line of succession. This was one of the most sacred positions in the sect as they were seen as great wells of religious knowledge and law. There were several other eunuchs of high regard in Fatimid history, mainly being Abu'l-Fadi Rifq al-Khadim and Abu'l-Futuh Barjawan al-Ustadh. Rifq was a black African eunuch general served as governor of the Damascus until he lead a 30,000 man strong army in a campaign to expand Fatimid control northeast to the city of Aleppo, Syria. He was noted for being able to unite a diverse group of black Africans, Arabs, Bedouins, Berbers, and Turks into one coherent fight force which was able to successfully combat the Mirdasids, Bedouins, and Byzantines. Barjawan was a European eunuch during late Fatimid rule who gained power through his military and political savvy which brought peace between them and the Byzantine empire. Moreover, he squashed revolts in the Libya and the Levant. Given his reputation and power in the court and military he took the reigns of the caliphate from his then student al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah; then ruled as the de facto Regent 997 CE. His usurpation of power from the caliph resulted in his assassination in 1000 CE on the orders of al-Hakim.