A Spanish-born eunuch rose from the royal harem to command Morocco’s army

Evidence

Jaudar had risen to his command through posts in the royal household (at first in Ahmad’s harem: he was a eunuch). The generally accepted view on his origins and early years is that he was born in Spain at Las Cuevas de Almanzora: the bibliography of those who have taken this view will be found ably and honestly presented in a chapter entitled “The Pasha Jawdar’s Cuevas de Almanzora Years” in Ha¨ıdara (1993, 17-33). — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1598

Categorization

• XREF: A remarkable mobility narrative — connects to how displaced peoples resorted to unusual social channels (eunuch household service) to rise in exile.