Eunuchs in Achaemenid Persia: the case of Bagoas the Chiliarch

This article, focussing on the case of Bagoas, supposedly a eunuch and Chiliarch (the commander of the Great King’s infantry guard) according to Diodorus Siculus (17.5.3), looks at the possibility of eunuchs occupying roles of military significance in Achaemenid Persia. The study looks in detail at what we know of Bagoas from the largely Greco-Roman sources, before turning to comparative Ancient Near Eastern evidence for eunuchs occupying significant military roles. From this, it emerges that conventional interpretations of Achaemenid scholars, who have often sought to demonstrate that ‘eunuch’ need not always refer to a man incapable of fathering children, may be unfounded, or at least unnecessary. It follows that that it is likely that some eunuchs enjoyed positions of military prominence in Achaemenid Persia, and that Diodorus’ presentation of Bagoas as both a eunuch and Chiliarch is quite plausible.