Beshir Agha: Chief Eunuch of the Ottoman Imperial Harem: Makers of the Muslim World

Acknowledgments

Note on transliteration

Introduction

1 PRELIMINARIES: ELITE SLAVERY AND HOUSEHOLD MEMBERSHIP

Elite slavery in Islamic societies

Household politics and patron?client ties



2 EUNUCHS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Eunuchs in antiquity

Eunuchs in medieval Islamic empires

Eunuchs under the Mamluk sultanate

Eunuchs under the Ottomans



3 BESHIR AGHA'S ORIGINS

Ottoman Abyssinia

Enslavement and castration

Post-castration conditions

Sale in Cairo

The political culture of Ottoman Egypt

Ismail Bey



4 EARLY YEARS IN THE PALACE

Sultan's companion

The sultan's mother

The "Edirne Incident" (1703)

Harem treasurer



5 EXILE IN CYPRUS AND EGYPT

Cyprus

Egypt



6 CHIEF OF THE TOMB EUNUCHS IN MEDINA

Shi'ism

Medina

The mosque of the Prophet

The tomb of the Prophet

The tomb eunuchs

Relations with Medina's and Egypt's notables



7 CHIEF EUNUCH OF THE TOPKAPI PALACE HAREM

Return to Istanbul

Return to the harem

Vizier maker

Nevshehirli Ibrahim Pasha

The Tulip Era

The Book of Festivals



8 BESHIR AGHA DURING THE REIGN OF MAHMUD I

The Patrona Halil rebellion, 1730

Mahmud I (r. 1730?54)



9 BESHIR AGHA AND THE ARAB PROVINCES

The pilgrimage caravan and the governorship of Damascus

Beshir Agha and Egypt's grandees



10 BESHIR AGHA'S LIBRARIES AND PIOUS FOUNDATIONS

Libraries

Holdings of Beshir Agha's library outside the palace

Other libraries

Foundations

Conclusion



11 BESHIR AGHA'S DEATH AND BURIAL

Funeral and burial

Beshir Agha's tomb



12 BESHIR AGHA'S LEGACY THROUGH THE LENS OF OTTOMAN "DECLINE"

Morali Beshir Agha

Chief harem eunuchs and grand viziers in the post-Beshir era

Beshir Agha and the question of Ottoman "decline"

Conclusion



13 SOURCES ON BESHIR AGHA

Primary sources

Secondary sources



Works cited

Index