TheFirstMilitarySlaveSystem 157
Amorium.
94
They
played
a
majorpart
inthe
conspiracyagainst
al-MuCtas.im
of al-Ma’mfn’s son al-CAbbhs.
95
For example,
Ashnhswas
tobeassassinatedby
a
fellowTurk,
his
drinking
companion.
9n
Whenthe
conspiracyfailed,
itwas
again
Turks
whoexecutedoneofitsleadersin223/838.
97
AI-Afshinsenta
TurkishmawlatokilloneofBbk’smenin
222/837.
9s
Turks
providedpersonalservicesfor
al-Muta.sim.
Ononeoc-
casion,hecalledfor
[takh
to
bringhimdates;
99
aTurkishslave
eunuchswattedfliesfromaround
al-Mueta.sim’s
head.
1
Turks
alsoservedother
persons
in
nonmilitaryways.
11
Perhaps
most
indicativeofthefavorbestowedontheTurks
wasthefact that
al-Muetas.im
reared oneof
them,al-Fath,
b.
Khqan,
along
withhis ownson
Jaefar,
the
future
Caliph
al-
Mutawakkil.
12
Theclose
relationship
betweenthesetwolasted
for
decades,andal-Fath,
played
avitalroleinal-Mutawakkil’s
reign.
13
But Turks could not do
everything.
When
al-MuCtas.im’s
forces
fought
theZugofthePersianGulf,awaterborne
people,
the
only
Abbasid
troops
thatcouldreachthem
weresome
Egyp-
tian
captives
who"wereaccustomed
towater
and
swam
likefish."
AI-Mutas.im
wasso
impressed by
their
military
skillsthathe
"tookanumberofthemintohisservice"
(37).Presumably,
then,
they
too
becameslavesoldiers
alongside
theTurks.
Assessments
AlthoughtheMuslimsourcesall
agree
aboutthe
militaryprow-
essofTurkishmilitaryslaves,they
disagree
ontheeffectsof
94.T,3:1076,1250;UH,p.394.
95.T,3:1267;Miskawayh,pp.501-02.
96.
T,
3:1257,1266.
97.T,3:1265.
98.T,3:1194.
99.T,3:1325.
100.MDh,4:50.
101.
Agtuinf,
7:155.
102.ITB,2:325.
103.O.Pinto,
"AI-Fat.h
b.
H
fiqfin,
favoritedial-Mutawakkil,"Revista
degli
studi
orientali 13 (1931-32):133-49.