HAREM, AND THE OTTOMAN WOMEN
The Chief White Eunuch (Kapi Agha)
Chief White Eunuch was the head of the Inner Service (which is the
palace bureaucracy) and the head of the Palace School (school for
white eunuchs). He was also Gatekeeper-in-Chief, head of the infirmary,
and master of ceremonies of the Seraglio. The Kapi Agha controlled
all messages, petitions, and State documents addressed to the Sultan,
and was allowed to speak to the Sultan in person. In 1591, Murad
III transferred the powers from the white to the black eunuchs as
there were too many embezzlements and various other nefarious crimes
being attributed to the white eunuchs, among them being purported
intimacy with the harem women.
. The Kapi Agha's loss of powers was seen through the decreasing
of his ceremonial duties (which had various stipends entailed) and
the decrease in his overall income. Originally, the Kapi Agha was
the only eunuch allowed to speak to the Sultan alone, but as his
importance decreased, the Valide Sultan and the Kizlar Agha were
able to request private
audience with the Sultan also. Because of their possible disloyalty,
white eunuchs were assigned positions that did not bring them into
contact with the harem women as many of them had incomplete castrations
(still possessing of their penis). The total number of white eunuchs
in the Seraglio at any given time was between 300 and 900.
In the late sixteen hundreds, the power of the black eunuchs grew.
During the Kadinlar Sultanati, the eunuchs increased their political
leverage by taking advantage of child Sultans or mentally incompetent
ones. It was during this period of enthronement of child Sultans
that caused political instability. The young teenage Sultans were
"guided" by regencies formed by the Valide Sultan, the
Grand Vizier and the Valides other supporters. The Kizlar Agha was
the Valide Sultan's and the Kadin's intimate and value accomplice.