AnExplanationofMilitary
Slavery 75
The
commonplace
assertionthatIslam
doesnot
distinguish
between
religion
and
politics
istrue;but,
paradoxically,by
em-
bracingpolitics
andwarfare,
bymaking
themcentraltoIslamic
life,IslamremovesthemfromthelivesofmostMuslims."While
Islamisinonesensethe
politicalcommunityparexcellenceithas
tended tomakethe
pious
Muslimmoreandmore
nonpoliti-
cal.
TM
The
mixing
of
religion
with
politics
andwarfareleadstoa
sharpdivisionbetween
public
and
private
domains;insteadof
government
and
warfare,
Muslim
subjectsdevotedthemselves
farmoreto
religious,social,
and
family
concerns.Asa
result,
"thetrue
centralthreadofIslamic
history
liesnotinthe
political
realmofthe
caliphs
andsultansbut
inthesocialrealmwherethe
ulamaservedas the
functioning
heart
ofthehistoricMuslim
community.
’’45
Politicsandwarfarehave
played
asmallerrole
in
thelivesofMuslimsthaninthoseofother
peoples;only
when
non-Muslimsthreateneddid
they
engage
inthoseareasthem-
selves.The
ruling
structurestoodin
strikingisolationfromthe
peoples’ lives;
46
inparticular, itcould notdraw them inas
soldiers.
Who,then,staffedIslamicatearmies?
Withdrawal
by
Muslim
subjects
created
a
power
vacuum
which
opened
Islamicate
public
life
to
domination
byothers.
Armiesbecamethe
playthings
of
nonsubjects;
onesucceeded
anotherwithhardly
any
referencetothe
subjectpopulations.
47
MarginalArea
Soldiers
Two
geographic
terms,
"marginal
area"and
"governmentarea"
sharpenthe
analysis
ofIslamicate
militarypatterns;
soldiersin
Islamicate armies
nearly
all came
from
marginal
areas, the
steppes,
deserts, mountains, and forests
being
thus
defined.
44.Grunebaum,Islam,p. 136.Foranotherview,seeR.Bendix,
Kings
Peoples:PowerandtheMandatetoRule(Berkeley,1978),
pp.
47-49.
45.Bulliet,
p.
138.
46.Onthis,seeR.W.Bulliet,ThePatricians
of
Nishapur(Cambridge,Mass.,
1972)andI.M.
Lapidus,
MnsliraCitiesintheLaterMiddle
Ages(Cambridge,Mass.,
1967).
47.
Nonsubjectsdominatedpoliticsalmostasmuch,butthe
following
discus-
siontakes
uponly
their
military
role.