Kizlar agha: Difference between revisions

The '''kizlar agha''' ({{lang-langx|ota|قيزلر اغاسی}}, {{lang-langx|tr|kızlar ağası}}, {{literally|"[[Agha (title)|agha]] of the girls"}}), formally the '''agha of the House of Felicity''' ({{lang-langx|ota|links=no|دار السعاده اغاسي}}, {{lang-langx|tr|links=no|Darüssaade Ağası}}),{{sfn|Bosworth|1986|p=243}} was the head of the [[eunuch]]s who guarded the [[Ottoman Imperial Harem]] in [[Constantinople]].

Established in 1574, the post ranked among the most important in the Ottoman Empire until the early 19th century, especially after the stewardship of the two holy cities of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] and the supervision of all [[waqf]]s (charitable foundations) in the Empire came under his purview. The wealth thus amassed, the proximity to the sultan, and the role the harem ladies played in court intrigues ("[[Sultanate of Women]]") meant that its occupant had considerable political influence; several kızlar ağasısaghas were responsible for the downfall of [[grand vizier]]s and the accession of sultans. Soon after its creation and until its abolition, close to the [[abolition of the Ottoman sultanate]], the post came to be occupied by [[Black African]] [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|eunuch slaves]], and hence is also referred to as the '''Chief Black Eunuch'''.

[[File:Kızlarağası.jpg|thumb|upright|19th-century depiction of the Chief Black Eunuch (left), a [[court dwarf]] (middle) and the [[Kapi Agha|Chief White Eunuch]] (right)]]

The post of the kizlarkızlar aghaağası was created in the reign of [[Murad III]] ({{reign|1574|1595}}) in 1574, with the Habeshi Mehmed Agha as its first occupant.{{sfn|Hathaway|2018|pp=276–279}}{{sfn|Lad|2010|p=142}} Until then, the Ottoman palace had been dominated by the white eunuchs, chiefly drawn from the Christian populations of the [[Balkans]] or the [[Caucasus]].

The 16th century, however, saw a rapid rise of the population of the [[Topkapi Palace]], including among eunuchs, whose numbers rose from 40 under [[Selim I]] ({{reign|1512|1520}}) to over a thousand under Murad III. While black eunuchs had served alongside white eunuchs in the palace, by 1592, for reasons that are unclear, both a separation of roles as well as the ascendancy of the black eunuchs over the white ones had become established: white eunuchs were restricted to the supervision of the male pages (''[[içoğlaniç oğlan]] ("[[Enderûn|Inner [Palace] ]] Boy"]]''), while black eunuchs took over the far more prestigious supervision of the private apartments of the sultan and the palace women (''[[harem]]'').{{sfn|Lad|2010|pp=142–144}} Consequently, the "chief black eunuch" quickly eclipsed the "chief white eunuch" or [[kapikapı aghaağası]] (''kapı ağası'', "agha of the gate"), who had hitherto been the head of the palace personnel, and rose to become, in the words of the Orientalist [[C. E. Bosworth]], "in practice the principal officer of the whole palace".{{sfn|Bosworth|1986|p=243}}{{sfn|Freely|2000|pp=40–42, 75}}{{sfn|Imber|2002|p=153}}

At the height of the post's power in the 17th and 18th centuries, the kizlarkızlar aghaağası was a [[vizier]] of the first rank ("with three [[tughtug (banner)|horsetails]]") and came third in the state hierarchy, next only to the Empire's chief minister, the [[grand vizier]], and the chief religious authority, the [[sheikhShaykh ulal-IslamIslām]].{{sfn|Bosworth|1986|p=243}}{{sfn|Davis|1986|p=21}}

Within the imperial harem, it is unclear why East Africans were predominantly recruited as opposed to eunuchs of Caucasian and Hungarian lineage. It is argued that since the male harem already consisted of white eunuchs prior to the establishment of the female harem, combined with the heavy ingress of Habeşi slaves upon said harem's establishment in Topkapi Palace, the black eunuchs assigned to the court would naturally fill this newly established role.{{Sfn|Hathaway|2005|pp=14–16}} These elite black slaves were selected for the sultan by Egyptian Pashapasha and [[Mamluk]] beys.{{Sfn|Al-Abdin|2009}}

The kizlar agha also held a special role as the administrator (''[[nazir (title)|nazir]]'') "administrator" of the charitable foundations and endowments (''[[vakif]]s'')waqfs designated for the upkeep of the two holy cities (''[[Haram (site)|al-Haramayn]]'') of Islam, [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]], being responsible for their supply as well as for the annual ritual sending of gifts (''sürre'') to them.{{sfn|Bosworth|1986|p=243}}{{sfn|Davis|1986|pp=21–22}}{{sfn|Lewis|1971|pp=175–176}} ''Vakifs'' designated for the upkeep of the Muslim holy places had been established by members of the Ottoman court since early times, and their administration entrusted to special departments already since the late 15th century. Initially under the overall supervision of the Kapi Agha, in 1586 Murad III transferred the responsibility to the kizlar agha.{{sfn|Lewis|1971|pp=175–176}}

