Kapi Agha

19th-century depiction of the Chief Black Eunuch (left), acourt dwarf(middle) and the Chief White Eunuch (right)

TheKapi Agha(Turkish:Kapı ağası,"Aghaof the Gate "), formally called theAgha of the Gate of Felicity(Bâbüssaâde ağası), was the head of theeunuchservants of the OttomanSeragliountil the late 16th century, when this post was taken over by theKizlar Agha.In juxtaposition with the latter office, also known as the Chief Black Eunuch as its holders were drawn from Black African slaves, the Kapi Agha is also known as theChief White Eunuch.

History and functions

As his title implies, the Kapi Agha controlled the Gate of Felicity that separated the Outer Court (Birûn,where state affairs were conducted), from the Inner Court (Enderûn) and the Sultan's private apartments in theTopkapı Palace.The Agha occupied an office to the right of the gate and had the duty of controlling entrance to the Inner Court and of transmitting the Sultan's orders to his officials, rendering him, in the words of the OttomanistHalil İnalcık,"the sole mediator between the Sultan and the world outside the Palace".The duties of the Kapi Agha and his white eunuchs also included running thePalace Schoolfor the pages of the palace, whose graduates then went on to become the administrative élite of theOttoman Empire.The "Mosque of the Aghas" (Ağalar Camii) in the Topkapi Palace was built for use by the Kapi Agha and his eunuchs.

The office of the Kapi Agha was an influential post, the holder became a close adviser to the Sultan and could play a decisive role in the imperial succession. Holders bore the rank ofvizierand came in precedence only after thegrand vizierand theshaykh al-Islām.In his heyday in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Kapi Agha rivaled the Grand Vizier in importance. Nevertheless, and in contrast to his analogues in other Islamic states, usually denoted by variants of the titlehajib,the holders of the office never expanded their power to the extent that they could rival that of the Sultan. Unlike their counterparts, the Kapi Aghas controlled neither the administrative apparatus, which remained firmly in the hands of the Grand Vizier, nor the palace troops, which came under the command of another official, theAgha of the Janissaries,who notably also received about five times the Kapi Agha's daily salary of 100akçes.Nevertheless, many Kapi Aghas went on to assume major provincial governorships (often distinguished by the epithethadım,"eunuch", in their subsequent careers), and several are considered by modern historians among the greatest Ottoman statesmen of the period.

The post reached its height in the reign ofSuleiman the Magnificent(1520–1566), when its holders became the stewards of the charitable foundations and endowments (waqfs) designated for the upkeep of the two holy cities (Haramayn) of Islam,MeccaandMedina,and of over seventy large mosques. During this time, the holders of the office engaged in open rivalry with the Grand Viziers for control over state affairs.Soon after, however, through the influence of the women of theOttoman Imperial Harem,the Kapi Agha was eclipsed by theKizlar Agha,who supervised the harem. The Kizlar Agha became independent of the Kapi Agha in 1587, assumed the control of theHaramaynand quickly rose to become the senior palace official.The final blow to the authority of the office came in 1704, when its remaining powers were transferred to theSilahdar Agha.The position of the Kapi Agha survived, but thereafter was devoid of any significance.

Sources

• Freely, John(2000).Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul.Penguin Books.ISBN0-14-027056-6.
• Junne, George H. (2016).The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire: Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan.Bloomsbury Publishing.ISBN978-0-8577-2808-1.
• İnalcık, Halil(1978)."Ḳapu Ag̲h̲asi̊".Invan Donzel, E.;Lewis, B.;Pellat, Ch.&Bosworth, C. E.(eds.).The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.Volume IV:Iran–Kha.Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 570–571.OCLC758278456.