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Eunuch
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<p>A eunuch is a <a href="/facts/Male/tl3uj6Y7">male</a> who has been <a href="/facts/Castration/QdBkfLCK">castrated</a>. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the <a href="/facts/Sumer/bxRz093q">Sumerian</a> city of <a href="/facts/Lagash/SQwkGota">Lagash</a> in the 2nd millennium BCE. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: <a href="/facts/Courtier/kJgL3YBW">courtiers</a> or equivalent <a href="/facts/Domestic_worker/Ku8pwLDH">domestics</a>, for <a href="/facts/Espionage/oaDJ5fAd">espionage</a> or <a href="/facts/Clandestine_operations/F0jEfqFm">clandestine operations</a>, <i><a href="/facts/Castrato/1cygX6hJ">castrato</a></i> singers, <a href="/facts/Concubinage/Emm9rxG0">concubines</a> or sexual partners, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or <a href="/facts/Harem/Xwy27HSl">harem</a> servants. </p><p>Eunuchs would usually be servants or <a href="/facts/Slavery/IXX2S92u">slaves</a> who had been castrated to make them less threatening servants of a <a href="/facts/Royal_court/zjbwYtod">royal court</a> where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his <a href="/facts/Litter_(vehicle)/b3EnrmaY">litter</a>, or even relaying messages—could, in theory, give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impart <i>de facto</i> power to the formally humble but trusted servant. </p><p>Eunuchs supposedly did not generally have loyalties to the military, the aristocracy, or a family of their own (having neither offspring nor in-laws, at the very least). They were thus seen as more trustworthy and less interested in establishing a private dynasty. Because their condition usually lowered their social status, they could also be easily replaced or killed without repercussion. </p><p>Eunuchs have been documented in several ancient and medieval societies, including the Byzantine Empire, Imperial China, the Ottoman Empire, and various Middle Eastern cultures. They often held significant power and influence in these societies, particularly in royal courts and harems. </p>