Editing Eunuch (section)

==Notable eunuchs==
{{Category see also|Eunuchs}}
In chronological order.

===First millennium BCE===
* Mutakkil-Marduk, 8th century BCE: chief eunuch of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] and [[:wikt:eponym|eponym]] of the year 798 BCE in an Assyrian [[Mari Eponym Chronicle|eponym chronicle
]].<ref>Jean-Jaques Glassner: ''Mesopotamian Chronicles''. Atlanta 2004, p. 169.</ref>
* [[House of Astiruwa#Yariri|Yariri]], 8th century BCE: [[regent]] of the [[Syro-Hittite states|Syro-Hittite state]] of  [[Carchemish]] thought likely to be a eunuch.<ref name="Trevor Bryce 2012, p. 95"/>
* [[Sîn-šumu-līšir]], 7th century BCE: eunuch who attempted to usurp power in the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]].
* Aspamistres or Mithridates, 5th century BCE: bodyguard of [[Xerxes I]], and, with [[Artabanus of Persia|Artabanus]], his murderer.
* [[Artoxares]]: an envoy of [[Artaxerxes I]] and [[Darius II]] of Persia.
* [[Bagoas]] (4th century BCE): prime minister of king [[Artaxerxes III]] of Persia, and his assassin (Bagoas is an old Persian word meaning ''eunuch'').
* [[Bagoas (courtier)|Bagoas]], 4th century BCE: a favorite of [[Alexander the Great]].
* Batis, 4th century BCE: resisted Alexander the Great at the [[Siege of Gaza (332 BCE)]].
* [[Philetaerus]], 4th/3rd century BCE: founder of the [[Kingdom of Pergamon]]
* [[Zhao Gao]], died 210 BCE: favourite of [[Qin Shi Huang]] who plotted against [[Li Si]].
* [[Sima Qian]] (old romanization Ssu-ma Chi'en; 2nd/1st century BCE): the first person to have practiced modern [[historiography]] – gathering and analyzing both primary and secondary sources to write his monumental history of the Chinese Empire.
* [[Ganymedes (eunuch)|Ganymedes]], 1st century BCE: highly capable adviser and general of [[Cleopatra]] VII's sister and rival, Princess [[Arsinoe IV]]. Unsuccessfully attacked Julius Caesar three times at Alexandria.
* [[Pothinus]], 1st century BCE: regent for pharaoh [[Ptolemy XII]].

===First millennium CE===
* [[Sporus]] (Died 69): an attractive Roman boy who was castrated by, and later married to, Emperor [[Nero]].
* Unidentified "[[Ethiopian eunuch]]" (1st century AD), from the Kingdom of Kush in modern-day Sudan, described in the [[Acts of the Apostles]] (chapter 8). [[Philip the Evangelist]], one of the original seven deacons, is directed by the Holy Spirit to catch up to the eunuch's chariot and hears him reading from the [[Book of Isaiah]] (chapter 53). [[Philip the Evangelist|Philip]] explained that the section prophesies Jesus' crucifixion, which Philip described to the eunuch. The eunuch was baptized shortly thereafter.
* [[Halotus]] ({{circa}} 20–30 CE – {{circa}} 70–80 CE), [[servant]] to the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Claudius]] and suspected of poisoning him.
* [[Cai Lun]] ({{circa|50–62}}–121): Former attribution to Lun as the inventor of paper has been rescinded following discovery of many earlier manuscripts written on paper. It is now highly questionable if he was directly involved in making paper.
* Zhang Rang: head of the infamous [[Ten Attendants]] of the [[Eastern Han dynasty]].
* [[Huang Hao]]: eunuch in the state of Shu; also appears in the ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]''.
* [[Cen Hun]] (died 280): eunuch in the state of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.
* [[Origen]] ({{circa}} 185–{{circa}} 253): early Christian theologian, allegedly castrated himself based on his reading of the [[Gospel of Matthew]] 19:12 ("For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it."). Despite the fact that the early Christian theologian [[Tertullian]] wrote that Jesus was a eunuch, there is no corroboration in any other early source.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kuefler |first1=Mathew |title=The manly eunuch: masculinity, gender ambiguity, and Christian ideology in late antiquity |date=2001 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226457390 |page=266}}</ref> (The [[Skoptsy]] did, however, believe it to be true.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frick |first1=Karl R. H. |title=Licht und Finsternis: gnostisch-theosophische und freimaurerisch-okkulte Geheimgesellschaften bis an die Wende zum 20. Jahrhundert |trans-title=Light and darkness: Gnostic-Theosophical and Freemason-occult secret societies to the turn of the 20th century |date=1975 |publisher=Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt |isbn=978-3201009515 |page=456 |language=de}}</ref>) 
* [[Chusdazat]] (died 344): He served [[Shapur II|King Shapur II]], who killed him for declaring his Christian identity.
* [[Dorotheus of Tyre]] (255–362): A bishop who attended the [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]], was exiled by [[Diocletian]] and [[Julian the apostate|Julian]], and was martyred.
* [[Eutropius (consul 399)|Eutropius]] (died 399): only eunuch known to have attained the highly distinguished office of [[Roman Consul]].
* [[Chrysaphius]] (died 450): chief minister of Eastern Roman Emperor [[Theodosius II]], architect of imperial policy towards the Huns.
* [[Narses]] (478–573): general of Byzantine emperor [[Justinian I]], responsible for destroying the [[Ostrogoth]]s in 552 at the [[Battle of Taginae]] in Italy and reconquering Rome for the empire.
* [[Solomon (magister militum)|Solomon]] (480s/490s–544): general and governor of Africa under Justinian I.
* [[Gao Lishi]] (684–762): a loyal and trusted friend of [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] emperor [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang China|Xuanzong]].
* [[Li Fuguo]] (704–762): [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] eunuch who began another era of eunuch rule.
* [[Yu Chao'en]] (722–770): [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] eunuch who began his career as army supervisor.
* [[Staurakios (eunuch)|Staurakios]] (died 800): chief associate and minister of the Byzantine empress [[Irene of Athens]].
* [[Ignatius of Constantinople]] (799–877): twice [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] during troubled political times (847–858 and 867–877). First absolutely unquestioned eunuch saint, recognized by both the Orthodox and Roman Churches. (There are a great many early saints who were probably eunuchs, though few either as influential nor unquestioned as to their castration.)
* [[Yazaman al-Khadim]] (died 891): Emir of [[Tarsus (city)|Tarsus]] and successful commander in the wars against the Byzantine Empire.
* [[Mu'nis al-Muzaffar]] (845/846–933/934): Commander-in-chief of the [[Abbasid]] armies between 908 and his death.
* [[Joseph Bringas]] (died 965): chief minister of the Byzantine Empire under [[Romanos II]] (959–963).

