Abstract

The works of the polyhistor al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255/869) contain probably the earliest description of eunuchs in classical Arabic literature. In his Kitāb al-Ḥayawān (Book of Living Beings) and in some of his epistles (rasāʼil) al-Jāḥiẓ shows a deep interest in eunuchs as a third gender category. His considerations are mainly focused on the transformation of the “male” body in the context of Hellenistic discourses. Furthermore, al-Jāḥiẓ pays attention to the influential positions eunuchs gained in ʽAbbāsid court society due to their specific attributes. 

By analyzing these descriptions in the context of Late Antiquity this work attempts to deliver a contribution to Men's Studies in the field of classical Islam and classical Arabic literature of the ninth century.  It pays furthermore attention to the ethnic background of eunuchs, the practice of slavery and manumission and to sexual practices in the ʽAbbāsid period.

Bio

Dr. Hans-Peter Pökel: (Ancient Middle Eastern, Arabic, Islamic, Semitic and Religious Studies): Study in Marburg and Cairo, 2005-2007 PhD-fellow at the University of Bamberg. PhD 2011 at the University of Jena. 2007-2014 Research Assistant for Arabic Studies at the Free University of Berlin and 2012-2014 Research Associate at the Research Centre “Epistemes in Motion”. Since 2014 Research Associate at the Orient-Institut Beirut.

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