Eunuch

Ongoing restorations at Topkapı Palace have unearthed never-before-seen silver and gold coins, jewelries, talismans, amulets and letters. But one mysterious finding amongst others was an encrypted letter dating back to 1871, carrying the seal of Cevher Agha, also known as the Dârüssaade Ağası, the chief eunuch of Sultan Abdülaziz’s harem, found in a closet at the harem of the palace.

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 George Junne (I.B. Tauris, 336 pages, £64)