INTERVIEW: George Junne on black eunuchs and slavery in the Ottoman Empire

The subject of slavery in the Ottoman Empire, and the use of eunuchs among the imperial elite in Istanbul, is an exotic but surprisingly little known subject. 

"The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire: Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan" by University of Northern Colerado professor George Junne breaks new ground. The book, released earlier this year (and reviewed in HDN here), is the most detailed study to yet appear in English of Ottoman eunuchs - important centers of power for many centuries but still something of an enigma.

Junne spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News about the key role that eunuchs played in the Ottoman state, the broader question of slavery in the empire, and how the image of eunuchs changed during the dying years of the empire and in the transition to the Turkish Republic.

Slavery in the Ottoman Empire was very widespread but it took various forms and it relied heavily on local conditions. How did Ottoman slavery compare, for example, with the transatlantic slave trade? 

If you're taken as a slave, no matter in what slave system, you're completely separated from your family and friends and you'll never see them again. In the Ottoman Empire, the slight difference was that the Ottomans took slaves from Europe, as well as from Africa. So there was always a chance, even though slight, that some of the European slaves would be able to get in contact with their relatives. 

It's not that one system was better than the other - it was horrifying for everyone caught up in it - but you can see some differences. For instance, the Ottomans, as opposed to the Atlantic slave trade, evaluated the Africans they took in. They found that some had management skills, or others had musical skills,...