Acknowledgments
This
study
isbasedonadoctoral
dissertationsubmitted
in
May
1978 toHarvardUniversity
foraPh.D.
in
History
andMiddle
Easternstudies.My
affiliationwithHarvardformallybegan
in
1967,butitreally
extendsbackmuch
further,forI
very
much
grew
up
initsmilieu.Iamthereforehappy
torecordmymany
debtstoitsstudentsandfaculty.
Researchfor
thisworktookmeto
various
places.
I
spent
a
profitable
six
monthsattheOrientalische
SeminaratFreiburg
University,
West
Germany,
in
- TheAmericanResearch
Center
in
Egypt
fundedanine-monthstay
inCairoduring
the
academic
year
1976-77,
providing
me
withan
opportunity
to
readArabicsources
on
early
Muslimhistory.
Iam
grateful
to
the
Department
ofNearEastern
StudiesatPrincetonUniversity
for
making
me a
Visiting
Fellowduring
1977-78.
AsaWilliam
RaineyHarper
Fellow
atthe
University
ofChicago
since1978,I
have
profited
from
the
university’s
unmatched resources
for
comparative
history.Interesting
courses
toteach,
widely
knowl-
edgeable
colleagues,
andexcellent
facilitieshaveallhelped
me
prepare
thisbookforpublication.
Theresearchand
ideasofDavidAyalon
formtheintellectual
basisforthisstudy;
hisdetailedinquiries
intotheMamlukKing-
domof
Egypt
havebothestablishedmilitaryslavery
asan
auton-
omousinstitutionand
madeit
possible
toanalyze
itelsewhere.I
amalsoindebtedto
himfor
helpful
ideas
onhowto
proceed
withthis
kindofresearch.
The
followingpersons
areamong
thosewhoread
andcom-
mentedonPartI:
Ralph
Austen,ShmuelN.Eisenstadt,
Richard
xi