Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch

Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch PDF Author: Christopher Harris
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Captured and castrated as a boy, Zeno is sold into slavery in Constantinople. Bought by the greatest scholar of the age, he is soon drawn into a labyrinth of sex, heresy, murder and intrigue. Though the empire is threatened by a heretic uprising and a barbarian invasion, its rulers think only of themselves. In the cruel and glittering city of Constantinople, a ruthless general, a bisexual boy-emperor, a worldly patriarch, a peasant usurper and a half-Viking empress all vie for power. Unknown to them, the real power lies elsewhere, among the devious and decadent eunuchs of the palace. Zeno conspires, deceives, manipulates and murders, his divided loyalties leading him deeper into danger until he is forced to betray those he loves.

Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch

Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch PDF Author: Christopher Harris
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Get Book

Book Description
Captured and castrated as a boy, Zeno is sold into slavery in Constantinople. Bought by the greatest scholar of the age, he is soon drawn into a labyrinth of sex, heresy, murder and intrigue. Though the empire is threatened by a heretic uprising and a barbarian invasion, its rulers think only of themselves. In the cruel and glittering city of Constantinople, a ruthless general, a bisexual boy-emperor, a worldly patriarch, a peasant usurper and a half-Viking empress all vie for power. Unknown to them, the real power lies elsewhere, among the devious and decadent eunuchs of the palace. Zeno conspires, deceives, manipulates and murders, his divided loyalties leading him deeper into danger until he is forced to betray those he loves.

The Eunuch in Byzantine History and Society

The Eunuch in Byzantine History and Society PDF Author: Shaun Tougher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135235716
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
The existence of eunuchs was one of the defining features of the Byzantine Empire. Covering the whole span of the history of the empire, from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries AD, Shaun Tougher presents a comprehensive survey of the history and roles of eunuchs, making use of extensive comparative material, such as from China, Persia and the Ottoman Empire, as well as about castrato singers of the eighteenth century of Enlightenment Europe, and self-castrating religious devotees such as the Galli of ancient Rome, early Christians, the Skoptsy of Russia and the Hijras of India. The various roles played by eunuchs are examined. They are not just found as servile attendants; some were powerful political players – such as Chrysaphius who plotted to assassinate Attila the Hun – and others were prominent figures in Orthodoxy as bishops and monks. Furthermore, there is offered an analysis of how society thought about eunuchs, especially their gender identity - were they perceived as men, women, or a third sex? The broad survey of the political and social position of eunuchs in the Byzantine Empire is placed in the context of the history of the eunuch in general. An appendix listing key eunuchs of the Byzantine Empire describing their careers is included, and the text is fully illustrated.

Eunuchs in Antiquity and Beyond

Eunuchs in Antiquity and Beyond PDF Author: Shaun Tougher
Publisher: Classical Press of Wales
ISBN: 1914535065
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Eunuchism was a subject which both intrigued and embarrassed the ancient world. The special virtue attributed to the castrated male at court, of undistracted loyalty to his ruler, aided the promotion of numerous eunuchs to positions of great power. A literary discourse developed, reviling and sometimes defending the eminence of these 'half-men'. Here, thirteen new studies from an international cast explore how eunuchs were perceived, and also reconstruct the realities of eunuchs' lives in Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Eastern culture.

Eunuchs and Castrati

Eunuchs and Castrati PDF Author: Piotr O. Scholz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
A social history of the role of eunuchs in the households and courts of Greece, Rome, China, Byzantine, medieval Europe and the East, which aims to challenge traditional preconceptions about their duties.

Passionate Holiness

Passionate Holiness PDF Author: Dennis O'Neill
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1490789944
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of Cape Town once said with regard to South Africa’s apartheid policy, “One of the ways of helping to destroy a people is to tell them that they don’t have a history, that they have no roots.” More recently, he described homophobic discrimination as “totally unacceptable and unjust as apartheid ever was.” Unfortunately, it has been particularly difficult for some gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians to remain connected to identify with their own faith traditions because some of these traditions not only treat them as people of secondary status but also teach Christian history as though no people of same-gender attraction or opposite-gender identity had any noteworthy place in it and made no significant contributions at all to Christian tradition. Passionate Holiness tries to remedy this situation by explaining why acquaintance with the stories of certain saints with whom gender minorities can identify can help them to connect with their own history and spiritual legacy and empower them to face a brighter future with a sense of optimism and inclusion.

Reading in the Byzantine Empire and Beyond

Reading in the Byzantine Empire and Beyond PDF Author: Clare Teresa M. Shawcross
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108418414
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 745

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Book Description
The first comprehensive introduction in English to books, readers and reading in Byzantium and the wider medieval world surrounding it.

STORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

STORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE PDF Author: CHARLES WILLIAM CHADWICK. OMAN
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781033019566
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


The Reluctant Emperor

The Reluctant Emperor PDF Author: Donald M. Nicol
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521522014
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Was the first biography in English of the Byzantine emperor and monk, John Cantacuzene.

Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents

Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents PDF Author: John Philip Thomas
Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks
ISBN: 9780884022329
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description
The nature of the typkia, discussed by John Thomas in the introduction, was one of flexible and personal documents, which differed considerably in form, length, and content. Not all of them were foundation documents in the strict sense, since they could be issued at any time in the history of an institution. Some were wills; others were reform decrees and rules; yet others were primarily liturgical in character.

Celibate and Childless Men in Power

Celibate and Childless Men in Power PDF Author: Almut Höfert
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317182375
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This book explores a striking common feature of pre-modern ruling systems on a global scale: the participation of childless and celibate men as integral parts of the elites. In bringing court eunuchs and bishops together, this collection shows that the integration of men who were normatively or physically excluded from biological fatherhood offered pre-modern dynasties the potential to use different reproduction patterns. The shared focus on ruling eunuchs and bishops also reveals that these men had a specific position at the intersection of four fields: power, social dynamics, sacredness and gender/masculinities. The thirteen chapters present case studies on clerics in Medieval Europe and court eunuchs in the Middle East, Byzantium, India and China. They analyze how these men in their different frameworks acted as politicians, participated in social networks, provided religious authority, and discuss their masculinities. Taken together, this collection sheds light on the political arena before the modern nation-state excluded these unmarried men from the circles of political power.