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

TheUnfreein

MuslimWarfare,

2-205/624-820

131

mawlain

chargeofeitherhisorhisson’s

bodyguard(.haras),

of-

fered threeor four

thousand slaveson Marwn’s sidetheir

freedomif

theywouldfollowhimintobattle.

They

did,found

ad.-

.Dahhk’s

weak

spot,

and

killedhim with staves.

159

Thissame

body

of

Umayyadslavesthenmeta

large

numberofmawlasand

ahl

al-baytfighting

forthe

Khrijis? Alsointhatsame

year,

a

mawlaof

Nas.r

b.

Sayyr’sgrabbed

a

flag

and

died

carrying

itin

battle

againstal-Kirmfini?

Although

the

Kufans

joined

CAbdallhb.

MuCfiwiya

b.cAb-

dallfih’srevolt

in129/747,theirslaves

foughtagainst

him

and

lost?

62

Oneof

Caliph

MarwfinII’s

commanders

against

thisShii

rebel

receivedmorethanonehundredoutfitted

ghulms,

possi-

bly

for

military

purposes.

63

AttheBattleof

Qudayd

a

yearlater,

1,500to 1,700ofthe

4,000

Medinan

troops

who

fought

the

Khfirijis

weremawlas,andMedinanslaves

fought

the

Khfirijis

at

theBattleof

Wfidi’l-Qurrfi

laterthatsame

year.

ln4

Werethese

possibly

thesame

troops?WhentheAbbasidsbeatMarwfinII,

he

fledto

Egypt

with3,000domestic

slaves

and

mawlas?

n5

In

132/750

the

Umayyadgeneral

Hawthara

dispatchedacontin-

gent

ofmawla

horsemen

against

theAbbasids?

nn

Shortlythere-

afterthe

Umayyadregimefell.

TheFirst

Abbasids,

129-205/747-820

TheRiseto

Power,

129-32/747-50

Unfreesoldiersfirst

fought

forthe

Abbasidsin

129/747

when

they

were

stillinKhurasan,before

they

tookover

the

caliphate.

Intwo

long

and

revealing

passages,

AbfiMuslimisshownto

159.Khalifa,

pp.

574-75;TMaw,

p.

72.

160.T,2:1941.

161.T,

2:1926.

162.T,2:1976.

163.T,2:1980.

164.Mawlas:UH,3:169;oneofthemismentionedinTMaw,

p.109.Slaves:

UH,3:173.

165.Slaves:

Theophanes,p.67.Mawlas:

Agapius,

7:528.

166.T,3:19.