AnExplanationof
MilitarySlavery 95
seemstoexistagainstusingslaves
in
normalcircumstances
butin
favorof
their
assistance
intimesoftrouble.Itis
noteworthy
that
therewasnoclearcondemnationofslaves
fighting
innormal
circumstances;further,therestraintsonslaves
fightingappear
toreflectaconcernwithpropertyvaluemorethanwithhonor,
thediscussions
discourageslavesfrom
exposing
themselvesto
needless
danger
andthus
jeopardizing
theirmaster’s
property,
as
- The
strong
and
continuingrelationshipencouragedby
the
ShariCa
betweenafreedslaveandhis
patron(the
wal(’
ofman-
umission),
89
created
favorableconditions for
military slavery.
Slavesowned
by
aMuslimremained
by
their
master
long
after
emancipation,
providing
himwith
allegiance
andservice
inre-
turnfor
protectionand
patronage.
Fewslavesreturnedtotheir
countriesof
origin
after
becoming
free; the
majority
stood
by
their
patron,
a
This
continuingvoluntaryrelationship
increased
thelikelihoodofmenofslave
originsserving
theirmastersin
important
positions.
- "LeMonde musulmanestunecivilisation
esclavagiste.
’’gt
TheMuslimsneverseemtohavesufferedfroma
shortage
of
slaves;
throughmany
centuries,over
manyareas,they
owned
them
in
abundant numbers. The Muslims
imported slaves
fromallthe
surroundingareas--especially
sub-SaharanAfrica,
Europe,
CentralAsia,andIndia--while
hardly
ever
falling
vic-
tim toslavery themselves.
2
The
presence
ofslaves was, of
course, afundamental
precondition
of
military slavery;
and
theirexistence
in
massivenumberswasconducivetothe
system,
sinceowners
sought
useful
ways
inwhichto
employ
theslavesat
hand.
Certainly
this
appears
tohavebeenthecaseforthoserul-
88.as-Sarakhsi,p.
908.This
brings
to
mindaU.S.CivilWaranecdote,when
amaster"toldhisslavetolookafterhis
property,
and
whensomeshotfell
nearby,
the
Negro
fled,andwhenthemaster
reprimanded
him
hesaid,’Massa,
you
toldmetotake
good
careof
yourproperty,
anddis
property(placinghis
handonhisbreast),isworf$1500’ (CW,p.278).
89.
My
"Mawlas"articlediscussesthisat
length.
90.Foran
exception,
seeKM,
p.
203.
91.M.Lombard,L’Islamdartssapremi’ere
grandeur
(Paris,
1971),p.194.
92.Ibid.,pp.194-202;
G.
Hambly,"IslamicSlavery:AnOverview"
(mimeo-
graphed:n.p.,n.d.),pp.21-25.