© Getty Images

What is a eunuch? -

Put simply, a eunuch is a castrated male.

© Getty Images

When did eunuchs first appear? -

Eunuchs first appeared in remote antiquity, notably in China and the Middle East. Pictured is a group of court eunuchs depicted on a wall mural dating back to China's Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).

© Getty Images

Emasculated job opportunities -

In fact, these emasculated males were in service as far back as the 2nd millennium BCE. Pictured is an Assyrian-era relief depicting the head of a eunuch. Dated around 710 BCE, it comes from the Palace of Sargon, in ancient Khorsabad.

© Getty Images

A cut above the rest -

But what kind of service are we talking about, and why would a man subject himself to such a brutal act of self-sabotage?

© Getty Images

Intentional castration -

Intentional castration was performed on those seeking employment as guards and servants in harems, or other women's quarters.

© Getty Images

Suitable applicants -

Eunuchs by definition were seen as the most suitable custodians of the many wives or concubines a ruler might have in his palace.

© Getty Images

Look but don't touch -

No matter how wild the desire or the temptation felt within, a eunuch's lot ended with his imagination.

© Getty Images

Chastity safeguarded -

His royal master, meanwhile, could relax knowing the chastity of his ladies was safeguarded.

© Public Domain

No threat -

As a less threatening servant, a eunuch actually wielded a fair bit of influence within his employer's inner circle.

© NL Beeld

Access all areas -

For example, as well as keeping a watchful eye on his master's maidens, a eunuch's position invariably allowed him unprecedented access to the royal court and the ear of the overlord.

© Getty Images

Rising to the occasion -

It was not unusual for eunuchs to raise themselves to positions of great power and trust.

© Getty Images

A position of power -

A eunuch of long standing could even become a bodyguard, better still a confidential adviser. And some were known to have held jobs as ministers and military commanders.

© Getty Images

Castrated caretakers -

The practice of employing eunuchs as court functionaries in China goes back to prehistory. But did you know that a small army of castrated caretakers actually ran the Forbidden City?

© Getty Images

Imperial duty -

History records eunuchs as being ensconced in the imperial residence during the reign of Han Huan Di, from 146 to 167 CE.

© Getty Images

Controlling presence -

Such was their influence and the respect they commanded, some eunuchs were able to exert enough sway on emperors to gain control of state affairs. And on more than one occasion their power even caused the fall of some dynasties.

© Getty Images

Mutilated menservants -

In the Ottoman Empire, eunuchs were typically slaves, seized from their homes and doomed to a life of mutilation and servitude.

© Getty Images

Guarding the Ottoman Court harem -

The Ottoman Court harem ensconced within the Topkapi Palace was under the strict administration of the eunuchs.

© Getty Images

Black and white -

There were two categories of eunuch at the palace: black eunuchs and white eunuchs. Black eunuchs were Africans who served the concubines and officials in the harem together with chamber maidens of low rank. The white eunuchs were Europeans from the Balkans. They served the recruits at the palace school and were from 1582 prohibited from entering the harem.

© Getty Images

The eunuchs' guild -

Topkapi Palace is where the eunuchs' guild was established. This emasculated brotherhood eventually comprised around 200 eunuchs. As previously mentioned, some took to learning and literature, and served as tutors to the royal children; others rose to high administrative office.

© Getty Images

Middle Age spread -

The deliberate castration of males into eunuchs continued to flourish throughout the medieval period and into the 18th and 19th centuries.

© Getty Images

Bizarre and brutal -

The Skoptzy, or Skoptsy (meaning the castrated), also called the White Doves, were an obscure Christian sect that originated in 18th-century Czarist Russia. In order to attain their ideal of sanctity, its male members would subject themselves to painful castration. Women, meanwhile, chose a deliberate mastectomy, all in accordance with their teachings against sexual lust.

© Getty Images

Hitting the high notes -

The Italian practice of castrating boys in order to train them as adult soprano singers, or castrati, was a widespread custom in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was ended by Pope Leo XIII in 1878. Pictured is a portrait of the famous castrato singer Farinelli (1705–1782).

© Getty Images

Why become a eunuch? -

Besides protecting the virtue of a harem or the other previously mentioned motives, what other reasons were there for becoming a eunuch?

© Getty Images

Cash for cullions -

It was common among many families to 'donate' their young sons for emasculation in exchange for a cash reward. In this way it was also hoped the hapless youngsters would enjoy a more comfortable and prosperous life in a palace environment.

© Getty Images

The lesser of two evils -

Likewise, poverty also drove many adults to choose a life deprived of intercourse. With no economic means to lead an honest and worthwhile life, castration appeared the better option than turning to a life on the street and begging and stealing.

© Getty Images

A price worth paying -

Conversely, however, some men made a free choice in losing their "family jewels" for what they perceived as a far richer life enjoyed by palace eunuchs. Pictured is a eunuch of the Ottoman Sultan in the 1870s.

© Public Domain

Heads or tails? -

Equally, however, castration served as a barbaric form of punishment in many societies, quite often as an alternative to a death sentence.

© NL Beeld

The emasculation method -

The emasculation method was crude and dangerous. A scalpel was used by knifers for the removal of external genitalia.

© Getty Images

Painful and primitive -

The operation was undertaken using primitive anesthetic: in China during the late Qing dynasty, hot chili sauce was applied to dull the pain.

© Getty Images

Eye-to-eye contact -

A pewter needle, or spigot, was carefully inserted into what was left of the patient's manhood to prevent urethral stricture. This also impeded his ability to urinate.

© Getty Images

Flow chart -

After three days the spigot was removed. The procedure was deemed successful if urine flowed out. If it didn't, the eunuch could expect a slow and painful death.

© Getty Images

The final cut -

Intentional castration was finally given the snip in the early 1920s, the eunuch's role having dried up by the early 20th century to put to an end to this barbaric and eye-watering job opportunity.

Sources: (Britannica) (South China Morning Post) (Oxford Academic)  

See also: Bizarre medical facts you won't believer are true

© Getty Images