===Second millennium CE===
* [[Jia Xian]] ({{circa}} 1010–{{circa}} 1070): Chinese mathematician; invented the Jia Xian triangle for the calculation of [[square root]]s and [[cube root]]s.
* [[Lý Thường Kiệt]] (1019–1105): general during the [[Lý dynasty]] in Vietnam. Penned what is considered the first Vietnamese declaration of independence. Regarded as a Vietnamese national hero.
* [[Tatikios]] ({{circa}} 1048–after 1110): Byzantine general who  led the forces of Emperor [[Alexios I Komnenos]] and acted as a guide during the [[First Crusade]].
* [[Pierre Abélard]] (1079–1142): French scholastic philosopher and theologian. Forcibly castrated by his girlfriend's uncle while in bed.
* [[Lu'lu' al-Yaya]] (died 1117): Regent of the Seljuk sultanate of Aleppo.
* [[Malik Kafur]] ([[floruit|fl.]] 1296–1316): a eunuch slave who became a general in the army of [[Alauddin Khalji]], ruler of the [[Delhi sultanate]].
* [[Zheng He]] (1371–1433): famous admiral who led huge Chinese fleets of [[Treasure voyages|exploration around the Indian Ocean]].
* [[Yishiha]] (15th century): admiral in charge of expeditions down the [[Amur River]] under the [[Yongle Emperor|Yongle]] and [[Xuande Emperor]]s.
* [[Wu Rui (eunuch)|Wu Rui]] (15th century): a Chinese eunuch in [[Lê dynasty]] Annam (Vietnam).
* [[Gang Bing]] (died 1410): patron saint of eunuchs in China who castrated himself to demonstrate his loyalty to the [[Yongle Emperor]].
* [[Wang Zhen (eunuch)|Wang Zhen]] (died 1449): first [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] eunuch with much power; see [[Tumu Crisis]].
* {{ill|Kim Cheo Seon|ko|김처선}} (1421–1505): one of the most famous eunuchs during the Korean [[Joseon dynasty]] period, ably served kings in the Joseon dynasty. His life is the subject of a [[The King and I (TV series)|historical drama]] in South Korea.
* [[Liu Jin]] (1451–1510): corrupt eunuch official of the Ming dynasty and ''de facto'' emperor, member of the [[Eight Tigers]].
* [[Judar Pasha]] (1562–1606): a Spanish eunuch who became the head of the Moroccan invasion force into the [[Songhai Empire]].
* [[Wei Zhongxian]] (1568–1627): eunuch of the Ming dynasty, considered the most powerful eunuch in Chinese history.
* [[Senesino]] (1686–1758): Italian contralto castrato singer.
* [[Farinelli]] (1705–1782): Italian soprano castrato singer.
* [[Giusto Fernando Tenducci]] ({{circa}} 1736–1790): Italian soprano castrato singer.
* [[Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar]] (1742–1797): chief of the Qajars who established [[Qajar Iran]] in 1794 and established the [[Qajar dynasty]].
* [[Lê Văn Duyệt]] ({{circa}} 1763–1832): Vietnamese eunuch, military strategist and government official (not a true eunuch, he was born a [[hermaphrodite]]).
* [[Boston Corbett|Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett]] (b. 1832; presumed dead 1894): killer of [[John Wilkes Booth]], the assassin of [[Abraham Lincoln]], who castrated himself to avoid temptation from prostitutes.
* [[Li Lianying]] (1848–1911): a despotic eunuch of the [[Qing dynasty]].
* [[Alessandro Moreschi]] (1858–1922): Italian castrato singer, the only one to make recordings.
* Xin Xiuming (1878–1959): Entered Emperor Puyi's service in 1902; left palace service in 1911; became abbot of the Taoist temple at the [[Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery]] by 1930; wrote memoir ''Eunuch's Recollection'' (老太监的回忆).{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
* [[Sun Yaoting]] (1902–1996): last surviving imperial eunuch of Chinese history.