124
Origins
Whilemostofthewarfare
ofthis
period
tookplace
inthefar
western and eastern regions,
the
Muslims also occasionally
fought
desultory campaignsagainst
Byzantium.
In
75/695 a
mawlaofCaliph
eAbdal-Malikserved
as
governor
of
Qinnasrin
and
led
Umayyad troops
to victory
at the
battles ofeAmq
MarCashand
Jisr
Yaghra;
alsoduring
cAbdal-Malik’sreign,
a
slaveof
Greek
origins
becameamajor
commander
ofMuslim
troopsagainst
the
Byzantines?
MawlasdefendedEgypt
from
Byzantine
attackinabout
102/721.
l1
Littleisknown
aboutunfreesoldiers
inthe
conquest
ofNorth
Africa;
innorthwestIndia,they
led 200
horsemenasan
advance
guard.
12
Incontrast,
theiroutstanding
roleinthewars
tocon-
trol
Spain
and
CentralAsiaiswell
documented.
Spain.
Mffsfib.Nus.ayr
wasthe
key
figure
fortheexceptional
im-
portance
ofslavesand
mawlasinthe
conquest
of
Spain;
he
di-
rectedthecampaign
andisremembered
forhis
connectionto
unfreesoldiers.
Mfisfi’sown
origins
areamatterof
debate;he
may
havebeen
anArabianofeither
theBakrb.Wfi’il,
Lakhm,or
Arfisha
tribes;a
captive
from
Ayn
at-Tamr;
a
wasSf
manumitted
by
Abdal-Azizb.
Marwfin
(the
fatherofCaliph
CUmarII);a
mawlaoftheBanff.Dabba,
BanffUmayya,
BanffLakhm;
and
soforth?
3
Whetherhimself
ofslave
origins
ornot,
Mfisfiwas
oneof
theforemostemployers
ofmawlasduring
theArabian
period,acquiring
themfrom
among
the
huge
numbersofcap-
tivestakenin
thecourseofhisconquests;
thesources
mention
figures
of30,000,
50,000,60,000,
100,000,and300,000
andal-
ludetoeven
greater
numbers?
4
One
contemporary
of
Mffs/’s
100.FB,
pp.
188-89, 160-61.
For atranslation
and discussion,seep.
189.
101.al-Kindi,
p.
70.
102.al-Kfafi,
p.
139.
A.M.T.al-Mubrakbfri,
aI-Fut.t
al-lslgzmyajff’l-Hind,
aw
al-Clqd
ath-Thamn (Bombay,
1388/1968)
mentionsnoslavesor
mawlas
fighting.
103.NT,1:141,156;T,
1:2064;Khalifa,p.
102;FB,
p.
247;al-Kindi,p.
52.
104.30,000:
Imama,2:75;ITB,1:229;
NT, 1:144,175.50,000:
ITB,1:207.
60,000:Inma, 2:71.
100,000:NT,
1:148. 150,000: ITB, 1:229 (implied).
200,000:NT,
1:148
(implied).
300,000:
BM, 1:40(implied).
500,000:Imma,
2:91(implied).
Greater
yet:
AM,
p.
6;NT,1:159.