In the history many examples of artificial causing to the person of mutilations for achievement of any purposes remained. An example it is possible to call an oskopleniye of men for training of eunuchs for work in harems. Eunuchs existed in different cultures, and their status, duties and privileges strongly differed.
Eunuchs in imperial China
The culture of eunuchs in China has the ancient history. The first cases of an oskopleniye of the serving harems belong to the middle of the II millennium BC. As the penis and testicles were considered as symbols of male power, their loss was shameful. Therefore prisoners of war became the first eunuchs. Subsequently boys from poor families which on this service parents sold became eunuchs.
According to beliefs, the person had to appear before ancestors with the uninjured body. Therefore eunuchs stored the separated parts of a body that they were buried together with the eunuch subsequently.
Position of the eunuch was double. On the one hand, loss of men's bodies was the personal tragedy and damage to the status of the man, but on the other hand, the eunuch had an opportunity to promote at court. First of all eunuchs were charged with the work in an imperial harem. But possible functions of eunuchs were is ready more widely. They could serve the emperor and his family, protect imperial rooms and perform other work in the palace. A part of eunuchs was engaged in economic affairs, others - reception of foreign guests, the third consisted in health service of the palace.
During a Ming dynasty era - in the late Middle Ages - duties of eunuchs became even wider. They could work as officials or even to order army. The most part of eunuchs lived in the territory of the Forbidden City, as well as all imperial servants. However eunuchs were more free in the choice of the residence - quite often, having saved up money, they bought housing in the city. Despite the mutilation, eunuchs kept the right to marry. In this case they usually adopted children to whom they could give the name and wealth.
Eunuchs and Muslim harems
The Judaism and Christianity forbade an oskopleniye in religious or other purposes. However in the Muslim countries, as well as in China, there was a practice of use of eunuchs. It is connected with distribution of harems since 10th century.
Presence of eunuchs at the Byzantine yard was a rare exception for the Christian countries.
Functions of eunuchs in these countries were considerably already, than in China. The eunuch was engaged in affairs of a harem, and it could serve both at the governor, and at the individual. Also eunuchs quite often were engaged in a slave trade and search suitable for the governor or dignitaries of concubines. The status of eunuchs in the Islamic countries was more modest, than in imperial China, however under a number of conditions they could also try to obtain influence at court.