In the interests of racial purity, all black male slaves were required to be castrated. The Emperor had decreed ("with the consent of the Senate", senatus consultus)  bringing an intact black African male into Rome to be a serious crime, to be punished by immediate castration of the slave, the buyer, and the seller. The Praetorian Guards were empowered to execute this punishment on the spot immediately upon discovery of the crime, without the formality of a trial. 

   Voltumnius Puto knew a slave dealer, one Galerio, a feedman, therefore not a Roman citizen, who might be willing to risk it if enough money changed hands. Puto spoke to him about it and Galerio agreed to try to obtain a well-endowed intact "Nubian" for Puto for 10 sestertia. [ 10,000 sestertii or 5,000 denarii, equivalent in buying power to $50,000] Though it was distasteful to a Voltumnius to haggle like a Levantine rug merchant, and Puto was wealthy, still, 10 sestertia was a very large sum of money to pay for one slave with no special talents.

   Puto offered 2 sestertia which was immediately and indignantly rejected."My balls are worth more than that to me." retorted Galerio. "Considering the risk, I'm offering you a bargain." Puto finally agreed to Galerio's price and wrote him a promissory note to that effect. 

   Nearly a month later, one of Galerio's slaves delivered a note to Puto saying merely "I have what you are seeking." Puto called for his litter, and had himself carried to the slave market . Though he wore sandals, Puto would not sully his feet with the dust of Rome's streets. Upon alighting, he was geeted by Galerio who brought him into a shed-like building where he saw a very handsome young black African who was wearing a coarse, knee-length woolen kilt which protruded before him. Galerio lifted the front of the garment to expose a mentula as thick as Puto's wrist and as long as his forearm, below which hung testicles like two large black plums. Had his member not been erect, the kilt could hardly have covered it as it must have hung nearly to his knees.

   "Well", said Puto, "I can't take him outside like that." "Do you want me to jerk him off ?" asked Galerio. "No", said Puto, I have a better place for his seed than to waste it on the ground. Puto squatted before the young African and, with difficulty, took the glans of his enormous mentula into his mouth. He gripped the shaft with both hands (there was room for two more) and simultaneously sucked and massaged the magnificent organ. Very soon, the "Nubian" shook and cried out, discharging more semen than Puto could swallow, though he did his best to. As the great member relaxed, Puto gave a contented sigh. "What is his name ?" "Butamuma" replied Galerio. [This is NOT a Nubian name, rather, it belongs to one the tribes in the interior of Africa.]

   Puto, Butamuma, and Galerio stepped outside, only to find themselves surrounded by a dozen Praetorian Guards. The Centurion in charge of them pulled off Butamuma's kilt, exposing his illegally complete genitalia. He then pulled off Puto's and Galerio's loin cloths and had his men hold up their tunics. "I am a Patrician," complained Puto, showing his gold ring . The Centurion was unimpressed. "By order of his Imperial Majesty, Caesar, Tiberius, the three of you are to be gelded here and now." 

   While two men held Butamuma upright, the Centurion seized his testicles and suddenly jumped into the air. There were two distinctly audible sounds like the snapping of a broken bowstring, and the broken cords could be seen to slither down into the bottom of Butamuma's scrotum. Butamuma screamed and then bursted into tears. Galerio was next. Just before the cords broke, two great ruptures broke out in his groins. He gave a hoarse cry and bent over , retching. Finally, it was the young Patrician's turn. The Centurion, whose iron ring proclaimed him a plebeian, squeezed Puto's testicles. Puto screamed and vomited. It was not until his testicles were crushed that the Centurion put his weight on the cords and tore them out . 

   There was the shop of a barber-surgeon very near the slave market and the three new eunuchs made their way there, Puto in his litter and the other two on foot, slowly and painfully. Secator, the barber, cut away the scrota of the three eunuchs and took such measures as he could to stanch the bleeding. Galerio's hernias pressed on the broken blood vessels, helping to reduce bleeding. The broken ends of both Butamuma's and Puto's cords proved accessible and were cauterized. Butamuma screamed and Puto fainted during the cautery. Diomedes Secator sewed up the remains of the scrota and Puto paid him 3 denarii for his services.Puto hired two of Galerio's slaves to carry Butamuma by the shoulders and ankles and so master and now-useless slave were brought to Puto's home.

