Rattibha

In reality, Castration was mainly a European practice that was later adopted by the Ottomans. The majority of Eunuchs were European. The Muslim Empires, of course, would later make great use of Eunuchs, which is how the practice came to be associated with Arabs.

Even then, the Eunuchs in the Arab world were castrated by Europeans & then sold to Arabs. The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) was not only the biggest employer of eunuchs but also the biggest exporter, along with the city-state of Venice & later the Egyptian Coptic Church.

Castration has its roots in Mediterranean cultures ( Zeus castrating his father Cronus. Cronus himself castrated his own father, Uranus). Castration was later adopted by the pagan Romans, who continued the practice into the Christian period. (Emperor Justinian opposed Castration)

The Greeks & Romans believed that eunuchs made for the most loyal of servants since they had no political ambitions beyond their generation, thus were less likely to usurp the authority of their masters.

Here's an academic paper from the Journal of Ancient History detailing the origins & history of castration in the Greco-Roman world. (It's long, but very thorough. It's worth a read)
drive.google.com

drive.google.com/file/d/1-UFi8w…

Emasculating healers. Medical castration practices in Greco-Roman antiquity.pdf

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the pagan practice continued on in the Eastern Roman Empire, where Eunuchs not only served in private households, but also in state offices, including high-ranking Royal officials, church & military commanders.

With the rise of the Arab Empires, Muslims sought to emulate the Roman Empire & began acquiring eunuchs for themselves, for private, state & military use. But, since Islam prohibited castration, they turned to slave trading and piracy

The Roman (Byzantine) Empire was the primary source for eunuchs. The 10th century Arab historian described encountering a group of Muslim slave traders & asking them where they had acquired eunuchs from. They him they had acquired them from Romans

Another source for eunuchs was Viking raids. While Vikings themselves made no use of eunuchs, they often raided monasteries accross Europe to capture young men, who were then sent to "Eunuch factories" in Venice to be castrated & sold to Arabs.

Ottoman physicians studied the practice from their Byzantine counterparts and began performing castration themselves. With the decline of the Eastern Roman Empire, Ottoman physicians were not able to meet the demand for Eunuchs across their Empire, so they turned to Africa.

Young boys from Sudan & Abyssinia were sent to Egypt to be castrated by Coptic Christian monks & then exported across the Ottoman empire. This practice continued well into the 20th century until the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1922.

The American physician Peter Remondino, who visited Egypt in 1898, wrote, "The country’s largest eunuch factory, however, is found on Mount Ghebel-Eter, in Abou-Gerghè. Here, at a large Coptic monastery, where the unfortunate African children are gathered..."