Slave Soldiers and Islam_ The Genesis of a Military System - Daniel Pipes

98

TheIslamicateContext

thenumberofslavesavailabletoaMuslimruler

greater

than

thoseavailabletootherrulers,andtheir

being

athis

disposal

then
encouraged

theirusein

public

life.

9. The
   Qur’n prescribes

theinheritance lawsforMuslims

andleaveslittle roomforindividualdiscretion.Byassuring

a

fairlyequal

divisionof

propertiesamong

membersofa

family,

it

prohibits

theconcentrationofwealthformorethana

generation

ortwo.Muslims

regularlyapplied

theselaws,

despite

widespread

maneuvering

aroundthem

and

someoutstandinglong-lasting

families? Polygamy

exacerbatedthisdiffusionofwealth,for

richmentendedtohave

large

families,andsotheshareofeach

individualheirwasoften

quite

small.No

matterhowrichthe

grandfather,

two

generations

laterhis

grandchildrenusually

re-

ceived

modestinheritances.

Unabletoconcentratetheirresources,

great

families

did

not

often

gain

aholdon

importantpositions.

Islamicatesociety

knew

no

rigid

socialboundariesbutwasaconstantfluxof

persons

and

families;

asa

result,

therewas

always

roomfornewblood.

Only

in

religious

officialdom,where

special

skills(notmoney)

formed

thebasisof

power,

doesonefindconsistent

hereditarypatterns.

Becauseno

hereditaryaristocracy

dominatedmilitary

and

politi-

caloffices,theywereopento

social

climbers--including

slaves.

Beyondkeeping

the

positionsopen,

this

fluidity

insocialrank

cutdownon

birthrights.

Thedaintinessofborn

aristocratsin

HinduIndiaorfeudalEuropederived

in

largepart

fromtheir

assuredsuperiority.They

neverallowedtheirrankstobefilled

bypersons

ofslave

origins;

butinIslamicate

society,

socialfor-

tunesweretootransientfora

person’s

birthto

play

toomuchof

aroleinhiscareer.

1

10.

TheShariCaallowsfewtiesof

subordinationotherthan

slavery,

soMuslimleaders

fullyexploited

the

slave-master

bond.

100.

InIran

especially,

the

aristocracyexploitedeveryloophole

and

even

committedincestinorderto

preserve

afortune.Forthe

description

of

duringaristocracy,

seeR.W.

Bulliet,

ThePatricians

of

Nishapur(Cambridge,

Mass.,

1972).

101.Foran

entirely

different

approachleading

tothisconclusion,seeHal-

pern,p.70.Also
Hodgson,

1:320,2:117-18.