ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY AND PRACTICEto have been less in the Islamic system. Persian notables received at
most only half the theoretical Sasanian maximum, which was still in
the upper range of Islamic stipends, while the DaylamI unit (probably
infantry) at Kufa received a group stipend that breaks down to two
hundred and fifty dirhams apiece, the same as an average Arab tribes-
man but still higher than the theoretical Sasanian minimum.^103
Of more significance is the impression of an overall equalization
and depression of military stipends in the Islamic system compared to
the Sasanians. The standing army of the late Sasanian period seems
to have been composed of fairly small elite cavalry units and urban
garrisons. Although the Muslims raised the tax rates and improved
the collection of provisions in kind, income had to be spread over a
larger total permanent military population or sent off to Madina. This
resulted in generally lower stipends, which were only partly offset by
monthly rations and further undermined by inflation in the garrison
towns, and led to a continued interest in booty both as an additional
and more equitably divided income. However, Arab tribesmen con-
tinued to be impatient with the remaining discrepancies in the stipends,
which continued to be greater than in prior divisions of booty. It might
also be suggested that because of the larger number of soldiers that
had to be supported, the Islamic system depended more heavily and
in different ways on the sources of revenue and supply than the Sa-
sanian system had done. In spite of the Sasanian origin of the principle
and operation of the military register, its application to Islamic military
society in Iraq introduced subtle but significant changes, both for the
native population and for the Arab Muslim settlers.
The main ceremonial occasion, during which soldiers presented
themselves for the distribution of their stipends and provisions, was
the military review, which symbolized and emphasized their depend-
ence on the state's economic support systems. The Sasanian army
normally passed in review before the monarch, who was seated on a
throne or dais together with the general or military scribe at the be-
ginning of a campaign. The famous story preserved in Arabic literature
about the inspection of the army of Khusraw Anushirvan by his scribe
Papak, son of Nahravan, is certainly tendentious but the details it
103 Baladhuri, Futu~, pp. 280, 455; M. A. Shaban, Islamic History. A.D. 600-750
(A.H. 132) (Cambridge, 1971), p. 55. See also D. Ayalon, "Preliminary Remarks on
the Mamluk Military Institution in Islam," in War, Technology and Society in the
Middle East, ed. Parry and Yapp (London, 1975), p. 45. Concerning these Daylami
Iranians who were also called Hamra', see part n, chapter 5: Persians.