AnExplanation
ofMilitary
Slavery
87
the
filthoflustful
pleasures,unmarred
by
the
habitsof
civilisation,
withtheir
youthful
strengthunshattered
byexcessesof
luxury.
7
The
advantagesofenslavementwill
beillustrated
by
comparing
slaves withthe
twoalternate
typesof
marginal-areasoldiers
fightingfor
governments:mercenariesand
allies.
Acquisition
A
government
could
procureslaves
more
easily
thanit
could
either
mercenariesor
allies.It
mightpurchase,
capture,abduct,
or
steala
slave,but
obviously
nota
freeman.A
slavecouldbe
compelledto
join
the
army;mercenaries
hadtobeenticed
to
serve,
and
allieshadtofindit
expedient.
The
slavewas
subjectto
moreactiveand
flexiblemeans
of
persuasion.By
recruiting
him
through enslavement, the ruler
did not have to
wait until
cooperativemarginalareasoldiers
appeared
onthe
scene,
7
a
common
predicament
of
governments
that
didnotenslavesol-
diers
(suchas
Byzantium
and
China).Incontrast
tothelimited
conditions
underwhich
mercenariesorallies
agreed to
fight,
slavescame
accordingtocircumstance:
somearrivedas
tribute;
othersas
merchandise,
booty,contraband,orstolen
property.
Militaryslaveswere
usuallyprocuredaschildrenand
this,too,
facilitatedtheir
acquisition.
While
mercenariesandallies
could
onlybefound
among
friendlypeoples, childrencouldbeab-
ducted or
captured
from
enemies inwartime
and,
through
trainingmadeintofaithful
soldiers.The
pool
of
potentialslaves
couldbe
manytimes
larger
than
thatoffreerecruits.
Enslavement
gave
accesstoawide
variety
ofnationalitiesand
this
provided
the
army
withabeneficial
diversity
of
troops,
as
they often
brought withthemthe
specialskills oftheir own
peoples:
73
This
multiplicity
of
ethnic
backgrounds
and
skills
contributed
directly
tothe
flexibilityandtactical
power
of
Is-
lamicate
armies.Though
mercenariesandallies,too,could
have
71.Clbar5:371
(adoptedfromAyaion,"Yhsa"
C1;119;see
Appendix2).
72.Hrbek,
p.
545.
73.
Bosworth,
Ghaznavids,p.108.