   Being submissive, Puto had seldom ever used his penis, so the loss of the testicles which had made it work was less distressing to him than it might be to many men. Though he was wealthy, the loss of 10 sestertia was a more important matter to him for the time being. After 16 days, Butamuma was as recovered as he ever would be. He did not, of course, become impotent overnight and Puto was able to enjoy his sexual services for about three months before the rigidity of his member had declined past the point of utility.

   As Puto had suspected, his ability to enjoy penetration was almost unimpaired. The orgasm was weaker than before, but still very enjoyable, indeed.Certainly, Puto's passion to acquire a virile Nubian lover was not only unimpaired, but intensified. He thought of almost nothing else.Puto decided that the only way to achieve satisfaction would be to travel to Nubia itself.

   Like most Romans, Puto did not realize that the vast majority of "Nubian" slaves did not come from Nubia originally. They were traded to the Egyptians by the Nubians, but most of them had been slaves in Nubia. They were prisoners, captured in the innumerable border skirmishes between the highly civilized Nubians and the uncivilized tribes to the south of them, some of which recruited troops from the deep interior of Africa, possibly by raids.The only real Nubians among the slaves (almost all eunuchs) traded to Egypt were criminals such as rapists, adulterers, and swindlers.. He was to find the Nubians quite different from Central Africans such as Butamuma.

   Puto was aware that Nubia lay immediately to the south of Egypt, which was now Roman territory, and had never been conquered by Rome . To reach Nubia, then, he must first travel to and then across Egypt. There was little passenger travel between Rome and Alexandria, but much freight passed between them. It would be easy to obtain passage on a freight-carrying vessel. Travel in Egypt was by camel caravan. He must have an interpreter who spoke Latin or Greek, Egyptian, and Nubian.

   Once Butamuma had ceased to be useful in bed, Puto began planning his trip to Nubia in earnest. First he sold Butamuma at a great loss. The best price he could get for a eunuch with no special abilities and who spoke very little Latin was 2 sestertia He had expected to lose money on the sale and had been saving as much as he could from his allowance from his father's estate. Still, the loss of 8 sestertia was very galling. He made inquiries about passage to Alexandria and discovered that he could leave nearly whenever he wanted to.

   Obtaining a guide and interpreter was less easy. Two months of inquiries were necessary to turn up a Greek named Philloplites who was familiar with the Egyptian language and could make himself understood in Nubian. From him, Puto learned much that he had not even suspected about the Nubians. Puto, like most Romans, on the basis of their experience of the "Nubian" bath slaves and bodyguards, assumed that they were barbarians. He was amazed to learn that the Nubian civilization was nearly as old as that of Egypt and that the Nubians had actually ruled Egypt for a time and had learned and adopted Pharaonic Egyptian culture, customs, and institutions.

    After the conquest of the decadent Egyptian nation by Alexander of Macedon, the Pharaonic civilization largely collapsed in Egypt and was replaced by a Hellenistic culture which retained many of the forms of Egyptian culture, but not the spirit. That survived in Nubia. At this time, nearly 300 years later, Ptolemaic Egypt had become Graeco-Roman but Nubia retained the ancient Pharaonic culture and institutions.

   Among these, was the division of the country into administrative districts known in Egypt by the Greek name "nomes", each governed by a "nomarch." In Roman Egypt, the nomarchs were governors appointed by the Emperor. Nubia was likewise divided into nomes, but here, the office of nomarch had long ago become hereditary and the status of the nomarchs was less like that of governors than that of ruling princes. They acknowledged the authority of the king of Nubia but enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. The nomes, both in Egypt and in Nubia had both names and numbers. The names of the Egyptian nomes have survived, but the Nubian nomes were known only by their numbers. Many of the nomarchs took as throne names, the names of ancient Egyptian kings and pharaohs, as Khaef Re, Psamtik, Nectanebo, etc. 