Control of the ''vakifs''waqfs was, in the words of [[Bernard Lewis]], a major "source of power and profit" for the kizlar agha,{{sfn|Lewis|1971|pp=175–176}} and the foundation of the office's political influence: its conferment by Murad III marked the start of the office's ascendancy, and its eventual removal by Mahmud II marked its end.{{sfn|Hathaway|2019}} As part offof the grand viziers' attempts to lessen the power of the kizlar aghas, unsuccessful attempts were made in the reigns of [[Mustafa III]] ({{reign|1757|1774}}) and [[Abdul Hamid I]] ({{reign|1774|1789}}) to remove the ''vakifs''waqfs from his jurisdiction.{{sfn|Lewis|1971|pp=175–176}} Finally, in 1834, Mahmud II deprived the post of the supervision of the ''vakifs''waqfs and granted it to a new [[Ministry of VakifsEvkaf|Ministry of Waqfs]].{{sfn|Davis|1986|p=22}}{{sfn|Lewis|1971|pp=175–176}}

This began a long process whereby the kizlar agha gradually acquired a sweeping jurisdiction over the various ''vakifs''waqfs of the Empire: already in May 1598, he acquired control of the foundations allocated to the upkeep of the imperial mosques in the capital, followed soon after by ''vakifs'' in both Constantinople and other parts of the Empire, often entrusted to his care by the ladies of the palace.{{sfn|Lewis|1971|pp=175–176}} Among the possessions that fell to the kizlar agha in this way was the city of [[Athens]]. According to a—possibly semi-fictional—17th-century account, the administration of the city was originally granted to Basilica, one of Sultan [[Ahmed I]]'s ({{reign|1603|1617}}) favourite concubines, who hailed from the city and who, having received many complaints of its maladministration, obtained its possession as a gift from the sultan. After her death, Athens came under the purview of the kizlar agha.{{sfn|Augustinos|2007|pp=23–24}}

The administration of the ''vakifs''waqfs was exercised through two subordinates, the chief secretary (''yazici'') and the inspector of ''vakifs''waqfs (''müfettiş''), and was divided into two fiscal departments: the Bureau of Accounts of the Holy Cities (''muhasebe-i haremeyn kalemi''), which by the late 18th century supervised the imperial mosques and the ''vakifs''waqfs of Istanbul and European provinces, and the Bureau of the [[Muqata'ah|Leases]] of the Holy Cities (''mukataa-i haremeyn kalemi''), which supervised the ''vakifs'' of the Asian and African provinces. A special treasury, the ''haremeyn dolabi'', contained the revenue from the ''vakifs'', and the kizlar agha held a weekly council (''[[dewan|divan]]'') or council to examine the accounts.{{sfn|Lewis|1971|pp=175–176}}

Most of the office's holders, like most black eunuchs in general, were of ''Habeşi'', slaves were traditionally drawn from the [[Nilotic peoples|Nilotic]] groups inhabiting [[Ethiopia]]'s southern hinterland as well as [[Omotic languages|Omotic]] groups.{{Sfn|Rowoldt Shell|2018}}{{sfn|Hathaway|2019}} Black slaves, usually purchased as boys from [[Nubia]], then castrated and inducted into the palace service, had begun to be employed as the guards of the women of the sultan's harem since the time of Murad III's predecessor, [[Selim II]] ({{reign|1566|1574}}), and continued to be so employed until the Ottoman Empire's end. {{sfn|Freely|2000|p=75}} Since İslam religion was against the castration, the slaves preferred were castrated boys from Coptic Christians, Jews of Sudan and Egyptian extract . Also the people who castrated due to their crimes were accepted in this job as well.{{sfn|Davis|1986|pp=20–21}} The eunuchs usually received flower names, and after a period of training in the palace school, they entered service in the harem.{{sfn|Freely|2000|p=75}} The eunuchs began at the post of ordinary recruit (''en aşağı'', literally "the lowest", and ''acemi ağa'', "the untrained"), and gradually advanced through the ranks, from ''nevbet kalfa'' ("watch substitute") to senior posts in the guard of the harem.{{sfn|Davis|1986|p=21}}{{sfn|Lad|2010|p=143}} Having completed their training and after a period of service, some were detached from guard duties and transferred to the attendance of the inhabitants of the harem: the sultan's personal attendants (''müsahip ağaları''), the seven eunuch servants plus a head eunuch (''baş ağa'') attached to each ''valide'', principal wife (''kadın''), or prince (''şehzade''), the eunuch [[imam]]s who led harem prayers, the harem's treasurer (''[[haznedar]] ağası''), or the ''müsendereci'', who supervised the work of the other eunuchs.{{sfn|Davis|1986|p=21}} The senior-most eunuchs were known as ''hasıllı'', from an Arabic word meaning "product".{{sfn|Lad|2010|p=143}}

* {{Cite journal |last=Al-Abdin |first=Bashir |date=2009 |title=The Political and Administrative Role of the Kizlar a ghas in Egypt During the first Half of the twelfth Century A.H (A.D 1687-1737), in Contemporary Arabic Manuscript Sources |url=http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11888/2625 |journal=An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=1223–1240|doi=10.35552/0247-023-004-010 |hdl=20.500.11888/2625 |s2cid=154713768 |doi-access=free }}

* {{cite book |last=Lad |first=Jateen |chapter=Panoptic Bodies: Black Eunuchs as Guardians of the TopkapıTopkapi Harem |doi=10.1215/9780822393467-009 |jstor=j.ctv11g9658 |pages=136–176 |title=Harem Histories: Envisioning Places and Living Spaces |editor-first=Marilyn |editor-last=Booth |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8223-4869-6}}

[[Category:Culture of the Ottoman cultureEmpire]]