Hathaway|233charcoal gray, and his features are subtly differentiated from those of the non-
African, and noneunuch, figures around him. The features of the young harem
eunuchs who accompany three of the soon-to-be-circumcised princes are treated
similarly, though in different folios of the work, their skin color can range from
pale gray to deep coffee brown.
The greater visibility of harem eunuchs, and the chief harem eunuch above
all, in visual sources may be explained by the chief eunuch’s increasing influence
in shaping imperial policy during the crisis period of the seventeenth century
and during the lengthy tenure of el-Hajj Beshir Agha, arguably the most powerful
chief eunuch in Ottoman history, during the first half of the eighteenth century.
Beshir Agha’s considerable influence on palace painting, architecture, and intel-
lectual life must also have contributed to the harem eunuchs’ visibility during the
latter era. To quote the eighteenth-century Ottoman statesman Ahmed Resmi
Efendi, author of a compendium of chief eunuch biographies, “He occupied the
illustrious position for thirty years continuously and cheerfully devoted himself
to all these things; he was a trusted counselor in the imperial government, firm
in manner, great in glory, a genius of the era.” His importance is reflected in
the frequency with which he, not to mention lower-ranking harem eunuchs, ap-
pears in the 1720 Book of Festivals, composed by the Ottoman court chronicler
Vehbi and with illustrations by the court painter Levni. In one illustration from
near the end of the volume, he is shown leading three of the princes, each es-
corted by two viziers, through the Third Court of Topkapı Palace to the Circum-
cision Room in the Fourth Court. His placement at the front of the picture frame
implies that he is the most significant figure in the illustration, surpassing the
viziers—even the grand vizier, directly behind him—in influence. At the center
of the miniature, furthermore, is the Library of Ahmed III, built the previous
year, which is thought to have been Beshir’s brainchild. (See figure 16.4.)
Eunuch Ethnoracial Consciousness
In light of these frequent depictions of African harem eunuchs’ racial distinctive-
ness in the output of the Ottoman court studio and provincial studios, it may
seem rather surprising that there is very little evidence that the harem eunuchs
themselves shared this intense consciousness of their ethnic and racial difference
from much of the rest of the Ottoman ruling elite. At least, there are virtually no
references in the available sources to harem eunuchs voicing such a conscious-
ness. The only story that comes close concerns the deposition of Yusuf Agha,
who was chief eunuch from 1671 to 1687, under Sultan Mehmed IV. Yusuf Agha
was removed from office in connection with the military rebellion that forced
Mehmed IV to abdicate. By the late seventeenth century, deposed harem eunuchs
were routinely exiled to Cairo; accordingly, Yusuf and his entourage set out for