   The crossing to Alexandria from Tarentum was a rough one and Puto was wretchedly seasick for most of the voyage. Philloplites was a very experienced traveler and remained in annoyingly good health and spirits. Puto was concerned about exchanging Roman denarii for whatever coins were used in Nubia, but Philloplites assured him that the Nubians treated all coins as bullion, so whatever country's coins he used they would be weighed anyhow.

   Several pleasant days were spent in Alexandria which , always cosmopolitan, had become so Romanized that Puto almost felt that he had never left home. Finally, a caravan leaving for the fourth nome of Nubia was found and Philloplites made the necessary arrangements with the leader for them to accompany it. 
   Puto had been seasick on the voyage to Egypt; now he was "landsick" riding a camel with a rolling gait all too reminiscent of the rolling of the ship. The journey was long [about 450 miles] and slow, requiring nearly a month. Puto was exhausted, undernourished, and dehydrated by the time they reached Nubia. 

   As soon as they crossed into Nubia, Puto and Philloplites were arrested as spies. Philloplites found it very difficult to explain the purpose of their journey to their captors. After several days of detention in a dusty, fleabitten, border town, they were finally brought to the palace of the nomarch who ruled under the name of Psamtik IV.

   Psamtik was a very imposing figure of a man, about 30 years old, tall, and muscular. He had adopted the ancient Kemetic (mistakenly called Egyptian by the Ptolemies) style of dress: bare-chested, he wore a dazzlingly white knee-length kilt of  byssus which contrasted sharply with his ebony skin . Unlike the Kemetics, however, he did not wear a loin cloth under it. He rather doubted that these two bedraggled travelers were spies, but what WERE they doing in Nubia ?

   Puto told Philloplites "Tell him the truth, all of it." Philloplites paused for a moment , choosing his words carefully, because he had had much experience with the kind of grovelling self-abasing language needed to address the great and powerful in this part of the world. Then Philloplites began.

   "Oh great and illustrious Psamtik, we are but curious travellers from Rome. My employer, here, Publius Voltumnius Puto is a Roman Patrician, scion of a wealthy and ancient Roman family.

He is also a catamite. For many years he has been intrigued by the remarkable generative organs of the African slaves in  the Roman baths. Unfortunately, these slaves are all eunuchs. He longs to receive into his body the male member of a virile, potent, African man. It is in quest of such that he has journeyed far by sea and over land to Nubia where he has hoped to find a man such as he seeks. I am but his guide and interpreter, for he speaks only Latin and Greek."

   Psamtik bursted into uproarious laughter, slapping his thigh and  bellowing his mirth until tears came to his eyes. Finally, Psamtik stood up and lifted up the front of his byssus kilt exposing the largest mentula which Puto had ever seen. "Is this what you have come all this way for ?" asked Psamtik. Puto, not knowing the language, nodded. "Then bend over and lift your tunic." Philloplites translated the order for Puto who complied with a smile. Psamtik called a slave who anointed his mighty shaft with oil. Then draping his kilt over Puto's rump so as to conceal the joining of the parts from onlookers, Psamtik slowly entered  Puto's body. Puto sighed and squealed with delight. At length, he felt Psamtik's testicles against his buttocks, Psamtik reached between Puto's legs to fondle his genitals and discovered his secret. He looked up and asked Philloplites "He is a eunuch ?" "Yes, he was castrated for bringing an intact African man into Rome for his pleasure. It is a crime, there."

   Psamtik, now exercising his pleasure upon Puto's body, announced, "Good, then I can legally make him the slave of my bedchamber to attend upon me there whenever I am in the mood for this sort of pleasure." Philloplites relayed this intelligence to Puto who gladly accepted it. 

   "As for you," Psamtik added, "I need a scribe who knows Latin to write letters to the Romans in Egypt. Are you interested ? " Philloplites asked "Am I to be a slave, then ?" "No, replied Psamtik. My scribe is paid for his services. " "Then I accept, oh great nomarch." As Psamtik poured his seed into his bowels, Puto realized that his quest was ended. He had finally achieved his goal.