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152 6. emperor and court
Most eunuchs were foreigners from the empire’s north-eastern frontiers.
Though their condition almost implied slave status, they gained freedom on
entering imperial service and their status rose in the fifth century. In fact,
the grand chamberlain received precedence equal to prefects or generals by
a decree of 422. 91 Yet unlike others at court, the foreign and kinless eunuchs
lacked the ordinary late Roman social bases of power. Paradoxically, this
very weakness fed their strength. Near-total dependence on the emperor
and constant proximity to him could create an unparalleled degree of
confidence between servant and master. Indeed, their fate was sometimes
so closely tied to his that some, like Chrysaphius or Amantius, outlived their
emperor by only a few days, though these were exceptional cases. Such utter
dependence meant that they could be counted on for deeds which others
might shun, whether it was the murder of Stilicho’s son or Zeno’s purported
attempt to assassinate Illus. So too their dependency and physical
disqualification from the purple made them safe choices as generals, an
innovation probably intended for the same purpose as the generalships for
the emperor’s family. Thus, Zeno used a eunuch as co-commander during
the civil war against his compatriot and possible relative, Illus. Justinian had
Narses share Belisarius’ command in Italy and ultimately turned the Italian
war over to him, after the death of his cousin Germanus terminated the
emperor’s plans for keeping the Italian front under family control.
Another source of power lay in the eunuchs’ unparalleled knowledge of
the court itself. Combined with the fact that some long-serving eunuchs
first appear in vital positions scarcely appropriate for newcomers, the
length of some careers suggests that chamberlains often grew up in the
palace, as we know was true of Justinian’s trusted Narses. 92
The careers of Urbicius, Misael and the earlier Narses (1) span virtually
the entire period from Theodosius II to Tiberius’ promotion to Caesar.
Furthermore, palace links normally did not cease on retirement: many years
after he retreated to a monastery, Misael copied a treatise in large letters for
an apparently near-sighted Theodora. 93 In other words, the eunuchs provided
an essential ingredient to the emergence of enduring court traditions,
a kind of institutional memory. In particular, their duties meant that they
contributed to the flowering of court ceremonial which occurs in this
period. Eunuchs practised the corporate solidarity that typifies court
organizations. For instance, two western eunuchs owned an estate outside
Rome together. When a bishop refused to make an appointment sought by
one chamberlain, he naturally turned to another chamberlain to intercede
and explain his action. Links among fellow eunuchs extended even to a
shared tomb. 94
91 C.Th. vi.8.1;cf.CJ xii.5. 92 Agathias i.16.1. 93 Severus Ant. Ep. Sel. i.63.
94 CIL vi.31946�xv.7131; Severus Ant. Ep. Sel. i.17; John Eph. V.SS.Or. lvii.
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