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

120 Origins

Yazidb.Hurmuz,refusedanddecidedtocontinueto

fight.

’’71

Anothermawlaunitdidnot

fight

so

valiantly.

72

Themawlawho

may

havekilled

al-MukhtfirfoughtforIbn

az-Zubayr,

z3

Someof

Ibn

az-Zubayr’s

ownmawlasalso

participated;onewentoncam-

paign

toBasra,andatIbn

az-Zubayr’s

death,aslaveormawlaof

hisdeclaredthat"aslave

protects

hismasterandis

protectedby

him."74

Even

among

soldiersofthesame

nationality,allegiances

fol-

lowedinterests,notacommon

position.

While

Ethiopian

allies

who

specialized

in

spearfightingfought

onIbn

az-Zubayr’sside,

Ibn

az-Zubayr

himselfkilled an

Ethiopianghul6m

who was

fighting

forthe

Umayyads.

r5

3.

As formawlas

helping

otherrebels,IbnKhazim’sinsur-

rectioninKhurasan

during

65/685

includedaslavemawlawho

fought

sowell thathecausedhis

opponent,

atriballeaderonthe

Umayyad

side,acuteembarrassment.

76

Withthe

Umayyadsagainst

Muslims. 1.

Against

al-Mukhtfir.

The

unfree

onlyrarelyfought

forthecentral

governmentagainst

al-Mukhtfir;al-Mukhtfir

once

killed

two

slavesinthe

Umayyad

army,

oneaBlackandtheother

possibly

Greek.

7

Onanother

occasion,an
Umayyad

leader

(who

laterdesertedto

al-Mukhtfir)

fought

himwith

1,000QaysArabiansandtheirmawlas.

TM

2.

Against

Ibn

az-Zubayr.

Unfreesoldiers

played

a

greater

rolein
fightingagainst

Ibn

az-Zubayr

forthe

Umayyads.

Atthe

beginningoftherevolt,theUmayyad
governor

inMedinasent

mawlas
amongthirty

or

eightycavalrysoldiers

against

him;an

Umayyad

mawlalaterentrenchedhimselfin

At.-.Tfi’if

with

fifty

menuntilIbn

az-Zubayr

forcedthemtosurrenderandexecuted

them.

9

Atthe

Battleof

al-H.

arrain63/683,

Caliph

Marwfinb.

71. Kister,
    p.45,

basedonthe

manuscript

of

Ab’l-Arab.

72. Kister,
    p.

47.

73.

AA,5:262.

74.MDh,

3:122=AA,5:377.

75.Allies:

AA,

5:360-61.

Ethiopians:AA,5:364;T,2:851.

76.T,2:596-97.

77.T,2:530.

78.Ibn

Aetham,6:174.

79.

Thirty

soldiers:

BalCam,4:26. 80 soldiers:T,2:219-20.Ta’if:AA,46:30.