160
Origins
ing
the
caliphs
tocentralizetheir
power.
2
Bosworthofferstwo
explanations:
theeconomic andcommercialexpansion
ofthe
first Abbasid
period;
and the decline of
Arabian soldiers
throughdecayandanarchy,
whichforcedtheAbbasidrulersto
seekoutmorereliable
troops.
3
Cahen
suggests
thatslaveswere
ableto
provide
morefaithfulandskilled service.
4
Hamdistresses
al-Ma’mfim’s favorable
experiences
with Turkish soldiers in
Khurasan,
5
whereas
T/llnerandIsmail
point
to
al-MuCtas.im’s
experiences
withthemin
Egypt
and
Iraq.
Ismailalsonotesthat
thesetwocountries didnot
provide
the
Abbasidarmieswith
sufficient
numbersofsoldiers.
6
Hrbek
explains
the
phenome-
nonin
termsofclassconflict. Cronesees
militaryslavery
asan
Islamicateinstitutionbutdoesnot
develop
thislineof
reasoning;
sheascribesit
only
to"thefailureoftheAbbasidstostructure
a
Muslim
empire.
’’s
Hodgson,
as
ever,goesbeyond
alltheseex-
planations:
militaryslaveryemergedamong
theAbbasidsbe-
cause"nostrataofthe
population
were
ready
to
give
effective
support
tothe
government.
’’9
Yeteven
hedoes
not
tiethisfact
intothe
major
factsofIslamicatepublic
life.
Ina
confusingpassage,
IbnKhaldfin
appearstotelescope
the
Umayyad
andAbbasiddeclinesintooneandthento
explain
the
Abbasidrelianceonoutsiders
by
the
unreliability
ofthe
original
Arabian
troops:
WhentheArabiansconquerednations
and
cities,
theirdesertbar-
barismandthesimplicityoftheircaliphs
wastransformedintothe
pride
of
rulership
and thesoftness ofcivilization
Spread
throughout
theworld,new
generations
ofArabians
grewup
in
ease;
theypreferred
thetranquil
plains,
enjoyed
thesoft
life,
and
2.
Lapidus,p.
37.
3.On
expansion:
C.E.Bosworth,"Ghaznevid
MilitaryOrganisation,"
Der
Islam 36 (1960):41; decline:Bosworth,"Recruitment,"pp.61-69.
4.C. Cahen,
"Economy,Society,Institutions,"
inThe
CambridgeHistory
of
Islam,ed.P.M.Holtetal.
(Cambridge,Eng.,
1970),2:535.
5.Hamdi,pp.9-10.
6.
T/511ner,pp.91-22;Ismail,"Mueta.sim, p.23.
7.
Hrbek,p.
54B.
8.Crone,
pp.
B,
142.
9.
Hodgson,
2:B99.