How
MilitarySlaveryFirstOccurred 167
could
provide:readily
obtainable
marginal
areasoldiersunder
firmcontrol.Thefirsttime
theyacquired
theseasmawlas,the
second
time,
as
slaves.
TheInitialNeed,64-74/684-93:Mawlas
.4
TriballyOrganizedArmy. TheArabian
conquerors
ofthelst/
7-8th
centurieswere
among
the
very
few
empire
buildersof
historyorganizedbykinshipgroup.
3s
Usually,
an
army
cannot
venturefarwith
large
forcesunlessits
soldiersare
organized
along
nontriballines
(forexample,
adecimal
systera);
itneedsa
unifying
purpose
anda
hierarchy
ofcommand
greater
thanthe
one that
kinship
can
provide. In
the
Arabian case, Islam
provided
both ofthesewithout
detribalizing
the
army.
Although
theIslamicumma
developed
asa
supratribalcommunity,kinship
tiesremained
vital;inthearmy,Arabians
predominantlyfought
intribal
contingents.
39
Thisallowedthetribalstructureto
per-
sist;hereinliesamostdistinctiveand
important
factofIslamic
history,
the
key
to
understanding
the
society
and
politics
ofthe
early
Muslims.
BecausethevictoriousArabianshad
kepttribal affiliations
paramountthroughout
the
conquests,
tribal
leadershipemerged
fromthefirstyearsofIslamwith
unmatched_power.
Although
it
wasthe
greatgenerals(likeKhlidb.
al-Walid)
whohadledthe
Arabian
armiestovictory,chiefshaddirectcontroloverthesol-
diers. This
arrangementbrought many
benefitsto boththe
chiefsandthetribesmen,foritallowedthemtoremainautono-
mousand
gave
them
specialprivileges
vis-/-vistherestof
the
population.
HowdidArabian
tribesmenpreservethetribalor-
ganization
ofMuslimarmiesforovera
century?
Scanty
evidence
points
toa
key
roleforthe
MilitaryRegister
(Diw(n
al-Jund),
the
principal mechanism
by
which Arabian
tribesmenreceivedtheir
pay.
Knowing
thatsoldiersfollowthe
person,
tribe,
city,
or
government
that
paysthem,Arabiantribal
chiefsinsistedthat
militarysalariesbedistributedto
tribes,not
individuals.Arabianwarriors
(al-muqtila)
remained
loyal
tothe
38.OthersincludetheGermanictribesthatinvadedEuropeandtheSeljuks.
39.Beckmann,
passim.