8O
TheIslamicateContext
steppes,deserts,andmountainshadanalmosttotalholdoverIslamicate
armies.
5
Toa
degreeunmatchedin
any
othercivilization
57
they
dominatedthearmiesthat
broughtnew
governments
to
power
and
their
subsequentreplacements.
Hereweshowthe
extentto
which
they
brought
thenew
dynastiesin;
the
followingpages
explainwhy
the
troops
continuedtocome
mostly
from
marginal
areasevenaftera
governmenthadbeenestablished.
Itis
easy
todemonstratetherole
of
marginal
areasoldiersin
founding
new
governments;
a
survey
ofarmiessimilar
tothat
donein
chapter 2 (whichlookedat
militaryslaves)
makesthis
clear,forthe
major
dynasties
mentionedthere,aswellasmost
others,
dependedprimarily
on
marginal
areasoldiers
to
bring
themto
power.
8
Sucha
pattern
existed
nowhereelsetothesameextentasit
didin
Islamdom,
noteven
inthesamelandsbefore
they
became
Muslim.In
pre-IslamicEgypt,
for
example,while
marginal
area
soldiershad
somerolefromthetimeofthe
Hyksosonward,
na-
tive
Egyptians
almost
alwaysfoughtinthearmiesof
Egypt.They
predominated
when
Egypt
was
independent
and served
as
auxiliarieswhen
foreigners(Libyans,
Cushites,
Persians,Greeks,
andRomans)ruled.
’
Butwiththe
coming
ofthe
Muslims,na-
tive
Egyptians(exceptfortheBedouin,whowerenot
insiders)
56.Thisrolehasreceivedbutscant
attention.Somehints
may
befoundin:
Ashtor,
p.
18;Bosworth,
"Recruitment,"p.
64;
J.
C.
Hurewitz,
"Military
Politics
in
theMuslim
Dynastic
States
1400-1750,"Journal
of
the
AmericanOrientalSociety
88
(1968):97;
J.
Celerier,"Islamet
geographie,"Hesperis
39
(1952):347;Gell-
her,p.
3,hasnotedthisfactmost
clearly:"Itseemstobe
striking
featureofthe
history
ofMuslimcountriesthat
theyfrequently,indeedgenerally,have
penumbraof
marginal
tribalism."
57.
Hodgsonmakesthispoint,too,butwithdifferent
terminologyandadif-
ferent
explanation.Hecallsit"militarization"
(2:64)
andattributesittoa"stale-
matebetween
agrarian
and
mercantilepower"
(2:65).
58.Theshortaccountsof
dynasticoriginsprovidedinC.E.Bosworth,The
Islamic
Dynasties(Edinburgh,
1967)makethis
clear.
59.
J.
Lesquier,LesInstitutionsmilitairesde
l’Egypte
sousles
Lagides(Paris,1911),
pp.134-35;
R.
O.Faulkner,"Egyptian
MilitaryOrganization,"Journal
of
Egyp-
tian
Archeology
39
(1953):32-33,37,46;A.R.Schulman,
Military
Rank,Titleand
Organizationinthe
Egyptian
New
Kingdom(Berlin,1964),pp. 28 ff.;butseeL.A.
Christophe
"L’Organisation
del’arm6e
6gyptienneal’poqueramesside,"Revue
duCaire 20
(1957):399-400,foradifferentview.