Beyond the West: Eunuchs East of Byzantium

Byzantium’s use of eunuchs is often contrasted with the West, but this paper will explore both Byzantine ideas of eastern eunuchs and the existence of eunuchs in the near east (primarily Persian eunuchs and eunuchs of Islamic courts). It will consider how eunuchs are situated in relation to sex and gender, focusing on the roles and identities they are assigned. Such an approach has the benefit of placing Byzantium within an eastern context, rather than as aberrant to the West, and illuminates eastern notions about eunuchs and sex and gender.