AnExplanationof
MilitarySlavery
93
The institutionof
militaryslavery
wasnotan
accident,
ale-
galism,
orafluke,butasuccessful
adaptationto
the
specific
Islamicateneedto
acquire
andcontrolaliensoldiersfrom
mar-
ginal
areas.
Howeveroddit
may
seemtoour
eyes,
Muslimrulers
reaped
real
military
benefitsfrom
theenslavementofrecruits.
NonmilitaryFactors
Besides
providingMuslimswithamechanismfor
acquiring
and
controlling
soldiersfromoutside
marginalareas,
militaryslavery
hadtofitintothe
general
patterns
ofIslamicate
life.
Military
slavery
hada
militaryrationale, but
nonmilitary factorsalso
contributedtoits
successand
proliferation.
These
nonmilitary
factorsdidnot
explainthe
purpose
oftheinstitution,but
they
did
help
toform an
environmentthatwasconducivetomili-
taryslavery.
Hadthe
military
needs
been
unchanged
butother
factors
unsuitable,the
systemmight
neverhave
comeintobe-
ing.Beyondfulfilling
a
function,
militaryslavery
alsofitted
into
Islamicate
society.
- Slaves
fought
in
battlefromthefirstmomentsofIslam.
They
were
already
participating
in
Muh.
ammad’sbattlesinsiza-
ble
numbers,
s3
This factmusthavemade their later
usein
warfare
more acceptable,though no
explicit
mentionofthe
Mu
.hammadan
precedent
has
cometo
my
attention.Since
every
actof
Muh.
ammad’shasattractedclose
scrutiny,itseems
proba-
blethattheslaveswho
fought
withhim
remainedeverafterin
the
Islamicconsciousness.This
may
have
givensanctiontothe
useofslavesin
warfare:"Ifthe
Prophet
didso,we
may
too."
I
cannotaccountforthe
strikingabsenceofthis
justification
from
thesources,however.
- BothIslamiclawandtheeventsofthe
early
period
com-
binedto
giveslavesinIslamdoman
exceptionallyhighstatus.
The
Qur’fin
and
subsequent
Shariea
regulationsguaranteedthe
humandignityoftheslave,
especially
onewhowasa
Muslim.
- Detailsareinchapter4.