Introduction xix
their
public
order could not
correspond
tothose
goals,they
withdrewfromtheirownarmies,
compelling
therulerstolook
for
soldierselsewhere,
whichinturn
ledtothedevelopmentof
militaryslavery
asasolution.
TheMilitarySlaveSystem
A new
dynastyrarely depends
onslave soldiers atthe time
whenitcomesto
power;
15
theyusually
turn
up
twoorthree
generationslater,asarulercasts aboutto
replace
unreliable
soldierswithonesfromnewsourcesthathecanbettercontrol.
Typically, military
slavesserve the rulerfirstas
royal body-
guards,thenmovetoother
parts
ofhis
entourage,
andfrom
there tothe
army,
government,
andevenintothe
provincial
administration.Astheruler
increasingly
relieson
militaryslaves,
theyacquireindependentpower
basesandsometimestakemat-
ters
intotheirownhands,either
controlling
theruleroreven
usurping
his
position.
16
Notalways, however: in
many
cases,
when
judiciouslyused,military
slaves render
competent
and
faithfulservicetotheirmastersfor
longperiods
oftime.
The
career
of
a
military
slavefollowsa
tightpattern.
Borna
non-Musliminsome
regionnot
underMuslim
control,
17
he
is
acquired by
the Muslimsas a
youth
old
enough
to
undergo
training
butstill
youngenough
tobemolded
by
it.
Brought
to
Islamdomasaslave,heconvertstoIslamandentersa
military
training
program,
emerging
somefiveto
eightyears
laterasan
adultsoldier.Ifhehas
specialabilities,hecanriseto
anyheights
inthe
army
or
(sometimes)
inthe
government;
whilemostmili-
tary
slaves
spend
theiradultslivesintheruler’s
army,they
are
not
justsoldiersbutakeyelementofthe
ruling
eliteinmost
Muslim
dynasties.
15.Exceptionsusuallycomefromdynastiesfoundedbymilitaryslaves,since
theyrelyheavilyontheirowncorps.
16.The
special
and
fascinatingphenomenonofsoldiersofslave
origins
be-
coming
rulerswill
notbeconsidered
in
thisstudy.Thismeansthatmuchofthe
evidencefromtheMamluk
Kingdom
will
not
be
analyzed.
17.
Exceptions
exist,
notably
intheOttomanandFilali
dynasties.