Slave Soldiers and Islam_ The Genesis of a Military System - Daniel Pipes

78

TheIslamicateContext

person

hadtomaintainexcellentphysicalstrength

inorderto

carry

outhisdaily

functionsof

farming,herding,

or

hunting.

The
marginal

areas

couldnotaffordsoft

jobs

(forexample,

as

domestic
servants,

aristocrats,or

philosophers)

or

nonproduc-

tiveinstitutions
(such

as

opulent

courts).

Pleasureswere

simple

and comforts
primitive;

their environment

compelled

these

peoples

tostay

leanand

hardy.Marginal

area

peoples

werealso

healthier;spending

mostoftheirlivesaway

from

denselypopu-

lated

areas,

farfrominsectsandrodentsandaway

fromstand-

ing

water,

theyescaped

mostoftheendemic

diseasesfoundin

settled

government

areas.

The

inability

to

support

a

government

implied

anabsenceof

publicauthority

in

marginal

areas;

thishad

important

social

consequences.

Itforcedmarginal

area

peoples

to

protect

them-

selves

by

grouping together

and

reenforcing

the bonds of

mutual

trust.A

single

individualcouldnot

protect

himself;

he

hadtobe

guaranteedby

his

groups,

usually

the

family

andtribe.

Elaboratecodesofhonor

and

vigilante

tactics

developed

toen-

sureorder.Thetotal

effectwasto

sharpen

each

person’s

wits

and

militarycapacity.Raiding

for

booty

and

feuding

forhonor

wereendemic; forreasons ofbothdefense

andattack,

every

male

practiced

themartialartsfrominfancy,

wastrainedasa

soldier,andstayedinpractice

atalltimes.

Belonging

toa

mu-

tualassistance

group

with

militarycapabilities

gave

thesocial

structure

of

marginal

areamenaninherentpotential

forwar-

fare.

Theybelonged

toready-mademilitaryorganizations--the

tribes.Besidesthese,they

hadfew

groupings:

theurban

quar-

ters,fraternal

groupings,

madhhabs,andt.arqas

foundin

gov-

ernmentareas

barely

existedinthemarginal

lands.Thetribe

and

village

wereusually

the

only

forums.

Lackof

government

fostered

an

independent

ethos;each

per-

son

hadtofendforhimself

against

theelementsand

hisfellow

men. Ibn Khaldfin describes the spirit

this

engendered

as

follows:

TheBedouins live

separate

fromthecommunity.They

are

aloneinthe

country

andremotefi-om

militias.

They

havenowalls

and

gates.

Therefore,theyprovidetheir

owndefenseanddonot

entrustitto,orrelyupon

othersforit.

Theyalwayscarryweapons.