HowMilitary
SlaveryFirstOccurred
163
slavesfor
militarypurposes.
19
Soghdiamaintainedanextensive
trading
network
throughout
InnerAsia,and
alarge
part
ofits
populationengaged
in
commercial
pursuits
which
tookthemfar
from
Soghdia. Indeed,
the
Soghdians engaged
so
heavilyin
trading
that
they
lacked
adequate
manpower
todefend
their
caravans
and their
country.
To
protect both of these
they
neededoutside
sourcesof
militarymanpower;these
they
found
inthechildrenofthe
InnerAsiannomads.The
merchants
pro-
curedthechildrenwhile
traveling,
brought
thembackto
Sogh-
dia,
and
trainedthemassoldiers.It
seemsthatthenomadchil-
dren
provedthemselves
highlycapable
and
loyalsoldiers--even
incombat
against
theirown
peoples.Sincethe
Soghdiansalways
neededthesechildrenandthenomads
couldcontinueto
supply
them,
this
arrangement
wentonfora
longtime.
Besidesthe
vagueindicationsforthis
Soghdian
system,
there
ismore
specific
evidenceon
slaves
fighting
forthe
Sasanians.
Rulers
evenbeforethetimeof
KhosroesI(r.
531-78)brought
captives
into
theirarmies,but
what
distinguishes the
transplantations
of
peoples effected
by
Khosroesfromearlier
onesis...the
systematic
useof
those[later]
colonizersfor
militarypurposes.The
[captured]
barbarians
were
endowedwith
a
physicalvigorsuperiortothe
degenerate
Iranian
peasants,
and
sowere
preferred
for
[colonizing]
the
regions
ex-
posed
totheattacksof
enemy
peoples.They
wereset
uptherein
returnfor
lendingmilitaryservicetothe
empire.
Inthis
manner,
KhosroesI’s
permanentarmyincludedIranian
cavalryandcol-
onizedbarbarians.
Thelatter
quickly
assimilated
totheirnewenvi-
ronmentwithout
losingtheir
militaryqualities.
2
TheSasanianuseofthe
Sayfibija,Zu,and
Andaghfir
confirmed
this
practice.According
to
al-Balfidhfiri,allthese
peoples
"were
in
the
army
ofthePersians.
Theywere
people
ofSindwhohad
beentaken
captive
and
thenenrolled[inthe
armywhichhad
captured
them].
’’1
19.The
followinginformationderivesfrom
discussionswith
RichardFrye
and
Omeljian
Pritsakon
30
July
1975;seealso
Bosworth,inCHI,
4:162.
20.
A
Christensen,L’Iransousles
Sassanides,2ded.
(Copenhagen, 1944),
p.
370.
21.
FB,p.375.